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If you haven't already started to feel the pinch, you will soon – and you might have to pay much closer attention to when you let the bank subtract from your account. You could buy overdraft protection, but that just means you are subject to even more fine print than before.

Bank math is very simple – it works in the bank's favor. Anything they can do to make sure you lose money and they gain money will happen, if you let them get away with it. I have talked my way out of nearly every overdraft charge and bank fee ever put on my account, and I encourage you to be just as proactive.

I take screen shots of my online banking for several days after I make a deposit. The number of days I take a screen shot depends on how long it takes for the deposit to clear – sometimes 3 days, sometimes 5. However, if it wasn't for the fact I get paid through PayPal, you better believe I would do everything in cash.

By law, cash deposits must be added immediately, not at the end of the day like any other transaction. In other words, if you make a cash deposit and a purchase on the same day more than the previously “posted� balance, they technically cannot charge an overdraft – but they will, and you should fight it.

However, if you don't operate in cash, be careful! Don't spend more than your previously “posted� balance until that new deposit has registered as “posted� for a full business day. Banks subtract before they add – and even though your deposit may have been “posted� at 9am, it technically doesn't count until end of business.

You can find out more about Patricia Mayo and her other projects at Mayobrains.com or ComHacker.org.