The most important thing you need to know about personal banking
Did you know that millions of people pay BILLIONS a year in bank account fees? This is the most important thing you need to know about personal banking.
Of course you need to know if this affects you and how much is it costing you. The average Studies show that the average overdraft fee is $27.00.
The law states that the consumer has the right to opt in or out of overdraft protection. The reality is that most people don’t even know their rights.
Consumers who opt in to overdraft coverage put themselves at risk when they use their debit card or write a check. A study found that the majority of overdrafts occur on transactions of $24 or less. If the average overdraft fee is $27.00, that’s $3.00 more in penalty then the actual infraction.
So what can be done? The most important thing you need to know about personal banking is that you can avoid these charges. The first thing is to opt out. This will remove the ability to take out money at an ATM if their account balance goes below $0. Banks will still charge a fee if accounts go negative because a bounced check. Clicking the opt out link above will give you several other options to consider.
Some banks call their overdraft protection a courtesy plan. That courtesy made an estimated $12 Billion in revenue in 2015 for banking institutions. Most people do not track or balance their checking accounts specifically when using their debit card. One key action that can help avoid these fees is to use online banking and bill pay.
Smart Money has several quick tips to help you stay out of the penalty box.
1) Set Daily Account Alerts
2) Load your bank’s mobile app onto your phone
3) Opt out of the overdraft
4) Write very few checks
At Smart Money, we use a complete system to help our clients easily avoid these fees. Our clients have saved well over an average of $875.00 a year in fees using our system. The most important thing you need to know about personal banking is to position yourself for protection.
