tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post5346104172073685084..comments2023-12-01T11:40:00.045+11:00Comments on Dikkii's Diatribe: Dikkii's financial tips #3: How do I reduce my bank fees?Dikkiihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07897381809885423712noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-49921350083824481862007-05-24T14:04:00.000+10:002007-05-24T14:04:00.000+10:00G'day Plonka,You're probably right about that, alt...G'day Plonka,<BR/><BR/>You're probably right about that, although I wouldn't say that there is hundreds of thousands through your average ATM in a week. More like thousands.<BR/><BR/>Banks do exist to charge fees - nowadays. Interest related margins are getting extremely tight. On the other hand, investment banks make barely anything at all on interest and pretty much everything in fees. Call me cynical, but I wouldn't be too surprised if some other Australian banks started to more actively pursue the business model created by Mac Bank and B&B.<BR/><BR/>Loaded envelopes are funny now; at the time I remember being nearly sick - the smell was pretty rank.<BR/><BR/>Fred Nile, you reckon? Go for it, I say. I'm thinking more of an examination of how often Section 116 of the constitution is broken.<BR/><BR/>Re getting your banking under one roof - sometimes this is a good strategy. I won't deny that it is certainly convenient. And the fee incentives that banks hand out is certainly worth investigating.<BR/><BR/>But I do know of people who seem to do quite well with their banking all over the place too.<BR/><BR/>My advice? Crunch those numbers. See if your circs warrant it. And good luck.<BR/><BR/>Maybe down the track, I'll offer some kind of article on the mortgage broking industry - I reckon they're a bunch of cowboys.Dikkiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07897381809885423712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-79925868386560432142007-05-24T10:10:00.000+10:002007-05-24T10:10:00.000+10:00Opps, forgot to ask. Getting it all under the one ...Opps, forgot to ask. Getting it all under the one roof (it's one of the 4 biggies with whom we have a loan) has to be the right thing doesn't it? I want to amalgamate my loan and mortgage at the very least. Just moving the mortgage alone would save me quite a bit each month (don't ask...:( ).Plonkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01552546816593027504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-73732473829849317932007-05-24T10:06:00.000+10:002007-05-24T10:06:00.000+10:00Re: ATM's, even after all of that (about 10 hours ...Re: ATM's, even after all of that (about 10 hours work a week, at anything up to $3 a pop with hundreds of thousands of transactions taking place each week, hmmm), I still say it's seriously disproportionate. I must admit though, I hadn't considered the loaded envelope...:)<BR/><BR/>But as you say, banks exist to charge fees.<BR/><BR/>As to the research, I was alluding to the tag (I was thinking about Fred Nile)...Plonkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01552546816593027504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-21957890389402782272007-05-24T00:49:00.000+10:002007-05-24T00:49:00.000+10:00Hi Ted,Maybe the cabling might maintain itself. I...Hi Ted,<BR/><BR/>Maybe the cabling might maintain itself. I probably wasn't specific enough. ATMs cost money to buy, or to lease. Cabling doesn't lay itself.<BR/><BR/>Having been one of the bank clerks who looks after the ATMs, I can also tell you that there is 2 man-hours of cash counting required for filling and balancing an ATM each day, as well as another 2-4 man-hours required for weekly cash counting and balancing. This weekly task is kinda like doing an inventory in a shop. Except that the cash is your inventory.<BR/><BR/>Then, there is about 2 man-hours per week in responding to error messages, re-filling the paper roll whenever it runs out, replacing printer cartridges, etc.<BR/><BR/>Where deposits are taken by the machines, there is about 2 man-hours required per week in counting and processing the deposits, together with cleaning the deposit slot (because people think it's funny to chuck bananas and envelopes filled with dog poo in).<BR/><BR/>Finally, there is the bill for the paper, printer cartridges, cash cartridges (which break all too easily), new buttons (they have this habit of wearing out rather frequently) and security that has to be called every time the machines break down, if they don't have an isolated cash room behind them.<BR/><BR/>Multiply all of this across a big ATM network, add depreciation, and you've got a serious - if not really huge in the grand scheme of things - cash drain. Bob has a point about the hugeness of the fees - but if ATM networks were as cheap as what he thinks they are to put in, Bob would be able to access one of his banks' ATMs around every corner.