Save Hundreds Of Dollars A Year; Not Just This Year But Every Year

If you are reading this article, you probably consider yourself a thrifty person. You might look out for cheap fuel, buy two for one deals at the supermarket, or even use coupons at takeaway restaurants. All these savings are great and they add up long term. However there is probably a saving you could make which really makes a big dent in your spending. And it’s probably been sitting under your nose for ages without you picking up on it.

There is a good reason why you may have missed this saving. The main reason is every time you think about making a change; you feel true apprehension about doing it. Sure you could save hundreds a year, but the headache of the paperwork alone in this saving is enough to send anybody running for the hills.

That’s right; there is probably a saving to be made by changing your bank account to a new bank. In fact, a study done in late 2010 suggested most Australians could save up to $330 by switching banks. This is not a once off, but year after year.

But like all good things there is no gain without pain. There are many headaches in doing this so we have written a step-by-step guide to getting a better deal.

1. Know your current deal. While we say that most Australians could save up to $330, you might be one of the lucky ones who is already on the cheap deals. Call up your bank and look over your last few statements. Some of the fees you will need to get your head around are:

Monthly fees

EFTPOS fees

Bpay fees

Etc etc.

2. Now before you start shopping around, why not call your own bank. Let them know you are thinking about changing. Ask them if they can offer you a better deal or different plan than the one you have now so you can save on the monthly fees. As they have a full record of your banking history, they will be able to see what fees you are incurring and should be able to at least offer advice. You might find big savings without having to switch banks. But if this is not the case, move to step three. Or even if this is the case, why not shop around; you never know what you might be missing out on. You can always go back to this offer at a later date.

3. Jump online and make a list of banks you have in mind (don’t forget credit unions as they offer some really good offers). Call around these banks and ask for their product disclosure statements for each account. Remember there is no timeline for this. You don’t have to do this all in one day. Take a month to go through everything and make sure you’re happy.

4. Select the bank you want to go with. An important thing to think about is where their ATM’s are located from your house, shops and work. There’s no use saving money on fees only to wind up spending more on other banks’ ATM fees (which can be up to $5.00 a time). Open a 2nd account with the new bank you have chosen and deposit $100 to start the account.

5. Now tell your employer you want to have your pay go into the new account. Plus start calling your direct debits and get them to send you forms for the new account. Make sure you inform your direct debitors the date you would like them to switch taking money from your old account to the new account. The last thing you want is them trying to get money out of the new account when it is bone dry.

6. Do not cancel your old bank account; just leave minimum money in there for at least 4 weeks. You want to make sure everything with your new account and bank is running smoothly. There would be nothing worse than to close your old bank account only to discover you have a personality clash with your new bank.

7. Now you’re free to close the old account and enjoy the savings. Can you see how this process might scare some people? But let’s be conservative and say you can only save half the $330. So each year you are better off by $165. This is nearly $14 a month in your pocket. What could the $14 a month go towards? Well try and think of it this way, if you spent the $14 a month on fuel this equates to 135 litres at $1.25 per litre a year. That is nothing to sneeze at and is a big dent out of your fuel bill. I won’t lie to you; there will be times during this process where you will want to pull your hair out in frustration. But if you can see it through, the rewards are obvious.