Personal Banking DOES Pay Off!!!

My former creative writing teacher, Terri, commented on my previous post about the benefits of face-to-face banking. I could not agree with her more!

For years, I’ve tried to tell my kids that getting to know your bankers (not to mention the service providers in any number of other businesses with which you deal) is key to getting the type of customer service you’d like to expect. Plus, it’s just more fun to chat for a moment with someone who remembers that your daughter got married, for instance, and wants to know if you brought any pictures, than it is to talk to an anonymous, faceless 1-800 in Indonesia.

Nothing against Indonesia, of course.

To add weight to my argument, and to Terri’s comment, let me just say that Doug and I have only this moment returned from a very gratifying run to the bank. (Which is different than a run ON the bank, you understand. That might be coming next week, if market conditions deteriorate at their current rate. But I digress.) After conducting an unrelated piece of business, we asked about the fees associated with our personal and business checking accounts.

Now, we’ve had these accounts for more than a decade, and I have been negligent enough to never revisit the fees. We’ve been paying (stupidly, I know) $15 per month for the privilege of having a personal checking account, and another $20 per month for our corporate account. Trust me, dealing with this (which I figured would involve changing banks…) has been on my financial to-do list for months, if not years.

But there’s that little thing called “unconscious living” that took over somewhere along the way, and our wallets became the unwitting victim. No more!!!!

Evidently, we’d signed on for a business account with more hubris than we possess these days, an account that was based on us having many, many deposits and writing tons of checks per month. The reality has not matched our enormous imaginations, and therefore we’ve actually qualified all along for a NO-FEE business account. The personal banker, whose personal name is Ken, immediately switched us to the type of business account that is set up to handle fewer monthly transactions and is FREE.

Then Ken took a look at our personal checking. It’s the type of account in which we’re required to keep a minimum balance in order to avoid the monthly fee, but you know what? Minimum balances have never been my strong suit. As Ken scrolled through our several other accounts with his institution, and listened to Doug and I quietly discussing how we would hate to have to move our account to another bank after so long a happy history with this bank, he finally looked up and said, “I’ve waived the minimum balance requirement. You won’t be paying any fees from now on.”

People! This means we’ll be saving, total, $420 during 2009 and going forward. If I think about what we’ve paid out in these service charges during years past, I’ll cry, but it’s time to face financial facts in EVERY area, and make smart moves for our lives NOW. I’m trying to learn not to allow regrets to keep me from changing course, when changing course is necessary and right.

I am grateful that we never pay overdraft notices, and we never pay ATM fees. In fact, the only place I’ve ever used an ATM is in the Old Country. I’m in WalMart all the time, and when I use my debit card, I can get any cash back that I need without paying for the perk.

So, I do have STANDARDS. It’s just that, until now, they’ve been really LOW. No more! We are sewing up the holes in our pockets once and for all.

Now, go make friends with a guy named Ken. Someone who will advocate for you when you want to save an extra $420 this year. You won’t regret it, I promise.

Posted by Katy on 01/15/09 at 12:20 PM

Fallible Comments...

I know you enjoy the personal aspect of banking, but I don't and I am here to say that you can save just as much by calling. We have never paid any fees on our accounts and don't expect to in the future. I also just got our cable reduced to the introductory rate by just calling.
Posted by Brooke Raymond on 01/15/09 at 02:16 PM
Brooke--Ha! I KNOW you to be among my most financially astute readers, not to mention my favorite DIL. It honestly occurred to me that you might comment on this post, because I know you insist on the customer service and benefits you deserve. I used to be better at this stuff, but somewhere along the line, while trying to raise a family and help Doug run the business and take care of The Moms, I lost some of my former "edge." Now I am getting it back!!! And I am learning a lot from YOU. :)
Posted by Katy on 01/15/09 at 02:32 PM
Ha! Good job.

