Bank fees are really starting to add up for some people. There are a few things you can do to make sure that the money in your bank account stays yours instead of you forfeiting the money to the bank.

1) Don’t bounce checks and make sure that you’re using checks from your CURRENT account. Of course, many people don’t write checks too much anymore. However, I know that we still pay a few of our bills with checks and (for some reason) we still have old checks from a closed account around the house.

2) Use ATMs sparingly. You are obviously not going to find your bank branch everywhere you go, so just watch out how much those ATMs are charging you per transaction. The most I’ve ever seen is $5 per transaction, the smallest amount I’ve seen is $2.50.

3) Watch your transactions and maintain a positive balance. This one is kind of a “duh” but I have to talk about it if I’m talking about saving money on your bank fees. This tip will make sure that you don’t get those awful fees like insufficient funds or overdraft fees. Overdraft fees can really hurt, particularly because they are somewhere in the $30-$35 range every single time you make a transaction from your overdrawn account.

4) Try to find a checking account that is not only free, but also offers some kind of interest. My bank offers a totally free checking program, but also offers a checking account where, if you meet the monthly requirements, they give you a bit of interest on the account. If you can’t find a bank that does this, a free checking account is a good option, but you just need to make sure that you’re not getting tinged by over drafting or not maintaining a minimum balance.

These are of course only a few of the things that you can do to save yourself a bit of money and keep it out of the hands of greedy bankers.

If you guys have any extra tips leave a comment!