Have you ever encountered a minor yet painful situation where your finances were harmed by another company or person? Perhaps you ordered a pizza and paid with your credit card only to have the pizzeria charge you twice by accident which pushed you over your credit card limit. A $20.00 pizza can turn into a $100.00 pizza due to overlimit fees, the double charge and so on - arguably the most expensive pizza you have ever had and particularly an issue when you find yourself short on cash.

Don’t let a bad situation turn into something worse. Bank, credit card and cell phone fees can take a big slice out of your cash. When cash is tight, take control and avoid excessive bank charges and over limit fees by learning to use another form of credit – payday loans, also known as cash advances.
Consumers paid over $38 billion in banking fees in 2007, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. And in some cases, bank, thrift and credit union fees have risen by double digits, according to a report released last month by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
One of the most common bank fees are bounced check fees, which grew three percent in 2007 to over $28, according to a study by Bankrate.com, a financial information company.

To avoid overdrawn account fees, sign up for online bank services, which will allow you to check your balance before making a purchase. And think about getting overdraft protection linked to your savings account.

Now, banks and credit card companies count on fees as a major source of their income. If you are over your limit by $0.14 cents, the fine can be $39 or more. That penalty is about 27,857 percent of the size of the infraction.

Credit card customers paid $63 billion in fees in 2007 to the card issuers, according to RK Hammer, a bank-card advisory firm. That's up from about $55 billion in 2006.

Being late with a credit card payment -- even by a few hours -- can mean being hit with a fee as high as $35. And if you pay your bill by phone, you may be charged a fee of up to $15.

If you can anticipate a financial shortfall that would make you late on your credit card bills or cause you to overdraft on your checking account, a short-term payday loan, also known as a cash advance, can save you money and preserve your credit.