If you are tired of paying all those bank fees for using your debit card, a great way to eliminate them is to use your credit card instead. This should only be done, however, if you pay off your balance every month when it is due, otherwise, you are stuck with incredibly high interest charges and then there’s no point in doing what I am suggesting.
What we do so we don’t pay bank fees is we pay all of our bills and make all of our purchases using our rewards credit card. By doing so, we rack up rewards points that we can use for traveling. Then, each month we pay off our balance so we don’t end up paying any interest at all. This makes for free banking. No transaction fees to worry about.
The key is to pick the best credit card that works for you. Preferably find a free one that gives you rewards points for using it. Sometimes paying a small annual fee is worth it due to the extra rewards you earn, but do your research. Next, set it up so that you can look at your statements online. Check your transactions at least once a week to make sure that all of the charges are legitimate.
If you want free banking but don’t feel you are responsible enough to use a credit card, or perhaps you are unable to get a credit card for some reason, then another way to get free banking is to use PC Financial. Canadians can use PC Financial and not have to worry about any banking fees whatsoever. They offer both chequing and savings accounts as well as other types of banking products and you can use your PC debit card as many times as you want per month without any charges.
PC Financial is in cooperation with CIBC so as a PC card holder, you can also use CIBC ATMs for free. This allows for convenient banking without all those pesky fees. Look into President’s Choice Financial to see if they will meet your banking needs.
There are other ways to get free banking as well by using the larger Canadian financial institution. Keeping a certain minimum balance in your account or having a certain number of products will allow you to have free banking up to a certain extent. The key is to make sure you keep on top of it as fees often change yearly and you want to ensure that you don’t get charged a fee due to lack of knowledge on your part. It is up to you as a consumer to find the best bank or financial institution to meet your needs.
There is certainly no need to be paying hefty banking fees. Make sure to review your bank statements regularly, and if you are being charged fees, find out how to avoid them, or find another institution that can offer you a better package.
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