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#1 June 11 2019

NuclearVision
Member

Start saving in a bank

Hello everyone! Before starting I want to point out that I did search for the topic and couldn't find what I am looking for.

Over the last few months, I made my first couple thousands of dollars by some online freelancing, trading, etc. I am still a student, so i don't have a stable income.
I was thinking of starting saving in a bank, mainly because I am impulsive, compulsive when it comes to money spending...
But, I know nothing about banks, I don't even know if it's a good idea, I am thinking that starting saving now will improve my spending habits.

I know I can just walk into a bank and ask what I want to know, but I am more comfortable behind a screen with my current finance knowledge.

Ok so a few questions that come to my mind:
Is it a good idea to start saving IN a bank?
Is there a yearly fee for that given that I don't want any extra services like sms and cards...
Do I need some special documents for opening a bank account? (like a residency paper or other 20th century stuff)?
Will they give me interest? And Can i keep adding money to a 'frozen' account ?
What's in your opinion the best bank, keeping in mind the bank's customer support, branches availability and hidden fees, likelyness to collapse(?) ? for example, i head sgbl are kings of hidden fees.


Any advice or personal experience is also welcomed.

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#2 June 12 2019

Kareem
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

NuclearVision wrote:

Hello everyone! Before starting I want to point out that I did search for the topic and couldn't find what I am looking for.

Over the last few months, I made my first couple thousands of dollars by some online freelancing, trading, etc. I am still a student, so i don't have a stable income.
I was thinking of starting saving in a bank, mainly because I am impulsive, compulsive when it comes to money spending...
But, I know nothing about banks, I don't even know if it's a good idea, I am thinking that starting saving now will improve my spending habits.

I know I can just walk into a bank and ask what I want to know, but I am more comfortable behind a screen with my current finance knowledge.

Ok so a few questions that come to my mind:
Is it a good idea to start saving IN a bank?
Is there a yearly fee for that given that I don't want any extra services like sms and cards...
Do I need some special documents for opening a bank account? (like a residency paper or other 20th century stuff)?
Will they give me interest? And Can i keep adding money to a 'frozen' account ?
What's in your opinion the best bank, keeping in mind the bank's customer support, branches availability and hidden fees, likelyness to collapse(?) ? for example, i head sgbl are kings of hidden fees.


Any advice or personal experience is also welcomed.

You can open a bank acount without even going to the bank ( Bank of Beirut - DiGi ) ....

Before you care about the interest rate etc... there's a main concern. Where are you getting the money from ?   I don't need to know but the bank needs it.

If you declare " freelancing" you will need to think about taxes. Yes you need to pay taxes.

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#3 June 12 2019

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Good point thank you!

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#4 June 12 2019

xerxes
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Kareem wrote:
NuclearVision wrote:

Hello everyone! Before starting I want to point out that I did search for the topic and couldn't find what I am looking for.

Over the last few months, I made my first couple thousands of dollars by some online freelancing, trading, etc. I am still a student, so i don't have a stable income.
I was thinking of starting saving in a bank, mainly because I am impulsive, compulsive when it comes to money spending...
But, I know nothing about banks, I don't even know if it's a good idea, I am thinking that starting saving now will improve my spending habits.

I know I can just walk into a bank and ask what I want to know, but I am more comfortable behind a screen with my current finance knowledge.

Ok so a few questions that come to my mind:
Is it a good idea to start saving IN a bank?
Is there a yearly fee for that given that I don't want any extra services like sms and cards...
Do I need some special documents for opening a bank account? (like a residency paper or other 20th century stuff)?
Will they give me interest? And Can i keep adding money to a 'frozen' account ?
What's in your opinion the best bank, keeping in mind the bank's customer support, branches availability and hidden fees, likelyness to collapse(?) ? for example, i head sgbl are kings of hidden fees.


Any advice or personal experience is also welcomed.

You can open a bank acount without even going to the bank ( Bank of Beirut - DiGi ) ....

Before you care about the interest rate etc... there's a main concern. Where are you getting the money from ?   I don't need to know but the bank needs it.

If you declare " freelancing" you will need to think about taxes. Yes you need to pay taxes.

banks ask about funds exceeding 10,000 USD as a apart of complying to 'money laundry and terrorism financing law' but they have nothing to do with taxes.

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#5 June 12 2019

xerxes
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

note that tax evasion is within the scope the money laundry law but that is just a cliche, and banks NEVER give any information to tax authorities in regard to tax evasion.

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#6 June 12 2019

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

xerxes wrote:

note that tax evasion is within the scope the money laundry law but that is just a cliche, and banks NEVER give any information to tax authorities in regard to tax evasion.

