Have you ever noticed some unnecessary money getting deducted from your account while withdrawing money from an ATM? It’s quite frustrating, isn’t it? Don’t worry! If you play your cards right (literally), you can actually avoid paying ATM usage charges. Not sure how? We have a list of tips that can help. The cost of living has gone up and wasting your hard-earned money on things that don’t really matter doesn’t make much sense. Instead, you should try and explore other ways of improving your monthly earnings.
Additional Reading: ATM Usage And You
Before you start scouting for ways to improve your earnings, here are tips that can help you avoid those extra ATM charges:
- Swipe your card more often
You won’t need to hit the ATM every second day if you use your Credit/Debit Cards more often. Wasn’t that the whole point of getting a plastic buddy? Not the primary reason, we agree. But one of the many important reasons at least, right? Why carry cash, yo? Go cashless while you have an option to do so (unless you love the weight of wads of cash in your ever bulging wallet). Quite inconvenient, isn’t it? Apart from making your life simpler, it will also free you from the extra charges and regular visits to the ATM. Pamper the lazy you! Avoid frequent ATM visits by making a card payment whenever you can.
- Loyalty goes a long way!
One of the main reasons your bank charges you extra is because you choose to transact from any random ATM near you. All you look for is convenience, all the time! You don’t bother looking for your own bank’s ATM. We know, you’re lazy (we all are) and it might not be convenient to look for an ATM of your bank all the time. However, locating the nearest ATM of your bank isn’t that hard these days. Thanks to technology, you can hunt it down in a matter of a few clicks. All you need to do is – download your bank’s app. In case you don’t want to do that, Google Maps can save the day for you.
- Know your wallet
You must know your ‘wallet situation’ at all times. Knowing your cash flow can be really helpful. If you plan it well, the need to step out to withdraw cash every other day will reduce. As a result, even if you withdraw from another bank’s ATM, you won’t have to pay a lot of extra charges. While stepping out to get cash next time, plan your weekly expenses beforehand. Withdraw money accordingly and that’s it! You’re free from paying those extra charges all the time.
- Look for prepaid meal cards
There are a couple of food cards available that can help you manage your food and beverage costs. Most of the leading banks offer these prepaid meal cards. Once you get these, the need to rely on cash, every time you step out to eat, reduces. Since you don’t need extra cash, the frequency of those ATM visits will reduce as well. As a result, you end up paying less in the form of those annoying additional charges. Oh! The added benefit. With prepaid food cards, you also get to save a good amount of tax every year. How cool is that!
- Emergency cash: Your knight in shining armour!
You can’t predict unforeseen situations, of course. It’s better to be ready, isn’t it? Keeping some cash handy all the time is always a better idea. It not only helps you stay prepared, you also save yourself from those extra ATM charges. How? By the same logic. As the frequency of your visits to the ATM reduces, you end up saving a lot of money that could’ve otherwise bothered you. Go easy on that cash though. Don’t keep a lot of cash at home just to save on that ATM fees.
- For everything else, there’s mobile banking.
You don’t necessarily need to withdraw money from an ATM to be charged. Even if you do other stuff like checking your bank account balance or getting a mini statement etc., you might still be inviting some extra charges. That doesn’t make sense at all! You can do all this and more using your bank’s mobile app or your net banking account. You could also look at other options like phone banking. Lot better than paying extra money, right?
We hope these tricks help you save up on those extra ATM charges. Oh! And one golden rule that goes without saying—never wait to be totally broke. Always keep a Credit Card handy.
ATM didn’t dispense cash but your account got debited? Check out the video below to find out what you should do.