You could say yeah . . . you'll avoid additional ATM withdrawal fees each time you make a withdrawal. While that [avoiding ATM withdrawal fees for many, small withdrawals] is a smart move, fact is when people have lots of cash in their wallets or at home, the likelihood of spending that money for stuff they didn't budget for is very high. Personally, when I make a huge withdrawal I spend most of that money in about the same period of time I'd have spent [it] if I had made a slightly smaller withdrawal. What do you guys think? Does withdrawing more cash to avoid ATM fees help? Or does it end up costing you more?
We are currently doing an experiment where we withdraw what we will need for the month. This excludes payments we make online for our bills. But the transport, grocery, and eating out costs were getting higher than we wanted and we are thinking if we itemize better our spending and 'see' the money dwindling, then it will actually stop us from spending so much. That being said, it looked like we had a lot of money at the beginning of the month and so I fear that we will end up spending more than we do when we only take out a certain amount each week. Its really hard to anticipate the little things that come up in life that you aren't expecting. But anyway to help save money would be much welcome.
Whist experimenting, you could try this: CREATE your budget for the month but keep in mind that there'll be price fluctuations so to factor that in, set the prices slightly higher. Once that is done, split up your money and place it different envelopes. You can label them in whatever way you please: groceries, entertainment, transport, etc. If in one month you are able to use only the money allocated for a particular purpose without spending any extra cash, you can repeat that over and over and . . . over, because you'll cut out unnecessary expenses and save more cash.
Well I think self-control is the key to solving this problem, because even if you have lots of cash in your wallet, if you do not even look at the items that you know you will most likely buy, then you will have no problem saving your money. So I think having less withdrawals is by default the better way of saving money, because what you do with the money when you already got it is completely dependent on your personality.
I don't thin it makes that much of a difference really. Personally, if I withdraw huge amounts of money in one go I might end up spending more than I should. It's more of a matter of self control, discipline and organization.
I usually withdraw small amounts of cash with my grocery shop to avoid ATM fees. I actually use my credit card for 99% of purchases as I have reward program linked to every dollar I spend on the credit card (I transfer payment every week so no interest is charged). I find that $20 cash will last me a month as I only use it when there is no alternative. Using my credit card for all my purchases is great because I can use my bank's internet banking and budgeting tools to categorize spending so I can see what I'm spending my money on each month. Budgeting really is the best way to save money, and I get to keep all my "cash" in an account that earns interest, rather than just doing nothing.
I only ever withdraw large sums from my bank account when I have to pay the rent. Luckily, I don't have to pay any fees for my withdrawals at ATM's, as my bank offers a pre-set fee that I have to pay at the end of every year. I am very happy with this arrangement, as some ATM fees are absolutely ridiculous. In some countries banks charge $2-$3 for every single bank transaction. I consider that as criminal.
Well it does if you're referring to the fees you have to pay every time you withdraw but in most cases it's just a matter of preference. I usually withdraw large amounts of cash every month and I just go tight on my budget and which one goes to which so it's pretty much a different case from person to person.
I always withdraw all the money in my account when I receive it, guess I successfully avoid the fees hehe. I have two accounts: one for payments and one for savings (that I don't touch). Once I get all the money out from the payment account I budget for the month (bills, food, other expenses) then place the remaining money in my savings account. Over the years I got pretty good at not spending money on things that I don't need so there's no danger in having plenty of cash at hand.
