How to Avoid Excessive ATM Fees
12 August 2006One of the easiest way to waste lots of money is with ATM fees. The sad thing is that it’s also one of the easiest ways to STOP wasting money. If you’re strapped for cash, your goal should be to never pay a single ATM fee. It’s a waste of money because with a little effort, you can avoid most of them, or even entirely. Here’s what to do:
1) Never get cash in small amounts if you’ve got to pay a fee. I have friends who will get cash out $20 at a time from an ATM, over and over. Guess what? With a $2 fee, that’s 10% of your money you’re wasting, and hundreds of dollars a year. Get $80 or $100 – it means you’ll be getting money out less frequently.
2) Don’t use cash unless you have to. Welcome to the digital economy – most places take debit or credit cards nowadays. Why use anything else? It doesn’t cost a fee, you don’t have to carry money around, and you get a nice electronic statement of what you spent everything on that helps a lot with budgeting. Cash is obsolete – don’t use it unless you’re in some fast food drive-thru where it’s a real pain to use a debit card.
3) If you regularly use cash, then use the cash-back button at the supermarket or Wal-Mart or wherever you shop. This is a great way to replenish cash. I tend to get $80 at a time from an ATM, and will spend some of it. I keep from having to use them by asking for $20 cash back everytime I have the option. There’s no fee, it’s not so much that you’ll suck all the cash out of the register and make the clerk mad, and even if you don’t need it right that moment, it puts you back closer to the ideal amount of money you want to carry around.
4) Pick a bank that has lots of ATM’s in your area. Most banks don’t charge fees if you use their own ATM’s. So bank with someplace that has convenient ones near you, and use only those ATM’s. Some banks even charge fees if you use another bank’s ATM – so you’re basically paying twice. I use Bank of America, and they do this – it’s annoying, and you really don’t want to pay $4 to get at your money. Use your own bank’s system, and only when you have to. If you’re in the habit of carrying cash around and using it instead of the cards, you’re a lot more likely to run out where you can’t use your bank’s ATM and will have to pay the fee.
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