Online Banking
I easily save hundreds of dollars a year by banking online. But it's not just about the money. It's about the quality of life. I hate to stand around waiting for a teller. I can't deal with bankers hours. Online banking lets me get my stuff done quickly and easily, at any hour of the day, on any day of the week. But the truth be told, I wasn't always a fan of online banking ...
My first experience with online banking was a dismal failure. This dates back to the earliest days of Internet banking. I signed up with an online bank and never got into the groove of using the account. The service fees ate away at the balance until I finally wised up and closed the account.
Half a dozen or so years later, I got back into the swing of things when my local bank began offering online banking. I was hooked instantaneously.
Now you might be thinking, "how the heck does he save hundreds of dollars a year by banking online?"
I start by saving on postage. While I don't pay all my bills online, I probably save ten first class stamps each month. Thirty-seven cents x 10 stamps X 12 months = $44.40 per year.
By using my online banking account to pay bills, I'm able to beat the clock. With credit card late charges hovering in the $35 a pop range, online bill payment is a lifesaver. Before I started banking online, those due dates seemed to loom all that much sooner. I reckon I've saved six of those $35 late charges by getting my payment in just under the wire. Six X $35 = $175.
As a happy consequence of online payments, I use far fewer checks. I can't recall how much each check costs, but 10 fewer checks x 12 months has to add up to something.
And then there's the balance thang.
Before I started banking online, I was terrible about balancing my checking account. Well, you know what happens when you write to a zero balance. Boof! The last time I looked at a bounced check fee, it was $15. I haven't seen one of those since I started using the online account. Lets be conservative and say I save two bounced check fees in a year. Two X $15 = $30.
Balancing my checkbook against the online account is a breeze, and brings me to one of my favorites ...
I drive to the bank a whole lot less these days. That's not a small issue with gasoline hovering around the $2 a gallon mark. How much gas do I save by not visiting the bank as often? That's hard to say, but I'd have to guess that it would be at least $2 per month x 12 months = $24.
Total it up and yep, I'm easily saving a couple of hundred bucks per year by banking online. woo hoo!
Posted by geekbooks at September 20, 2004 02:20 PM
