Avoid Sneaky Bank Fees

Learn how to ferret out hidden charges and protect more of your hard-earned cash. 

By the editors of All You

Frustrated by fees cropping up on you bank statement? Here are a handful of tips on how to avoid ATM charges, account fees and other areas that can cause dollars and cents to leak out of your accounts.

1. Check to see where your money is going. 

•     Keep close tabs on your bank accounts. Most banks charge a monthly fee if you don’t maintain a minimum balance.
•     Do your due diligence before jumping on the online bill pay bandwagon. A few banks are making customers pony up to pay bills online.
•     Beware of added costs for offline help. Nowadays, a fee $3 to $5 per transaction just to get a human being to assist you is not so unusual.
•     Reconsider mobile deposits. While it’s cool to snap a photo of your check and text it to your bank, the convenience might cost you.
•     Look into what card replacement will cost you. If your card is lost or stolen, you might have to pay for a new one.

2. Be proactive in finding out how to pay less in fees. 

• Scan your statement carefully every month, checking for any new fees.
• Speak to a banker. You may be able to keep a minimum balance in your account, open a savings account or use direct deposit to avoid charges.
• Change your habits. Visit your bank’s ATMs instead of going out of network; move money from savings to checking to cover big checks and avoid overdraft.
• Open every envelope. Banks must warn you if they impose new fees, so open all mail, even if it looks like junk.

3. Can’t avoid being nickeled-and-dimed? Find a better bank.

•        Try credit unions and community banks. They tend to charge fewer fees and have lower minimums than large banks. Check nerdwallet.com to compare credit unions near you.
•        Consider an online bank. Many e-banks offer free checking but often lack free ATMs. However, some banks buck the trend, providing access to thousands of free machines. A few even allow you to scan your check deposits for free so you don’t have to send them via snail mail and wait for them to post.

4. Plan your move to avoid getting burned in the switch.

•     Time it right. Many banks now charge a fee to close your account if you haven’t had it for long—under six months, for example. Check out your bank’s policy.
•    Open the new account first. Start with a small deposit and be sure you transfer all automatic payments to the new account before closing the old one.

Get an honest opinion: At mybanktracker.com, check out consumer reviews as you compare banks. Adapted from the Aug. 24, 2012 issue of All You. © 2012 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

For this and additional money saving tips, contact Susan S. Lewis, your Naperville Wealth Management experts.

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How to Give Like a Billionaire

Do more for your favorite causes without giving away a fortune.
By Dan Kadlec, with additional reporting by Ryan Derousseau

Among the über-rich, giving uber-big has become uber-chic. Billionaires such as Warren Buffett, Bill and Melinda Gates, and Oprah Winfrey have pledged huge sums to charity. While you might not be able to match their checks, you can have a bigger philanthropic impact than you think by borrowing from their playbook.

Billionaires often concentrate on a few key causes. You can write bigger checks to fewer charities.

There’s nothing wrong with contributing $20 here and $100 there to a bunch of charities. But making a bigger impact on a single cause can be more fulfilling. Think Gates and global health, or Oprah and schools for women. A gift of just $250 to $500 can make a substantial difference at some nonprofits, says Richard Marker, a senior fellow at New York University’s Center for Philanthropy and chair of its Academy for Grantmaking and Funder Education. In return you’re likely to get far more access and invitations to special events. Development directors at small charities are often willing to listen to suggestions from large donors, says Eileen Heisman, CEO of the National Philanthropic Trust.

Helping to fund a project can often be more satisfying than giving money, says Marker, as you’ll really be able to see the impact of your donation. You may even be able to cover the full cost of a specific project, such as restocking the library of a senior center or giving new uniforms to an inner-city basketball team. If you like the idea of fully funding a need but don’t have deep pockets, check out DonorsChoose.org, where teachers post requests for materials such as lab equipment or a set of drums for the school band.

Billionaires are businesslike about giving. You should plan out your giving for the year.

True, Buffett doesn’t sit down on Dec. 31, checkbook in hand, trying to remember how much he’s already donated during the year and to whom. Most donors, however, respond to appeals in a haphazard way and don’t bother to keep tabs on gifts until tax time, says Sean Stannard-Stockton, CEO of Tactical Philanthropy Advisors in Burlingame, Calif. "If you don’t keep track, you’re likely to give less - not more - than what you had envisioned," he says.

A better idea: At the beginning of the year, settle on how much you want to give to charity, and work that into your budget. Then set up automatic quarterly payments from your checking account so that you’ll stick to your commitment, as well as spread your giving throughout the year.

Billionaires take their wealthy pals on a weekend retreat and hit them up for pledges. You can round up your friends and pool your resources.

Teaming up with a dozen or so friends to make a large gift to a single charity has become easier, thanks to social networks. On Facebook you can use the Causes application to create a page for a charity you want to support. Then invite friends to join the cause and give money through the site. You can use Twitter to broadcast news about a charitable goal you’d like to accomplish, what your deadline is and updates on how you’re doing. "It helps if there’s a sense of urgency," says Beth Kanter, author of The Networked Nonprofit.

