How’d you like an extra twenty eight bucks a month, in your wallet?
  Consumer Reports says stop paying bank fees.
  Banks collected 39 billion dollars in fees and penalties last year: about 28 dollars a month per household.
    With some planning, you can pay zero.
    Bank at large institutions with lots of ATMs in convenient locations.
    Shop for free checking.
    Keep the minimum balance, and use direct deposit.
    We invite you to share your money saving ideas right here on wnct.com, in the wallet watch blog.

WOULD YOU LIKE AN EXTRA FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH?
  IN TONIGHT’S WALLET WATCH: THE CONSUMER REPORTS MONEY LAB UNCOVERED SAVINGS IN EVERYDAY SPENDING.
  FIND CHEAPER CAR INSURANCE.  MANY PEOPLE STAY WITH THE SAME COMPANY FOR YEARS AND MIGHT SAVE BY SHOPPING AROUND.
  START AT THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS’  WEBSITE, NAIC.ORG.
  LIFE INSURANCE PREMIUMS HAVE DROPPED A LOT SINCE THE 1990S SO YOU COULD SAVE WITH A NEW POLICY.
GET QUOTES AT ACCUQUOTE.COM AND LIFEINSURE.COM.
  SHOP SMART FOR FOOD. YOU CAN CHOP GROCERY BILLS BY SHIFTING TO LOWER- COST FOODS.
  PLAN MENUS AROUND SALES OF FRESH POULTRY, FISH, MEAT, DAIRY, AND PRODUCE.

Here are a couple of ideas that may help you save a few bucks:
Try buying used items that are well taken care of.
  The average consumer spends 17 hundred dollars a year on cloths and their upkeep at least that is what the most recent consumer expenditure survey says.
Here is a way to cut it in half…shop at consignment stores and auctions. The life of the goods may be lees, but buy them new and they loose money when you walk out of the store.
That one change could account for a 25 percent savings in your clothing allowance every year.

Also, to save some money put away that ATM card. The editor of “ATM and Debit News” says.
The average person takes 60 dollars out of an ATM four times a month that they don’t account for. That’s about 240 dollars of unaccountable spending.
The editor says as soon as you turn money into cash. You have no paper trail to see how it slips through your fingers. Their advice? Withdraw the exact amount of cash you will need each week…then put the debit card away.

Knowing your credit score can make life a lot easier in todays economic pinch..
  here are five web sites where you can get your credit score free.
• http://www.creditkarma.com gives you your “Transunion” score. The website is supported by advertising
• http://www.eloan.com  gets you your “Experian” score
• http://www.prosper.com gives your “Experian” score as well.
• http://www.lendingclub.com  gives you a letter grade and a neat graph to show you how it is going.
• “Washington Mutual Credit Cards” gets you the “Transunion“ score for free.
And don’t forget, the government says you are allowed one free credit check from the big credit companies; Experian, Transunion and Equafax every year. Just log onto their websites.

On another subject, If you want to save money, and who doesn’t these days,  how about looking at your cell phone bill. Too many minutes left over and you’re wasting money. Too few and you pay steep overage charges.
J-d Power and Associates did a study that showsr most of us use only 64% of the minute we pay for each month. So:
• If you are still under contract see if the company will change your plan to fewer minutes but unlimited weekends and nights.That way you won’t pay a termination fee.
• and if your contract is up - go to http://www.myrateplan.com  to check out which plan may be the best for you.

And as always, we want your ideas to save money, just go the home page, type in Wallet Watch and leave us a line.

FINANCIAL PLANNING: CAN HELP YOU PUT YOUR MONEY TO WORK, BUT BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHO YOU’RE HIRING AS AN ADVISOR.
  IN TONIGHT’S WALLET WATCH, CONSUMER REPORTS WARNS THAT TO AVOID ANY CONFLICT OF INTEREST, USE A FEE- ONLY PLANNER, WHO CHARGES AN HOURLY RATE AND DOESN’T GET A COMMISSION ON FINANCIAL PRODUCTS HE OR SHE RECOMMENDS.
  A PLANNER CAN DEVELOP A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN FIVE TO 20 HOURS, AND MOST CHARGE ONE HUNDRED TO TWO HUNDRED FIFTY AN HOUR.
  ONE SOURCE IS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PERSONAL FINANCIAL ADVISORS, ON LINE AT http://www.napfa.org, WHICH REPRESENTS FEE- ONLY PLANNERS.
      WE WANT TO HEAR YOUR MONEY-SAVING IDEAS—SHARE THEM RIGHT HERE ON W-N-C-T DOT COM.

Companies don’t want you to notice, but you’re getting less of what you’re paying for these days. It’s important to be informed, so just so you’ll know…
From ice cream to paper towels, manufacturers are shrinking the package and
the contents but not the price.
• For instance, Kellogg is using smaller packages for five of its top brands of cereal.
• There are fewer chips all Frito lay snacks—from Cheeto’s to
• Doritos…
• A jar of Hellman’s mayonnaise   was 32 ounces but is now 30.
• Bounty cut the number of paper towels on a roll from 56 to 48.
 
It’s all to pay for the increased cost of gasoline and transporting these products to market..
We want to hear your ideas on ways to save money. Just go to our home page, and type in the keywords: Wallet Watch.

. Insurance: we all need to have it.
  But it can take a big bite out of our wallets. In tonight’s Wallet Watch, here are some ways to save money when you’re buying or renewing your policies, courtesy of Consumer Reports. Try comparison shopping at a site such as http://www.insweb.com.  Ask about getting a discount if you buy your car, home and life insurances from the same company.  Raising your deductibles can save a lot.  And review your policies, to make sure you’re not duplicating coverage.  We want to hear and feature your money- saving ideas—enter them here on our website, and type in the keywords: wallet watch

The experts say we are not officially in a recession, but with prices the way they are, the last thing you need is to loose your job.
So Wallet Watch went to find some ideas to help you keep working. So we got these ideas from the website: http://www.consumerist.com .

First, arrive early and leave a little late.  The number of hours you work is often perceived as your value to the company.

Look for opportunities to learn something new about your job that only a few people know. You can use that to show your boss how valuable you really are.
And finally look busy….don’t take a lot of breaks, and don’t surf the net for personal reasons 10 times a day.  It looks as if you have time on your hands even though you may just do your work quickly.

We want your ideas too, be sure to leave them before you log off.

A viewer wrote to tell us if you buy gas at the pump with your bank debit card, gas stations can put a hold of from 50 to 75 dollars on your account… Even if you only buy 10 dollars worth! And, that bank hold is there for up to 48 hours. You might need that 75 bucks, it can make the difference.
Well, here is how you get around that.
Your best bet is to go inside and pay cash, or simply go to the cashier at the counter and use your debit card there. They don’t generally put a hold on it them. The one thing you don’t want to do is use a credit card. You’ll be paying for weeks on gasoline you may use up in a few days.

  Just today, US Airways announced it will be the third major airline to add a fifteen dollar charge for luggage.
  If you plan to fly this summer; it helps to know how to do it more cheaply.
  In tonight’s Wallet Watch, here are some traveling tips.
  Consumer Reports says compare prices for dates and departure times, using websites like Expedia, Orbitz, Kayak and Travelocity.
    Tuesdays and Wednesdays are usually the least expensive days to fly.
  Sundays are most expensive for domestic travel, and Saturdays cost the most for international travel.
  We want to hear about your money saving ideas—here on wnct.com, share them in this wallet watch section.