Posts Tagged ‘money market account’
Banking Fees and are you Paying Attention
Last week I went to the bank two days in a row and I was taking in everything that I saw. Let me ask the question: Who do banks serve? Are they there to help the consumer or to make more money off of the consumer? Let me recount what I saw.
Day 1: There was a gentleman there and he was attempting to find out what was going on with his account. Clearly he did not know that his account had been overdrawn based on fees and was quite unhappy. Appears that deductions had not come out when they were supposed to and his account was in the negative. The gentleman was continuously shaking his head as in disbelief.
Lesson learned: You must always always check your bank account and stay on top of what you have done when it comes to spending, deposits and deductions made.
Day 2: The twins and I go into the bank there is one man at the window and he is vocal. What is happening with my accounts? The bank is making more money off of me than I am putting in. He has several accounts and I don’t mean 2 or 3, he had many. I heard them say money market account, checking account and savings account. Then they shared with him there is a fee for every time a transaction was made. He said, I am too busy for that to happen. Then he asked the question: Why don’t the bank protect the consumer and contact them and say you know we have a better account for you or something of that nature. Oh, you know that banker could not say anything. I took it in and the teller was clarifying what this customer wanted – ALL ACCOUNTS CLOSED.
Lesson in this one: Know what the bank fees are for the different accounts, the number of transactions you can make prior to any fee being charged, is there a minimum balance required. Also if you are unhappy with your current bank – SHOP around and get what you DESERVE. I’m not for banks making money on their clients but providing inadequate customer service.
Savings Goal makes a Difference
As in most things in life, you should have a goal. So when it comes to Saving Money, you should have a realistic goal for the year. You should be looking at your income, your expenses and what is the amount you would like to save by the end of the year. Sure it is the last full week end of February and March is right around the corner. You have 9 months left… what are you going to do?
Your goal could say for each month, I will save x amount of dollars and put it into this account. If you have not chosen a bank account yet that you want to put your money into.. do your research and see where you would get the best return. Whether it is a bank account, money market account or even a CD. Do your homework.
I remember many many years ago when I was teaching finances online to a specific group the different online accounts that we discussed were ING, FNBODirect and EmigrantDirect were the ones we talked about. Do your research and see what is the opening amount you need to have, how much has to be maintained and if there are any fees associated with the account. All of those factors make a difference. When it comes to money, you must pay attention. No pun intended.
Set your goal and go for it. I encourage you to go to www.AmericaSaves.org and see what resources they have available regarding goal setting as well. Until tomorrow…All it takes it a START!
