Consumers who wanted to avoid overdraft fees in 2017 weren’t too successful, according to a recent report. Americans paid more than $34 billion in overdraft fees last year, according to Moebs Services.

Even though that’s the most Americans have paid since 2009, the numbers are deceiving. Moebs Services points out that the figures don’t mean more customers are incurring more overdrafts. Instead, fees are going up and, in recent years, more credit unions have jumped on the overdraft fee bandwagon.

Back in the year 2000, the average bank overdraft fee was $20. Credit unions that did charge overdraft fees back then averaged around $15 per overdraft charge. Today, banks are at $30 and credit unions are at $29 per occurrence.

Twenty years ago, most overdraft fees were incurred when a check cleared the bank. Today’s consumers make most of their purchases with debit cards, which means many could avoid overdraft fees if they opted out of their bank’s overdraft protection. Instead of incurring overdraft fees with a purchase, the intended purchase would simply be declined.

Since 2010, banks and credit unions have been subject to a law that requires consumers receive a notice outlining and explaining overdraft policies. Consumers need to opt in to overdraft protection, but many consumers who incur overdraft fees don’t recall opting into any such program.

How to Avoid Overdraft Fees

If you opt out of your bank’s overdraft protection program, you will need to accept the fact that a transaction could be declined. Some consumers don’t want the embarrassment of having a retail clerk and fellow shoppers see a transaction declined and items intended to purchase left behind at the register. Still, if it would cost a $30 overdraft fee to be able to purchase a $25 blouse, most consumers would likely opt to leave the store without the blouse and avoid overdraft fees.

Look at your bank statements to ensure your debits and withdrawals are posted in chronological order. In the past, financial institutions have been sued for manipulating the posting order to allow the maximum number of overdraft fees to accumulate.

Make sure your deposits, even cash deposits, are posted in a timely manner. Consumers say that they have experienced even cash deposits taking several days to post. In the meantime, they have paid bills, believing the cash deposit would appear immediately on the account.

Most banks also will allow you to set up an alert system if your account reaches a certain dollar amount. If you set an alert to notify you when your account is depleted to a predetermined amount, you will know not to make any more purchases until you’ve made a deposit.

If you have taken every step possible to avoid overdraft fees, your chances of incurring even on overdraft fee per year is drastically low. Still, most financial institutions will “forgive” one overdraft per year if you contact the bank within a certain number of days of incurring the fee.

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