About once a year, talk to a customer services representative at your bank to make sure you're signed up for the right programs to meet your needs. Maybe a simple adjustment to your banking practices - such as having your paycheck automatically deposited into your checking account - can get you a higher interest rate or reduce or eliminate certain service charges. Perhaps a change in your banking habits will help cut your fees. Maybe your good track record at the bank will qualify you for a lower interest rate on a loan or credit card. Or maybe there is just a new or better bank account that you did not know about. I asked at my bank how I could get a better deal on my checking account because I was paying a minimum balance fee and receiving no interest. I was told that because I had additional funds in a money market account I was now eligible for an interest-earning, no-minimum balance checking account. That is a good deal, but I was not aware of it until I raised the question.
Every three or four years (if not more often), comparison-shop to see if you could do significantly better at another bank. Start by listing the products and services you really use—most likely checking, ATMs and one or two others. Make a note of the interest rate, minimum balance requirements and so on. Then go to your statements for the last year or so and calculate the fees and penalties you typically pay—for monthly account maintenance, ATMs, bounced checks, etc. Now compare your bank with three or four others. You might discover that you can earn or save hundreds of dollars by using another bank. Or, better yet, you may find that your own bank still offers a good value or that it is willing to make concessions to keep you as a customer. Then there is little reason to go through the trouble of switching banks
Ask yourself, and your bank, if you're getting the best deal
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