Here's a stat from the December 26, 2005 issue of Business Week that just floored me:
Americans will pay an estimated $4.3 billion to withdraw cash from ATMs this year as fees hit an all-time high.
The chart also says that the average fee per transaction for those not holding an account with the ATM bank is $1.54 (up 12.4% from 2004).
I just can't believe it!!! People are paying this just to get their own money. How ridiculous.
I wrote about this earlier in Even a Small Leak Can Empty Your Money Bucket Quickly but I just saw the Business Week piece and had to comment on it again. This practice is simply throwing money out the window. Don't do it!!!!!
Since Blogspot doesn't support trackback (yes, I know, get a better Blog site), I have linked to you on this one and have added my own little rant to it. WOW!
--C8j
Posted by: Big Cajun Man | January 23, 2006 at 12:46 PM
I haven't paid an ATM fee in years.
Whenever I am in the drug store or supermarket and make a purchase with my ATM card, I just get extra cash at NO COST!
Posted by: Bob Bilson | January 23, 2006 at 01:58 PM
Me too. It seems like a no-brainer! What a pile of wasted money!
Posted by: FMF | January 23, 2006 at 02:00 PM
What's the difference between paying a few bucks in an ATM and spending half an hour going to a fee-free ATM? The hassel is worth it to me. Don't look down your nose at everyone.
Posted by: Kurt | January 27, 2006 at 04:01 PM
1. How about planning ahead and not paying anything?
2. It doesn't matter to me if you want to spend $4.3 billion on nothing -- it just seems like a bad idea and I certainly wouldn't do it.
Posted by: FMF | January 27, 2006 at 04:17 PM
Who cares about this? It's a couple dollars once or twice a month. "Paying to get your own money" is one way of putting it, however, how about "Only charging you $1 to have instant access to your FDIC insured cash at almost anywhere in the US via thousands of little computers." I'd say it's a fair deal. And even if it's not, we're talking $100 a year max here. I'll gladly pay that much to not have to stress about finding my bank's ATM every time I need cash.
Love the blog, btw.
Posted by: Tim | January 22, 2007 at 10:55 PM