Don’t you hate it when you go to get money from an ATM and it asks you if you are willing to accept a 3 dollar fee to withdraw? Why should the ATM be able to charge your money to take out your own money? In this economy, it can be financially irresponsible to waste money on something as silly as an ATM fee. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to avoid ATM fees.
The first step is to shop around for a card that gives you some sort of relief from ATM fees. Some cards will actually pay you back for the ATM fees that you accumulate up to a certain amount. This is a great way to make sure that you aren’t really paying the fees that are associated with taking out your own money.
Most credit unions won’t charge fees to use their cards in their ATM’s. The other alternative is that they allow a certain amount of transactions per month before they start to charge. From experience, it is usually six or fewer withdrawals a month before fees start to kick in. This means you can withdraw once a week without having to pay any fees.
Likewise, banks sometimes won’t charge fees if you use an ATM affiliated with that bank. For example, if you have an account with Chase bank, you might be able to avoid the fees if you are using an ATM that has a Chase logo on it. By taking a couple of minutes to find an ATM that is the same as the bank account you have, it can save you some money.
Something else to consider is just using your debit card to pay from your checking account. Instead of actually paying to take money out of the ATM, just use your debit card and avoid paying fees altogether. Some cards might charge a smaller fee, but you are still saving money while avoiding the ATM altogether.
ATM fees are a pain, but you can take some steps to avoid using them. If you are willing to look around for the right ATM, or get a card that will give you relief from the fees, it can help you save money in an already tight economic climate. Besides, don’t you feel weird having to pay a fee to get out your own money that you have worked so hard to get? Save your money, and do what is right by your wallet!