Tired of Bank Fees? Checking and Savings With SoFi Explained

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Disclosure: Some links in this post are my personal referral links. If you use them, I may earn a referral bonus at no extra cost to you.

This is not financial or investment advice. Investing involves risk, including loss of money.

Tired of bank fees nibbling away at your money every month? The honest fix is simple: find out exactly which fees you are paying, then move your everyday checking and savings to an account whose current fee schedule you have read and are comfortable with. For me, that meant opening a SoFi checking and savings account and putting my bills on autopilot, but it is not the only option, and I will show you how to decide for yourself.

Why do bank fees keep eating my money?

Most of us opened a bank account years ago and never looked at it again. Over time the account picks up little charges: a monthly maintenance fee if your balance dips, a charge for paper statements, a fee for using another bank's ATM, an overdraft fee when a bill clears a day early. None of them feels big on its own. Together, they quietly take money you worked for.

Usually you did nothing wrong. The rules changed, your balance changed, or the account you picked at 25 does not fit your life at 55.

That was me. I wanted checking and savings without all the different fees, and I wanted to stop thinking about it.

How do I stop paying bank fees? What people usually try

Here are the common moves, fairly laid out:

• Call your current bank and ask. Sometimes a fee gets waived or they move you to another account type.
• Meet the minimums. Many accounts drop the monthly fee if you keep a set balance or have direct deposit. That works if you can always meet the rule, but one slow month can bring the fee back.
• Switch to a credit union or local bank. Plenty of people are happy here. Read their fee schedule the same way you would anywhere else.
• Switch to an online bank. Online-only banks often have fewer branch costs. The trade-off is that you do most things through an app or website instead of walking into a lobby.

There is no one right answer for everybody. The free first step for anyone is the same: pull up your last three statements and circle every fee.

How SoFi checking and savings fits the problem

I chose SoFi because I wanted my checking and savings in one place and I did not want to keep juggling fee rules. Here is what the offer looks like, as listed when I wrote this. Always check SoFi's current terms on their site, because banking promotions, bonus amounts and terms change often.

• It is a personal checking and savings account. This is personal banking, not a business opportunity and not multi-level.
• A $50 opening deposit funds the account. That money is yours, sitting in your account. It is not a fee.
• A $25 potential account credit, subject to SoFi's current qualification terms. Read the terms so you know what qualifies. I cannot promise you will get it.
• Bill pay. This is the part that changed things for me. I automate all of my bills with SoFi bill pay. I want to automate everything, and having my bills go out on their own means fewer late payments and less to remember.

If your money worries come from losing track of due dates as much as from fees, automating bill pay can help with both. If you have been through a big reset with your money, like I wrote about in losing half my 401k in a divorce, getting the boring basics automated is a good place to start rebuilding.

How do I automate bill pay so I stop missing payments?

You do not need a fancy system. A simple order that works for most people:

1. Write down every bill, its amount and its due date.
2. Make sure your checking account will have enough money in it a few days before each due date.
3. Set up each bill in your bank's bill pay one at a time, and watch the first payment go through.
4. Check your account once a week for the first month, then once or twice a month after that.

Automation is only as good as the balance behind it. Knowing your real monthly number helps too; I talked about that in how much money you would need to live comfortably.

Who SoFi fits, and who should pick something else

SoFi may fit you if you are comfortable banking from an app, you want checking and savings together, and you like the idea of automating your bills.

Something else may fit better if you need to walk into a branch, you deposit a lot of cash, or you already have a free account you are happy with. If your current bank is not charging you anything and you like it, the honest answer is you may not need to switch at all. A credit union or a phone call to your current bank are both worth trying first.

There is also a personal referral program: SoFi lists a $75 potential bonus per qualifying personal referral, paid through SoFi when the referral is approved. It is personal referrals only, terms change, and many people earn nothing from it.

Quick facts

• What it is: a SoFi online checking and savings account (personal banking, not a business opportunity).
• Opening deposit: $50, which funds your account and is not a fee, as listed when written.
• Potential account credit: $25, subject to SoFi's current qualification terms.
• What I use it for: checking and savings in one place, with all my bills automated through SoFi bill pay.
• Who it is for: people who want to cut down on bank fee headaches and are comfortable banking online.
• Referral program: $75 potential bonus per qualifying personal referral, as listed; not guaranteed.

Frequently asked questions

Does SoFi charge monthly fees?

Fee schedules change, so I will not tell you what SoFi charges today. Read SoFi's current account terms and fee schedule on their site before you open anything. That is the same thing I would tell you about any bank.

Is the $50 opening deposit a fee?

No. As listed when I wrote this, the $50 opening deposit funds your account. It is your money, sitting in your new account.

Will I definitely get the $25 account credit?

Not definitely. It is a potential credit, subject to SoFi's current qualification terms. Read the terms so you know exactly what is required.

Can I automate my bills with SoFi?

Yes, SoFi has bill pay, and that is what I use to automate all of my bills. Set each one up carefully and keep enough in checking to cover them.

Do I have to close my old bank account?

No. Many people open a new account, move their bills over one at a time, and only close the old account once everything is running smoothly.

Your next step

Pull up your last three bank statements tonight and circle every fee. If you decide you want checking and savings in one place with bill pay, you can look at the current terms and open a SoFi checking account with my referral link.

What is the one bank fee that annoys you the most? Tell me in the comments.

Results vary. Your results depend on your own effort, skills and situation, and many people earn nothing.