Comments on: 10 Banking Moves To Make Today

By: Gail

Gail — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:43:10 +0000

Sam, The original post mentioned closing bank accounts that are dormant and costing you money. Closing them is a good idea. It isn’t the same as closing multiple credit card accounts at the same time. Although I see no problem with that either. Too many people live in fear of their credit score when they should be concentrating on their own financial well being. If you have no big purchases in the forseeable future that would require a loan, close out what you need to. Much better to go to a bank for a mortgage 2-4 years after closing out accounts than go for a mortgage with open credit card lines of credit in the 10′s of thousands of dollars.

If closing out a couple bank accounts that are costing you money to maintain is going to sink your credit rating, then you have a lousy credit rating to start with and you definately need to do some financial house cleaning.

By: sam

sam — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 05:06:30 +0000

I don’t agree with closing more than one account at a time. Your credit report gets ding for closing accounts especially if you close multiple accounts at a time.

If you have to close one, close one a year. Unfortunatley, a credit report doesn’t show why you closed so it can seemed as you negotiated with the creditors.

By: Bill

Bill — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:25:04 +0000

You might want to try a money market account at a brokerage. Interest rates tend to be higher than banks and many allow check writing privileges. This will also give you exposure to the investing world.

By: Gail

Gail — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 13:43:12 +0000

Balance your checkbook is the best advice. Once a week on my bill paying day, I balance both our personal and business checking accounts. This means I catch all the debit card uses, etc. before paying any bills. Much easier than finding out you forgot something when you bounce a check. My on-line account also gives me the chance to ‘eye-ball’ the savings accounts (all with their own purposes) to be sure that they look correct. It is also nice to see the decrease in my mortgage each month. I’m not sure why people wouldn’t take advantage of balancing their accounts when you can do it on line and the more frequently you do it, the less chance for error and bank fees.

By: Henry @ Binary Dollar

Henry @ Binary Dollar — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:32:06 +0000

Something that I like to look for in banks is reimbursement for ATM fees. It makes every ATM accessible with no penalties. I think some banks offer a max of 6 or 10 dollar reimbursement a month so you have to be careful not to take out too much.

By: kev

kev — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 15:33:46 +0000

Is there any benefit to leaving an old banking account open? My “old” account is a local credit union that hasn’t changed its fees policy in decades (in other words, I do not worry about being charged monthly fees if I were to leave it open with a small balance).

Is leaving the account open in case I ever feel the need to go back to it for my banking needs, or (more likely) I decide to use them for a future loan a wise decision? Or should I just close the account and cross that bridge if I ever come to it?

Thoughts?

By: The Simple Dollar » The Simple Dollar Morning Roundup: Kurt Vonnegut Edition

Fri, 13 Apr 2007 13:28:21 +0000

[...] 10 Banking Moves To Make Today Is your cash wasting away in a checking or savings account that doesn’t earn anything? This is a useful checklist to get your cash reserves into a better situation. (@ personal finance advice) [...]

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:02:06 +0000

Excuse my typos above.

By: Mike D.

Mike D. — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 13:01:15 +0000

Get rid of #8 & #9 by paying all your bills online (Save on stamps, check fees, envelopes, wasted time)I have rare ever written a check in the past few years. Take it one step further and have you pill posted to your credit card automatically…earn points and administrate less bills in the process (Assuming you pay off every month).

By: steven

steven — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 21:41:19 +0000

Tip 10 is good advice. A while ago, I nearly emptied a savings account, but I kept a little bit in when they said that I didn’t need a minimum balance. However, I came to find out that they changed their policy a few months ago, and for the last few months they have been taking a dollar out of my account every month because I didn’t have the minimum balance in the account.

I was not a happy camper.