My husband and I have been using same bank for several years. We have a joint checking account for household expenses and we each have a separate checking account also. The joint account was originally his and my name was added to it when we got married.

The two separate accounts are free checking accounts that we signed up for to simplify some of our expenses and track them better. The money he needs each week for gas and tolls and other miscellaneous expenses goes into his account. Money that I need for supermarket and children related weekly expenses goes into my account. The joint account is for mortgage and all other household bills and expenses.

Since this was originally his checking account my husband prefers reconcile that statement when we get it. I usually track balance in that account when I am paying bills by using automated phone line. I handle other two account statements.

I have been looking for more ways to cut expenses this month so we can stick to our resolution to pay down our mortgage and build up more equity. I was mortified when I saw amount of fees we were paying on that checking account. This month we paid almost $25.00 in extra fees. I checked back a few months and there have been months that were more than that.

This bank charges for everything. We get charged for every check after a certain amount of checks, we get charged for electronic transfers to our children's savings accounts when we make deposits with their online bank, online banking fees, fees for bank's ATM machine and larger fees if we use a different ATM machine.

Needless to say we will be using a different bank before month is out. My husband is going to get paperwork to change his direct deposit and we will get this taken care of before he gets his next paycheck. He gets paid every two weeks.

I was really surprised because my husband is usually so good with money. It's just that he was so territorial about that bank statement. So I left it for him to take care of like he wanted. I guess it had to do with that account being his from before we were married.

If you have been dealing with same bank for years out of habit or because of its location, do yourself a favor and take a hard look at your statement and decide whether convenience or habit is really worth fees you are paying. I'd rather be putting that $25.00 a month toward my mortgage than giving it to a bank for fees.

There are too many banks out there that will give you those same services for free. This is such an easy fix and it can save you a couple of hundred dollars a year in fees. Bankrate.Com compares checking account fees in your area for you.

Go to http://www.bankrate.com/brm/default.asp and click on Checking & ATM under where it says compare local interest rates. Once you choose your state, it will give you a list of banks in your area with their fees.

If you click on avoid fees category heading it will show you minimum amount you need to keep in account to avoid fees arranged from lowest to highest. If you click on monthly service fees category it will arrange list again in order of banks that charge lowest service fees each month.

It also lets you know insufficient funds fee, ATM fees for their and other ATM machines and whether or not online banking is available for each bank. You can also do same for savings accounts and CD's and just about any other type of account.

If you are already comfortable with online banking you can save even more by paying your bills online, many banks offer that service now too. Automate process for yourself as much as possible it does help you to save money.

If your job offers direct deposit, take advantage of it. It will save you trouble of cashing your paycheck (and spending some of it before you get to your bank) before you deposit it. Taking advantage of your bank's online bill pay service will also save you postage and late fees if your payment gets delayed in mail.