Americans pay billions of dollars in easily avoidable financial fees every year. Even if you find an account with a high interest rate or rewards benefits, any money earned could be gone in an instant due to these various fees. Here are the most common charges and how to avoid them.

The most common fees are for overdrafts. Every year they total upwards of $17.5 billion, or nearly half of all fees paid to financial institutions. These are charged when an account holder withdraws more than the amount available in the account.

When you spend money that isn’t there, most financial institutions automatically cover the purchase (up to a certain amount). This saves the embarrassment of a bounced check (a steeper fee) or declined debit card. But it comes at a cost – about $27 per overdraft.

Solution: Keep track of your balance. An easy way to do this is to create an automatic alert, via email or even your cell phone, that notifies you whenever the balance dips below a certain amount. If you do get an overdraft fee, make sure to pay the fee and the amount overdrawn in a timely manner; otherwise interest may be charged on any outstanding balance, and you could face additional charges.

When using an ATM that doesn’t belong to your financial institution, you can be charged a “foreign” ATM fee, plus a fee from the owner of the ATM. These can be as much as $3 each (more if it’s an international transaction), zinging you with $6 or more in fees.

Solution: Plan ahead to avoid using a foreign ATM. Many financial institutions are part of a larger ATM network. Check with your institution to see which ATMs are included.

Watch out for minimum-balance fees. These are assessed if your balance drops below a certain amount.

Solution: Sign up for an account that doesn’t require a minimum balance.

If you have a credit card, pay the bill on time. Otherwise, you’ll be slapped with a late fee that is usually around $34.

Solution: Use online bill pay to set up automatic transfers, ensuring your credit card and other bills are paid on time. Make sure to leave a cushion between when the payment is initiated and when it’s due; online payments can take as many as five business days to post to the account.

The best way to avoid any fee is to monitor your money. Keep track of accounts online or in a ledger, review account statements and keep a budget. Many fees are easily avoided with a little vigilance.

Sources: cia.gov, responsiblelending.org, ababj.com, npr.org, federalreserve.gov, usatoday.com, msnbc.msn.com, bankrate.com, moneycentral.msn.com, indexcreditcards.com, money.cnn.com