6 Money Tips to Prevent Spring Stress

Home Blog 6 Money Tips to Prevent Spring Stress

Posted On: May 20, 2020 by Peoples Bank of Kankakee County in: Budget Personal Finances Saving Seasonal

Research shows that money is the number one cause of stress among Americans. Balancing your expenses and managing your spending habits can be tricky, but we’ve come up with six great tips to help keep that stress away.

1. Track What You’re Spending

Keeping track of what you spend money on is a great way to analyze your spending habits and make changes. Sometimes you don’t realize what spending problems you have until you see your payments on paper. Keep a paper or digital list, or even download a money spending app, to help alleviate some stress. Another great way to stay on top of your spending is to download our Mobile App and enroll in Real Time Alerts (data rates may apply).

2. Reach Out for Support

Having a support system is a great way to reach your financial goals. Ask a reliable friend to hold you accountable for your spending habits and surround yourself with people that want you to succeed financially.

3. Limit Temptation

If you tend to make unnecessary or impulse purchases when you’re in a certain area, like in a mall or downtown, do your best to avoid those areas. Whatever brings about the temptation to spend money when you don’t need to, keep your distance from it. Next time you visit a mall, maybe bring along your accountability partner so they can help out!

4. Make a Plan

Sit down and spend some time reviewing your financial situation. Figure out when money causes you stress and brainstorm a way to ease that stress. For example, if you tend to worry about spending money while getting groceries, try setting a weekly or monthly grocery budget and make a grocery list that matches up. Next time you go to the store, you’ll have the list and won’t have to worry about what number the store clerk will say at checkout.

5. Have an Emergency Fund

Unexpected expenses will come about in life and, in those situations, you’ll feel a lot better knowing you have a backup plan. It might seem like a challenge to build an emergency fund, but start small and build it up over time. Check out our variety of savings options, then contact us to see which savings solutions works best for you.

6. Check Your Progress

Seeing how far you’ve come after implementing a financial plan is like a breath of fresh air. Look at the positives and be proud of yourself for making a change in the first place.

If you’re making an effort to control your spending habits, the stress of money will eventually become less and less. Feel free to check out our free financial calculators to help get you started with your financial plan!

An overdraft occurs when you do not have enough money in your account to cover a transaction, but we pay it anyway. We can cover your overdrafts in two different ways:

We have standard overdraft practices that are available after your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing.
We also offer an overdraft protection plan, Overdraft Protection Sweep, a link to a savings account. It may be less expensive than our standard overdraft practices. To learn more, ask us about this plan.

This notice explains our standard overdraft practices.

What are the standard overdraft practices that come with my account?

After your account has been open for 30 days and as long as you maintain your account in good standing, we do authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions:

Checks and other transactions made using your checking account number
Automatic bill payments

We do not authorize and pay overdrafts for the following types of transactions unless you ask us to (see below):

ATM transactions
Everyday debit card transactions

We pay overdrafts at our discretion, which means we do not guarantee that we will always authorize and pay any type of transaction.

If we do not authorize and pay an overdraft, your transaction will be declined.

What fees will I be charged if Peoples Bank of Kankakee County pays my overdraft?

Under our standard overdraft practices:

We will charge you a fee of up to $30 each time we pay an overdraft.
The maximum daily overdraft fee per presentment or item paid using the Overdraft Reserve Program is $150.00 per day.
No per item handling fee will be charged on de minimis overdrafts. De minimis overdraft for this policy means transactions that overdraw your account by $30 or less.
There is an overdraft fee of $5 per day that will be charged beginning the 4th consecutive business day your account is overdrawn.

Nonsufficient funds (NSF) fees - if an item drafted by you (such as a check) or a transaction you set up (such as a preauthorized transfer) is presented for payment in an amount that is more than the amount of money in your account and we decide not to pay the item or transaction, you agree that we can charge you an NSF fee for returning the payment. Be aware that such an item or payment may be presented multiple times by the merchant or other payee until it is paid, and that we do not monitor or control the number of times a transaction is presented for payment. You agree that we may charge you an NSF fee each time a payment is presented if the amount of money in your account is not sufficient to cover the payment, regardless of the number of times the payment is presented.

PAYMENT ORDER OF ITEMS - The law permits us to pay items drawn on your account in any order (for purposes of this section "items" means checks, orders and electronic transactions). To assist you in handling your account with us, we are providing you with the following information regarding how we process those items. When processing checks and orders drawn on your account our policy is to pay lower numbered checks and orders in numerical sequence, but electronic transactions are paid first in the order received. The order in which items are paid is important if there is not enough money in your account to pay all of the items that are presented. There is no policy that is favorable in every instance. If the smallest items are paid first, you may have fewer NSF or overdraft fees, but the largest, and perhaps more important items (such as rent or mortgage payments) might not be paid. However, if the largest items are paid first, your most important items might be paid but it may increase the overdraft or NSF fees if funds are not available to pay all of the items. We think our policy attains a reasonable balance between minimizing additional costs to you and paying your more important items. We encourage you to make careful records and practice good account management. This will help you to avoid creating items without sufficient funds and incurring the resulting fees.

What if I want Peoples Bank of Kankakee County to authorize and pay overdrafts on my ATM and everyday debit card transactions?

If you also want us to authorize and pay overdrafts on ATM and everyday debit card transactions after your account has been open for 30 days, you may opt in.

You have an ongoing right to change this consent at any time. If your overdraft privilege has been revoked for any reason, the opt-in or opt-out selection may not apply. Please contact your nearest office for more information.

Alternate ways to Opt In/Out or make changes:

By Phone. Our Customer Care Representatives can be reached at 815-936-7600.
By Mail. Peoples Bank of Kankakee County, 333 E. Court Street, Kankakee, IL 60901
In Person. Please visit your local office and ask a representative to help you decide which plan is best for you.