Save Money by Joining a Credit Union
 | You have to admit, banking fees are going through the roof. There's a fee for
everything, a fee to access YOUR money at an ATM, fees for putting YOUR money
into a checking account in their bank and the fees go on and on. There is a
way to get rid of all those fees. Join your local credit union or if your in the
military, change your accounts over to USAA (this bank operates like a credit union but is for U.S. Military and
their families only). |
It use to be credit unions were only offered to a certain group of people. For
example, Boeing employees had a credit union just for them, BECU is one example
that is now open to everyone. Credit unions offer free checking, lower interest
rates on credit cards and all types of loans. You may actually be able to get a
better mortgage rate at a credit union than at you big name bank. The same goes
for car loans. Credit unions don't need to charge fees and can offer the lower
rates because they are non-profit financial institutions. They aren't there to
make a profit off you or your accounts. Refreshing isn't it!
Our
family personally uses USAA and loves it. USAA offers the same no fee banking
and lower interest rates on credit cards and loans just as credit unions do. My
daughter just switched all her bank accounts and over to USAA.
She no longer has a $7.50 monthly checking fee and USAA also credits your
account up to $15.00 a month in ATM fees that accumulate using her debit card. They also offer more, car insurance. The rates through them can't
be beat, we've checked. Her insurance rate dropped $60.00 a month for the same
coverage she had with a big name insurance company. Another perk of USAA is they
offer roadside assistance for just $1.00 per month with your insurance plan
through them! AAA's minimum package is about $90.00 year and with the $1.00 a
month spent at USAA you get all the same benefits as you would with AAA. My
daughter is taking advantage of that too. USAA can offer
these great savings because they are also a non-profit financial institution.
Shop around when it comes to banking, your allowed and you should.
There are great deals out there, you just have to take the time to find them.
It's your money and you should want to keep it, not pay it to a bank just so you
can keep your money there. You won't regret switching to a credit union or USAA.
You'll be happy with the amount of money you end up saving each month. You never
know, you may even get a free toaster for joining.
My daughter Kate's savings by switching banks: These are the actual dollar amounts!
$7.50 per month checking fee at old bank times 12 months = $90.00 savings
Now being refunded up to $15.00 per month of ATM fees times 12 months = $180.00 savings
$60.00 per month savings switching car insurance times 12 months = $720.00 savings
$1.00 per month ($12.00 per year) roadside assistance fee rather than AAA price of $90.00 = $78.00 savings
Kate is now saving $1,068.00 a year just by changing where she did her banking and taking advantage of what they had to offer! That's huge!
