1. the bank may negotiate but probably not unless you can pay something. Call them and tell them you are working on it and can they stop adding the daily fees. (note not all banks keep adding a fee to overdrawn accounts….try Washington Mutual if you have them near you because they suck less than most banks. If not, try a credit union).

2. Take a look through your closet and garage and look for stuff you can sell quickly. It sucks to do this, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do. If you’re female, you probably have a lot of good stuff. Try Craigslist.org to see if they have a site in your city. If they do, the listings are free. I use Craigslist all the time and they are awesome!

3. Call your auto insurance agent, you may have some time before the drop dead date on that payment. If not, be sure the first cash you get is converted to a money order and given to the insurance company. That way you don’t have to clear the bank account first.

4. Check craigslist if you have one in your community, sometimes you find job offers there for short term gigs that can pay instant cash - like handing out flyers or stuff. My city has a lot of that stuff, yours may or may not, but it costs nothing to look.

5. VERY LAST RESORT - there are places that do payday advances against your next check. They really suck and their fees are outrageous but in an emergency they may be your only choice.

Then be a grown up…get past today’s crisis by taking on a part-time second job so you can pay off your debt fast and put all this behind you.

Then take the effort to learn how to balance your checkbook (I’m guessing someone at the bank or your parents will probably teach you for free), then DO IT!

Also try living on cash for a while. If it isn’t in your wallet, you can’t spend it. Leave the ATM card and checkbook at home.

If you can master that, you’ll have less trouble in the future.

It sounds like you need to renegotiate your banking relationship also. Speak to a manager and see if there are other products with lower fees. Get rid of the automatic debits from your account, because you’ll keep getting slammed if you don’t have enough cash on hand. If you have good credit, you might want to open up an account with a 0% introductory APR to give you an interest-free loan while you’re sorting things out — use this carefully, otherwise you’ll end up in even worse debt.

One last thought for immediate cash would be to sell some of your stuff online. Periodically going through your old books, DVDs, clothes, etc. can be healthy because it forces you to think about what you REALLY need. And you should be able to sell a few items pretty quickly, since there’s always someone out there looking to buy secondhand stuff.

Good luck!