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Insights on money, career and trading

Four Ways To Make Sure You Don’t Overdraft Your Bank Account

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Daniel at 3:43 pm

For some people it can be easy to keep their bank account tallied and they never have to worry about overdrafting. For others an overdraft is a thing that occurs often, and there are usually some particular reasons it happens.

One of the many reasons overdrafts happen on accident is if you have too many cards, too many accounts, and you just aren’t doing a good job keeping track of your spending. Maybe you subtracted a purchase from the wrong account and then overdrafted another.

If you overdraft often, or just want some tips to make sure you never do, here are four tips that can really help you avoid losing money.

Save Receipts Until You Enter Them Into Your Check register

Unless you’ve immediately written your purchase into your check register do not throw away your receipt. This is especially important when on vacation or going on a multi-store shopping trip. Also, double check those last four digits to make sure that you subtracted that purchase price from the right account!

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Don’t do the math in your head either. When it comes to your checking account it’s better to be safe and use a calculator to make sure your additions and subtractions are completely correct. Just a dollar off could cause a costly overdraft, and for what?

Retally Your Checkbook Often Using Online Services

Don’t take online banking for granted. Even if you don’t spend a lot of time on the computer you should sign up for online banking. All banks offer this great service and using it can help you avoid mistakenly overdrafting, and catch credit card fraud and more, before it’s too late.

You may also be able to set up text alerts from your bank to let you know what your account balance is or warn you when your balance is getting low. If you have a savings account you may also be able to connect it to prevent overdrafts.

Keep A List Of Automatic Payments

It’s easy to set up automatic payments for almost any bill, but it is also easy to forget that they are set up. Make sure you keep a list of your regular automatic payments so that you can be sure to subtract them from your account before they overdraft it!

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Pay Attention To ATM Charges

If you’re using an ATM from a different bank you will want to make sure that you pay attention to the charges that you get from that ATM. Your bank may also charge you for using foreign cash withdrawal machines, so you want to be aware of that amount as well. Something as simple as a $3 ATM charge could be enough to overdraft your bank account without you realizing it.

If you do accidently go over your account limit make sure you pay your fees off as quickly as possibly to avoid additional charges and penalties from your bank.

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Insights on money, career and trading