Figures from a recent report indicate that Americans are forking over millions of dollars in unnecessary fees to their banking institutions.
The report cited by MarketWatch from Moebs Services shows that consumers were hit with more than $34 billion in overdraft fees last year, a high not reached since the country was rebounding from the Great Recession nearly a decade ago.
[ Watch the video ]
Some fees are obvious, like ATM fees, so it's just resisting the convenience of using any ATM around and instead finding one nearby that won't charge you the extra fee. (Here are more ways to avoid paying ATM fees.)
Report: Americans were charged $34 billion in overdraft fees in 2017
And before we get newly irate at the Wells Fargos and Bank of Americas around us, the report illuminates that much of the fee increases are being perpetuated by credit unions, long thought to be more customer-friendly and gentler stewards of our money.
If you want to keep more of your hard-earned money, avoiding unnecessary fees should simply be part of your everyday routine.
And then there are other fees that aren’t so obvious, or people just don’t realize they can be avoided — including one that’s costing Americans billions of dollars every year!
RELATED: 13 fees you should never pay
Consumers' lack of trust and understanding of the banking system in general is a big problem in the U.S., which is why Pew and other groups are pushing for new rules that would help protect customers against banks' costly practices, which very often aren't clearly communicated.
“Pew urges the CFPB to write new rules to ensure that overdraft programs are safe and designed only for infrequent and accidental occurrences. The bureau could achieve this outcome in a number of ways including, by limiting the size of overdraft fees, the frequency with which they can be incurred, or the overall cost.”
RELATED: How to choose and switch to the best bank for you
How overdraft fees work
So a $50 purchase just became an $85 purchase, plus any other fees the overdraft may cause — talk about a huge waste!
Bottom line: Overdraft protection is just another costly bank fee that protects you from nothing. In fact, most people don’t even want it — the bank may have automatically enrolled you without you even realizing it.
RELATED: Budgeting 101 Guide: How to create and stick to a budget