8 hacks that will help you save more money
Uncover hidden leaks by taking a closer look at where exactly your dollars are going. Here are some painless ways to spend less so you can save more.
Updated Feb. 19, 2021, at 1:35 p.m. CT
Why’s there a limit on free transfers and withdrawals you can make from your savings accounts?
Dupaco’s mission is to encourage responsible financial activity and thrift.
Limiting fee-free transfers and withdrawals from your savings accounts helps encourage you to save. It also helps ensure that the financial cooperative has the proper amount of available cash for member needs, said Katie Shemak, deposit operations manager at Dupaco Community Credit Union.
Under Dupaco’s fee structure, you’re limited to six transactions each month on certain transfers and withdrawals from your savings and money market accounts.
“The savings accounts are really meant for saving, and this helps encourage that, as Dupaco doesn’t classify savings accounts as transaction accounts,” Shemak said.
At Dupaco, a $3 excessive transfer fee is imposed for each subsequent transfer or withdrawal from that savings account. A $5 excessive transfer fee is imposed for each subsequent transfer or withdrawal from Dupaco’s money market accounts (Investor’s Choice and High-Yield Savings).
Savings account transactions that are limited to six each month include those made using:
Not all transfers and withdrawals from your savings accounts receive these fees, though. Transactions that don’t count against your allotted six include:
These steps can help you avoid excessive transfer fees:
A free Dupaco Money Makeover can help you review your budget so you know how much money you need in each account to both cover your expenses and build your savings. By properly allocating your funds in your checking and savings accounts, you can avoid the need to transfer money from your savings accounts to cover shortages, Shemak said.
Once you’ve reviewed your budget, consider having your recurring deposits, such as your paychecks, securely direct deposited into your checking account—not your savings account. From there, you can use Dupaco’s automatic transfers to distribute your money into your other accounts, such as You-Name-It Savings or your Holiday Club account.
Another option: Take advantage of payroll distribution. You can set up recurring deposits to automatically distribute to your accounts before the funds hit your checking account.
“When the payroll comes in, we divvy it up before our members even see it in their checking accounts,” Shemak said. “Some members don’t want to see how much money they have until everything has been paid first. They just want to see what’s leftover.”
Overdraft transfers from savings accounts go against your allotted six transactions. So, it’s one more reason to keep close tabs on your checking account balance.
Know how much money is in your checking account before those automatic debits and withdrawals occur and before you use your Dupaco MoneyCard, Bill Pay or a paper check.
Learn other ways to break the fee cycle >
Make it easier to keep tabs on your accounts by activating Dupaco’s free eNotifier Alerts. You can customize them to be alerted every time you transfer money from your savings account to your checking account.
You also can log into Shine Online or Mobile Banking to review the transactions you’ve made from your savings accounts.
Within Shine Online Banking, you’ll also be alerted every time your transaction counts against your allotted six transfers.
When you need cash from your savings account, go to a Dupaco branch, CO-OP Shared Branch or ATM. This way, you’ll avoid the monthly transaction limit.
When you do transfer or withdraw money from your savings account, consider taking more than you need. This will give yourself a cushion. You can always return money to your savings account later.