Recently, I’ve been asked by a few people what my thoughts and opinions are on the fees that banks impose on their customers. Banking fees are an unneeded hassle. For a lot of people, they can be the difference between eating and going without food. There’s quite a few fees that banks impose to squeeze out every penny they can from people. I’ll be going over some of the ones that I’ve either encountered, or have enough knowledge about to post on.

Overdraft fees are probably the most widely known. This is a fee that a customer is charged because they ended up spending more money than was in their account. Now, my beef with this one is that banks should have a safety net for customers. I’m sure everyone’s aware of the magnet strip on the backside of your debit/credit card(s). This is used to identify your card, and is tracked in real-time. Now, if you take that into affect, a bank *should* be able to in fact track your purchases. Most purchases aren’t updated in your banking account until the transaction has been confirmed via the business you made the purchase at. If this were implemented, a cease could be sent if you try to make a purchase over your balance (The same way your credit cards do if you try to make a purchase over your spending limit). The average overdraft fee is $25 (United States) but, can run up to $40 depending on the financial institute you’re with.

Maintenance fees most likely come in second. This is a fee that is usually imposed if your balance is under a certain limit (determined by the bank). Honestly, you have to seriously ask – who the hell came up with this idea? Now, if my account isn’t at the predetermined balance set by my bank, how could it help to impose a fee? I know from reading that my bank imposes a $8 maintenance fee and a $35 overdraft fee. Here’s a dramatic example based on my banks fees. Say my bank account has $7.99 in it, and they decide to hit me with a maintenance fee. This would deduct $8, leaving me with a balance of negative 0.01. Now because of that, my account would then get an overdraft fee for $35, making my new balance negative $35.01. Could you imagine getting that, all because your account didn’t have the designated amount set by some six figure a year CEO…

The easiest way to avoid fees is to use the bank as little as possible. Some of you are probably saying “But all my money goes in there!”. My question to that is – why? I tell this to everyone I know, and anyone who asks me – If you only have a checking account (most people do these days), always make sure that you keep at least $50 in it at all times for emergencies. This should be your minimum balance, making sure that you won’t get a maintenance fee for not having the min balance limit. On top of the $50 you have, if you pay bills with checks, electronic payments or your debit card, make sure to have just enough to pay them. The rest can be kept in a home safe (You can get firesafe safe starting at $30 – a great investment), or a safe deposit box. If you’re into stocks, then put some into the stocks. Direct Deposit is a great invention, and I strongly suggest that you use it but, I also suggest that you withdraw what you’re not going to use on bills and put away outside of the bank.