Offline you can form a giving circle - a small group of like-minded people who pay annual dues and meet a few times a year to discuss causes they’d like to fund. And check to see if you might be eligible for a program to match charitable gifts at your company; large firms may offer matches.

Billionaires have fancy foundations. You can open a donor-advised fund to spread your giving over time.

The ultrarich love the prestige of foundations, and the tax benefits don’t hurt either. You can get many of the same benefits with a donor-advised fund. Some brokerages offer donor-advised funds, or you can set one up through a religious group or university or through a community foundation - a nonprofit or trust that pools money from many donors to support local charities.

When you open an account - $5,000 to $10,000 is typically the minimum - you can take an immediate tax deduction for the full amount of your gift. The money then grows tax-free, and you direct the fund to donate on your behalf whenever you like. Brokerage-based funds tend to have the lowest fees and minimums and the widest selection of charities you can support; a community foundation will offer more advice and know about local needs, says Denver financial planner Ray Benton. (Find community foundations in your area at the Council on Foundations Website, cof.org.)

Billionaires sit on nonprofit boards. You can give your time to your favorite cause.

Don’t underestimate the value of what you can provide. A typical volunteer hour at, say, a soup kitchen or in your parks department is worth $20.85 to the organization, according to Independent Sector, a group that tracks nonprofits. If you have professional skills - medical, legal, accounting, tech - your time is worth around $100 an hour, estimates Social Venture Partners International, a nonprofit that supports philanthropy.

Volunteering is most valuable when you are dependable. Commit to at least four hours a month for one year, and shoot for a role you’re prepared for so the charity doesn’t have to train you, says Heisman of the National Philanthropic Trust. You can’t write off the value of your time on your taxes, though any expenses you incur, such as office supplies or building materials, are deductible. You’re not likely to reap giant tax savings from volunteer work, of course. Says Heisman: "Charity is about more than the tax benefits."

Find out more about how giving to charity will affect your taxes with a consultation with Naperville Accounting Firm, Susan S. Lewis CPA

Adapted from the December 2010 issue of Money. © 2011 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

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Negotiate Lower Bills

Save hundreds on your cable, phone, Internet, insurance and other monthly service costs with a single phone call.
By Claire Rock

Feel you’re paying too much out for your monthly bills? Haggling can help. Your cable company, insurance providers and other utility services may be open to persuasion. But refer to these tips to negotiate the best deals. 

Before You Dial... 

Do the research to support your request for a better rate: 

• Check out the competition. Prepare for negotiations by researching online and calling local service providers. Having the details of a lower rate at your fingertips gives you more leverage when you ask for a price break. Bonus tip: Comparison sites, like BillShrink.com (which analyzes your past usage to find the best option) and LowerMyBills.com, can save you time by doing most of the legwork. 

• Consider the timing. If you are locked into a service contract, the best time to negotiate is a couple of weeks before it expires, when the company is most eager to keep your business. If you’re in the middle of the contract, you don’t have the same leverage, and if you manage a reduction, most companies will try to get you to restart the clock on your contract. Avoid that if possible. You can always downgrade to a simpler plan to save money for the duration of your contract. 

• Know your bottom line. Make sure you’re willing to leave the company before you issue an ultimatum. If you’re just fishing for a better rate, bluffing doesn’t always work. Get ready for your conversation by making a list of the services you receive, how much they cost and which ones you can’t live without. Then decide what you are willing to walk away from, whether it’s the entire service or just one feature. 

• Be prepared. Have a copy of your latest bill on hand (so you can refer to your customer ID number and payment history) as well as any competitor advertisements (with pricing). 

Make the Call 

Use these proven tips and persuasive phrases to fine-tune your negotiations: 

• Maintain a positive tone. Keeping the conversation respectful and friendly goes a long way. You want the representative to be on your side. Rudeness creates negative notes on your account rather than getting you what you want. Say: “I’ve been a very happy customer for __ years/months. As a loyal customer, I’d really like to continue to give you my business.” 

• Say you can’t afford it. You’re most likely to get a positive response if you say you’re calling because of financial reasons. Without recounting a long sob story, get the point across that the current price is beyond your means. Say: “Unfortunately, times are tough for my family, and as much as we enjoy the service, we just can’t pay this much for it anymore. I hope you understand.” 

• Ask for the right person. The salespeople and customer service agents who first answer your call usually aren’t able to give discounts. So save everyone some frustration by asking to speak to a manager. If you hit a wall there, ask to be transferred to the customer cancellation (or retention) department, where you are more likely get an offer to continue your service. Say: “I understand if you don’t have the ability to adjust the price. Could you please transfer me to your supervisor or to a department that might be able to assist me today?” 

