Have you noticed that bank accounts are getting more and more expensive. You now need to keep thousands of dollars in your account to wave the monthly fee. You have to pay $0.65-$1.00 for every extra transaction, if you go over your monthly limit. Plus, if you have to use a strange ATM not only does your bank charge you a $2.50 or more fee, so does the strange ATM. $5 for taking out $20 is a 25%!
You only need to access your bank account twice to limit your fees. This is how you do it:
- Use a no fee ING Direct or PC Financial account or keep the minimum balance in the account to wave the monthly fee. You will only access your account twice so you don’t have to worry about transactions now.
- Set up all of your bills on auto-payment so that they charge to your credit card or come out of your account automatically. Then get your credit card company to automatically pay off your card at the end of the month. Make sure you don’t over charge and have money in the bank to do so!
- Automatically have money come off for your retirement. This is always the last step and it has to be the first! Give your retirement account a cute name like “Golfing Fund” or “Cottage Life Forever”.
- Have money for the fun come off automatically too! Everyone forgets this part and that’s why they hate dealing with money. Do more of this and you’ll LOVE dealing with money like me.
- Squish your bi-weekly or semi-monthly expenses on food, dinners out, movies, hair-didin’, fuel, coffee, etc. and either deposit the money onto your credit card to spend or take it out in cash. Now spend down instead of spend up, and when the money is gone it is gone until your next pay.
Look at that! You only hit up the bank machine twice in an entire month and all of your bills are being paid and you’ve banged off retirement and fun time too! Make looking at your balances not a good but great experience.
Have an awesome week,
Dave
