Most of us rely on ATM Machines to get cash because not every business takes credit and debit cards. We also need cash to leave tips and it seems everyone wants a tip these days so that amounts to quite a bit. It’s recommended that you use credit cards most of the time for safety reasons and to really help avoid ATM charges if you pay them off each month. There are also other ways to avoid ATM charges that have been going up at over three times the rate of inflation each year.

The average ATM fee is now over $4.50. The cost of ATMs and the data networks are actually going down and less expensive for banks. So they have no excuse to be charging these fees and you would think to remain competitive they would drop them as a major benefit. That is one of the main reasons I have had my checking with E*Trade bank for several years now because of the unlimited ATM fee refunds. [Read more…]