I'm serving a year in AmeriCorps*Vista. I am given an extremely minimal living stipend of less than $11,000 this year to live on. Since I just graduated from college I hardly had any money to begin. I'm extremely careful with finances, checking on my accounts atleast once a day if not more. Well all of a sudden a bunch of transactions showed up on my account (legit but they should have shown up days ago)...All of a sudden I'm -2.15 in my checking. I transfer money from my dwindling savings to cover it and think I'm ok because this has worked in the past. No, my bank slammed me with two $34 overdraft charges and now I'm way in the hole...I don't get paid until Friday. I'm just trying to be a good person but living on $11,000 is impossible and we signed a contract saying if we get another job it's grounds for immediate termination. I'm sitting at work ready to cry. I've never had overdraft charges in my life.

Sometimes if you go to the bank and sit down with a customer service person they will remove the charges. No guarantees, but I have done this in the past and got charges removed.

Never assume the money is there.  Transactions can take up to five days to show up.  The balance you show in your checkbook after debit and credit entries doesn't mean that's the same exact amount that is in the bank at the moment.  There can be more or there can be less than what your bankbook entry has.  Keeping this in mind, never assume the money is already there or already gone.  Transactions can take up to five days.  If it's a legitimate bank error, then you need to take it up with them.