Fees for your bank account? Avoid them

On Wednesday, The Pew Charitable Trusts came out with the results of a new study on how many households, per state, do not have a checking account. The results are disheartening. While in Washington State 3.9% of households do not have a bank account, in other states those numbers are much worse. I’ve listed just a few here:  California (7.7%), Texas (11.7%) and New York (9.9%). The study sites the reasons most people give for not maintaining a checking account. Those reasons include service charges, minimum balance requirements and overdraft fees – all understandable reasons for avoiding a checking account. But did you know that it costs a lot to manage your money without a checking account? Two typical expenses when you...

Posted on Oct 28, 2011

Online Budget Sites

Are you looking for assistance managing your budget and expenses? There are several sites that offer to help consumers with this process for free. Mint - probably the biggest and flashiest of all of the online finance management systems, Mint.com allows you to link all of your accounts (credit cards, banking, household, etc.) in one place. You provide the Mint your login information and it gathers up all of your banking and bill updates from their respective websites. It is one stop banking! You can see your retirement account balances, credit card balances and usage, banking information and more all from the Mint website. Budget Pulse - provides a great and easy way for people to organize their cash flow, expenses and...

Posted on Feb 01, 2011

AFS OFFERS AN EXCITING NEW SERVICE!

American Financial Solutions is proud to announce that we are offering the most current and comprehensive program for learning to manage a checking account. CheckWise is an educational course for individuals who have never had an account, those who would like to know how to better handle their checking account and consumers who would like to re-establish a relationship with a financial institution. The course is available online 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The course covers the benefits of working with a mainstream financial institution in order to meet your financial service needs and avoid losing money by using check cashing or payday lending services. In addition, participants will learn how to: Find out what information is being stored...

Posted on Jun 27, 2010

Bank fees! Avoid the hidden costs of having a bank account

Costly bank fees This year banks are expected to earn $17.5 billion* from overdraft fees. The best way to avoid banking fees is to know your banks policies and, of course, manage your money carefully. Overdraft protection Overdraft protection or courtesy overdraft programs at banks are a very common practice. It works like this: a consumer does not have enough money in their account to cover purchases, so the bank pays for the purchase and charges the consumer a fee, anywhere from $17 to $39. Unfortunately, for many people the practice has reduced their bank accounts to a never ending circle of debt repayment.  Here are some great questions to ask your bank about policies impacting overdraft protection or overdrawn accounts: Posting debits –...

Posted on Aug 03, 2009

Giving the Bounce to Counterfeit Check Scams

(NAPS) - A new scam is swindling consumers: checks that seem legitimate to both bank employees and consumers, but that are counterfeit and leave unsuspecting consumers footing the bill. The Federal Trade Commission has a new brochure, “Giving the Bounce to Counterfeit Check Scams,” which explains common angles used in these scams, the responsibilities of banks and consumers when it comes to counterfeit checks, and advice on how to avoid them. While the angles used by scam artists may vary, the basics of the counterfeit check scam remain the same. The consumer receives a generous check with an explanation that he or she has just won an award, a prize, a lottery or some other windfall. The consumer is instructed to deposit...

Posted on Jul 22, 2009