Do you know anyone at the I*R*S on a first name basis, who could shave some numbers down for me today?
Posted by Chris A. on 01/15/09 at 03:47 PM
You could even try for interest bearing checking accounts--sometimes that will cover the monthly fees of a checking account.
Posted by Terri on 01/15/09 at 11:11 PM
Chris A--Ha!! I have structured my entire life as to NOT attract the attention of anyone at the IRS! I do use an accountant, though, and I think he may actually have "favorite" people to speak with about tax matters. I try to keep my distance!! :)

Terri--I should be more disciplined, but the best strategy for me is to get money OUT of my checking account ASAP, and into savings accts. not quite as easily accessed. I literally don't keep enough in checking to earn five cents per month!
Posted by Katy on 01/16/09 at 12:52 PM
I have a personal contact with a lady in my bank but unfortunately this didn't stop her from suggesting a supposedly free credit card and then charge me $120 later. So a personal banking relationship is not enough. We should have personal banking relationships with employees who care about their customers and who have some power to help their client not just very low level employees acting like robots with no power to make any decision.
Posted by Omar on 01/25/09 at 08:01 PM
ok,personal relationship in banking in some cases helpful.Because we can learn many things very easily what we want to know.But if we expect beyond our limit that means if we hope that we may get some consideration about taxes and such,it will break our heart
Posted by SiteListCentral Directory on 02/12/09 at 05:49 AM
i seriously feel with friends in bank it always helps to know more and better about some of the things, which we aren't aware of much. sometimes when there are some good fixed deposits, or better investment plans, they tell me whether to invest in it or not..they tell me about the loopholes in the schemes also. my bank looks after all my insurance matters also, so that is always a help!
Posted by Host and Care on 03/11/09 at 11:54 PM
This post is an informative and knowledge providing post, it is really important to the world to have knowledge about this fact.
Posted by Victoria Mortgage Brokers on 03/18/09 at 02:40 AM
Discipline is the key and this is the lacking word to most people who are financially in constraints. You are very lucky to have embraced this word and its giving you financial freedom.
Posted by thai girl on 08/28/09 at 07:45 AM
I did have some very good personal relationships with my banker but I am sad to report that internet banking has all but made that relationship obsolete!
Posted by Business Broker on 01/31/10 at 01:40 PM
Payday lenders require the borrower to bring one or more recent pay stubs to prove that. The statewide database does not allow a loan to be issued to a consumer.
Posted by denver phone on 06/14/10 at 08:30 PM
You know the banking without face to face,the bank loses the opportunity to up sale its services when banking is face. When you bank on line, you can ignore the ads.but if the teller is in front you asking if you would like to get the new super ultra gold card, with no fees for 90 days, you just might do it.
Posted by Square Peg Web on 06/26/10 at 04:20 AM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Personal Banking DOES Pay Off!!! My former creative writing teacher, Terri, commented on my previous post about the benefits of face-to-face banking. I could not agree with her more! For years, I’ve tried to tell my kids that getting to know your bankers (not to mention the service providers in any number of other businesses with which you deal) is key to getting the type of customer service you’d like to expect. Plus, it’s just more fun to chat for a moment with someone who remembers that your daughter got married, for instance, and wants to know if you brought any pictures, than it is to talk to an anonymous, faceless 1-800 in Indonesia. Nothing against Indonesia, of course. To add weight to my argument, and to Terri’s comment, let me just say that Doug and I have only this moment returned from a very gratifying run to the bank. (Which is different than a run ON the bank, you understand. That might be coming next week, if market conditions deteriorate at their current rate. But I digress.) After conducting an unrelated piece of business, we asked about the fees associated with our personal and business checking accounts. Now, we’ve had these accounts for more than a decade, and I have been negligent enough to never revisit the fees. We’ve been paying (stupidly, I know) $15 per month for the privilege of having a personal checking account, and another $20 per month for our corporate account. Trust me, dealing with this (which I figured would involve changing banks…) has been on my financial to-do list for months, if not years. But there’s that little thing called “unconscious living” that took over somewhere along the way, and our wallets became the unwitting victim. No more!!!! Evidently, we’d signed on for a business account with more hubris than we possess these days, an account that was based on us having many, many deposits and writing tons of checks per month. The reality has not matched our enormous imaginations, and therefore we’ve actually qualified all along for a NO-FEE business account. The personal banker, whose personal name is Ken, immediately switched us to the type of business account that is set up to handle fewer monthly transactions and is FREE. Then Ken took a look at our personal checking. It’s the type of account in which we’re required to keep a minimum balance in order to avoid the monthly fee, but you know what? Minimum balances have never been my strong suit. As Ken scrolled