Save on your bank charges

How much do you spend on your bank charges every month? R100? R200? More? Do you even know how much you spend on your bank charges every month?  If you don’t know, taking stock of what you spend might come as a shock to you, but it can also help you save hundreds  each month and thousands a year.

But where do you even start? We’re here to help.

Find out how much you spend

To see how much you are spending, pull three months’ worth of bank statements and add up all the charges.  Make sure you add up everything, from ATM charges, SASWITCH charges, debit order and stop order charges and monthly account fee charges.

Make sure you are sitting down and take a good, hard look at what you are paying.

Shocked?

Analyse your banking habits

Before you get  down to the nitty gritty, make yourself a cup of tea so that you can recover from the shock. Now, look at how and where you are being charged.

Do you transact mostly electronically or are you drawing cash often and, if you are withdrawing cash, are you withdrawing at your bank’s ATM or another bank’s ATM?

In order to find the account that is right for you, need to see how you are using your bank card and you need to start using your card better.

Find an account that’s right for you

If you do most of your banking online, an electronic account might be a good option for you. If you don’t really transact a lot, then a simple pay-as-you transact account might be your best option.  Speak to your bank about which account packages they have on offer and discuss your options

Use your account like it’s meant to  be used

Now that you have the right account, make sure you use it like it is intended to be used. If you have only a limited number  of withdrawals or a limited number on swipes, don’t go  on a swiping spree. Similarly, if you have an electronic account that allows for an unlimited amount of electronic transactions, use these as you please.

Familiarize yourself with all these banking terminologies and soon you’ll be much more money savvy. 

Draw money from your own bank only

No matter what kind of account you have, drawing money from an ATM which does not belong to your bank is a big no-no.  Some SASWITCH charges can go above and beyond R20 per transaction.