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4 Ways To Avoid Bank Fees and Keep More of Your Money

Wed, Sep 17, 2025, 11:33 AM 5 min read

You work hard for your money — to quote the great Donna Summer, “so hard, honey, honey.” Your emergency and retirement funds can vouch for your saving and budgeting skills. Your financial advisor is on speed dial, and no coupon is left unused. So why does your bank statement feel like it’s working against you?

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Before you spiral into spreadsheet mode to dissect every expense, Andrea Woroch — a nationally recognized consumer finance expert, writer, and regular on-air contributor — wants you to zoom in on something else: bank fees.

Woroch spoke with GOBankingRates as part of our Top 100 Money Experts series to about how surprise bank fees can chip away at the money you specifically put in the bank to keep it safe. Here are Woroch’s top strategies to sidestep those fees and keep more of your hard-earned cash.

Whether you’re navigating a budgeting app or simply trying to stop the drip of small charges, rule number one is: Know thy enemy.

“Where you choose to bank can impact your finances as some charge high fees which can add up quickly if you aren’t paying attention,” said Woroch. “Some of the most common bank fees include checking account maintenance fees, overdraft fees and out-of-network ATM fees.”

First, Woroch advises that you find out what the minimum balance is, to avoid monthly maintenance fees. Set up an alert that will warn you when your balance drops to near that amount, then move money to the account to bring your balance back up again.

You could also shop around for a bank that offers free checking, removing the problem altogether.

Woroch also cited those irritating ATM fees.

“ATM fees are easier to avoid as you can use digital wallets to make purchases these days,” she said. “If you need cash and can’t find an in-network ATM, head to a grocery or drugstore that offers cash back for no charge. You can then make a small purchase using your debit card and request money back from the cashier without paying high fees to access your cash.”

Let’s be real: overdraft fees are among the most frustrating — and avoidable — charges out there. But you do have some clear ways of protecting yourself from these fees, if you’re willing to put in some planning.

“Set up alerts when your balance has dropped below a certain amount,” said Woroch. “Rather than waiting for your balance to drop below zero and get hit with an overdraft or insufficient funds fee, this will give you time to move money into the account or to pause purchases.”

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