Are you saying that over draft fees are or could be $38.00 each? I don't think so. There is a mis-understanding here. There is a major difference between overdrafts and insufficient funds. You are charged an interest fee on an overdraft. So, if you do go over the allowable amount (say your OD is $500.00) your cheque will bounce or if you use a debit card, it will be declined (it won't go beyond the allowed overdraft). You can be charged everyday you are overdrawn (or in other words - into your overdraft)but it is an interest charge. Bounce a cheque and you will be charged something like $38.00 but there is only one charge unless you bounce more than one cheque.
In regard to your balance. People forget all the time that they have payments set up and many think the most clever way of saving money and not letting the bank get interest off them is to pay on the due date of every bill. If you are not good with keeping track - you know your paydays and you know when your bills are due. Set them up from the beginning of the year. I do the banking in our house. My husband doesn't have an idea how the household runs. He would and has assumed that the balance he sees on the ATM print out is a true balance. It NEVER is. We live mostly off his pensions. I sit down every December and set up all monthly payments (hydro/nat. gas/phones etc.)to come out about 2 days after his cheques are to be deposited. I'm never late for a payment. I'm never worried about my husband withdrawing more than he should (and then wondering if we have enough to make the next payment). From time to time I sit him down and go over things with him so he has an understanding of what needs to be done should he need to be the one in control. It took awhile to get through to one of my kids that he could not rely on the printed balance from the ATM but - he's got it now. The worst thing is having an overdraft if you cannot afford one. You just keep getting deeper in debt and the bank has the right to pull your right to your overdraft at the snap of their fingers. I had the manager tell me to cut the overdraft to zero on many peoples accounts. The manager has that right. Keep your overdraft (which you must apply for) for emergency use only. Real emergencies - not just something you want to buy before payday.
Debit transactions usually come out immediately but it depends on the business. I worked in one office where they only sent the debit amounts in every two days because the fees to the business itself were higher if sent in daily. A foolish move on their part in my opinion. I assume there are still businesses that do the same and maybe even more now with money being tight. There must be some of you out there who remember that you could once right a cheque and it would take at least a week before it cleared your account. People actually "banked" on it.