<BR/><BR/><I>Isn't that illegal? It should be...</I> [re direct debit dates]<BR/><BR/>Ted, you would be completely freaked out to know how many direct debits I saw various branch managers dishonour, only to have the customer storm in freaking out about it, and then saying, "Well I didn't know when it's supposed to come out."<BR/><BR/>I hope to FSM that it is illegal.<BR/><BR/><I>Calendar or financial? (damn I'm being picky tonight...;))</I> [re student exemptions]<BR/><BR/>I should have written "calendar" here. I'll go in and do an edit and fix it up.<BR/><BR/>Basically, your exemption if you're a student will normally expire at Midnight on New Year's Day. Some banks do things differently, but for most, the process is automated.<BR/><BR/>Re: Banking Ombudsman - I'm going to do a post on complaints resolution schemes, I can tell. So enormously handy. So very vital.<BR/><BR/><I>Now that's out the way (sorry, it took me a couple of days to get through it), I have to go do research...:)</I><BR/><BR/>Research long and hard, Ted. Create a spreadsheet and do it that way. Seriously, this is easy stuff compared to shopping for a mobile phone.<BR/><BR/>Also, my next financial tips item is scheduled to be a case study in saving fees - namely me! This could help you out.<BR/><BR/>Cannex.com.au is excellent for this sort of thing, too.Dikkiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07897381809885423712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-57044318219766290562007-05-23T23:12:00.000+10:002007-05-23T23:12:00.000+10:00Dikkii: Me: Well, ATM networks don't just maintain...Dikkii: <I>Me: Well, ATM networks don't just maintain themselves, you know.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, now's where my sordid and very nerdy past catches up with me.<BR/><BR/>A very nerdy point needs to be made here. A network is just a cable, nothing more and nothing less. <BR/><BR/>I was one of those that helped make POSI (the predecessor of EFTPOS) a reality in this country Dikkii, so I can speak with a little authority here. I'm afraid that <B>it</B> pretty much does. Unless some fool puts his backhoe through a cable of course, but that's a very rare occurrence. But Intelbank owns the cables and I doubt they'd see even 1% of the <B>bank</B> fees charged for the service they provide which admittedly, isn't much.<BR/><BR/>Even the machines (ATMs, POS systems, etc.) manage to be a hell of a lot more robust than you might give them credit for. Sure, they need to be filled and get the odd upgrade but the price charged is completely disproportionate to the service provided.<BR/><BR/>So apart from the conspiracy theory, I think Bob may have a point.<BR/><BR/><I>And never, ever enter into a direct debit arrangement if you don't know when it's going to come out of your account.</I><BR/><BR/>Isn't that illegal? It should be...<BR/><BR/><I>...to get your exemption extended for another year.</I><BR/><BR/>Calendar or financial? (damn I'm being picky tonight...;))<BR/><BR/><I>"Banking Ombudsman"</I><BR/><BR/>It's true, I can vouch for that...:)<BR/><BR/><I>Hopefully this post has helped you out.</I><BR/><BR/>It sure has Dikkii. We're in the process of making the decision to get everything under the one roof (loan/mortgage/joint and linked accounts), which sounds like it may be the right one...:)<BR/><BR/>Now that's out the way (sorry, it took me a couple of days to get through it), I have to go do research...:)Plonkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01552546816593027504noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-87398803833848312762007-05-23T17:11:00.000+10:002007-05-23T17:11:00.000+10:00AAAAAAH! 3 whole working days. I better get star...AAAAAAH! <BR/><BR/>3 whole working days. I better get started, thanks beep.Dikkiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07897381809885423712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-41170867348661644372007-05-23T10:39:00.000+10:002007-05-23T10:39:00.000+10:00Off topic.You bin tagged.Blog Against Theocracy: N...Off topic.<BR/><BR/>You bin tagged.<BR/><BR/>Blog Against Theocracy: National Day of Secularism May 26th <BR/>http://beepbeepitsme.blogspot.com/2007/05/blog-against-theocracy-national-day-of.htmlbeepbeepitsmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12931640447011071849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7115935.post-64828737632278821782007-05-22T09:46:00.000+10:002007-05-22T09:46:00.000+10:00Well that was interesting.I actually had to select...Well that was interesting.<BR/><BR/>I actually had to select "allow" to comments where it normally would default to this.<BR/><BR/>I haven't seen Blogger do this before.Dikkiihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07897381809885423712noreply@blogger.com