Too big to fail…remember that? That should have been a wakeup calls about the power of banks to do just about anything they want without being held seriously accountable (no one went to jail for tanking the global economy). These banks are so big that their “failure” would lead to disastrous economic impact. And when they are held accountable via fines, etc. – it is a very small amount of their revenue and their executives ae often given generous “exit packages’ – or golden parachutes. Don’t get me wrong – having banks is necessary – it’s difficult to conduct business without a basic checking account or debit card these days – but that doesn’t mean you should be taken advantage of by greedy banking execs looking to get over on you. Look into your bank’s fees, don’t sign up for overdraft protection, pull your free annual credit report to make sure your bank hasn’t opened an account that you are unaware of. All I’m saying is stay on top of the details of your banking relationship – review their terms and conditions at least once per year. Consider banking with a smaller community bank or credit union – it could save you lots of money in the long run.
If you need a financial coach to help you organize your finances, email me at or check out my website for additional information www.achievefc.com. I provide a variety of services to individuals, families, groups, and civic organizations.
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I am a financial coach that focuses on improving personal finance behavior. I do not sell investment products or manage investments.
If you think your bank is looking out For your best interest you might be Kidding yourself [Music] What’s up everyone welcome to the Achieve financial coaching channel where We believe in breaking the chains of Debt and talking about all things Related to personal finance my name is Kenny simon i am your personal finance Coach and today i want to talk about Something that all of us or most of us Actually use and that is banking Services i want to talk a little bit About how your bank may be getting over On you and that your bank really is not Your friend i don’t necessarily mean That they are all evil some are but they Are all evil but your bank is out to Make a profit for the most part and they Do that in little ways that you really Don’t understand and sometimes all those Little charges start to add up or you Get hit with fees when you least expect It so check out today’s video and let’s Run through just five ways that show That your banks are really not your Friend or at least big banks really Aren’t your friend and then get you to Thinking a little bit about how you may Want to consider switching banks if your Bank is hitting you with a lot of these Fees and really not serving your needs Please consider subscribing to the
Channel drop a comment like the video And share it with some friends let’s get Started so as some of you know i like to Start these videos with a couple of Quotes or just something to think about And i have two today one is from bob Hope Uh comedian actor author and funnyman And his says A bank is a place that will lend you Money if you can prove that you don’t Need it The second is from american poet robert Frost and he says a bank is a place Where they lend you an umbrella in fair Weather and ask for it when it begins to Rain Just food for thought So we’re talking about ways that big Banks are not your friend and just sort Of ways that they sort of make money off Of you without you knowing it’s pretty Sinister i think in a lot of instances And the first thing i want to talk about Are the high checking account fees and Minimums right and so you mean to tell Me that i i pay the bank to hold my Money while they loan it to others to Make money and if i don’t keep enough in There they’re going to charge me more Like that just doesn’t make sense Someone needs to make that make sense to Me so someone for example who doesn’t Have enough to keep the minimum in there
Is actually going to get charged because They can’t afford to keep the minimum Right and you know what’s crazy about it Is you’re already paying a monthly fee For keeping your money in there and Having it protected you know by the fdic But if you don’t maintain the minimum You get hit with an extra charge if you Drop below that i just think that’s a Little bit nuts and a little bit Sinister The second thing is double digit credit Card rates listen Credit card rates seem to always be high And they just don’t get the memo even While all other interest rates for Products like cars and houses are low Credit cards never seem to lower this Right and i think it’s because they make A lot of money off credit cards credit Cards are very convenient to use but Those Those uh interest rates seems to stay in The double digits so your bad behavior With these little puppies have banks Laughing all the way home i would have Said laughing all the way to the bank But we’re they are the banks so they’re Already there so they’re laughing all The way home anyway you get what i’m Saying double digit credit card rates is Another way that big banks show you they Are not your friend they are not for you Another item i like to talk about are
The hidden costs also known as hidden Fees News flash before you use any service For a bank you better check the fine Print because they are charging you they Make a lot of money this way and it’s Not always obvious so i dig did a little Digging around and found this uh you Know it was a a little article by N26.com And i found an article that it listed 26 Different fees Yeah that many so let’s have a look at This list shall we [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] The next item i like to talk about Are the terrible savings rates I made a video about savers being losers Because you know the rate you get on a Savings account or a money market at Your bank is well below one percent and It shows no signs of getting better Anytime soon so what you really need to Do here is shop around for an online Bank um to get a better deal you might Get one percent you might get a little Bit more um won’t be much more than one Percent but it’s still better than the Nearly zero percent you get from most Banks um most banks that have sort of a Physical brick-and-mortar location uh
And don’t have a big online banking Presence are going to give you very Little so look for an online bank that At least tries to give you one percent Or better And i save the quote-unquote best for Last overdraft protection now this one Is interesting overdraft protection Sounds like it’s something to help you Right Wrong It’s only helping your bank and you Should not opt into this coverage if you Don’t have it in the bank don’t spend it Overdraft fees typically exceed 30 Dollars per occurrence so check this Situation out let’s say your account is At zero dollars and you just weren’t Paying attention and you didn’t realize It was at zero dollars and you decide You want to buy a coffee for breakfast From your favorite spot and while you’re Waiting on the coffee you said oh i Think i want a muffin too so you go back And you make a second transaction to buy The muffin well Because of your quote unquote overdraft Protection you just paid 25 to 30 bucks Per transactions hope you like the Coffee and the muffin because you just Paid 60 dollars for your breakfast now Listen by law all banks Especially fdic insured banks are Supposed to leave people out of
Overdraft protection unless you actively Sign up for it but these banks are slick They do a great job of actively and Proactively encouraging people to opt Into this coverage um but i’m telling You it sounds like a benefit but it’s Not the inconvenience of having a Transaction denied is less damaging than Racking up multiple overdraft fees Don’t do it so that’s it i just went Through five simple ways that show that Big banks in particular aren’t your Friend and how your bank may be charging You or overcharging you for services That you may need every day some of These fees and some of these charges and Services you may never need but when you Do you should really be aware and read The fine print to see exactly what They’re charging you because these banks Get over on you in a lot of ways there Is a consumer financial protection Bureau that is supposed to look into Bank behavior but they have a very small Staff i think they have less than 2 000 People and they’re probably 5 000 plus Banks in the us so kind of hard for Those folks to keep up with all of the Activity of the big banks plus what Happens is a big bank does some bad Things right they get hit with a fine And we see the fine and it looks like a Big number to us oh 200 million dollars The bank has to pay
For you know Pushing services that customers didn’t Ask for or secretly signing up customers For credit card accounts or you know Extended uh lines of credit things like That so they get hit with a 200 million Dollar fine but when you look at their Overall profits which are in the Billions of dollars it is a small small Drop in a very very big bucket i would Encourage you to know what fees you are Paying i would encourage you to look Into your bank to see if they’re really Taking care of you especially if they Are a for-profit bank i have never Banked well i have it in 25 years i’ve Been banked with a for-profit bank in Over 25 years i’ve been with the credit Union some sort of bank that really is There to sort of serve the community um You know but any of these for-profit Banks you know you’re gonna get hit with Some fees that you are not expecting or Anticipating and i think you should be Willing and not be lazy i think you Should be willing to take your money and Take it to another bank to make sure You’re getting served properly remember This you can achieve much greater things Than where you are today if you’re Willing to put into work conceive it Believe it and achieve it i’ll see you Next time If you like this video please subscribe
To the channel like this particular Video and share this with some friends I’ve created a lot of other videos to Help people along in their personal Finance journey i hope you find them Helpful I’ll see you next time
