Stop Wasting Money with Bank Fees!

I hate bank fees with a fiery passion.

Basically, the way a bank works is this: you put money in, and the bank spends it. The bank invests it in various things, leverages it, whatever. For this, they pay you interest. That’s what that monthly payout of a few cents is for.

So it’s unreal that a bank would charge you money for taking out your money. I can understand cash advances and so on from credit cards, but to get at your own money? Sure, there’s a fee to install ATMs or whatever, and I can see why third-party ATMs charge a fee, but banks should never charge their customers money. It’s absolutely absurd, in fact: it’s your money! Could you imagine if you gave me your money to hold on to, I spent it while you weren’t looking, replaced it, and then charged you when you wanted it back? It’s patently ridiculous — banks make money hand over fist with your money. They should use that money to pay you for using your money.

That’s why I love my credit union. It’s not a “big bank”, but I’ve never had any problems — I’ve pulled out US funds in the States no problem, I’ve paid bills to others, the online banking is great, the customer service is incredible, the one time my account got skimmed I got the money replaced. It’s been a perfectly smooth ride — I’ve also never had a hold on cheques put in, which is something people tend to complain about.

What makes my credit union so great is that it they have a no fee chequing account. None (plus, overdraft protection!). No fee to pay bills, no fee to pull money at a credit union ATM, no money to get online, no money for statements, nothing. I don’t even know what fees other people pay — I’ve been with them for years and love them to death. Plus, they offer interest at 1.25% for their no-fee Savings, which is pretty competitive (though, not as good as some, admittedly).

If you’re paying bank fees, you need to find a way out. It’s unjust for a bank to charge you bank fees — if you can, find a competitor who offers no fee chequing, like my credit union, Coast Capital Savings. I don’t think you’ll regret it.

Of course, if you’re OK with an online bank, I recommend ING Direct. They’re awesome and I haven’t had any trouble with them — you can use your current bank for clearing cheques and ING for everything else (or move it all to ING!). Check out my Orange Key on the right of the website — when you create an account and deposit more than $100, ING will toss in an extra $25 — I’ll get a referral bonus as well.

Weekly Check-in – 04/21/2013

This week was ok. I don’t have too many crazy expenses this week, though there are obviously some things I should cut back: