How I Save Money With Online Banking

We’ve discussed the benefits of online banking, searched for the best internet bank accounts, and even looked at mobile banking. One thing I still haven’t done is show you how exactly it is that I save money through online banking. As you start to enter the world of personal finance and immerse yourself in the content it can get very intimidating.

When I started reading pf blogs I would see topics like P2P Lending, DRIPs and IRA conversions, get confused and leave. Screw that. As much as I enjoy going through the core topics, sometimes I feel that it’s worth going after the small wins. This can be very powerful. One small win that I think we all should go after is saving money on banking. Let’s look at 4 ways online banking has allowed me to save money:

Time.

I save myself a decent amount of time by not being required to step into a physical bank. The actual time spent in the bank usually isn’t that long. It was just a matter of dreading going to wait in line to talk to a teller or just driving to the bank in general. The barrier of a two minute wait was enough of an excuse for me to put off going to the bank. Now with my online banking account I take care of my finances whenever I feel like it from my laptop.

Paying bills.

I have used the Bill Pay feature to automate a few of my monthly bills to my online banking account with ING Direct (the bills that aren’t automated to my credit card). The saving comes from me not missing any of my bill deadlines any more. Everything is now paid on time and I don’t get nickel-and-dimed with late fees.

No fees.

This is another area of my finances that I was getting nickel-and-dimed in. Certain months I would be charged ridiculous amounts of fees from my traditional brick-and-mortar bank account. It’s not enough money to make me go broke or anything, but I’d rather have the money in my pocket. The small wins go a long way.

Higher interest rate.

Even though interest rates in general suck these days, online banks have been known to offer higher rates than your traditional bank. While I don’t recommend chasing bank interest rates, I think it’s important that you keep your hard earned money in an account earning a competitive rate.

If you want to go after this small win check out one of the following pieces:

Super Cool & Free Online Checking Accounts
Best High Interest Savings Accounts
How-to Choose a Online Banking Account That’s Right For You