The six rate cuts by the Federal Reserve over the past six months may be rescuing homeowners staring down adjustable-rate mortgage resets – but they are likely costing regular bank customers whatever measly interest income they may accrue.

In fact, if you have $7,500 or less in your savings account at the local bank and make at least one out-of-network ATM withdrawal a month, it may make more sense to keep your money under a mattress than in the bank.

Really.

That’s because the interest rate on an average savings account has shriveled to a measly 0.47 percent annually, according to the American Bankers Association.

With a $7,500 balance, a depositor would earn just under $36 a year in interest.

The average in-network ATM charge is $1.74, according to the ATM Industry Association. And it is a little north of $3 for every out-of-network transaction. Therefore, if you use an out-of-network ATM just once a month and have a $7,500 balance, it’s likely you’re paying slightly more in fees than you’re earning in interest.

Obviously, for folks with balances well under $7,500 with the same once-a-month out-of-network ATM habits, the loss is greater.

Of course, the problem is more than fees. It is the low interest rates paid on traditional savings accounts. There are alternatives. Some online savings accounts offer interest rates of 3 percent or better – but you have to shop around.

“It’s inertia – people just aren’t thinking about what a bad deal these are,” said Ronald Roge, a financial planner in Bohemia, NY, when asked why people still keep money in typical savings accounts.

“A lot of these banks take your money and pay you nothing,” said Raymond Mignone, a financial planner in Little Neck, NY. “They’re trying to make up for all the money they lost on sub-prime loans.”

Mignone tells clients to park their savings in a money market account.

Both Roge and Mignone tell clients to use brokerages offering money market accounts for their savings. Although these firms don’t have the deposit insurance of traditional banks, it is unlikely that a money market account is going to fail, they say.

Mignone’s current favorite money market account is Vanguard Prime Reserve. It was recently paying 3.12 percent and had a $3,000 minimum. Roge’s clients often use Schwab and Ameritrade online money market accounts.