Makes sense

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#7 June 12 2019

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Which one is better? audi or blom? these seem like the oldest banks around.

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#8 June 12 2019

Kareem
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

xerxes wrote:
Kareem wrote:
NuclearVision wrote:

Hello everyone! Before starting I want to point out that I did search for the topic and couldn't find what I am looking for.

Over the last few months, I made my first couple thousands of dollars by some online freelancing, trading, etc. I am still a student, so i don't have a stable income.
I was thinking of starting saving in a bank, mainly because I am impulsive, compulsive when it comes to money spending...
But, I know nothing about banks, I don't even know if it's a good idea, I am thinking that starting saving now will improve my spending habits.

I know I can just walk into a bank and ask what I want to know, but I am more comfortable behind a screen with my current finance knowledge.

Ok so a few questions that come to my mind:
Is it a good idea to start saving IN a bank?
Is there a yearly fee for that given that I don't want any extra services like sms and cards...
Do I need some special documents for opening a bank account? (like a residency paper or other 20th century stuff)?
Will they give me interest? And Can i keep adding money to a 'frozen' account ?
What's in your opinion the best bank, keeping in mind the bank's customer support, branches availability and hidden fees, likelyness to collapse(?) ? for example, i head sgbl are kings of hidden fees.


Any advice or personal experience is also welcomed.

You can open a bank acount without even going to the bank ( Bank of Beirut - DiGi ) ....

Before you care about the interest rate etc... there's a main concern. Where are you getting the money from ?   I don't need to know but the bank needs it.

If you declare " freelancing" you will need to think about taxes. Yes you need to pay taxes.

banks ask about funds exceeding 10,000 USD as a apart of complying to 'money laundry and terrorism financing law' but they have nothing to do with taxes.

That's what people think but in fact if you have a growing saving account, say a monthly income of $4K, you will hit $50K  at the end of the year.  Auditing might flag your account as suspicious and you will be questioned.

If you declare freelancing, everything will be OK but then, everyone has " رقم مالي " linked to his name. The gov is aware of your expenses to a certain extent ( receipts, credit card payments, invoices containing your name) since the seller is submitting those documents for VAT and income taxes.

You might get in trouble if they dig deeper.  I've been discussing this subject for months since I was freelancing and there's no easy way to do it else tax evasion would have been very easy.

The $10,000 USD limit set by BDL doesn't mean that you can deposit $5000 cash every day.  Technically you can. You may even use the ATM for deposit ( BLOM up to 45 bank notes per day and BOB up to 50 bank notes per day) but that doesn't mean anything.

They will come after you in the end.

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#9 June 12 2019

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Ok I'm not making that much money, actually i am not precisely freelancing, i just got a few opportunities and made Some money...
I don't think that will be an issue.

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#10 June 12 2019

xerxes
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Kareem wrote:
xerxes wrote:
Kareem wrote:

You can open a bank acount without even going to the bank ( Bank of Beirut - DiGi ) ....

Before you care about the interest rate etc... there's a main concern. Where are you getting the money from ?   I don't need to know but the bank needs it.

If you declare " freelancing" you will need to think about taxes. Yes you need to pay taxes.

banks ask about funds exceeding 10,000 USD as a apart of complying to 'money laundry and terrorism financing law' but they have nothing to do with taxes.

That's what people think but in fact if you have a growing saving account, say a monthly income of $4K, you will hit $50K  at the end of the year.  Auditing might flag your account as suspicious and you will be questioned.

If you declare freelancing, everything will be OK but then, everyone has " رقم مالي " linked to his name. The gov is aware of your expenses to a certain extent ( receipts, credit card payments, invoices containing your name) since the seller is submitting those documents for VAT and income taxes.

You might get in trouble if they dig deeper.  I've been discussing this subject for months since I was freelancing and there's no easy way to do it else tax evasion would have been very easy.

The $10,000 USD limit set by BDL doesn't mean that you can deposit $5000 cash every day.  Technically you can. You may even use the ATM for deposit ( BLOM up to 45 bank notes per day and BOB up to 50 bank notes per day) but that doesn't mean anything.

They will come after you in the end.


The government is not aware of anything and they don't want to. the bank secrecy law prevents tax authorities from accessing your information. The only reason they would report your account to a designated committee is when they suspect you are getting them from terrorism and or supporting hizbollah. other than that, no one cares.

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#11 June 12 2019

Kareem
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

xerxes wrote:
Kareem wrote:
xerxes wrote:

banks ask about funds exceeding 10,000 USD as a apart of complying to 'money laundry and terrorism financing law' but they have nothing to do with taxes.

