In a PIX11 morning news segment, financial empowerment coach Ash Exantus discusses six common consumer fees that drain wallets and offers practical ways to avoid them. He explains how to prevent cell‑phone data overage charges by selecting the right plan, save on cable/Internet installation fees by checking for existing equipment and self‑installing, reduce airline baggage fees by leveraging credit‑card travel perks or choosing airlines with lower fees, evaluate credit‑card annual fees and switch to no‑fee or higher‑value cards, avoid late‑payment penalties by paying on time and negotiating waivers when necessary, and eliminate bank fees by switching to fee‑free banks like BankMobile, credit unions, or community banks. Throughout, Ash emphasizes diligent review of statements, reading fine print, and advocating for oneself as the key to keeping money in the pocket.
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If you take a close look at all the bills each month, you'll be surprised at how many fees you're really charged, and you know they add up. So how can you avoid them? Well, this morning Ash Exantus, the financial empowerment coach for BankMobile, is here with us with a few solutions. Ash, nice to have you this morning.
Thank you, thank you so much.
You know, I was telling you, like, you know, I look at the charges and I do feel like we're getting bamboozled here.
Absolutely.
And really ripped off.
If you don't pay attention, you'll get some leaks in those bank accounts.
Alright, so what do we need to know? What do we need to know when we are checking our bills? So you have to just check for any Overage fees, right?
So one of those fees are like data overage on your cell phone. Right. You know, a lot of times people have, you know, overage fees because they're streaming videos, streaming, you know, movies and things of that nature. So you have to just double-check to make sure that you have the proper plan set up.
Okay, and if you don't have the proper plan, then of course call and get the proper plan if you're one of those people that uses all that.
Absolutely.
Next, how about installation for cable internet and phone? Talk to me about that.
Usually with those installations—
Triple play, right?
Triple play, but then a lot of times Those installations already in the house, so you'll pay for a technician to come out to install it for you, but you could probably do it yourself.
Let me ask you a question. Is there a way out of that?
Yeah, just, you know, just check to see if the installation is there previously, and if it is, then just do it yourself, and then you save on that fee.
All right, we just saw that graphic. Air baggage, airline fees, baggage fees. They get you every time.
They get you every time. So you have to pay attention. You have to look. There are a lot of airlines out there that probably don't charge a fee or have a lower fee. There's actually even your credit card company, if you have like frequent flyer miles, They have— some of them have benefits where they'll waive the fee for you.
So check them out. Wow, I've never seen that. Oh wow, that's good to know that they waive fees. Also, credit card companies get you in so many ways. Let's talk about annual fees. This one's a tough one, you know what I mean? Annual fees, it's hard to get out of. I've tried to get out of them.
Yeah, I think, I think, you know, with so much competition now, right, credit cards, like, you know, credit card companies are actually giving away free credit reports, even annual fees. Some of them are even paying you back for certain transactions.
Really?
Yeah, you just have to, you know, research and see what credit cards out there that are giving you, you know, no annual fee. If you are paying the annual fee, make sure the benefit that you're getting for that annual fee is worth it.
Okay, okay, that's true. It's worth it, it's worth for everything that you need that credit card for. Let's talk about late payment. You know they kill you. $25, $35, $45. I mean, it really adds up.
The way to avoid it is just don't be late.
I know.
But if you are, if you're a good customer, if it's a one-time thing, you'll be surprised. If you call them, they want to keep their good customers. They'll probably waive it for you.
Finally, bank fees. How do you avoid them? Bank fees, they get you nickel and diming.
That's something dear to my heart because the banking industry makes $43 billion on fees. So it's important that you just find a bank like BankMobile that doesn't charge any fees. You have credit unions, you have community banks. Just make sure that you're looking at your statement and making sure they're not charging you any fees whatsoever.
Yeah, and I think the bottom line is that you gotta do your due diligence.
Absolutely.
You gotta go through it. You gotta be very, very kind of like a pathologist. Yeah, you gotta read the fine print. Do like your forensics on your financials, really.
Absolutely, absolutely.
only way. So you have to advocate for yourself to get it done. Am I right?
Most importantly, that is the most important. Exactly. Because you'll be surprised of what they'll do if you just ask.
Yeah, like you said, competition is big, so they want to keep you as a customer. Ash, thank you so much. Great advice. Like he said, you are your own advocate, so put that money back in your pocket. We'll have more information that Ash gave us on our PIX11 app, and click on the morning news tab. The news at 7 starts
