I got an interesting comment to my “bitching” about the jump in service charge on the TD Safety Deposit Box. It got me thinking about another great trick the banks have devised. That is the offering of “free banking” services if you carry a minimum balance in your bank account.
The comment almost seems from a TD employee (but that is only my guess). The commentary points out that if I were smart enough, I’d carry the minimum balance ($5000). Then it would be:
“… saving all these fees which would be similar to making the money in an investment….”
To me, that is a staggeringly exciting leap of faith. Pinning down $5000 a year in an account with a rate of return of 0.00% annually, is a good idea? Is this an excellent investment because I have saved $60?
The comment’s author is mistaken. It isn’t listed on the website that the Safety Deposit Box Fee is waived for the Infinity account (it is for the Plan60 account, and there was another one listed, which I can’t remember). I will be going into the bank next week and asking if this fee can be waived for the year. It never hurts to ask.
Even more interesting is that I am not complaining about the Fee for the Safety Deposit Box (I Safety Deposit Boxes are a good idea if you want to keep your stuff safe remember The Safety Deposit Box: Our Friend ), I was complaining about the price hike, which was astounding. Yes, the fees for losing a key and getting your box drilled are penalties, which are your fault (much like overdraft fees), but jumping the cost by 42% is a pretty big jump.
The question I leave you, is this: Is leaving a sizeable minimum balance in an account to avoid banking fees really like investing that money? My opinion is no.
Free Banking
Of course, there are plenty of folks that offer free banking
- Innovation Credit Union for one
- EQ Bank for another
- Tangerine for a Third
$5000 sounds like a lot of money in one spot. I do, however, keep the minimum deposit in three accounts spread over two banks. It totals $4000 and saves about $12.75 a month in fees. I need all three accounts and I look at the deposits as tier one of my emergency fund.