As more and more banks continue to lose money as a result of the foreclosure crisis and the weakening economy, they are looking for more ways to make up for the lost revenue. I don’t know about you but I don’t have any extra money to give away to the banks. In this economy, it is important to watch and hold on to every penny. As my grandmother used to say, "Boy, you need to hold on to a dollar until you hear it holler."

Here are a couple of fees to avoid:

1. ATM Fees. Chase Bank has joined Bank of America by charging $3 for non-member ATM withdrawals. Avoid these fees by using your own banks ATM when possible. If you find yourself frequently incurring ATM fees, consider changing banks. ING Direct offers an online checking account without the checks and a large network of free ATMs. Washington Mutual Bank also offers a free checking and high yield savings account combo.
   
2. Minimum Balance Fees. There are far too many free accounts out there for anyone to have to pay a fee to have an account. If your employer offers direct deposit or you receive government benefits, you can pretty much get a free account anywhere.
   
3. Overdrafts. Most banks now charge anywhere from $25-$35 for a bounced check. Make sure you balance your account regularly to make sure you have enough money in your account to cover the check. That $5 check could end up costing you over $40. Also, consider linking your checking account to a savings account or money market account for an additional protection.

Take a few minutes out of your busy schedule to peruse your bank statement. You'd be amazed at what you may find. I opened an account a year ago to get the account opening bonus and sort of forgot about the account. I thought the account was free so I did not think about it too much. I got a statement but did not bother to open it for a couple of months. When I did finally open the statement, I realized I had been charged a $3 fee causing me to have a negative balance. I went to the bank the next morning, deposited $3 to get the account out of the red and closed the account. Had I not checked the statement and realized my mistake, that $3 fee could have cost me big bucks.

Do you check your bank statements?

Image Credit: Thrifty Fun

If you are one of the few people left in the country that doesn't have an ING Orange Savings account, I still have referrals left. By opening a savings account with at least $250, you can get a $25 referral bonus (I will get $10 - Thanks in advance).

Tricia @ Blogging Away Debt was kind enough to take a couple of my referrals to help me out.

If you would like a referral, you can contact me here; or you can go over to Blogging Away Debt.

It's that time of year where all those people who overpaid federal taxes to Uncle Sam are looking to get the money back. I hope people do not look at a refund as a gift from the government. It's your money; you just gave them too much of it throughout the year - INTEREST FREE. If you go to the bank and borrow $2500 for a year, you can almost guarantee you will owe more than $2500.

According to CNN Money, the average tax refund in 2007 was around $2500. If you go to the bank and borrow $2500 for one year, you can almost guarantee when you get ready to pay that money back, you will owe more than $2500. Make sure you speak with your human resources department to find out how to adjust your W4 allowances (more on this later).

Through a 4 part series, I will offer you four tips on what to do with your windfall. Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney to read the entire 4 parts.

One of the first things you should do with your tax refund is setup an Emergency Fund. I call my stash a " Freedom Fund". You can call yours just plain old savings if you want. The name is not important. The important thing is getting started and getting into the habit of saving. I know there are some people that say $1000 is a good start. If you can do $1000 fine, if not, do what you can. Don't avoid setting up some kind of savings just because you don't have a certain amount. You know what amount is comfortable for you. It may be $100, $1000 or $10,000. Again, the most important thing is to get started.

Need ideas on where to save your money? I recommend ING Direct Orange Savings. No fees, no minimum balance and the ability to open multiple accounts for different savings goals. Want an instant 10% return on your money? Contact me for a referral bonus. Open the account with at least $250 and you get a $25 referral bonus (I get $10 - Thanks in advance). If you are looking for a brick and mortar bank, Washington Mutual is currently offering a free checking account and High Yield Savings account. The rate is currently 4.75% APY but may soon drop like the others due to the latest fed rate cut.

I made a post back in July regarding opening a new ING "Electric Orange" account. You can read that story here. One of the features of the account is unlimited free use of the Allpoint ATM network (found in most Target, BP and Costco stores). I've used the ATM network about 3-4 times already without any problems. I needed some cash the other day so I pulled into a BP and used the ATM. I verified this was an Allpoint ATM by the Allpoint label on the front. As I began my transaction, the screen asked if I wanted to pay the $2 fee. Per the Allpoint website, if a machine asks if I will accept the fee, select "yes" but the fee will not be charged. I selected yes but I was charged $2 anyway. I went online to the Allpoint website and filled out the online form for a refund. All the information they needed was on the ATM receipt. I received an email apologizing for the fee the next day and advised my $2 would be credited to my account within 2 business days. I logged onto my account the next day and the fee had been credited to my account. So far, this has been my only problem with the account and it was a minor one. They borrowed $2 from me for about 2 days but I am still loving the account! If this were to happen everytime I used an ATM I would rethink my decision about this being my primary account.

If you are interested in opening a new ING savings account or Electric Orange account, let me know and you can get a free $25 for each and I will get a $10 referral. You need to open the account with at least $250 in order to get the free money. You can email me here if you need a referral. I only need your email address and name and ING will handle the rest. I do not have access to any of your information once you open the account.

As I posted on July 27th, I opened a new "Electric Orange" account at ING. I received my debit card yesterday so I thought I would give a timeline for anyone thinking about opening an account.

• June 26, 2007 - Applied online for the account. I already had a savings account with them since 2002 so the opening process was pretty simple and took about a minute.
• June 27, 2007 - Changed my payroll direct deposit from my primary account to my ING account.
• June 27, 2007 - Requested to link my primary account to ING.
• July 31, 2007 - Received the ING test deposits in my primary account. Logged back into ING to verify. Link established. Requested transfer of 1/2 of the funds in my primary account to be transferred into ING.
• August 2, 2007 - Received direct deposit from my employer into my ING account. Funds available the day of deposit.
• August 2, 2007 - Received my Mastercard debit card. Still need pin number to activate. Pin was mailed separately for security purposes.
• August 3, 2007 - Paid 3 credit card bills. Paid online at credit card website.
• August 4, 2007 - Received emails from ING direct indicating that each of the credit cards had initiated an electronic withdrawal from my account. I like this feature.
• August 6, 2007 - Received pin and activated card online at the ING website.
• August 7, 2007 - Used debit card at Allpoint Atm in the BP Gas station down the street from my house. No fee charged although the machine was slow. (I could hear the modem dialing as I stood there). I also did a balance inquiry with no fee.

As of today, I am officially making this my primary checking account. I am able to pay bills online, get cash quickly, without a fee and without having to wait for a reimbursement. If anyone is on the fence about opening an account, I hope this helps you make a decision.

FYI - Even though I was already a customer, they still did a hard pull on my credit report. I assume this is for the overdraft protection.

As posted in my prior post, I opened an ING "Electric Orange" checking account last week.
So far the following has happened:

• Transferred most of my available cash from my local checking account to my Electric Orange account. They only hold funds transferred into the checking account for 2 business days.


• Setup Billpay


• Updated my new account information on all the bills I pay electronically.


• Transferred my direct deposit. Got paid today and that was deposited and available immediately.


• Received my checkcard today. Still need to get my pin to use the card. Should be sent within the next few days.


• Checked out the Allpoint website to locate free ATMs in my area. There are 340 within 50 miles of my zip and one right up the street at a 24 hr gas station.

I see they are now offering $25 to open a new Electric Orange account with a minimum of $250. Again, if you wish to get a free $25 and open a great new checking and savings account, email me here. I just need your name and email address and ING will send you an email on how to open the account. I do not get any details on your account and I will not sell your email address.