That's what people think but in fact if you have a growing saving account, say a monthly income of $4K, you will hit $50K  at the end of the year.  Auditing might flag your account as suspicious and you will be questioned.

If you declare freelancing, everything will be OK but then, everyone has " رقم مالي " linked to his name. The gov is aware of your expenses to a certain extent ( receipts, credit card payments, invoices containing your name) since the seller is submitting those documents for VAT and income taxes.

You might get in trouble if they dig deeper.  I've been discussing this subject for months since I was freelancing and there's no easy way to do it else tax evasion would have been very easy.

The $10,000 USD limit set by BDL doesn't mean that you can deposit $5000 cash every day.  Technically you can. You may even use the ATM for deposit ( BLOM up to 45 bank notes per day and BOB up to 50 bank notes per day) but that doesn't mean anything.

They will come after you in the end.


The government is not aware of anything and they don't want to. the bank secrecy law prevents tax authorities from accessing your information. The only reason they would report your account to a designated committee is when they suspect you are getting them from terrorism and or supporting hizbollah. other than that, no one cares.

Bank secrecy is a totally different thing. If what you're saying is true, why do people accounts in Switzerland ? not just because it's safer. Banks must comply and must collaborate with court and government requests. That's as far as I've been told.

And again, it's not the bank that is going to report you to the government.  It's the ministry of finance, again, as far as I know, that holds records of mostly everything related to you.  The bank needs to inform them about the source of your income. That's mainly the whole point.

Whether they're going to do something about it or not, I can't tell. They can ignore it for the time being due to corruption etc... but it's there.

And you're right, tax evasion is now a form of money laundry which means they are taking it seriously.

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#12 June 12 2019

nefe_lpmk
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

NuclearVision wrote:

Hello everyone! Before starting I want to point out that I did search for the topic and couldn't find what I am looking for.

Over the last few months, I made my first couple thousands of dollars by some online freelancing, trading, etc. I am still a student, so i don't have a stable income.
I was thinking of starting saving in a bank, mainly because I am impulsive, compulsive when it comes to money spending...
But, I know nothing about banks, I don't even know if it's a good idea, I am thinking that starting saving now will improve my spending habits.

I know I can just walk into a bank and ask what I want to know, but I am more comfortable behind a screen with my current finance knowledge.

Ok so a few questions that come to my mind:
Is it a good idea to start saving IN a bank?
Is there a yearly fee for that given that I don't want any extra services like sms and cards...
Do I need some special documents for opening a bank account? (like a residency paper or other 20th century stuff)?
Will they give me interest? And Can i keep adding money to a 'frozen' account ?
What's in your opinion the best bank, keeping in mind the bank's customer support, branches availability and hidden fees, likelyness to collapse(?) ? for example, i head sgbl are kings of hidden fees.


Any advice or personal experience is also welcomed.

Hello,

I suggest that you start saving early on, and when you start working to get the habit of transferring x amount of your pay to saving account. in a couple of years, you will have a sum that generates an alternative income that you can use to buy stuff outside your income or as first payment for a car/house.

Basically, there are two types of accounts in banks that you care about, Current and saving.

1. Current account:
Can be in $ or LL. You can input output money in and out of it. You get a bank card (that you can use on the internet and ATM) and you can manage input/output money from app \ ATM without entering the bank.
Current accounts usually cost 1 to 3 $ per month.
There are many tiers which add benefit, like granting you points each time you spend using the card and increasing withdraw amount from ATM from 1000$ to 3000/5000$.

2. Saving account:
Saving account is putting money in an account that you can't withdraw whenever you like but in return you gain % of benefit (feyde).
Types (things you can pick from):
Currency --> Can be also in $ or LL. (interest rate is much higher on LL than on $ but it is more risky).
Maturity date --> can choose between 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and a year. This is important for tow things; 1) you can't withdraw from the saving account except on the maturity date (every 1 month,3, 6 or year). the higher the maturity time the better the interest but you lose flexibility if you need the money.
Interest --> Depends on many factors from most impacting to least; Currency (LL or $), Amount, Maturity duration, Bank.
Interest is usually on LL for reasonable amounts between (5 and 8%) and on $ (2 and 5%). Again varies with above factors.

What I suggest:

Go to bank and sit with them and ask them about anything you need, don't be shy. They are just people and is just a friendly chat.
You are the client, they want to win you as a potential for future. You can even negotiate better terms and special service with them.


