Saving Money - Start with Service
Fees
Once you have chosen a package to fit the way
you run your everyday transactions there are still more ways to save.
Nobody wants to pay more fees than they have to. As your financial advocate,
we want to make sure you have the right chequing account and are paying
as little in service fees as possible. We have some strategies below
to help you keep more money in your credit union chequing account.
Know Your Limit
Make sure you understand exactly how many transactions are included
in your chequing package each month. Going over the limit means extra
fees. Overage fees vary from institution to institution. At The Credit
Union additional transactions are $0.45 each. If you are unsure of the
number of transactions you have completed just go on-line and look at
your chequing activity to see where you stand or call Member Assistance
for help. If you are finding you are going over your transaction limit
each month and paying additional fees, it is time to consider moving
up to the next activity level. But do the math first – if the
difference between package fees is more than your overage charges it
may not make sense to move up.
Minimum Monthly Balance
No-fee everyday banking transactions are often possible if you maintain
a minimum monthly balance in your chequing account. The amount varies
depending on the financial institution and the chequing package. So
does it make sense? The answer is yes, most of the time. The key is
to look at what you are earning on the amount of money versus what you
pay in service fees. With The Credit Union Take 35 account with direct
deposit, you can save $59.40 a year by maintaining the minimum monthly
balance of $2,500. The savings in service fees of $59.40 is equivalent
to earning 2.38% if you kept the $2,500 in a savings account for one
year. This is where you have to do your comparison-shopping. If you
have money sitting in a savings account earning you less than the amount
you pay in service fees, it makes sense to keep the minimum monthly
balance in your account. The hitch here is you have to maintain the
minimum balance throughout the month. Even dipping below by a penny
one-time means you will pay the monthly service fee.
Interac Withdrawal Fees
There is nothing more convenient than an ATM machine. It is hard to
remember a time when we could not go to a machine and get money out.
Choosing what machine, no matter the financial institution you use,
is critical when trying to save on service fees. Most financial institutions
do not charge any additional fees if you access your account at their
machine. Go to another financial institution’s machine and the
fees start racking up quickly. Not only will you pay a withdrawal account
fee from your own financial institution, but you also pay a surcharge
levied by the financial institution whose machine you are using. Typically,
these fees are in the range of $1.25 – $1.75. If you use a ‘white
label’ or non-financial institution ATM, your ‘convenience’
fee can be as high as $2.50. On a $20 withdrawal, that is more than
a 12.5% fee.
To improve our convenience The Credit Union
joined THE EXCHANGE® Network giving our members access to hundreds
of machines in Ontario. With our new chequing account packages, any
withdrawal made at an EXCHANGE® Network ATM is included. There are
no withdrawal fees, no surcharge fees – it is just like using
a credit union ATM. It’s pretty easy to save money – stop
using Interac ATMs and start using THE EXCHANGE® Network ATMs. If
you are not sure where to find the closest EXCHANGE® ATM just go
to www.mycreditunion.ca and click on "The Credit Union and THE
EXCHANGE® Network ATM Locations link on our home page or click
here.
If an ATM is not readily available, consider
getting cash back at a merchant when making a purchase. But be careful,
make sure you know upfront if there is an additional fee.
Money Orders, Certified and Official
Cheques
These are expensive services, which given today’s technology may
not always give you the best bang for your buck. Rather than using these
paper methods, consider using an electronic method to transfer money
to a third party. Using TelPay at The Credit Union or email money transfers
at other financial institutions will save you a considerable amount
of money.
NSF Fees
Bouncing a cheque is expensive. Sometimes it is easy to make an accounting
error and all of a sudden, the money you thought you had is not there.
Apply for an overdraft on your chequing account to cover you in those
‘Oops’ cases. Should you utilize your overdraft there will
be a monthly fee and interest payable, but likely these will not add
up to the amount of a single NSF charge. Compare overdraft accounts
and make sure you are paying only when you utilize the overdraft.
Service fees are hard to avoid completely,
but with a little planning there are ways to lessen the impact. Come
on in, drop us a line or give us a call and we’ll show you how
to save as much on service fees as possible.
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