The $38 cup of coffee? The Top 5 risks of using your debit card
credit cardsConsider this case: a man miscalculates how much
money is in his checking account, uses it seven times in a day
with no single charge more than $12 and ends up charged with
$234 in overdraft fees. Welcome to the dangers of debit cards.
The plight of Peter Means, 59, of Colorado and how he came to be
facing all these fees -- which in one instance cost him more
than $38 for a cup of coffee at Starbucks ($4.14 for the coffee,
$34 for the overdraft) -- was chronicled in the New York Times.
Means' situation is just an example of how big a profit center
these fees have become for banks, how important they are for
banks and how consumer outrage over them have pushed lawmakers
to try to rein them in.  In concept, there's a lot of good about
using debit cards -- you don't have to carry cash, you're
spending money you already have instead of borrowing and it is
just about universally accepted.  But with this convenience
comes risks that aren'