If you discover that your account has been charged overdraft fees, it’s a good idea to contact your bank or credit union to request all or at least some of your overdraft fees be reversed. If your financial institution has charged you overdraft fees in error then they will undoubtedly reverse the fees, no questions asked. If you’ve had fees reversed in the past, and it was your fault for the overdrafts, many financial centers will deny your request if you are at fault again. Even if you’ve had several fees reversed in the past as a courtesy, it never hurts to plead your case because you never know when a bank employee or manager will be in a good mood and reverse the fees for you.

One way to avoid being charged these hefty overdraft fees in the first place is by applying for some type of overdraft protection. If your credit rating is good enough to be approved for a credit account that can be linked to your checking account to cover items when you don’t have enough money available, you should take advantage of a line of credit. You never know when an emergency might arise which would necessitate you to write a check or withdraw money that normally wouldn’t be available. This is why having a line of credit as overdraft protection is a smart idea and could save you a great deal of trouble.

If for some reason you are unable to be approved for a line of credit or you don’t wish to apply, there is always the option of opening a savings account and linking it to your checking account. As long as you keep your savings account funded, it can prevent you from being charged overdraft fees each time you overdraw your account. Banks usually charge a small fee to transfer the money from your savings to your checking to cover transactions, but this fee is nothing compared to overdraft fees, and is usually somewhere around $5. Some banks or credit unions require that you officially permit your savings account to be used for overdrafts, but this isn’t difficult and only takes a few minutes.

Another much simpler way to manage overdraft fees is to simply balance your checkbook properly. Never write a check if you don’t have the money available in your account at the time. Many people find themselves in binds and will often write a check a few days before payday to pay for necessary items. This may seem harmless at the time, but you never know when a store might electronically submit your check, which could post to your account as soon as the next day, causing your account to become overdrawn. And if your bank or credit union refuses to pay the transaction, not only will you be charged an overdraft fee by your bank, but you’ll also have to pay the check that you wrote in addition to whatever returned check fee the retailer charges.

If you find that you’re still incurring overdraft fees despite utilizing these helpful tips, perhaps it’s a good idea for you to either close your checking account, or at the very least stop writing checks. It may seem like a drastic measure, and it is, but if you want to stop paying astronomically high fees to your bank or credit union, then something drastic obviously needs to be done. You don’t have to restrict your check-writing privileges permanently, but just long enough to give yourself the opportunity to get your finances back on track and build up your bank accounts enough so that you can avoid overdrawing your account in the future.

Overdraft fees can really add up, and depending on how often they occur and in what amount, they could really hurt you financially. Bank and credit unions make a great deal of money when you and other bankers overdraw their accounts, so usually unless you overdraw your account excessively, your bank won’t warn you about this behavior. This is usually not the problem, though. The problem is that you want to figure out a way to avoid being charged these annoying fees in the first place. Even if you have to sign up for electronic or mobile phone alerts that your financial institution most likely provides, it’s worth it to avoid paying money that you could put toward paying more important things.