Post by Barry Myers
The banking industry has gotten a bad reputation, and it is mostly for good reason. If you choose the wrong bank, you’ll pay ridiculous fees and get very little in return. But that’s not how it ought to be. While I’ll stand up and bash a misbehaving bank right along with you, I want to spend a few minutes sharing five ways you can get the best out of your bank – or how you can evaluate your banking options with other companies if you aren’t so in love with the bank you’ve got now.
- How safe is my money? Banks are probably THE SAFEST place to put your money. You may not earn a lot of interest, but your money is pretty darn safe. In the U.S., the government guarantees up to $250,000 through the FDIC (banks) and NCUA (credit unions). So while you might be tempted to keep it under your mattress, your cash is a heck of a lot safer in your local bank.
- Can I access my money online and in person? I check my online banking almost daily. I’m a nerd. What did we do before it? This option is convenient, almost real-time and FREE. But equally important to me is getting to see real people at my bank. In a world where purely online banks are common, I’m sticking with brick and mortar institutions. More on that in #4.
- Do I get a free debit card/ATM usage? I don’t use a credit card. I don’t have a credit card. But I can still rent a car, buy things online, pay at the pump for gas and just about anything else I want when I roam around with my debit card. I love my debit card. Cut up every other piece of plastic in your wallet and start using your debit card immediately.
- Do they know who I am? If the people at the bank know you, it makes things a LOT better. Banks often have staff called “relationship managers” and they’ve started referring to you as “clients” rather than customers. Why? Because they recognize if you build a relationship with them you’ll stick around. This works both ways. Most of us have one or two branches of our local bank that we visit because they’re convenient. Make an effort to get to know the people there. Skip the drive thru when time allows and go inside. Ask the teller how he/she is doing, etc. Go back to Business Relationships 101 and build from there. If you don’t have a bank where this is possible, find one.
- Can I get a loan? I don’t encourage debt in any form. I just don’t like it because it adds risk to your financial equation and that’s just not cool. But I realize most people (myself included) couldn’t buy their first house or car without help from the bank.
Because I don’t want to write a book on the subject, I’ve kept my tips fairly short. However, I know there are lots of other benefits out there to help you make the most of your experience. If you have a few banks in your area that might fit the bill, you should consider interest rates and other benefits. In other words, you may need to do a bank account comparison before you decide on the right bank for you. Notice I skipped over things like interest rates, minimum balance requirements, etc., etc. With a bank, that stuff is secondary to me. But don’t avoid those details!
What about you? What are some ways you get the most out of your bank?
I love my credit union! Free everything, well everything I use on a regular basis anyway. Checking account, ATM withdrawals, debit card purchases, online bill pay, etc. We WERE paying $20-30 in fees every month from our previous bank (years ago) before we switched to the credit union. Best financial choice we’ve ever made, I think!
Credit unions seem to be where it’s AT!
Another great thing to have is free ATM use. My bank never charges me a fee for using an ATM, and if the bank that owns the ATM charges me one, my bank automatically refunds it to my account. I can take out cash when I need it and not have to worry about finding the right ATM to avoid a fee. I love it!
Free…it’s the way to be! 🙂
Hi Barry,
As always a great post from you. Thanks so much, your articles along with Stacy’s are a huge blessing!
Thank you for the nice words, Helen! 🙂
Credit unions are great, and I would recommend considering one as the home bank and establish the above relationships. However, my CU doesn’t have a free AND unlimited transactions checking account, which I really consider critical, so that those fees don’t begin piling up. So, I also have a bank, and with free checking as long as I have a direct deposit of my paycheck, which includes free internet access and free internet bill pay. I would estimate that I have probably saved over $100 in postage fees alone with the free internet bill pay, and love that I can jump on and send an extra payment to that prioritized debt so we can pay it down faster.
Here’s what’s funny….I (Stacy) love mailing things. LOL I know…I’m weird. But Barry LOVES online bill pay.
You didn’t mention online billpay (which sould be free). I love it!! I pay all my bills online. Saves postage & you know when your payment is going to arrive. As soon as the bill comes, I go online & make the payment & pick when I want the bill paid.
FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOT~! 🙂
i LOVE my credit union! my former bank was terrible, but i won’t mention any names! my credit union pays interest on my checking acct. may only be a few cents a month, but that’s better than the $4.95 i used to pay. thanks for this post, barry.
Names have been changed to protect the “innocent!” 😉
I completely agree with you about the “brick and mortar” bank. I giggled when I got to the end of the post and the ad scrolling across the bottom was for ING 🙂
🙂 Wasted money on their part. LOL We don’t get to control the ads….it’s like when they run the BUY GOLD ads during Dave Ramsey’s show. 😉