Don't Pay for Your Money!

All physical branches of financial institutions will be closed tomorrow for Thanksgiving Day, but of course that doesn't bother most of us because we know we can get cash at ATMs if needed. But please, don't let a little thing like a holiday cause you to lose your senses and pay to get your own money.

ATM surcharge fees are the charged by the bank owning the ATM. Let me explain more to be perfectly clear--this is the fee that is shown on the screen that says something like "Hey, did you know that if you had a BankXYZ card you wouldn't have to pay $2.75 just to get your own money? Would you like to continue giving your money away?"

There is no need to give in to this robbery. I don't care if you are 500 miles from your credit union. You have choices.

Easy choice #1: Go buy a pack of gum and use the cash back option. It costs you nothing! Except the price of gum, which by the way is a bit crazy.

Easy choice #2: Find a Co-Op ATM. This is the credit union ATM network and these machines will not charge you a surcharge fee. Find them easy online if you're a plan ahead type or have a web enabled phone. Or Text your location – address, intersection or zip code – to 692667 (MYCOOP) from any mobile phone or download the database of more than 28,000 surcharge-free ATMs directly to your Garmin, Tom Tom or other GPS device here.

Be safe, have fun and don't pay to get your own money!

Finding Free ATMs Fast and Easy

In case you missed it this encore post originally ran June 20, 2008.



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.

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.