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by JustSomeNobody 3327 days ago
Not really. It's very expensive to be poor (in the U.S. at least).
1 comments

It grates for me when I withdraw cash. The most convenient ATM for me charges $3 when I withdraw money. My approach to this is to never pull less than $300, so the fee is 1% or less. But for people who are pulling $20 because that's what they have right now, this is a 15% tax. It's a perfect example of regressive taxation. For me it's a minor inconvenience, for most Americans it's a significant burden.
If you use your debit card to pay for groceries, you can get $40-60 cash (or more) each time without paying a fee.
My debit card comes through a credit union. As long as I use the ATM of another credit union in the same network, I pay no fee. As it happens, there is such an ATM on the side of the building where I work, and for that matter I think there was one about half a mile from my late mother-in-law's house a hundred miles from here. I do resent paying $3 to Bank of America because I forgot to withdraw money before I left for work.
Don't use out-of-network ATMs. Especially privately owned ATMs as they are far more vulnerable to skimming.
Get an Ally account. Problem solved. I believe you get reimbursed for up to 10 withdrawals a month or so.