Are you being nibbled away with small fees from the banks? These are charges you didn't even notice you were paying in some cases often overlooked in your monthly statement.
Oh the poor banks! They take our money and pay us very little interest, depending on how much you have in your account. For a checking account or a savings account the banks want US to pay them! I started noticing my bank charging me $3.00 a month.
I have had a checking and savings accounts with this bank for years. So I stopped and asked the manager about it. She smiled and said, "All the banks are doing this." Then she explained how I could "avoid the fees." I could just link my accounts together to end the even bigger fees that were coming.
Then I start wondering if all the banks are REALLY do this.
So I started calling around. Credit unions have been more Fee Friendly and still offer free checking. And my bank wants me to change the way I bank online by going online. One bank actually wants me to use E Statements, or statements I download to my computer. But if my bank wants to use online banking, then why bank locally?
We live in a big country. I found a site called Bankrate, which is one of many sites out there that you can use to search for better deals. I can do business with a bank in Montana as easily as one in Pennsylvania to avoid fees.
For example, some online banks will actually PAY YOU money just to open an account!
Keep an eye on your statements too. You should check regularly just in case they try and sneak new fees on you. In that case, just can move your money to a new bank.
Perhaps, if the banks start seeing their depositors yanking their money out, they'll start thinking more about customer service.
And when the bank manager asks WHY you're pulling your money out of their bank, just smile and tell her, "ALL the customers are doing this!"
