Are you one of those who do not really pay much attention to their bank accounts? I know people who are like this simply because they do not care. They think that it is not that important anyway. It has not crossed their minds that perhaps, they might be paying more than they ought to because of their inattention. Well, in these times of financial instability, the only sensible way to go would be to pay attention to every tiny detail in every aspect of your financial life. For this post, let us look at some of the deadliest mistakes in banking. Knowing about these mistakes can help you avoid them and help you save some money while at it.

Unnecessary monthly fees
The basic saving account does not require any monthly fee, unless you go below their minimum maintaining balance. However, there are many offers which give you “benefits” as long as you pay a monthly fee. Let’s say your bank asks for £10 a month for the following benefits:

• “free” mobile phone insurance coverage
• “free” travel insurance within the year
• “free” motorist assistance
• And so on.

First things first – these are not really “free.” You are paying £10 a month - £120 a year – to cover your bum in case some thing happens. It doesn’t seem like much, though, does it? But think again. You probably already have these insurance policies! And even if you don’t you’d probably forget down the road and take up the travel agent on his offer for add-on single travel policies…You can see how easily that money can go down the drain.

Not poring through the details of your statement
Worse, not looking at your statement. This applies to both bank accounts and credit card statements. Even if you get a notification that you have the statement available online and you don’t check it, you are making a mistake. Obviously, the biggest reason is to check for fraudulent activities, especially for credit cards. But there are other reasons. You might have charges or fees that you are not aware of, for one. You might not know exactly how much money you have – and then maybe spend more than you should. And so on. At the end of the day, keeping tabs on your financial situation is what you need to do.

Accessing financial accounts in a public place
I was guilty of this. Paypal, online bank accounts, credit cards, and so on. From time to time I would do this even when I was not at home or in the office. At the coffee shop, on the road, while on vacation – guilty as charged. I am just lucky that I never had someone steal my information while I was accessing accounts over a not so secure network. Don’t make this mistake. You might not be so lucky. And don’t think that I am paranoid. There are so many unscrupulous individuals out there just waiting to prey on people like you and me.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 3:53 am and is filed under Banking, Personal Finance, Advice . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.