| You may have heard the term "NSF" floating around | | | | be liable to pay your bank big NSF (overdraft) fees |
| lately. If so, you likely read or heard it in the news, at | | | | every time you overdraw your account. |
| work, or maybe from a friend. This is a personal | | | | 2. You will have to pay fees even when your bank |
| finance term that has a direct impact on how much of | | | | accepts a debit transaction for an overdrawn account: |
| your own money you actually get to keep at the end | | | | Overdraft protection programs are set up in a way |
| of the day. | | | | that allows new debit card charges to be accepted |
| If you are wondering, "What does NSF stand for?," | | | | and covered by your bank - even though your |
| here is a definition, along with some important points | | | | account has a negative balance at the time that |
| you should know about personal finance that could | | | | results in your having to pay a fee. This practice is |
| save you hundreds of dollars or more a year. | | | | quite sneaky on the part of banks: it means you could |
| NSF simply means "non-sufficient funds." Usually, the | | | | end up paying 1, 2, 3 or more NSF fees in a given day |
| term is used to refer to the situation whereby you | | | | without even knowing it - adding up to $100 or more. |
| make a charge to your checking account - usually a | | | | 3. You can protest overdraft fees and sometimes win: |
| debit, credit, or check charge - for an amount that | | | | If an overdraft fee has shown up on your bank |
| exceeds the balance of your account. An NSF | | | | statement recently, you can sometimes protest and |
| situation almost always results in your having to pay a | | | | win. However, doing so takes your valuable time, and |
| fee of $30 or more to your bank each time. | | | | winning is not guaranteed. |
| Another common term for "NSF fees" is "overdraft | | | | Take the time right now to go back through the past |
| fees." Here are 3 points about NSF fees you should | | | | 2-3 months of bank statements and add up how |
| know. | | | | much you have paid your bank in NSF fees. The |
| 1. You may be paying NSF fees to your bank each | | | | number may surprise you. The good news is that |
| month: Most people are not aware that nowadays the | | | | some banks now offer no-overdraft-fee checking |
| majority of banks automatically enroll their new | | | | accounts, which means they will cover your |
| checking account customers in something called an | | | | overdrawn charge but still not charge you a fee - |
| overdraft protection program. Once enrolled, you will | | | | ever. |