Finding Free ATMs Fast and Easy

When I first joined a credit union I had no idea what it was all about. All I knew was that a co-worker told me I should open an account. So I did--rather naive. A few years later I quit that job and the credit union. It just wasn't convenient. But soon I learned that the fees at Wells Fargo were even less convenient.

(I have never seen Holy Ghost Credit Union. Just found this on flickr. But it's a great photo by My Own Worst Nightmare .)

That was a long time ago. Since then I've had lots of different jobs and eventually ended up at a credit union and happily so. Now for years I've been driving around with my family shouting "Hey, there's a credit union." If my husband went to a bank ATM he had to keep it secret because he knew I'd lecture him about the money he spent on surcharges. So basically I drove my family crazy with my credit union zealousness.

But just yesterday I was in Denver with the 3 kids. Two of them are old enough now to have their own checking accounts and use ATMs. We went to the skate park, had ice cream and took the oldest to visit some friends. As we drove up to the friend's place I heard someone say, "Hey, there's a credit union!"

Ah yes, my little minions have learned well. Now I know I won't have to worry about them paying unnecessary surcharges. With their sharp little eyes they'll spy the credit union and it's convenient surcharge-free ATM.

Don't spend a dime to get your own money. Train yourself (and everyone) to look for the CO-OP logo at credit unions and loads of other locations and stop paying ATM surcharges. Find locations online and learn more about the CO-OP ATM Network.

If you're not up for playing "I spy the CO-OP Logo" try texting.

It works--I tried it. (just couldn't get a good image off my phone to show you.)

1. Send a text to MYCOOP (692667) from any mobile phone. In the body of the text, enter an address (with city, state), zip code or intersection (with city, state).

2. In about 30 seconds, the service will reply with the CO-OP Network surcharge-free ATM to that location.

3. If you want more ATM locations, simply reply MORE to the message and additional surcharge-free ATM locations will be sent to the mobile device.

Best of all it's free! This service is FREE to cardholders – only standard text-messaging rates apply.