Don’t add expenses if you can get it free.

Banks….. they now have fees for just about everything. Do. Not. Pay.  Instead…. choose another bank. After all, you are allowing them to ‘use’ your money when you open an account.  And, yes the interest rate these days is pretty close to ‘0’, but every penny helps.  So, if they have fees for ‘minimum balance’, or have limits on withdrawals or ATM transactions. Choose. Another. Bank. There are many banks that have no minimums, no limits on transactions, or any other ‘usage’ fees.

That said, if you overdraw on your account, well, that’s different. You absolutely need to keep your accounting up to date and correct.  Use a check register… at least as a back up. Review your addition and subtraction figures.  Keep your balance up to date and to the penny.

Charge cards…..  Use these only if you are diligent in paying off the entire balance when the bill comes in.  This means you will never pay finance charges on outstanding balances. And pay before the due date. This means there will be no hefty late fees.  Also, choose a ‘no annual fee’ card.

If you use your credit card as noted above you will be ‘using’ the banks’ money for a few weeks each month…… without paying to ‘use’ it.

The idea is to hang on to as much of your money as you possibly can.  It’s doable.