Banks make their money these days in ways that are relatively new -- charging micro fees. The amounts seem small. What does it matter if they charge you:

• $8/month for your checking account? or
• $2.50 to get money from an ATM? Or
• $2.00 if you get money from another bank's ATM? Or
• $10 because your balance dropped below the minimum.

It adds up really fast.

At the end of this hub we'll add up the dollars saved -- see if it doesn't look like real money!

I hate to admit it, but I was in the habit of filing my bank statement without really looking closely at it. Till one day I read through the second page. I discovered my bank was charging me $8/month... even though I had a "no fee" checking account.

When I told my local banker that my account was supposed to be a No Fee account she checked their computer and told me my account had "switched over" to a fee account. She wasn't sure why this had happened.

Because I demanded it, she figured out a way to put me into a new checking account that had no fees.

And she waived the $24 that had been charged to my account in the past three months -- but only after I asked her to eliminate those charges. If you don't ask, they won't do it.

Are you being charged a fee for your checking account? Don't assume anything. Like me, you might be surprised.

That's right. Not too many years ago they didn't even exist. Unfortunately, if you're not careful, you might be paying for the privilege of letting them hold your money.

How do they do this? By requiring that you keep a minimum balance in your savings account. If you can't find the brochure that describes your savings account (and, really, what drawer is that stuffed in?) then check your savings account statement closely.

It's a real drag to discover that you've been charged $10 because your savings account balance dropped below $500!

If you find that you're being charged a fee, then handle it like I did with the checking account. Get the bank to:

• put you into a no-fee savings account, no matter what your balance happens to be (yes, they will do it)
• waive the fees and put them back into your account

Don't forget to review your savings account statement monthly to make sure the fees haven't started up again.

These sneaky fees work because people overlook small amounts of money.

Become aware of the fees you're paying. If you follow these simple "no fee" rules, how much have you saved?

• Checking account fees of $8/month = $96/year
• Savings account fee for overdraft once/year = $10

Grand total? $106.00

Think of it this way -- if it takes you 2 hours to take care of your bank fees, you've "earned" more than $50/hour.

That's not too shabby.

Is your spouse/mate being charged these fees on his/her accounts? If so, then the two of you have now saved $212.00.

Don't let the banks take advantage of you. Stop paying these micro fees. Yeah, it might not be "big money" but lots of small fees add up really fast.