Various bank fees are going up and staying up, fees that can cause customers to lose money for no real tangible reason.  With fees on ATM withdrawals and overdrafts rising, it goes without saying that consumers need to be extra diligent about watching their money.

On Wednesday, Bankrate.com released the results of a survey it conducted and found that the average non-customer ATM fee rose a staggering 12.6 percent this year, bringing the average up to $2.22.  And the hits just keep coming, because most banks – 72 percent in fact – charge their own customers for using someone else’s ATM, according to Bank Rate. This fee however, has slightly declined since the end of 2008; it’s down to $1.32 from $1.46. 

Fees for overdrawing an account are also on the rise.  The average overdraft fee is currently $29.58.  In 1998, it was only $21.57.

Minimum balance fees can also unexpectedly damage a bank account, though online accounts have far lower fees.  Online banks charge an average of $3.75 and only have average minimum balances of $812.50 while traditional banks charge $12.55 if you go below their minimum of $3.372.18.

“Even though the fees are moving higher, they’re completely avoidable,” said Greg McBride, a senior analyst with Bankrate.com.

Our Take

Fees can quickly eat up your hard earned money.  Once in a while, in a real pinch, it’s not so bad to have to pay a few extra dollars at an ATM.  But if you’re hitting ATMs that aren’t your bank on a regular basis, those fees can quickly add up to a significant chunk out of your budget.

All it takes is a bit of pre-planning to avoid these fees.  Make plans enough ahead of time for you to fit in a trip to your bank’s ATM.  Or try and only frequent places where you can just directly use a debit card.

Another extremely easy way to make sure you have free, convenient access to your money is to make sure you bank at the most prominent bank in your area.  Most cities have one bank that seems to have a monopoly on customers and has an ATM on every corner or in every drugstore.  Using that bank will ensure that you may only have to walk a block or two farther at most to find a free ATM.