I never pay attention to my bank statement. When it arrives in the mail, I toss it on my desk and ignore it. I rarely open them. I don’t know what inspired me to tear into my bank envelope the other day, but I was happy I did.

I had been charged about $20 in bank fees, and frankly, that’s not money I can live without.
I looked into it, and thought I’d share some of the wonderful things I’ve discovered about banks and fees. You aren’t going to like it, but it could save you some serious cash.

Thanks to years of low interest rates – the same rates that bumped down the interest on your credit cards, auto loans, student loans and mortgages- banks haven’t been raking in as much of your hard-earned dough. To make up for it, they’re charging you more in fees.

The average bounced check fees nationally is now $27.04.
You’ll pay $2.89 to withdraw money from an ATM that isn’t owned by your bank.
Banks collected $37.8 billion in service fees in 2004.

Highway robbery! But all hope is not lost.
Youcan avoid these fees and keep more money for yourself.

Using only your bank's ATM machine is a slam dunk.
Then, beware of account-maintenance fees. Always read the fine print. There may be strings
attached to your “free” checking account, such as high fees for bounced checks,
minimum-balance requirements and transaction limits.

You might even be automatically switched into another, more expensive account if you don’t meet the minimum balance and transaction requirements for your account.

You can even get hit with a fee even if you haven't done anything wrong. Banks will charge you $32 to stop payment on a check. And, if you deposit a check in your account and it bounces, you can be
hit with a fee of up to $10 – even though you have no way of knowing if a check is rubber.

And most important of all, watch that debit card.
Using debit cards is the No. 1 way to get stuck with a bounced check fee. You can run out and charge a $2 latte at Starbucks. The transaction will clear, and y ou’ll enjoy your frosty beverage thinking you had enough money in your account to pay for it. WRONG! What banks don’t tell you is they’ll clear your debit transaction even if you don’t have enough in your account to pay for it—then they’ll stick you with a $20 to $30 bounced check fee. For that price, it better be one hell of a latte.

Banks don’t credit any of your debit purchases until the end of the day, when the stores close out their credit card machines. You may have bounced around town, buying gas, lattes, or fancy shoes. If, at the end of the day, that last purchase set you over the limit. Thwam—bounced check fee. So be careful of that.

Do it old-fashioned mom style and write down what you spend in your checkbook register, so you don’t accidentally overdraw. Or for goodness’ sake, sign up for online banking and keep tabs on your balance online.


If you are hit with a fee, get on the horn. Call the bank. Chances are they'll let you slide. if not, you may want to threaten to move your accounts to a competing bank. That'll scare them.