10 Tips: Get the most from your bank - St. Petersburg Times

Fees be given to be annoying, but depository financial institution fees can be especially galling. standard atmosphere fees can fetter the budgets of even the most prudent planners. How can you turn the tabular arrays and acquire the greatest knock for your vaulting horse from your bank?

1 Pick the right bank. Shop around. Ideally, you're looking for free checking, direct deposit, online measure paying, nice involvement rates and many convenient subdivisions and ATMs.

2 Inquire about minimum-balance requirements. Many Banks complaint monthly fees for failing to keep their lower limit business relationship balances. If you're not likely to ran into those requirements, take your concern elsewhere. Or, happen out whether you can acquire the fees waived if you have got your payroll check deposited directly and if you don't make face-to- face concern with tellers.

3 Beware of this so-called courtesy. Unless you state no to "courtesy overdraft protection," you could stop up paying as much as $39 for each overdraft from your checking account. Link your checking business relationship to your nest egg account, credit-card business relationship or place equity line of credit.

4 Plan in advance. Going out on a weekend nighttime in an unfamiliar portion of town? Bash a speedy online hunt to see whether your depository financial institution have ATMs there. If you utilize another bank's ATM, you'll probably be double-whammied with fees from that depository financial institution and your bank.

5 Brand wise money moves overseas. If you've used ATMs to retreat hard cash while traveling abroad in recent years, you may have got been hit with tremendous fees. Credit-card currency-conversion fees may have got walloped you. Before leaving town, see this land site - - to happen out which recognition card to utilize while traveling, and depository financial institution check with your bank to see whether it have standard atmosphere confederations with Banks in the states you be after to visit.

6 Gain more than from your nest egg account. Rather than relying on a traditional nest egg business relationship that supplies outputs in the 0.2 per centum range, see an online-only redemptives or money marketplace business relationship with yearly percentage outputs between 4 and 5 percent. You can happen FDIC-insured redemptives business relationships through the "Compare rates" subdivision on .

7 Avoid credit-card debt. The worst fees will stalk you if you neglect to pay off your credit-card balances in full and on clip each month.

8 Be careful with debit entry and bank check cards. Be diligent about logging minutes in your chequebook register, and usage online banking so you can check up on balances often and do certain nil amusing is happening in your account.

9 Investigate recognition unions. If you're in the marketplace for a auto loan or another type of loan, recognition labor unions be given to offer less rates. To shop around for a recognition labor union near you, visit .

10 Know where to turn. If you've been treated unfairly by a bank, seek calling client service. If that doesn't help, happen the bank's chief telephone figure and phone call a senior frailty president. You can kick to regulators at the Federal Soldier Modesty and the Office of the Accountant of the Currency ).

Laura T. Coffey ()

Sources: "Gotcha Capitalism: How Concealed Fees Rake You Off Every Day - and What You Can Make About It," by British Shilling Sullivan; ; .

[Last modified January 25, 2008, 21:28:30]