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easpaairgid
Guest
Hi there,
I am new to this forum and clueless about money. Should have been on this a long time ago really. Just wondered if anyone could maybe advise on something I heard on the radio this morning & am considering...
They were talking about how it's almost unavoidable to escape bank charges now. I am with B of I, who now require that you keep at least €3000 in the current account to avoid charges. Even I know that would be madness as any €3000 I might have (I don't!) would earn more on deposit that i would end up paying in charges.
My question is whether it is realistic to close all bank accounts (I am self-employed and regularly use electronic transfers to get paid, pay my bills etc) I mainly use Laser for occasional online purchases.
What they advised on the radio was to do three things:
1. Close bank account
2. Open Credit union account in a branch that allows electronic payments and has ATM style cards available (didn't know any of them had ATM cards)
3. Buy a pre-pay credit card for online purchases.
It all sounds attractive. I have no knowledge or experience of pre-paid credit cards, it would be handy to have for online purchases alright but they have their own charges (looking for minimum bank/card charges here!!) Also, some of them need to be topped up by bank transfer which would defeat the purpose of my excercise...
Any advice or opinions on any of the above? Thank you for reading until the end!
I am new to this forum and clueless about money. Should have been on this a long time ago really. Just wondered if anyone could maybe advise on something I heard on the radio this morning & am considering...
They were talking about how it's almost unavoidable to escape bank charges now. I am with B of I, who now require that you keep at least €3000 in the current account to avoid charges. Even I know that would be madness as any €3000 I might have (I don't!) would earn more on deposit that i would end up paying in charges.
My question is whether it is realistic to close all bank accounts (I am self-employed and regularly use electronic transfers to get paid, pay my bills etc) I mainly use Laser for occasional online purchases.
What they advised on the radio was to do three things:
1. Close bank account
2. Open Credit union account in a branch that allows electronic payments and has ATM style cards available (didn't know any of them had ATM cards)
3. Buy a pre-pay credit card for online purchases.
It all sounds attractive. I have no knowledge or experience of pre-paid credit cards, it would be handy to have for online purchases alright but they have their own charges (looking for minimum bank/card charges here!!) Also, some of them need to be topped up by bank transfer which would defeat the purpose of my excercise...
Any advice or opinions on any of the above? Thank you for reading until the end!