I refuse to bank with BofA, Chase or virtually any of the Charlotte based banks that treat me like a number.

I am not married to my bank anymore than I am to an ATF who wakes up one morning and thinks she can can more for less service just because I have been fucking her for a while.

We always have a choice to vote with our wallets, personally I have no intentions on cutting back, but I do insist on getting value for my money and paying sixty bucks a year just to be able to access my own money is not a value in my book.

I wouldn't dwell on all the bs.  Plus those big banks suck.  Join a local credit union.

I worked my ass off to be able to enjoy myself, and enjoy myself I will.

Sorry your life seems to suck, I am actually quite happy.

My advice is work harder, or smarter, or both. LIfe only sucks if you let it.

You have just been punked by congress.

They limit how  company (banks) can make money on transactions.  The companies need to find a replacement for the revenue.  They just found your pocket.

Yeah!!! More regulations.

Remember the days before debt cards? we all paid with cash or a credit card if you were, what most thought of as rich.

5 dollars a month/60 dollars a year, does not sound so bad..( the fee BOA will charge as of Jan 2012)
until.. you add the tax for this and the increasing rates for that, The fee for usage, rising gas prices
the list goes on and on..

Most of us are grateful to have a job, have not had a raise in years and are feeling blessed to get by.

We have spent years in a society that says buy more, have more spend more. I am willing to bet, Most of us have more crap and stuff then we need and more bills then we can keep up with.

I don't know about you but.. I am breaking free..
Going back to the cash only lifestyle.. cutting back, selling things, paying off debts and hoping for the best...

Maybe this BOA fee is not such a bad thing..

Ok, Paying for gas will be a pain in the A@@
it's easy to overspend and pull from savings but do we really need it!

I suspect if we all joined the cause. It might take a while. A LONG while but, we all
might be better off......

I have no choice but to cut back..which is true for most today..

The water bill has gone up, The power bill has gone up. My hair dresser has gone up, groceries have gone up, Don't even get me started on gas prices. The list goes on.

Wells Fargo and Suntrust are both going to start charging as well..

P.S. when you die and leave behind an estate of investments/homes it. you can be taxed as many as 16 times for various things.. OMG..

It will be hard.. but we can do it!

banks dont have my money , I keep all my money in my bathtub in dimes, very secure

I pay for sessions in rolls of dimes

a couple of years ago. They still call me trying to get me back. It will not happen.

I have been very busy as of late, as such my posts have been limited. This time of year is very demanding on my non-companion business. However I have been reading every day that I have time, and the threads have been unique. I am on the East Coast today running around in Jeans and Uggs, such a change from Phoenix.

CASH.....gee I just don't know where to start. I would never dream of being charged the "privilege" to access my cash.  The Merchant pays a fee to the banks to process that transaction. If the bank does not make enough money let him charge the merchant more. The merchant will pass that cost on to me and I will decide if I need the item at that price. Perhaps the merchant will decide they don't want to pay an increase fee, so they decide they do not accept BofA debit cards. Can you imagine how fast BofA would backtrack if they got kicked out of Wallmart or McDonalds?

Have you looked at how much money you are making on a standard money market savings account? You need to keep a minimum balance at some banks of about $ 6200.00 dollars just to get them to pay you the lousy $ 60 in interest annually that BofA wants to charge you for your right to access your money. In addition I have yet to see the fine details but is the fee to have a card,  or is it to have the right to use the card? Does using a BofA ATM constitute my use of the card? If so they are charging me just to get CASH to go spend so I dont use debit. Foolishness!! Not that I bank at BofA anyways. Take your feet and your money where you can make the most of it. In todays economy its more important than ever.

DEBT.....live within your means. We live in a disposable society and raise our children that way. Disposable toys, disposable dinner plates, heck even disposable cars. We have more cars per capita than any country except Monaco. And everybody in Monaco seems to be loaded. Until recently (when the free and irresponsible spending of the uneducated/under educated or gotta have what the Jones have folks dried up), Americans as a large percentage lived way beyond their means.  We aren't taught to live within our means, we aren't taught to plan for our future. What we are taught is a sense of entitlement. As a nation of savers we are horrible. This has recently improved a fraction as its almost impossible for those that have walked away from debt to get loans anymore. The south Koreans save at twice our average on adjusted dollars per gross income. Those that want to save cant as they have placed themselves into so much debt they live paycheck to paycheck. Most Americans continue to live outside their means.

Converting to cash spending does you no good unless you change HOW you spend. If you spend your money tomorrow the same way you spend it today it yields the same results. Do you really need that new shot gun, or Jimmy Choo shoes? Devise a plan, you don't need to be a CPA, although I would advise you get one. Plan for a future. If you make real money spend a few grand on a real financial planner and learn how to shield your dollars and your future from excess taxes.  There is no shame using every tool at your disposal to make sure your money is not taxed twice. Pay your fair share, but don't pay it twice.

Credit Cards....this is right up there with saving. I have paid finance charges about a dozen times in my life. Mostly when I was first starting my business and when I was young and foolish. Paying finance charges has got to be among the worst use of money I can think of. I use my credit card ALOT, and I pay it off monthly. You should as well. Paying FOR a credit card is a whole day of arguments, I will let someone who has the time tackle that one. You should have a compelling reason to charge something if you cant pay for it.

I was raised in a family that was at best middle income. But my parents tried to teach me basic values. We should make sure we are doing this with our children. There is no shame in living within our means. There is never an excuse for looking down at someone because of what they do have or don't. If we as a nation manage to work our way out the current economic disaster what will we do for our children. Will we teach them to live within their means? If we cant live within our means, how can we expect that our children will.

B of A's CEO commented during an interview the other day that there will be numerous opportunities to get out of paying the fee, such as additional banking relationships, etc.  I just opened a business account with them last week and the employees I dealt with told me exactly what I need to do to avoid any fees.  Since Gambler is likely to meet my banker in a week or two, it'll be painfully clear how quickly I'll close that account if they even hint at charging me for anything, no matter how reasonable.

On another note, the fee is a direct result of the banks no longer being able to pass fees on to merchants due to changes in the credit laws.  I haven't seen any of them lowering their prices, but everyone is pissed at the bank for trying to get the money Congress stole from them.  I want those motherfuckers at Whole Foods to drop my bill.

-- Modified on 10/6/2011 9:12:19 PM

Capital One or TD or PNC   or a credit union.

Hopefully, BOA's action isn't followed suit by everyone else.  If it is, I will just get by with my credit and charge cards, and turn in my debit card, and just have an ATM card.  BOA is gouging their customers, and I would walk away, and move my accounts elsewhere...

These new BOA charges outrage me! I literally moved my mom and I to a military credit union TODAY! I'll be damned if I pay extra for this!
I'm sure a lot of people will bail out of (get it) this bank and they'll get the hint. Now I see why Bill Maher refers to them as "ShittyBank" and "Skank of America"!

Little Phil is correct is his comments regading where the bank has been generating income from and their relationship with retail. I work for a large retail company and last year we spent over $300million in fees from the banks and Credit Card companies just to process transactions....everything from Cash to Debit and Credit Cards has a cost to process it and they add up. The new laws will reduce the amount that we will be paying to the banks which will help out profitability....but I doubt that we will be passing those savings on to the consumer anytime soon....we need the money!....So Phil....don't hold your breath waiting for your Whole Foods bill to drop.

As a BofA customer I am not thrilled to be paying additional fees either but as Phil points out there are enough options available to me that I doubt it will cost me anything in the long run.

-- Modified on 10/7/2011 7:41:44 AM