Yesterday, I had a revelation. I found myself at a restaurant that only took cash for my transaction. Believe it or not they still exist, but that’s not the point. I went down the road to get $20.00 out of an ATM and because I was in a hurry and did not plan, I ended up using an ATM with a fee. My bank (to my disgust) also charges me a fee to use an ATM, so I ended up paying $5.00 to get $20.00 which is a crime. When I told my wife we paid 20% interest on cash, she didn’t believe me, and then I did the math for her.
Perhaps I should open a new bank account. I use the bank that I use because I wanted to use them for my business, but perhaps I need to separate the two? I don’t use a debit card for the business, so I won’t have a problem there.
There are several ways to avoid ATM fees. In fact, I wrote an article about it at MyPersonalFinanceJourney.com. In this case, planning was the missing element, but my frustration and disgust over paying a ridiculous amount of money to get my money won’t let me do it again.