I know that many people dread going to the bank, but as a bank employee I have to say that I am personally offended. Going to the bank doesn’t always mean that we need financial help and clients definitely shouldn’t think the worst about their bank. There are many things that our bank can help us with from starting our own business to planning for retirement.
The next time that you are in your bank branch take a look at their marketing pamphlets to see all of the ways that your bank can help you. We know that our bank can help us open a checking and savings account as well as apply for a credit card. But our bank can help us out with so much more than just our basic banking needs.
Here are 5 ways our bank can help us be financially successful:
1. Financial Planning. Many banks have at least one certified financial planner on staff who can help you plan for your future and achieve your personal financial goals. If you want financial planning services you do not have to visit a private wealth management firm and pay expensive service fees, all you have to do is ask for a certified financial planner at your local bank branch.
2. Personal Budgets. Many banks offer personal budgeting tools, they just don’t advertise the service. Many bank employees who are currently working as tellers or customer service representatives are studying in personal finance (at least at my bank branch) and they are more than qualified to help you plan your personal budget. Many banks also offer budgeting software or an online application to help you track your income, your spending, and your savings.
3. Small Business Loans. Although our state and provincial governments should be the first source of information when we are applying for a small business loan, our bank branch may also offer some helpful information. Banks usually offer account and deposit services for already established businesses that have banking needs, but they also offer programs to help finance a small business loan.
4. Personal Insurance. Very often we search for an independent insurance company to purchase our life, home, and auto insurance policies. However we don’t need to go through all of that trouble, all we have to do is visit our local bank branch and ask for assistance. Very often personal insurance policies are not physically sold in the bank branch, but at least our personal banker can direct us towards the correct department. If we purchase insurance with our bank we may be entitled to additional discounts on our insurance policies for already being a client of the bank.
5. Donations. If you are a volunteer for a charitable organization or a good cause and you need to do some fund raising I suggest that you ask your local bank branch manager. My bank has an annual budget of $2000 that we can donate to various organizations and causes throughout the year. You never know if your bank can help you until you ask.
Photo by epicharmus
Kristina Tahnyak
Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.
I used to be a bank teller and then a personal banker and would tell people these same things – but few people believed me that banks actually want to help people too! It’s not all just fees and hassle. There are so many resources for people that go untapped just because it’s not common knowledge that they exist. Thanks for sharing this!
I doubt that Banks are or should be the best or first resource for individuals regarding information/motivation to be financially responsible. Financial responsibility I think should be personal and come from within regardless of the services we choose from banks, it is how we handle our money regardless of banking. I would say that personal financial responsibility is first and foremost about how we handle our money while banking is more about where we put it. Banking is not and should not be about how we spend our money, how we spend our money is crucial for financial responsibility which brings us to the practice of budgeting. There are many good, free budgeting tools these days like Out Of The Dark (OOTD) Budgeting which are designed for the common person with average experience in finance. Getting into the habit of good budgeting with the help of these tools, I think is how personal financial responsibility can be found, and then the good budgeting will also tell us how to use the banking services.