From Chapter 2:
Automate, Automate, Automate
I find this to be one of the most revolutionary lifestyle developments in years: the ability to automate banking and pay you bills online.
Awhile ago, I closed a checking and savings account with a bank I had been with for years. Why? Because those fools were charging me $10 a month for having a checking balance below their seemingly arbitrary minimum (not to mention that having more than that amount in a checking account at one time is foolish—it should be somewhere else, earning interest!). They were also charging me 35 cents for each check I wrote. Plus a dollar on every ATM withdrawal that isn’t at their machines. And I had direct deposit with these guys!
Well, I may have been slow (or lazy) to join the bandwagon, but doing all your banking online is not only an incredibly sound and secure financial decision, but tremendously cheap as well.
You save on monthly banking fees (usually with direct deposit of your paycheck), check-writing fees, and sometimes ATM fees. Can we just think about getting rid of the pain of finding and buying stamps for a moment? Amazing.
Know This:
There are two kinds of fees placed on many student loans that you can negotiate down or get waived:
- Origination fees (around 3% of the original loan)
- Administrative fees (1% or so of the original loan)
Never hurts to ask…