Money Management - Cutting Banking Costs

Are you paying for banking services you are not using?

If you are like many of us, it has been some time since you signed up for your checking account. At that time, you chose a program that met your needs in terms of number of transactions per month and other banking services. When was the last time you looked it over to make sure it was still the best program for you?

A quick look at your bank statement will show you how much you are paying in fees every month. Multiply that number by 12 and you will see why it is worth your while to check this out. It is easy to shrug off the monthly fees, but not so easy to ignore the annual cost.

Find out from your bank exactly what you are paying for. Are you using all the services? Are there other programs you could be on? You can start your search online, by calling your bank, or by going to your bank in person.

Money Management Success Case:

Recently, a woman we work with decided to find out if she could reduce the cost of her banking.

Several years earlier, she had signed up for a program that gave her an unlimited number of debit card transactions. She discovered that since her spending habits had changed dramatically – she was able to switch to a 10-transactions-per-month program at a substantial saving.

What did she save?

She had been paying $12.95/month; the new program was at $3.90/month, which meant a saving of $9.05/month or a saving of $108.60/year.

But wait – there’s more:

In the new program, for those months she had a minimum balance of $1,000 or more in her chequing account, the program fees would be waived!

Since the interest rate that she was getting in her savings account was under 2%, she realized that she would be saving money by keeping a minimum checking balance of $1,000 rather than leaving it in her savings account.

So, what were her total savings?

$155.40/year in fees ($12.95/mo x 12 months) – $20 (2% annual interest on $1,000) = $135.40

In total she saved $135.40/year.

How did she do it?

A bit of online checking and one toll-free call to her bank’s service center. Yes, it was that easy.

Note: Not all banks offer the same types of programs and you might not be able to save as much as this – but it is worth your while to find out.

It Is Your Money!

Some people find dealing with banks intimidating; if you are one of them, here are a couple of things to remember:

• Banks are selling you a service – not doing you a favour!


• It is your money!

Friendly reminder: stay on top of your bank account by carefully reading your bank statement every month.