Comments on: How to Avoid Overdraft Fees, and Quicken Premier 2009 Giveaway

By: David

David — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 04:29:14 +0000

I use a Fidelity MySmartCash account as my primary account. Checks are free, the account earns interest, all ATM fees are rebated, and you are able to link your checking account to your other accounts at Fidelity. If there is ever an overdraft due to a check, ATM withdrawal, debit card transaction, etc., and there is insufficient cash in the account, cash is automatically transferred from another account for free. You can specify which account any overdraft amount is transferred from, and also have an additional amount transferred to replenish the checking account to a “safe” balance ($250, etc.).

By: copeycope

copeycope — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 18:19:22 +0000

I suggest keeping your receipts and being dilligent using them to debit/credit your account. not oly will you alwyas be aware of whow much money you have avaiable you will also understand where your money is going.

By: Flexo

Flexo — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 16:02:46 +0000

The contest has ended. Thank you!

By: Bruce Shampoe

Bruce Shampoe — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:18:33 +0000

I use American Express for 95% of the time and PIF at EOM. with hilton honors points get 12-16 hotel rooms for free every year. you just need to make sure you have the money to pay.

By: skylog

skylog — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 05:02:24 +0000

my advice echoes what others have said here, but for me the most important weapon i have is tracking my spending and having all of my bills in a spreadsheet. the ability to see what income is going out and where i stand makes the process painless. i also do get e-mail alerts when i come within a preset threshold and when a preset amount of money goes out. hope that helps

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:19:02 +0000

Like many others, I like to avoid fees of any kind on financial accounts. As for overdrafts, I estimate monthly bills paid via checks or automatic withdrawals. It’s easy as amounts don’t change that much month to month…. Then keep a few dollars extra in checking, just to be sure….. Try to group auto payments on same day, then be sure they are covered.

By: InvestorBlogger

InvestorBlogger — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:36:32 +0000

Well, with Google Docs, set up a blank spreadsheet, then set up a simple form that you can use to add transactions to the database. On your mobile phone or Iphone, bookmark the URL you get for the form and each time you spend something, take a few moments.. update your database via the Google Docs form.

it works a treat. When you get home you can download the transactions from Google Docs. I wrote a similar post in the links above.

By: John

John — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 05:49:49 +0000

I have a friend who works for my bank, so I just call him up and have him reverse my fees.

By: Justin

Justin — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 20:56:23 +0000

As others have said, paying with credit (and then paying off the credit card each month) is an easy way to generally avoid the NSF fees (not to mention earn rewards for paying your bills).

Another thing to do is to make a list of all your major monthly payments and their due dates. Try and divvy them up (many companies are flexible with your billing date if you just call) so they’re evenly spaced out based on your pay frequency (if you’re paid twice a month, or every two weeks, for example, then try to have half the bills due in the first week of the month and half in the third week of the month). When you get your paycheck, pay off the bills that are scheduled around the time of that check. Whatever is left over is available for the other expenses that come up (things like food and gas).

By: Phillip

Phillip — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 18:42:38 +0000

I suppose this is really avoidance but in addition to tracking expenses, I’ve trained myself to think of my bank balance as at zero when there’s really about $1000 in it. I’ve tricked myself into not allowing my account to get until $1000 under any circumstances. I guess it’s really just an emergency fund but it’s more about training your mind to ignore the reality of the number and pretend it’s just all zeros. Doing that means that I can’t buy anything if I’m close to the $0 ($1000) and if I accidentally have something withdraw, I ‘freak out’ and ensure to get it back over $0 ($1000). This way I never pay any NSF or overdraft fees, and a bonus is that depending on what the minimum is, I don’t have to pay for checks either. It’s really just a getting into the right mindset and tricking yourself into establishing a bottom limit.

By: Dave N

Dave N — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:55:50 +0000

Echoing the use of ING with (limited) free overdraft protection. I also use a low interest money market account linked to another checking account for overdraft protection. Not the best deployment of funds, but it is easier.

If I win it will be a switch back to quicken from M$ Money… They have trashed my data for the last time. ( 8 years worth. My online backup was deleted as well because I didn’t access it enough. )

By: scottwinks

scottwinks — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:01:12 +0000

Seek out a bank or credit union with Rewards checking That way keeping a balance higher than needed monthly won’t mean a loss in interest income. You need to understand the requirements needed to receive the high interest rate though (certain number of debit card transactions are often required.)

By: Jun

Jun — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:25:14 +0000

I think to use low balance alert is one of the helpful way for you to be mindful when you spend.
Thanks for the chance. I’ve been using Q for more than 15 years.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:12:53 +0000

No debit cards and no ATM use. My regular expenses go on my Discover card (so I can get my cash back – yes, I pay it in full every month), and my checking account just pays that one bill and whatever else I have, so I can’t accidentally spend more than is in the account.