• Use open-ended questions. Asking company representatives what they can do for you puts the ball in their court to come up with a way to keep you, as opposed to asking yes-or-no questions, to which they can simply say no. Say: “_________ is offering the same service for just $___ per month. Even considering your termination fee, it looks like I’ll save more by switching. Can I speak with a manager to discuss my options?” Or say: “How can you help me continue my service at a price I can afford?” 

• Don’t give up at the first no. A representative’s initial response probably will be negative, but that’s just your cue for the next move. Continue open-ended questioning, or push for the next level of representative if you don’t meet with success. If the offer you receive isn’t acceptable, you can issue an ultimatum (if you are truly willing to drop the service). Say: “I hate to do this, but I’m afraid I have no choice. I’m going to have to end my service. Can you please put me in touch with the cancellation [or retention] department?” 

Haggle Everywhere 

These negotiating tactics apply to just about any large purchase—including appliances, electronics, vacation packages and cars. Don’t be afraid to offer less than the list price. 

Fend Off Frustration 

Follow these stress-busting strategies to maintain your sanity and improve your chances of success: 

• Schedule it. Working your way through a maze of transfers and wait times could take more than an hour, so call when you’re free of distractions. You don’t want to start over because you lost cell service in the car or you can’t hear over a barking dog. 

• Retain records. Document the time of each call and the name and customer number of people you speak to. Verbal agreements on the phone can vanish, so you might need to reference the call to prove your case. For the same reason, always ask for a written confirmation of any promised offer. 

• Try and try again. Don’t be dismayed if you don’t receive a discount offer right away. You might have better luck at a different time of day or later in the week with another representative.

For these and more tips from a Naperville Financial Services advisor, contact Susan S. Lewis today.

Adapted from the April 22, 2011 issue of All You. © 2011 Time Inc. All rights reserved.

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What’s the ROI on Investing in Y.O.U.?

When deciding whether to fund the training you need to switch careers, try this calculation.
By Ali Velshi

One of the key measurements in deciding where to put your money is the expected ROI, or return on investment. History and the current state of the economy allow you to make an informed guess about how different assets or classes of assets may perform in the future.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Calculating ROI is straightforward enough: You take the final value of an investment, subtract what it cost you and divide the result by your cost to arrive at the percentage yield. Buy a stock for $20 and sell it for $25 in a year, and your ROI is 25% (not counting trading costs).

What about calculating the ROI on you? More specifically, on the cost of reinventing yourself to better compete in the changing economy. Let's say you work in a shrinking industry and you want to make a mid-career switch into one that is growing. How do you figure out the return on that transformation?

This is a question that applies not only to the factory worker who sees jobs headed overseas but to anyone who thinks the decisions he or she made about the future while in high school or college are no longer valid. Unfortunately, there's no straightforward calculation that can account for all of the factors that go into making a career-switch decision. This isn't a straight financial investment, after all. Aptitude, what you value in life and your family situation are huge variables. Still, running a few numbers is a useful starting point.

FIGURING THE PAYOFF

For the purposes of this exercise, let's look at the ROI for a fairly senior manufacturing worker in Rhode Island who, at age 40, is trying to decide whether to retrain as a registered nurse. The starting salary for an R.N. in Rhode Island is about $60,000. Our experienced factory hand makes $53,000. So the difference in salaries from the start is substantial but not great. Our worker also has to invest to retrain as a nurse-- a minimum of a two-year associate's degree, at a cost of at least $40,000, plus financing-- and will have two fewer years of income.

So is this transformation worth it? Well, let's also remember that manufacturing wages haven't been growing much for quite a few years; nursing's wage growth is healthier, and a nurse will have more opportunity for advancement. Taking all of these considerations into account, the ROI on that nursing degree is around 9% a year.

There's more to this picture, however. The number of factory workers in the U.S. is expected to shrink by 50,000, or 2%, between 2008 and 2018, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the same period, the number of R.N.'s is projected to grow 22%, to 3.2 million. The chances are much greater in manufacturing than nursing that you'll suffer a layoff and have to take a pay cut-- as 40% of workers let go and re-employed since 2008 have done.

WATCH FOR TRAPS

"Knowing with some certainty that a sector has a rosier long-term future does a lot for your peace of mind and makes it easier to think about growing older in this economy," says Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy.

Still, Hewlett argues that switching to a field simply because it's growing could be "the kiss of death" Give up your job to invest in a career that you end up hating or that you're not very good at and you'll have done yourself no small amount of harm. And starting over can be difficult. There's the strain on the family budget, and the family, during retraining. And although R.N.'s aren't at the bottom of the nursing ladder, our worker will be at the bottom of the R.N. ladder, pulling the less desirable shifts. The calculation doesn't account for all that. The easy math, though, can tell you if it's worth thinking about the hard stuff that comes with making over your work life.

Turn to your Naperville Investment Advisor experts at Platinum Financial to accurately calculate your ROI.

From the November 2011 issue of Money© 2012 Time Inc. All rights reserved.