Open and Use a Bank Account (continued)

Fees for Financial Institution Services

We live in “fee city.” Financial institutions have more opportunities than ever to charge us fees. And they usually state fee information in very small print and with words that can be hard to understand. But—and this can’t be stressed enough—you do need to read that small print for every account you have. That way you’ll know what fees can be charged, and when they can be charged.

Don’t hesitate to ask for help in reading your account information. Your mentor or Habitat advisor can help you.

Some financial institutions waive fees as long as you maintain a certain amount of money in your account. Ask your financial institution for details on minimum balance requirements, and about the fees in the following chart as well.

Financial Institution Fees
Type of Fee	What It Is	Typical Amount
Monthly Service Fee	When a bank advertises a “free” account, that usually means the bank does not charge a monthly service fee. Do your homework before signing up, though. Sometimes the account is truly free of monthly charges. Other times, conditions exist: • You must maintain a minimum balance • You must sign up for direct deposit of paychecks • You may only write a certain number of checks each month	$0–$25
Savings Withdrawal Fee	The purpose of a savings account is to save money. To discourage you from making a lot of withdrawals, some banks charge a fee if you exceed a certain number of withdrawals during a month.	$0–$10
ATM or Debit Fee	Your bank usually won’t charge you to use its ATMs. It may charge you to use other bank’s ATMs, though. Be sure to ask your bank about ATM fees before you use your ATM card.	$0–$2 per transaction
Returned Check Fee or Insufficient Funds Fee or Overdraft Fee	The fee you pay when you write a check or use your debit card for more than the amount of your account balance. When this happens, your check will “bounce.” You will be charged a fee for Not Sufficient Funds (NSF). You may also be charged a fee by the company or merchant that took your check as payment.	$0–$38 per returned check
Checks	You’ll receive a few “starter” checks when you open your account. If you plan to use checks regularly, you’ll have to purchase your own boxes of checks preprinted with your name and address.	$25 per box
Stop Payment Fee	Say you wrote a check you think got lost in the mail. You may want to stop the check from being cashed. Your financial institution can do this, but will charge you a fee to do so.	$0–$50 per stop payment
Wire Transfer Fee	Allows you to transfer money from your financial institution to another one.	Incoming domestic: $15 Outgoing domestic: $25 Incoming international: $20 Outgoing international: $50
Money Order Fee	A cash payment for a specified amount of money. It looks like a check, and you use it like a check for payment to businesses that do not accept cash, such as a utility company.	$0–$15
Other Fees	Ask about these fees, too. • Teller Fee • Inactive Account Fee • Rejected Check Fee • Early Account Closure Fee
Source: www.bankrate.com and www. moneycentral.com as of 7/31/07

Again, read all your account information. If it is too hard to read or understand, get help!


How to Decide Which Financial Institution to Work With

There are so many financial institutions to choose from that looking for the right one can be overwhelming.

Here is a checklist to help you decide what bank or credit union to use>>