Make call that could save you thousands
YOU’RE probably nursing a hangover – whether it is an alcohol-fuelled or a financial one.
Your waistline may also be bulging and so too is the amount of debt you’ve racked up over Christmas.
We’re already one week into 2019 so I’m sure as eggs you’ve broken your new year resolution if you bothered to make one. But there’s one thing I challenge you to do in the next week and no later: ring your bank.
They’re probably the last people you want to speak to right now but bite the bullet and pick up the phone.
Let’s face it: the banks are arriving in the new year up to their knees in poo.
Their bad behaviour was highlighted in last year’s financial services royal commission for charging fees for no service, gouging customers dead or alive and being plain thieves.
So it’s your chance to pounce while they’re in the bad books. Here is why you must ring you bank.
CREDIT CARDS
These nasty little pieces of plastic have probably caused a few heart palpations in recent weeks, or will do when the December statement arrives.
It’s time to get real with yourself. Tell the bank you are getting rid of your credit card. You are simply spending money you don’t have.
Banks love customers who cannot pay off their cards in full each month.
If that’s you, look at getting a balance-transfer deal and chopping up your card.
HOME LOANS
If you have an owner-occupier mortgage and are paying a rate with a “4” in front, you are being ripped off.
Ring them up, ask to speak to their home loan retention team and tell them you want a better deal.
Make sure you have a quick look online at other offers going and hit them with cheaper options available.
If you talk tough with them there’s a damn good chance they’ll sit up and listen and give you a rate drop.
This could result in you saving hundreds – if not thousands – of dollars a year and you haven’t had to do a scrap of paperwork.
FEES
Check to see what fees you are paying on any accounts.
There are dozens of feefree accounts out there, so why hand over money unnecessarily?
And this check-up includes ATM fees.
If your bank is still stinging you with ATM fees for using some machines, it’s about time you moved.
While the big four banks all offer ATM use for free, some banks will still sting you for using certain machines.