#9 Don't buy from your bank

by Jane Baker on 26 June 2009  |  2 comments
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Today's slice of 'what not to do advice' is one of my most fundamental financial rules...

Today's slice of 'what not to do advice' is one of my most fundamental financial rules:

#9 Don't buy from your bank

Let me ask you this: how do you find a good bargain? Well, you shop around. You compare the price of the item you want, and then you buy it from the cheapest place. Easy.

This simple principle applies to just about anything you might want to buy. And yet when it comes to more complex purchases - such as financial products - we sometimes forget all the rules.

Think about it this way: what are banks good at? Before you say 'nothing!' or 'ripping customers off!' I would (grudgingly) venture the idea that banks are 'ok' at managing current accounts. Whether they do a decent job of lending us money, or looking after our savings is another question. But let's face it, what other choice do we really have if we don't want to keep our salaries under the mattress?

So what is it that makes you think your bank is any good at say, pensions? Or life insurance? Or travel money? Or, in fact, any product they don't specialise in? In my experience this invariably leads to a poor deal.

I'm not saying banks always offer rubbish value for money, but how will you ever know if you don't open your eyes to the alternatives?