Help!!! Checking account without overdraft??? I'm drowning in fees

[Anonymous]

I have a small local bank. Recently it came to my attention that I have 3 subscriptions
that I believed I had cancelled still charging me monthly. I am in the process of
getting that dealt with. In the meantime, I think I should switch banks.

The bank charges $30 each time my account "goes under" . So far this year I've paid $210 in overdraft fees.

Please help. What are my options. I don't even mind if it's some kind of online credit union.

[Anonymous]

You’re looking for a bandaid to the bleed. Fix your problems first.

[Anonymous]

For one why are you over drafting?
Most banks will allow a credit card attached so no over draft fees but if you don’t pay it then high interest

Stop overdrafts fixed

[Anonymous]

Do you balance your accounts monthly/weekly? Start there.

[Anonymous]

Switching banks won't fix this. Stop doing subscriptions or only use credit cards for them. My solution to this was if I sign up for one I immediately add in a calendar reminder to cancel OR cancel the auto renew immediately after subscribing.

[Anonymous]

You need to make sure you have a cushion of cash in your checking account.

Then you need to check your account balance twice daily. Every single morning you need to look at your checking account. And then at night, check your balance.

If you don't have a lot of wiggle room each month, pay your bills as they come in. Stop putting them on auto-debit. This means you have to actually PAY them through the app, but you can control exactly what day they come out.

[Anonymous]

I do not know how much these subscriptions cost but keep a cushion in the account just in case.

[Anonymous]

Limit subscriptions. Try to put the four(well, I have 4) on credit cards even if they charge a small fee.
When you have built up cushion in checking, you can go back to checking.
I have four, but you have three you forgot about. Don't complicate your financial life. Banks/credit cards should pay you.

[Anonymous]

You say this is a small bank. If this is the first time you've been in this situation call them and explain and see if they can waive some of the fees. You could also gently threaten to move to a big bank that will be covered by the CFPBs rule limiting overdraft fees. But don't overplay your hand as the rule isn't final and would certainly be stopped if Trump returns to the White House.

[Anonymous]

You should be able to turn off overdraft protection. That is what we do. Overdraft fees are nothing more than extremely high interest charges for making you a loan. They are also a huge part of banks' profits. Thus banks turn on overdraft protection by default hoping that customers will use it. Turning off overdraft protection also has security benefits as it prevents someone who might have your checking account number or debit card from tapping assets in savings account that is connected for overdraft purposes.

[Anonymous]

Do you direct deposit your paycheck to this account? My bank waived these fees when I changed my paycheck to deposit to that bank.

[Anonymous]

Every bank is going to charge you for overdrafts. Stop overdrafting.

Newsflash, money isn’t free!

[Anonymous]

I added a $5K credit line to my checking account, with no fee for drawing on it. Interest obviously, but not a per-use fee. It's never been used since I do keep a cushion in the account, but it gives me peace of mind. Originally I had overdraft protection linked to my savings, but I decided that was too risky.

[Anonymous]

Set up an alert where you get a text or email if your bank account goes below $100 and cancel all the subscriptions. Anything absolutely necessary should be out on a credit card (and paid off monthly on time).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every bank is going to charge you for overdrafts. Stop overdrafting.

Newsflash, money isn’t free!

We have a MM account attached to checking and there are no fees -- they just take out of MM. Every major bank has an account like this.