According to Moebs Service, an economic research firm, banks in the United States are poised to make $38.5 billion in customer overdraft fees this year.  Most of these fees will come from financially strapped customers.  I often hear clients complain about bank fees. There are steps you can take to avoid these bothersome fees.

1. Keep track of how much money you have in your checking account by keeping your account register up-to-date.
2. Pay special attention to your electronic transactions. Don’t forget to record your ATM withdrawals and fees, debit card purchases, and online payments.
3. Don’t forget about automatic bill payments you may have set up for utilities, insurance, or loan payments. I advise you do not use automatic bill payment. Online bill pay is a better option. You can control the date something gets paid.
   
4. Know your banks cut off time for deposits. Most banks will post deposits to the next business day if the deposit occurs after 4:00p.m.
5. Take advantage of overdraft protection program that your bank offers.
6. Avoid making deposits at the ATM. They can take longer to post.
7. Ask the bank to only honor your debit VISA/MASTERCARD purchases if you have the available funds.
8. Avoid point-of-sale fees by opting to sign for purchases instead of using your pin.
9. Ask your bank to waive fees. It never hurts to ask.
10. Review your account statements each month. Between statements, you can find out which payments have cleared and check your balance by calling your bank or by checking online or at an ATM.

If you find yourself constantly getting bank fees, I would advise you to stop using your bank account and pay with cash or money order. Beware of using money orders unless they are from the post office. It may be difficult to get your funds back if you decide not to use it.

Tags: bank fees, banking, checking, Money Tips, savings

Most people with low credit scores do not believe that they need  to be concerned with identity theft. This is a huge misconception. In February, the Federal Trade Commission released its annual report. Identity theft was the number one consumer complaint. Last year 9.9 million adults in the United States were victims of identity theft, costing consumers approximately $48 billion over last year.

What many do not realize that Identity Theft is not just a financial crime. In fact, only about 20 percent is related to financial transactions. There is in fact five other forms of identity theft that can affect anyone no matter what their credit rating may be. ID thieves aren’t limited by your credit. ID thieves can obtain your social security number and gain employment and not pay taxes. Who do you thing the IRS will come looking for? This is just one example of the damage an ID thief can do, there are many more.

Tags: banking, credit, identity theft