Just a few weeks ago, my plane landed into a biting ice storm in New York City. My itinerary? Salvador, Brazil to New York City; that is, a boiling summer to a caustic winter. Hearing the chuckles of nearby passengers as I walked towards the ATM, clothed only in flip flops, Bermuda shorts, and a thin white T-shirt, I suddenly realized that there are no Wells Fargo ATMs in all of New York City.

For the first time ever, I was asked to pay an ATM fee, something I’ve never had to do before. I paid the $2.50 to withdraw money, and when I arrived at my hotel and checked my bank statement, I realized that Wells Fargo had ALSO charged me an additional $2.50 for using an outside ATM, bringing my one-time withdrawal fee to a total of $5, or about 5% of my entire withdrawal.

In California, where I used to live, of course I never experienced this problem. I used only Wells Fargo ATMs and never had to deal with any fines. I was surprised, though, when I mentioned this story to family and friends and realized that this situation wasn’t as uncommon as I thought. Some friends had been living in New York City for almost a year without ever figuring out a way to escape the bank fees!

Are you in a situation where you find yourself paying insane bank fees for withdrawals? If you are losing $5 per withdrawal, you are spending hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars a year in bank fees! This is money you could spend paying off your debt or traveling around the world!

My solution to this particular problem is to use Wachovia ATMs in New York City, since Wells Fargo bought their bank and now offers free ATM withdrawals. However, you might be spending tons of money because you find yourself without cash at gas stations or other places. How much could you save by withdrawing money ahead of time?

Do you find yourself paying a lot in ATM fees? What do you do to handle them? How do you solve this problem?

Just over a year ago, I arrived in London for a weekend trip put on by my school. Students from my class were flown in, put up in a hotel, and fed for free: an absolutely amazing trip, right? However, at that stage in my life, my mind was fixated on frugality: don’t spend any money, save all I can, keep more for later. When my friends went out for dinner, I stayed in; when they went to a pub, I was checking my email. As a result, I wasted an amazing opportunity to explore London because of my extreme frugality.

Fast forward a few months, when I took a five-day trip with a few friends to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. While we were there, I simply didn’t think about money: if I wanted food, I bought it; if I wanted a souvenir, I also bought it. I enjoyed the stay there an incredible amount, but when I returned home and checked my balance, I was shocked: hundreds of dollars more spent in five days than in the previous month.

What I learned from these two experiences is that there exists a happy medium between these two extremes: one shouldn’t be too frugal, but one should also not spend too much! Given that this is a personal finance and investing blog, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that we have as many over-savers as we have over-spenders. The funny thing is, personal finance blogs almost always chastise people for overspending, but in real life, being too cheap is just as bad.

Don’t forget to live life. If you are saving every penny you earn, but you don’t need to, would it improve your life to loosen your purse strings every once in a while? I found that by creating a set of bank accounts solely dedicated to specific purposes, I was able to automatically deposit a set amount of money into these accounts and spend it guilt-free. I now have a predetermined amount of money dedicated to traveling, to vacations, and to purchases I want to make in the future. Having these accounts protects me from over-saving and not taking advantage of life.

If you are a big saver, good for you: it’s a much better problem to have than spending too much. Don’t forget to take the time to make sure you are living as well, though. Don’t waste your weekend in London hiding in your hotel room, afraid of the conversion rate of the British pound: set a reasonable budget and stick to it.

Are you an over-spender or an over-saver?

If you follow Lending Club, you probably pay attention to money and the markets. You probably have a better idea than the average consumer about how investments, interest rates, and the markets work. Still, though, the question remains: How do you use this knowledge? Have you built a personal finance plan? How have you used your knowledge of personal finance to really enhance your life?

I’ve noticed that many of my friends feel that passively reading about personal finance is enough. For years, I read financial blogs and articles without ever actually making the effort to design and implement a financial plan. However, it just took a single day to build it---I sat down, focused on what I wanted to accomplish, and built a plan that allowed me to achieve my goals without too many sacrifices. Thanks to this financial planning, I was able to achieve my goal of living in South America without incurring any debt.

Read Mike Smith’s recent article about three-year plans and make the decision. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Sit down, make a list of financial goals, and figure out a way to get there. I guarantee you won’t regret it.

Have you already built a financial plan? Tell us about your financial goals in the comments. Are you on track to achieve them?

Want to save some money today? Here are five simple ways you can spend a few hours today to save some cash.

Small changes can lead to big wins. What small changes have you implemented that are saving you money?

Renting and Buying Property

Everyone knows that all clouds have a silver lining - the thundering rainstorms last night in Rio De Janiero, where I'm living, made the streets extremely clean this morning So how about the financial crisis? Does something this harsh, this horrible, and this painful also have its own silver lining? Definitely.

I've written earlier about how some expenses are suddenly cheap, such as travel or starting your own business. How else can you take advantage of this crisis? For one thing, now might be the time to buy a house or rent an apartment. Why? Because prices have gone way down. Prices in San Francisco, for example, have decreased over 4% from their peak in 2008, according to an article from sfgate.com. Currently at an average of $1,556/month, rents have decreased as occupancy rates have fallen. Economists at IHS Global Insight predict that housing prices might even reach 50% of their top prices, according to the Orange County Register.

So what can you do to take advantage of this? Follow these steps:

1. Figure out what you are paying for your rent.
2. Look up similar rental rates in your area. Check Zillow.com to look at real estate prices near you.
3. Are you overpaying? If so, talk to your landlord and try to negotiate a lower price. If not, consider moving out at the end of your lease. You might be able to find a better place for a cheaper price.

Would you consider moving to a new home or apartment if prices were cheaper? Are you overpaying?