GAWD -- These overdraft fees are KILLING me on this dang checking account. I'm wondering whether to simply close the account and go all cash, or if I should get a pre-paid debit card that won't let you go over.

 Thoughts? Experiences?

It sounds like you need to take control of your money.

Do you know how much is going in and out? If not, now is a great time to change that. There are many budget forms out there that you can use to estimate your normal expenses, we can help you find a few if you need that,

Use your checking account only for bill paying and other things that you want a paper trail for. Use cash for grocery shopping and other purchases so that way you can set a budget and spend only what you intend to.

Another sound money tip is to keep an emergency fund. It can be hard to build one up if you don't have a lot of free income but it adds up. Some people like to keep theirs in their checking account as an additional padding in case they do go over or if they have to cover higher expenses. Others like to use a savings account where they can transfer easily if they need to.

My mother has the same issues, she would write checks out and mail before making a deposit. These days as soon as the crediter gets the check they run it through a machine and it automatically comes out if your account. Here are somethings I told her and it worked.

First of all you need a budget for bills and living expenses. Deposit money for the bills and only send out payment when your deposit has cleared, always keep your checkbook balanced. Use cash and the envelope system for your living expenses. I use two different accounts for this, but I have an accounting background so it is easy for me to keep up with balances. Go to Dave Ramseys web site and read about the envelope system, this will work but you must have a budget first.

I'm sure you already know this, but paying overdraft fees is like throwing money out the window and I think it's what 39/40 dollars a pop.

One very simple little trick but hard habit to get into is tracking what you spend everyday for a week/month/year. When I first attempted to take over the budget (when my now 21 yo dd#1 was 2yrs) I asked dh to tell me every night what he spent everyday. I used to ask him to account for every cent he spent even if he bought a gumball out of a machine so I could keep track of the money nothing more nothing less (I didn't care if he spent the money at that time just how much) and wrote everything in a small note book since I was home most of the time my answer was $0 but when I did spend I wrote it down as well. Sometimes those expenses that people don't think about can be the worst offenders in a budget. At the end of a month we discovered what we were both spending money on and discussed it then did our budget which included an allotment for things like his smokes and my craft supplies.

Maybe if you tracked your small spending for a week or a month you can figure out why you keep getting charged over draft fees and ask yourself if you really need to be spending your money in that (those) area(s). 

But the others are correct in that the reason you're paying overdraft fees is because you're not keeping a good accounting of what is in your checking account. There was a time when one could count on three to five days of "float" (the time between when a check is issued and the time when the funds are actually withdrawn from your account) but those days are gone with the advent of EFT (electronic funds transfer). So now, one would be wise to make sure the funds are actually in your account before writing a check.

Going all cash is another option and one that I use when practical. I still pay cash for gasoline, small purchases, and most restaurant meals, but of course the utilities, property taxes, etc. I pay by check.

Here, DW keeps a spreadsheet on the computer (she has an accounting background) that shows this and next months current income and predicted expenses. She's become very good at predicting variables like the heating and cooling bills and more often than not is within $10 of what the actual bill is.

If possible use one of the money-management software packages like Quicken or MS Money. When we started doing that I found the effort to keep the data current was well worth it because reconciling the checkbook when the statement arrives now takes about five minutes. Before that I'd sometimes spend an hour or more looking for the transposed digit or misplaced decimal point.

That's why we get an allowance a piece so I don't have to track every penny. We get X amount of dollars and when it's gone that's it

I track our spending on excel it was a free program with our computer. I knew nothing about it and just got on there and played around until I mastered it.

Thank you for the ideas and thoughts, everyone!

 I hear you. Overdraft fees are the worst! Many times, the overdraft fee is actually more than what your overage was to begin with. All cash can be a little scary, since if you lose it or it gets stolen, it's gone. I would definitely opt for a prepaid card, there are no overdraft fees, and you have the security and protection you can't get with cash.