It's a bad time to be a bank. With jobs failing, homeowners struggling, and inflation putting even basic necessities out of the reach of many consumers, some banks are scrambling just to stay afloat. The government is helping, but even with Treasury Secretary Paulson's massive influx of money, America's financial institutions are having to find ways to ensure a steady income when the economy is rising and falling like a rowboat in the North Atlantic.

One major revenue stream that they've been tapping is fees. According to USA Today, most bank fees hit all-time highs in 2008; for example, consumers using an out-of-network ATM can now expect to pay an average surcharge of $3.43, 13% more than a year ago. By comparison, bounced check fees hit $28.95, 2.5% more than last year, and minimum balance requirements for free or online checking have also gone up considerably.

Luckily, there are a few things that you can do to reduce the subsidy that you, personally, pay to the bank:

AOL Money & Finance writer and editor Zac Bissonnette is a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and an expert on getting a great education without going broke. Got a college question? Leave a comment and he'll get back to you!

The Wall Street Journal recently took a look (subscription required) at the aggressive marketing of prepaid debit cards on college campuses.

What is a prepaid debit card? It's just like a regular debit card, except that it isn't hooked up to a checking account. You have to transfer money to it from a bank account, and there are hefty fees for activating the card, withdrawing money from ATMs and, get this, not using the card regularly. Fraud protection tends to be limited and, unlike a credit card, you can't establish a credit history to help qualify for better rates on student loans or a mortgage.

All of this raises an interesting question: why would anyone get a prepaid debit card? I can't even imagine.

The only advantage would seem to be that you can't rack up credit card debt or overdraft fees, but it's also possible to avoid those two things by not spending money you don't have. Either way, the insane fees far outweigh any benefit and the reason these are being pushed is that so many colleges have kicked credit card companies off campus.

Maybe it's time to give prepaid debit cards the boot too.

The Treasury Department is rolling out a debit card today in 10 states so that people without bank accounts won't waste their sustenance checks on huge check cashing fees. The DirectExpress Debit MasterCard automatically loads new payments onto the card each month, so there are no checks to be lost in the mail or wasted.

In theory, it's a great idea. When check cashing fees take a big bite out federal benefits checks, they're effectively taking a big bite out of what taxpayers shell out to take care of seniors and the disabled. We don't want the people who most desperately need the money most getting gouged.

But the new system isn't totally free, either. This card comes with lots of new fees. You get one free ATM withdrawl per check. After that, it's 90 cents each withdrawl. And you have to find an ATM that's in their free networks or get hit with the bank's fee. Its network has 50,000 ATMs -- Comerica Bank, Charter One, Privileged Status, Alliance One, PNC Bank, MasterCard® ATM Alliance, and MoneyPass. Nationwide there are 360,759 ATMs as of 2007, the Bost Globe Reports. So, only about one in seven will not charge users a fee.

What's in My Wallet is a series of posts from WalletPop writers and editors that will help you maximize your financial self according to what you carry.

By special request I now empty the contents of my wallet for review. I should tell you first, my wallet is not used as a receptacle for carrying actual money. Cash goes in my front pants pocket just because I think it's a bit more secure there. The wallet which I am carrying right now is probably about two years old and I'd be willing to bet it's touched cash, maybe twice. My wallet is an effective mini filing cabinet which is seldom tampered with except for the nearly daily removal and deployment of my trusty debit card.

Let's see now, I have my driver's license here and amazingly it's up to date. It has the obligatory bad photo on it and a little donor icon over on the right side. I have a couple health insurance cards here also. Knock on wood, those have seen daylight only a couple times. My social security card also takes up a wallet spot. It's in amazingly good condition for what it's been through all these years.

Let's face it, frugal shopping can be difficult but it's not because the retailers are out to rob you of your money. Stores of all types operate on one simple premise; It's their job to convert product display space into profit. Store layouts, merchandise displays and product placement are all used in well researched configurations to make the most from limited retail space. As frugal shoppers, it's our individual responsibility to see through the merchandise promotion blitz and to guard our own spending by fending off the impulse purchase of items we never intended to buy when we first entered the store.

The expertise of retailers in moving product is the major cause for my "shopping with an attitude" theory. I realize that stores are providing me a service by offering products for sale, but that doesn't mean that I should be surrendering my wallet to them at the door. My shopping attitude theory is summed up in the following words: "It's my money and I'll decide how much of it you get." It's a simple condition of mental focus which should be taken along with you into every store you enter and it's partially rooted in the following frugal shopping principles: