Debit cards may cause overdraft fees

Yikes! I read this New York Times article that warns about the dangers of overdraft fees when using debit cards. All of these banks are making BANK off overdraft fees. How horrible. A lot of people are using debit cards, thinking that they are better than credit cards. At the end of the day, you have to watch your money, regardless of the medium used to dispense it. 

Do you use debit cards? Are you getting "fee-ed up"? Do you have any advice?

Comments

[GLM]

I use a debit card, but what frustrates me is that I end up running through my check register before I'm out of checks! I have to write down my debit purchases, or else I will get overdraft fees.

On the other hand, I still like limiting how much cash I have in my wallet. I try to make sure that when I'm out of cash, I stop spending money.

[cmc]

Yeah...I'm with you. We are trashing the debit card for the cash-only approach. I read the same article and...wow...banks are now making more fees off overdraft-related expenses than loaning money.

We are trying the cash envelope system and so far so good...

[Meg from FruWiki]

I use debit cards and I've NEVER had an overdraft fee charged. But, yeah, if I spent money that wasn't in my account I'd expect to be charged a fee. After all, debit cards aren't meant to be like credit cards where you spend money you don't have (which is a bad idea). And the simple solution is to don't spend money you don't have.

Seriously, check your account balances, know when bills deduct from your account and, if you use checks, make note of them so you don't spend the money before they're cashed. It's not all that hard.

And if you think you'll go over for some reason, then keep a buffer in your checking account, some amount that you never touch except maybe in emergencies. My husband and I have enough to cover our largest bill (our mortgage) and then some. So, even when our mortgage double billed us one month be accident (trying to correct the first bill) and our automatic billing paid it twice, we STILL didn't overdraft.