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Comment by ithinkinstereo | Hacker News Reader

I went to my local 7-11 a couple of weeks ago to get some cash at the ATM. Next to it was a garbage bin for throwing away your receipt.

Out of curiosity, I went through about a dozen and not a single one had a balance above $1,000. Most were below $500.

There is little financial literacy in this country. Basic lessons about opening a bank account, the difference between checkings and savings, etc. is not something that is taught in K-12 nor in College. Let alone more "advanced" topics like 401Ks and IRAs and investing in the stock market.

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> Most were below $500.

> There is little financial literacy in this country.

Well, technically if you're drawing cash, you should be drawing it from your checking account and if you're saving it should be in a savings account, so your checking account balance should be relatively low.

There's plenty of people with multiple bank accounts, one of which just has a few hundred bucks in checking, and then near the end of a month they pull from an online savings (that has higher APY) into their main account as required. That's just one example of many tricks employed.

This comment is a tad ironic. My monthly expenses are $N, and I keep at most $N + 1,000 in my checking account. Often much less e.g during the first half of the month. I keep my checking account balance as low as possible precisely because I know "the difference between checkings and [high-yield] savings". Keeping more than a small buffer extra in your checking account seems pretty financially illiterate to me.

Also, keeping anything more than absolutely necessary in a checking account is ridiculously dangerous if you're using ATMs outside gas stations....

That's a pretty biased sample. Most people with financial literacy aren't withdrawing cash at a 7/11. They're doing it at their own bank branch to avoid paying any fees.

The reasoning here is circular. At the ATM in 7/11 that would only be used by people who aren't financially literate enough to absorb excessive fees, we find evidence of poor finances and poor financial literacy.

Uhm, what?

Or maybe they're just doing it out of convenience? Have you never payed a fee for convenience?

Have you tipped in a restaurant? Have you taken the highway instead of the back roads and payed a toll? Have you ever had food delivered to you?

Congrats you're doing the same thing people who pull money out of an ATM are doing you financially illiterate rube.

FYI, I liked the points you made. However, personal insults ruin discussion and lower the quality of the forum, so I downvoted this comment.

I can certainly relate to getting fired up at foolish comments on the internet! It's tough sometimes... heh. Cheers, I hope you have a good day.

Charles Schwab is one of many banks that pays for all ATM fees.

Additionally, a financially literate person may value the time it would take find another ATM more than a $2 ATM fee.

How is this evidence of low financial literacy? It appears like this is evidence of the existence of poverty...

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