PLAN:

Open a saving account with a bank close to your location (work or home).
Choose a bank that has online banking.
To open a saving account, you must open a current account with the same bank (that will cost you ~1$ per month + some fees).
Steps:
Open current account ($ or LL) --> open saving account --> put all the money you want to save in saving account during opening --> Choose maturity time of 1 to 3 month --> tell them to enable online banking for both account and tell them you want transfer money from current to saving online (cost ~10-15$).
When you get paid --> you put it in saving account --> transfer X money from current to saving online.
On Maturity date (every month or 3 months) --> you can withdraw the interest from ATM or counter, or leave it to accumulate.



Notes:
* If you choose a currency in $ or LL, you can input different currency but bank will take transfer fees, so better open account with currency you mostly get paid with and use.
* choose good bank that takes good fees for current/online-banking (1-2$ per month) and has the features you need. Saving account management is free, they take a % of your interest.
* A minimum of 5000$-10000$ is usually asked from big banks to open a saving accounts.

Good luck!

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#13 June 12 2019

dsoftware.king
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Kareem wrote:
xerxes wrote:
Kareem wrote:

That's what people think but in fact if you have a growing saving account, say a monthly income of $4K, you will hit $50K  at the end of the year.  Auditing might flag your account as suspicious and you will be questioned.

If you declare freelancing, everything will be OK but then, everyone has " رقم مالي " linked to his name. The gov is aware of your expenses to a certain extent ( receipts, credit card payments, invoices containing your name) since the seller is submitting those documents for VAT and income taxes.

You might get in trouble if they dig deeper.  I've been discussing this subject for months since I was freelancing and there's no easy way to do it else tax evasion would have been very easy.

The $10,000 USD limit set by BDL doesn't mean that you can deposit $5000 cash every day.  Technically you can. You may even use the ATM for deposit ( BLOM up to 45 bank notes per day and BOB up to 50 bank notes per day) but that doesn't mean anything.

They will come after you in the end.


The government is not aware of anything and they don't want to. the bank secrecy law prevents tax authorities from accessing your information. The only reason they would report your account to a designated committee is when they suspect you are getting them from terrorism and or supporting hizbollah. other than that, no one cares.

Bank secrecy is a totally different thing. If what you're saying is true, why do people accounts in Switzerland ? not just because it's safer. Banks must comply and must collaborate with court and government requests. That's as far as I've been told.

And again, it's not the bank that is going to report you to the government.  It's the ministry of finance, again, as far as I know, that holds records of mostly everything related to you.  The bank needs to inform them about the source of your income. That's mainly the whole point.

Whether they're going to do something about it or not, I can't tell. They can ignore it for the time being due to corruption etc... but it's there.

And you're right, tax evasion is now a form of money laundry which means they are taking it seriously.

No one will care as long as the amounts deposited are small

Last edited by dsoftware.king (June 12 2019)

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#14 June 12 2019

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

nefe_lpmk wrote:
NuclearVision wrote:

Hello everyone! Before starting I want to point out that I did search for the topic and couldn't find what I am looking for.

Over the last few months, I made my first couple thousands of dollars by some online freelancing, trading, etc. I am still a student, so i don't have a stable income.
I was thinking of starting saving in a bank, mainly because I am impulsive, compulsive when it comes to money spending...
But, I know nothing about banks, I don't even know if it's a good idea, I am thinking that starting saving now will improve my spending habits.

I know I can just walk into a bank and ask what I want to know, but I am more comfortable behind a screen with my current finance knowledge.

Ok so a few questions that come to my mind:
Is it a good idea to start saving IN a bank?
Is there a yearly fee for that given that I don't want any extra services like sms and cards...
Do I need some special documents for opening a bank account? (like a residency paper or other 20th century stuff)?
Will they give me interest? And Can i keep adding money to a 'frozen' account ?
What's in your opinion the best bank, keeping in mind the bank's customer support, branches availability and hidden fees, likelyness to collapse(?) ? for example, i head sgbl are kings of hidden fees.


Any advice or personal experience is also welcomed.

Hello,

I suggest that you start saving early on, and when you start working to get the habit of transferring x amount of your pay to saving account. in a couple of years, you will have a sum that generates an alternative income that you can use to buy stuff outside your income or as first payment for a car/house.

Basically, there are two types of accounts in banks that you care about, Current and saving.

1. Current account:
Can be in $ or LL. You can input output money in and out of it. You get a bank card (that you can use on the internet and ATM) and you can manage input/output money from app \ ATM without entering the bank.
Current accounts usually cost 1 to 3 $ per month.
There are many tiers which add benefit, like granting you points each time you spend using the card and increasing withdraw amount from ATM from 1000$ to 3000/5000$.