through our several other accounts with his institution, and listened to Doug and I quietly discussing how we would hate to have to move our account to another bank after so long a happy history with this bank, he finally looked up and said, “I’ve waived the minimum balance requirement. You won’t be paying any fees from now on.” People! This means we’ll be saving, total, $420 during 2009 and going forward. If I think about what we’ve paid out in these service charges during years past, I’ll cry, but it’s time to face financial facts in EVERY area, and make smart moves for our lives NOW. I’m trying to learn not to allow regrets to keep me from changing course, when changing course is necessary and right. I am grateful that we never pay overdraft notices, and we never pay ATM fees. In fact, the only place I’ve ever used an ATM is in the Old Country. I’m in WalMart all the time, and when I use my debit card, I can get any cash back that I need without paying for the perk. So, I do have STANDARDS. It’s just that, until now, they’ve been really LOW. No more! We are sewing up the holes in our pockets once and for all. Now, go make friends with a guy named Ken. Someone who will advocate for you when you want to save an extra $420 this year. You won’t regret it, I promise. Posted by Katy on 01/15/09 at 12:20 PM Fallible Comments... I know you enjoy the personal aspect of banking, but I don't and I am here to say that you can save just as much by calling. We have never paid any fees on our accounts and don't expect to in the future. I also just got our cable reduced to the introductory rate by just calling. Posted by Brooke Raymond on 01/15/09 at 02:16 PM Brooke--Ha! I KNOW you to be among my most financially astute readers, not to mention my favorite DIL. It honestly occurred to me that you might comment on this post, because I know you insist on the customer service and benefits you deserve. I used to be better at this stuff, but somewhere along the line, while trying to raise a family and help Doug run the business and take care of The Moms, I lost some of my former "edge." Now I am getting it back!!! And I am learning a lot from YOU. :) Posted by Katy on 01/15/09 at 02:32 PM Ha! Good job. Do you know anyone at the IRS on a first name basis, who could shave some numbers down for me today? Posted by Chris A. on 01/15/09 at 03:47 PM You could even try for interest bearing checking accounts--sometimes that will cover the monthly fees of a checking account. Posted by Terri on 01/15/09 at 11:11 PM Chris A--Ha!! I have structured my entire life as to NOT attract the attention of anyone at the IRS! I do use an accountant, though, and I think he may actually have "favorite" people to speak with about tax matters. I try to keep my distance!! :) Terri--I should be more disciplined, but the best strategy for me is to get money OUT of my checking account ASAP, and into savings accts. not quite as easily accessed. I literally don't keep enough in checking to earn five cents per month! Posted by Katy on 01/16/09 at 12:52 PM I have a personal contact with a lady in my bank but unfortunately this didn't stop her from suggesting a supposedly free credit card and then charge me $120 later. So a personal banking relationship is not enough. We should have personal banking relationships with employees who care about their customers and who have some power to help their client not just very low level employees acting like robots with no power to make any decision. Posted by Omar on 01/25/09 at 08:01 PM ok,personal relationship in banking in some cases helpful.Because we can learn many things very easily what we want to know.But if we expect beyond our limit that means if we hope that we may get some consideration about taxes and such,it will break our heart Posted by SiteListCentral Directory on 02/12/09 at 05:49 AM i seriously feel with friends in bank it always helps to know more and better about some of the things, which we aren't aware of much. sometimes when there are some good fixed deposits, or better investment plans, they tell me whether to invest in it or not..they tell me about the loopholes in the schemes also. my bank looks after all my insurance matters also, so that is always a help! Posted by Host and Care on 03/11/09 at 11:54 PM This post is an informative and knowledge providing post, it is really important to the world to have knowledge about this fact. Posted by Victoria Mortgage Brokers on 03/18/09 at 02:40 AM Discipline is the key and this is the lacking word to most people who are financially in constraints. You are very lucky to have embraced this word and its giving you financial freedom. Posted by thai girl on 08/28/09 at 07:45 AM I did have some very good personal relationships with my banker but I am sad to report that internet banking has all but made that relationship obsolete! Posted by Business Broker on 01/31/10 at 01:40 PM Payday lenders require the borrower to bring one or more recent pay stubs to prove that. The statewide database does not allow a loan to be issued to a consumer. Posted by denver phone on 06/14/10 at 08:30 PM You know the banking without face to face,the bank loses the opportunity to up sale its services when banking is face. When you bank on line, you can ignore the ads.but if the teller is in front you asking if you would like to get the new super ultra gold card, with no fees for 90 days, you just might do it. Posted by Square Peg Web on 06/26/10 at 04:20 AM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: Never, Never, Never Give Up Previous entry: A Return To Thrift << Back to main


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Personal Banking DOES Pay Off!!!

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri