submitted by Joseph J. Tryon, Jr., President, Hatboro Federal Savings

In this economy, spending money on things you don’t need is a really bad idea.

Here’s another bad idea.  Spending money for something you can get for free.

Yet, that’s exactly what many people are doing if they’re still paying monthly service fees for their checking account.

New banking regulations kicked in at the beginning of 2011.  They are designed to keep banks – particularly the big boys – from charging their customers excessive fees. That means larger banks stand to lose billions from reduced fees for overdrafts and debit and credit cards.  And a major change resulting from these new banking regulations is that larger banks no longer want to bear the cost of providing free checking accounts for customers.

Why?

Because they generate little or no revenue.  That’s why most large banks have raised monthly service fees for their checking accounts, or eliminated them altogether.

In this environment, consumers should stay alert even when a bank advertises free checking, because it may not be true.  It might be free only if you maintain a very high monthly balance, limit the number of checks you write, make a monthly direct deposit of $500 or more, and adhere to any number of requirements buried in the small print in their ads or on their Web site.

Okay, that’s the bad news.

The good news is there are a few community banks in the area that still offer free checking that is actually free. And what that means is no minimum balance requirements, no monthly service charges, no limit on the number of checks you can write and no hidden fees buried in the small print.

So, keep an eye on your bank this year.  And taking a closer look at your bank statement every month is a good place to start.