When will you break up with your bank?

When you are trying to spend your day, changing banks may not be something you need to think about. This is a time-consuming task and mistakes can be expensive. But your bank account is essential to manage your finances, and using the right one can save you money and improve your life in a few years (or more).

So how do you know when it’s time to break up with your bank? This is a good reason to start buying a new bank.

You are paying.
Bank accounts do not have to be expensive. Especially when interest rates are low, monthly and other fees may run out of your account. When you pay a high rate, your money is rarely worth it.

Monthly fee
Free checks are still there and easy to find. Here are three ways to stop paying a checking account.

Check your local bank and credit union to see free checking accounts. Even if you don’t have a high balance, a small organization may have a free account available.
Find out about the National Bank exemptions. If you meet certain criteria, the bank that charges the monthly fee will generally be exempt from these charges. For example, if you set up a direct deposit in your account or keep your account balance to a minimum, you can avoid maintenance charges.
Check it out for free online. Several online banks offer free checks, free online billing, mobile check deposits and more.

For pure online banking, it can be difficult to deposit cash or buy promissory notes immediately. Maintaining an entity account or planning ahead can avoid most problems.

ATM handling expenses.
It is never good when you pay a considerable fee to get your own money or check your account balance. If you use ATMs regularly, you can save a lot of money by eliminating the RATES related to them. Some banks reimburse ATMs (or some of them) to help you keep more money in your account. Or, open an account with an organization with an ATM network (s), which makes life, work and travel easier. If you belong to a credit union, you may have introduced thousands of locations across the country through shared branches.

Do you want a higher savings deposit rate?
If the interest rate on your savings account is close to zero, other options are worth evaluating. But low interest rates alone may not be the reason for the bank’s change. It only makes sense to transfer your account if you can earn more money elsewhere, so run some numbers and decide if it makes sense to take action.

Usually, you are satisfied with your bank, but interest rates seem low. A competing bank pays 0.5% more interest than its current bank. Does it make sense to go somewhere else?

If the balance of your savings account is usually around $ 1,000, a 0.5% difference will result in an additional $ 5 per year in interest. Changing accounts may not be worth the problem.
If you normally keep $ 3,000 in savings, the new bank will return an additional $ 15 a year.
With a savings of $ 10,000, a trip can generate an additional $ 50 a year in return.
Before opening a new account, calculate how much extra interest you can earn.

Do you want modern features?
Technology makes its financial management easier than ever, but some banks refuse to develop it.

Personal Financial Management (PFM) tools help you track your expenses, forecast account activity and work towards your goals. Banks can provide these tools internally, or they can access their account data with third-party tools such as Mint, Tiller, etc.

Some banks and credit unions prevent you from using third-party tools. If you want to know your financial situation, but your bank allows you to want it, maybe it’s time to change.