In the past 4 years, Americans, and others around the world, have seen their long-term savings and pensions shrink, due to mismanagement on the part of banks, mortgage companies and investment firms. So much mismanagement that the US Congress stepped in and passed some regulations regarding banking, financing and money management. No more could banks and credit card providers go crazy with interest rates on their depositors, cardholders or mortgage holders without fully informing them they were about to “violate” some new fee-generating restriction.
Bank of America faced a severe storm of criticism when it attempted to roll out a new monthly fee last Fall, on debit card holders, and was forced to back down. Now, they’re at it again — new monthly fees will be imposed on “free checking” accounts which drop below a stated amount, or don’t have direct deposit. http://tinyurl.com/7dt8mb8
What can you do, as the banks try to rebuild their former income streams for their shareholders? It’s not hopeless, you do still have a few things you can control when it comes to these tactics:
First and foremost, make sure to read the fine print on your bank statements, whether they’re snail mail or online. Banks HAVE to inform you about changes to your account, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do it on the back of the last statement page in nano-sized type, legally! This includes reading any and all of those bank “Message center” items you see online.
Go online (or call your bank) every couple of months and read the “Fee Schedule” to know what the current fees are — this is how I tracked down an obscure charge on my Money Market account, and how the BofA customers found out about that pending debit card fee.
Next, make sure you actually read your account history. Look out for fees, or any item which seems off, even if it’s for just a few dollars. That could mean you’ve just had a fee levied or that there is a charge in error. Yes, banks can have typos, too, especially if your write checks. If your balance at the end of the pay period is close to zero, you could end up with bounced check fees, which will generate even more fees if you don’t catch it in time.
Make a habit to review your account options periodically. In my case, I saw that I had dipped below a set balance which incurred a monthly fee, so I decided to see what would happen if I changed account types — and found that I would get the same interest rate paid to me with a regular savings account, with no monthly fee. Voila, $10 a month, saved!
If you do all these steps regularly, fees won’t sneak up on you. If you find you can’t get out of paying your Bank a particularly high or obnoxious fee, look into using a Credit Union — on the average, their fees in general are lower, the interest rates you’ll pay for mortgages, credit cards and auto loans are lower, and the interest rates they pay you on your savings/checking balances are higher, because *you* are a shareholder. http://www.creditunionsonline.com
What other tips can you think of? If I missed something, please share!
FRANTICALLY Frugal 
I agree – banking with a credit union is the best way to limit the number of fees you are charged. Credit unions are in business solely for their members, so they’re less likely to gouge their customers than big banks are. Having a checking account with online brokerage firms like Schwab or Fidelity, or at community banks, is also a good idea.
Also, be aware of the various fees charged by your bank. Examples include fees charged if you fall below the minimum balance requirement and fees for not making enough debit card transactions in a month.
Hadn’t seen that last one, about not having *enough* debit card transactions a month! Fortunately (or unfortunately?), I won’t have that problem.
Banks are getting desperate to rebuild their income streams, and we really need to keep an eye on them — http://www.consumerreports.org is a huge help to me in keeping up with developments, and a lot of their info, including blogs, is freely available — although if you can afford to subscribe, it’ll save you much more through financial advice and on large ticket item reviews than the $26 yearly fee.