Comments on: Five Money Saving Bank Hacks

By: PK

PK — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:11:46 +0000

Couple of comments:
#1 – Check with your bank, the one I used to work for still counted these as ATMs and charged the offnetwork fee for cash back on debit.
#4 – Most banks charge a fee to non-customers for coin counting, so make sure to go to your bank. From working in a bank, there is a lot of upkeep maintaining manual and automatic coin counting machines.
#5 – Banks can charge you the fees for services used when you do this switch and switch back maneuver, but will they? Probably not.

By: Terry Pratt

Terry Pratt — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:56:49 +0000

It took me years to adopt #1, because I was unclear whether any fees are involved.

There are NO fees involved, except at a small handful of stores (the only ones I’ve seen impose fees are dollar stores, and I don’t make purchases large enough at these stores to qualify to use a card – the dollar store I shop most requires a $7 minimum purchase to use plastic), and since I don’t have a car, I frequently make small grocery purchases (competitive supermarket on the way home, no special trip needed), and thus don’t have to make a special trip or go out of my way to get cash.

By: Darren

Darren — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:23:53 +0000

Until recently, I didn’t know about free coin counting services at banks. I was already familiar with Coinstar, but didn’t want to pay the transaction fee and didn’t want a gift card either.

If you’re located near a Citibank, I’ve read that they accept coin deposits without a fee. However, you do have to roll up the coins yourselves. Since I’m a Citibank customer and have spare change, I’ll verify if this is true.

By: echidnina

echidnina — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:22:32 +0000

I use cash back to save time, but not money – I’m always in an area with a local ATM, but it’s usually out of my way. So when I’m buying something anyway and need some cash, I’ll use cash back. My bank does charge $.25 for debit transactions though, and the ATMs are free, so it isn’t saving me money.

By: Marx_

Marx_ — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:13:07 +0000

Thank you for the free check idea. My wife and I only use one check a month to pay rent. We’ve been trying to figure out how to get free checks since we ran out of check 6 months ago. Currently we have to make a special trip to our bank to have them issue one free, but the time and gas it takes to get it sometimes isn’t worth the check.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:25:44 +0000

And if you send the free paper check through your bank or CU, it goes US Postal mail, but quite often goes out (and gets there) quicker than if you had mailed it yourself since they have daily pickup. Saves a trip to the Post Office too.

By: Shirley

Shirley — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:16:21 +0000

Our local CU also uses the free coin counter. Before we knew they had it, we took in a shoebox of rolled coin and were politely asked not to roll them next time as they had to be unwrapped and be counted.
Win-win situation.

By: basicmoneytips.com

basicmoneytips.com — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:34:50 +0000

I would recommend a twist on bill pay, even if it is free. You can often pay almost anyone or any institution with it, not just your credit cards or utility bills.

My bank issues a paper check free if they do not have an electronic relationship with that entity.

I give money to my church this way as well as pay a doctor’s office. It has been forever since I bought paper checks.

By: BrewCrewFan

BrewCrewFan — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 12:58:21 +0000

I’d suggest developing a relationship with a personal banker. I recently consolidated my family’s bank accounts with a single institution to take advantage of their rewards checking program. My personal banker has given me heads up on upcoming on CD rates, waived some fees and given me free checks for a non-profit organization that I am treasurer for. All these things have helped me generate a higher return on my bank deposits.

By: myth buster

myth buster — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:07:10 +0000

Don’t forget rewards points and other kickbacks. Wachovia’s check card gives you one point (worth about .2 cents) for every dollar you spend, with bonus points given for using their credit card or Earn More Mall. By itself, it’s a pretty lame reward when contrasted with credit cards, but Wachovia’s Way2Save savings account program will transfer a dollar from checking to savings every time you make an electronic transaction. You can also transfer up to $100/month automatically. The first year’s APY is a guaranteed 5%, with 5% matching funds deposited after one year (that is a bonus, on top of the regular interest rate).

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 22:23:36 +0000

If you have your credit card through a bank or credit union, many times you can call your financial institution and have them transfer your payment from your checking or savings account for free. This saves you a check, a stamp and the hassel of late fees and charges if you don’t remember to pay until the last minute or the mail is delayed. I work at a credit union and encourage people to do this- many members had no idea they could even do this and are thrilled with the idea. The only way this wouldn’t work though is if you pay your balance from an account at a different bank or credit union.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:30:31 +0000

Great tips. I agree completely with the first one. You are better off to buy something from the store and get cash back then paying all the ATM fees.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 21:02:48 +0000

Very true, credit unions are more likely to offer those types of benefits because they’re smaller and more community centric.

By: Ken

Ken — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:54:43 +0000

Don’t forget credit unions. They often provide free coin counting and free checks.

By: Keith

Keith — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:08:40 +0000

I’ve used the coinstar machine but I try to make it a point to never do so. My bank will count my change for free and I usually deposit it. I still don’t have free checks though and that really bothers me!

Good ideas in this article! Keep’em coming!