1. ATM fees
Do you want to have access to your own money? That will be $4.55, please.
That’s the average amount for fees on a transaction made through an ATM not operated by your bank, according to recent research. It accounts for the fees both your bank and the ATM owner are hit with.
If you’re wondering whether you can avoid these, the answer is yes! A recent study shows that banks have been increasingly ditching the practice of assessing fees for using out-of-network machines. If your bank isn’t ATM-fee-free, you can always switch to one standing on the right side of history.
If you’re not willing to make the switch, it’s still possible to avoid these fees you should never pay for. Make sure to always use your own bank’s ATMs, or make liberal use of your debit card to receive small amounts of cash back alongside many retail transactions.
2. Coin conversion fee
As cash payments have become less common, it’s gotten increasingly expensive to turn your change into bills. In the past, accountholders could use coin-counting machines found at many banks for free. However, nowadays, those who have them usually charge for the service.
Many of us don’t physically visit banks anymore, so the only coin counters we can use are the ones operated by Coinstar in grocery stores. Coinstar charges a staggering 12.5% service fee plus a 50-cent transaction fee for the fun of sitting through all that clanking, whirring, and feeding of a bunch of coins through the machine multiple times.
The good news is that these are fees you should never pay because there are two ways you can avoid them! First, you can redeem your charge for an eGift card from a broad range of retailers and services, including Home Depot, Apple, Southwest Airlines, and DoorDash.
The second method for these fees you should never pay is to do the coin sorting yourself. You can find coin wrappers at the dollar store, or your bank might still give you them for free.
If sorting and rolling coins doesn’t sound tempting but you still want to avoid the fee, you can strike a middle ground by getting your own coin sorter—this one for Amazon is great and comes at an affordable price.
