Tips like these helped us pay off $127K in debt. You can read our story in Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.
Welcome to 31 Debt Free Missions! A new feature this year on Queen of Free, during each day in January, I will provide 31 concrete missions or challenges for you to take on to #SlayDebt and take charge of your finances this year. Each mission will take you less than an hour (some will only require 15 minutes). Whereas, 31 Days to Kick Debt in the Teeth (which I’m reworking this year and reposting in January, too) focused on some of the philosophical changes you need to make in order to be successful with money, 31 Debt Free Missions are action steps to put into place after you have your thinking straight. Even better, during the month of January, I’m revisiting each of these challenges in order to sharpen my money saving and debt slaying skills.
Are you ready? Your mission is as follows:
Day 9: Bank Field Trip
When was the last time you really went to the bank? Not just pulled through the drive or stopped at the ATM, but stopped your car, went inside, waited in line, talked to a human, and interacted with your money? This debt free mission will force you to break that streak if it’s been awhile since you looked at someone’s eyeballs when you went to the bank. I want you to do take a little Bank Field Trip for a number of reasons. Let’s explore them together, shall we?
Know the Specifics of Your Account
While we rarely think about banking as a customer driven business, it is. Banking accounts and programs change regularly to entice more customers to bank with them. That means that if you set up your account ions ago, the times they are a changing and that could be a really good thing for you. You need to visit the bank and ask some specific questions about your account. Are there fees? What kinds of transactions can you make? Is there an interest rate where you could actually earn money (gasp!)? Is there something that better fits your needs? You might find that you’re in a program that’s not really a good fit.
A word to the wise: while I do want you to love your local bank, remember they are a business, not your BFF. So banks will try to sell you all sorts of products. It doesn’t look like a bank has wares on its shelves from the outside but they do. At all costs, avoid loans, credit cards, early deposit programs, and even duo credit card/debit card deals like the plague. Your regular ‘ole debit card that is backed by a credit card company but ONLY withdraws from your account will be just fine. Be firm because they will always be closing (some operate on a commission based system). You are trying to get out of debt, not accrue more.
This is your opportunity to ask questions about new programs and accounts but PLEASE do not make a Johnny on the Spot decision if you have any hesitations at all. You can always come back the next day after you have had time to process your options and sign up then. Be smart and don’t be pressured. It is your money, not the bank’s.
Know the People
I feel like this is HUGE. If something ever goes awry with your account, you want someone at your local bank branch on your team. Let’s just say your PayPal account gets hacked to the tune of $900 by someone on a World of Warcraft bender in California. You would want a lovely bank employee who has seen your eyeballs weekly to talk you down from a paranoid ledge and then do everything in her power to take care of the situation (um because that CAN happen).
There are limited places where you can see the same people on a regular basis and build a relationship. This is an investment of multiple streams and will yield great rewards.
Know Rewards
Speaking of rewards, find out if your bank has any rewards programs. For years, our debit card had a rewards programs that allowed me to collect points for any purchases we made. This led me to pay many of our bills online using the card so that we could gain more points. I held onto the points all year long and then I cashed those badboys out to get gift cards to do Christmas shopping. It was a simple way for us to have a little bit more money for gift giving and generosity. The program has now changed to a pre-loaded coupon system where you might get a specific discount at a specific retailer but I’m still enrolled and always check the rewards program before making a purchase at one of the retailers, just in case.
Do you go into your bank and know the employees? Make a plan to visit this week.
My book is now available: Slaying the Debt Dragon: How One Family Conquered Their Money Monster and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After. You can also check out Inspiration to Pay Off Debt: 30 Days of Encouragement from the Queen of Free
This post contains an affiliate link. That means when you get a great deal or maybe even something for free, you also help our family pay off our mortgage early. And for that, we royally thank you!
