We all make mistakes. But money mistakes come with a price.
Recently Wells Fargo made a change to its overdraft charge policy that makes those mistakes a little easier to swallow!
In the near future (the final date’s still TBD), your account will not be assessed overdraft fees if you become overdrawn by $5 or less. Also, no more than four overdraft charges will be charged per day.
Also, in the coming months, customers who want to opt out of overdraft coverage will have that option — you’ll be able to specify that you don't want your transactions authorized or paid into overdraft if you don't have funds to cover the transaction.
That's all good news, but more importantly, how can you avoid overdrawing your bank account in the first place? Just a few simple ideas:
- Bank online. Get yourself set up for online banking, so you can view your account any time. You can see pending transactions and easily transfer balances from one account to another, which can help you avoid overdrafts.
- Sign up for overdraft protection. At Wells Fargo, enrollment in overdraft protection is free, and can dramatically reduce the fees you're charged for overdrawing your account.
- Sign up for mobile banking. Right now Wells Fargo is offering this service for free. It allows you to keep track of your account, like check balances, review recent activity, and transfer funds — all from your mobile phone.
- Go low-tech. Although many online tools are helpful, you don't have to be high-tech to keep good track of your bank account. Use a good old-fashioned check register to record all your account activity: check card purchases, deposits, ATM withdrawals, etc. You can also use this as a backup, even if you're banking online.
So tell us: How do you keep track of your bank account?
UPDATE: Oops, we jumped the gun on our original post! We recently learned these changes to our overdraft policies are a work in progress, which means they’re not yet available. We’ve updated our post to reflect that! We apologize for any confusion this may have caused and will let you know when those services are up and running.
I was wondering if a college student can apply for a loan and have a chance of getting a loan if they do not have a co-signer
Anonymous, check out this recent post I wrote about cosigners: http://blog.wellsfargo.com/StudentLoanDown/2009/08/the_cosigner_conundrum.html
How do we opt out of overdraft coverage? I don't see anything but Checking->Credit Card overdraft protection opting out in the online settings.
Anonymous2, we recently learned that these changes to our overdraft policies are a work in progress, which means they're not yet available. That's why you can't see them in the online settings. We’ve updated our post to reflect that and apologize for any confusion this may have caused!
My girlfriend and I are keeping track of our spending and our planned spending on a Google document spreadsheet so we can see our progress at any computer with online access. We have forecasted what we will need for all of our expenses, including our utilities and grocery shopping needs. This leaves room for our play money and how much we can spend for ourselves. As soon as buy something, that night we add it to our spread sheet. It's similar to an old-fashioned registrar, but with an up-to-date flair to it.
ECD—congratulations on creating a system that works for you. It sounds like you’re really on top of your finances.
Another option you might want to consider is Wells Fargo’s free online money management tool, My Spending Report with Budget Watch. If you have a Wells Fargo check card, credit card or checking account, this tool will track all your purchases and allow you to create a monthly budget online. You can even set up automatic alerts to keep you informed about your progress toward your budget goals.