Times are tough for everyone. Not only are consumers such as yourself feeling the heat of the recession, but major companies are as well. In order to cover the losses that banks and credit card companies are dealing with they are charging you more.
However, this doesn’t mean that you have to sit back and let their added fees clear out your bank account. Here are some tips and suggestions you can use to ease the crunch on your wallet.
Mortgages
The reason that mortgage fees are continuing to rise is pretty simple. Banks are nervous. They are worried about lending and worried about receiving payments. So to counteract this they are balancing potential future losses with higher fees now. Works for them, but doesn’t work for you.
How it affects you
This is affecting homeowners such as yourself by forcing you to pay the .25% “adverse-market” fee that is being added to most loans and mortgages that are given out. Even better news, if your credit score is below 720 you can get socked with fees that add up to as much as 3% of your loan’s overall value.
What to do
Your main goal here is to improve your credit score. It really sounds a lot more difficult than it has to be. Cut down on your credit card balances and start paying your bills on time. Yes this may affect the size of your wallet in the short term, but your piggy bank will thank you later on.
Credit Cards
There have just been huge reforms created when it comes to credit cards, and the way credit card companies work with their clients. Barrack Obama has just signed off and begun to implement these changes and, to be frank, card issuers are quite peeved. Basically they are upping fees and trying to milk you for everything they can before the changes come into play next year.
How it affects you
Inany cases you are probably being charged a 3% extra fee for any foreign goods that your purchase with US dollars. If you want to take a trip to Europe and book with Alitalia, you are going to get hit with a pretty hefty fee. On top of this there is an additional charge being added to balance transfers, in some cases as much as 5%.
What to do
Sounds simple, and it kind of is. Swap your card out for one with a much lower fee. A perfect example that you should look into is the Visa Classic Card. It comes with no transfer fees and charges 0% for the first six months you use it.
Mutual Funds
As if your finances weren’t being flushed down the drain as it was, now fund firms are upping their fees at the same time that your assets are plummeting. Talk about kicking you while you are down.
How it affects you
You are basically going to get hit with higher annual expense ratios. Even companies such as Vanguard, known for their low fees, have upped the cost of their value fund. And as if that wasn’t enough, you may be charged a $20 fee if your mutual fund balance falls below a designated point.
If you aren’t in love with the mutual fund anyways then consider ditching it. It may be time to just cut your losses anyways, and the good news is that you can write off all of your losses. Once you have ditched it, invest in a fund that is similar yet a lot more affordable.
Remember two things. Major companies are losing money in these economic times, much the same way you might be. They are looking to counteract their loss by placing some of the burden on customers just like you. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do the same thing to them? Well, in hindsight you sort of can. You don’t have to just sit back and pay the added fees. Look for a better option, cut your losses, and move on to something else. There are plenty of options out there that can still help you save money and plan for the future. You just have to find them.
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