By: Steph

Steph — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:33:17 +0000

I update Quicken every 3-4 days while I’m reading the news/blogs over breakfast (in fact I’m updating as we speak). This way it only takes about 5 minutes, and it gives me a good idea of what’s in all of my various checking/savings accounts (downside of grad school… too many moves, too many bank accounts).

I pay for everything with credit cards (juggling a few for maximum rewards), then pay in full at the end of the month. I very rarely use a debit card, and I also try to keep at least one month’s rent in the account just in case. (~1000) I rarely write checks,and when I do, they’re generally a recurring expense less than $100

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:07:00 +0000

After spending around $800 in overdraft fees for my son (could have bought him a car with that $), I make sure that enough cash is in his checking account. We do use the overdraft protection with a savings account. I would really like to win the Quicken accounting system for my business that I am going to be purchasing in 2009. We need the software before getting the business so that my accounting person can learn how to use it. Please select me!!!!

By: lovenitt

lovenitt — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:58:43 +0000

My suggestion is to talk to your bank. Most banks will allow ovedrafts at no charge. They will do this if: 1. your credit is good or 2. if your account has been in good standing for a long period of time.
The other way that you can avoid paying a fee is to open a savings account. Have the savings account cover your checking this will always give you that cusion just in case it is needed.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:55:47 +0000

I always keep check my main checking account in the morning. It puts me in a mindset to keep track of my spending and keep in mind how much I have spent recently. Plus, I will never write a check for over that amount.

By: TheMightyQuinn

TheMightyQuinn — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:49:41 +0000

Join a credit union w/o overdraft fees! I also take a peak at my accounts every night so I know if I have the money before I cut a check or make an online billpay.

By: Beating Broke

Beating Broke — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 04:23:45 +0000

The most obvious ways to avoid overdrafts are that you need to have the money in your account before you write the check. You can avoid that problem by only using a check card that checks your balance and then places a hold on your account for that amount.

In many places, you can get an Overdraft Loan. It’s basically a line of credit. While I wouldn’t suggest using it a lot, they usually only carry an annual fee and a high interest rate. The one at my Credit Union is $10 a year and a rate of 18%. The rate is horrible and the fee would be too if you never used it. But if you find yourself using it occasionally, both are much better than the $30 or more that you would get if you went overdraft.

The ultimate way to avoid overdraft fees, however, is to pay for everything in cash. Sometimes it’s not possible, but paying for as much as possible that way can really be the best avoidance of overdrafts.

By: kevin29

kevin29 — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:40:01 +0000

I agree with the others who use the rounding method. It’s easy and over time it provides a nice cushion provided you don’t overdraft by large amounts. Every few months I reconcile this to get a general idea of what I have in the rounding bucket.

By: David

David — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:22:15 +0000

Mine is a three step approach. First, I track all my expenditures on a daily basis using Excel. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but I always want to know exactly how much I have. I get frustrated by restaraunts or gas stations that will put a partial hold – if any – for purchases. Also, I’ve also ordered from companies that don’t charge you until they ship, which has been as long as a month after I order. At any given moment, my Excel checkbook is much more accurate than my bank’s online info.

My second step is to minimize the amount of automated withdraws from my account, and to track them at least a month in advance. This has two advantages – first, you won’t get caught off guard by automated bills. And second, by not giving companies automated access to your account, you give yourself more power in dealing with problems. If I get an incorrect bill, I can call customer service first. If it’s automated, I’m forced to try to argue for my money back. Not a good position to be in.

And my third step is to maintain a $100 buffer. Ideally it never comes down to it, but it’s nice to have that emergency stash in case I do make a mistake and forget about something, or if a sudden need for cash comes up. Again, if your using Excel, it’s easy to setup a “holding account” that you automatically subtract from your actual available balance.

Because I’ve been using these steps religiously, I can’t remember the last time I had any overdraft fees.

Great idea for a contest by the way!

By: Mary

Mary — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:00:13 +0000

In addition to the obvious things like building a buffer into your account, spending less and linking your checking to your savings,if you can’t seem to get out from under never ending overdraft fees, go to an all cash or cash/money order system until all your check clear your bank and you’ve paid all the fees. Draw a line in your checkbook and then start over. Or, if you can’t quite put your finger on it, but you feel like something is not quite right, once your checks clear, change banks.

By: Todd

Todd — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 01:42:32 +0000

I concur about USAA; a very good bank with overdraft protection will help protect from fees. Also, you can leave a cushion in your account. If you have $100 in your account, just show that you have $50 and you should always have that $50 cushion. Lastly, do not buy anything that you do not need. We all crave instant gratification, we just need to curb that.

By: Rich

Rich — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 22:26:47 +0000

Not really a tip to avoid overdrawing, but a tip to avoid the fees.
1. ING does not charge overdraft fees, but instead will charge you interest on the overdraft amount. So if you transfer the money in same day you will not pay anything.

2. I’m not sure how many banks do this, but Wells Fargo let me link my checking account to my (Wells Fargo) credit card, and any overdrafts automatically charge to the card with no additional fees. I have yet to overdraw my account, but I would think this behaves in a similar fashion to ING.