2. Saving account:
Saving account is putting money in an account that you can't withdraw whenever you like but in return you gain % of benefit (feyde).
Types (things you can pick from):
Currency --> Can be also in $ or LL. (interest rate is much higher on LL than on $ but it is more risky).
Maturity date --> can choose between 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and a year. This is important for tow things; 1) you can't withdraw from the saving account except on the maturity date (every 1 month,3, 6 or year). the higher the maturity time the better the interest but you lose flexibility if you need the money.
Interest --> Depends on many factors from most impacting to least; Currency (LL or $), Amount, Maturity duration, Bank.
Interest is usually on LL for reasonable amounts between (5 and 8%) and on $ (2 and 5%). Again varies with above factors.

What I suggest:

Go to bank and sit with them and ask them about anything you need, don't be shy. They are just people and is just a friendly chat.
You are the client, they want to win you as a potential for future. You can even negotiate better terms and special service with them.


PLAN:

Open a saving account with a bank close to your location (work or home).
Choose a bank that has online banking.
To open a saving account, you must open a current account with the same bank (that will cost you ~1$ per month + some fees).
Steps:
Open current account ($ or LL) --> open saving account --> put all the money you want to save in saving account during opening --> Choose maturity time of 1 to 3 month --> tell them to enable online banking for both account and tell them you want transfer money from current to saving online (cost ~10-15$).
When you get paid --> you put it in saving account --> transfer X money from current to saving online.
On Maturity date (every month or 3 months) --> you can withdraw the interest from ATM or counter, or leave it to accumulate.



Notes:
* If you choose a currency in $ or LL, you can input different currency but bank will take transfer fees, so better open account with currency you mostly get paid with and use.
* choose good bank that takes good fees for current/online-banking (1-2$ per month) and has the features you need. Saving account management is free, they take a % of your interest.
* A minimum of 5000$-10000$ is usually asked from big banks to open a saving accounts.

Good luck!

Thanks for the helpful information, any specific bank you recommend?
There aren't any where I live, but there are many on my way home-uni.

Thanks
edit: I've checked the audi's deposit account: they don't mention anything about Minimum balance, or having to have a current account.

Last edited by NuclearVision (June 12 2019)

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#15 June 12 2019

Joe
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Is it a good idea to start saving IN a bank?

It depends on a bunch of factors:

  • How much money are we talking about?

  • Do you want to set money aside or make an investment with high return?

  • How long can you ignore this money?

  • How high are the interest rates?

Obviously the best thing to do is to ask your friendly neighborhood bank branch all these questions, they likely have some programs tailor made for your needs.

Is there a yearly fee for that given that I don't want any extra services like sms and cards...

Some banks have some programs where they don't take fees. Conditions apply. Ask your local bank.


Do I need some special documents for opening a bank account? (like a residency paper or other 20th century stuff)?

Very likely.

Will they give me interest? And Can i keep adding money to a 'frozen' account ?

Yes they will. However note that if you want really high interests, you must be willing to freeze your money for long periods of time. If you want a savings account with money still available, you can expect some interests but not the highest rates. Some products allow you to feed the savings as you go, while others will simply freeze your money and not touch it for periods of time.

Note that right now, due to the economical situation of the country, interest rates are higher than usual.


What's in your opinion the best bank, keeping in mind the bank's customer support, branches availability and hidden fees, likelyness to collapse(?) ? for example, i head sgbl are kings of hidden fees.

No opinion.


Getting Started

I'm assuming we're talking about small sums here (less than 15k$). My advice is to get a savings account that keeps your money available. Interest rates won't matter much on such small sums and having this money available whenever you need it will be useful.

Usually these savings accounts are capped. You cannot put more than Xk$ in them. Once you reach the cap, you can start thinking about more long-term investments with frozen accounts and high interest rates (but at that moment, you may want to consider alternative investments like real-estate).

Get in the habit of feeding the savings account regularly. My golden rule is 10% of any income immediately goes in the savings. That's before removing any expense from it. It will add up over time.

It's a good thing you're thinking about saving. And be patient, it takes a while before these savings become significant. Don't be too afraid of fees. Find a banker you like, someone you understand and who answers your questions. Don't worry too much about interests at your stage, worry about being able to retrieve this money easily.

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#16 June 12 2019

NuclearVision
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

Thanks Joe, you're right, specially that interest won't matter eith such small amounts, the idea was to restrict my self from access to the money. Thanks for the valuable tips!

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#17 June 13 2019

Salloum
Member

Re: Start saving in a bank

A bank is always a good idea to safeguard your money. Keep in mind that you won’t get interest if the amount is below 10,000$ at most banks.

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