OK, I admit it. I’m addicted. I just can’t live without it. I am a slave to the all-mighty ATM.

I know the joy of a cash withdrawal when the finance gods grace me with some cash when I thought my account had none.

I also know the agony of hearing the money machine print a receipt before it dispenses my cash. Perhaps nothing is so cruel in this world as the statement “Funds not available.”

The other day, as I made my second cash withdrawal in about a 10-hour period, I realized how crucial these regurgitating cash boxes are to my life.

Nearly every day, I make a fast stop at an Automated Teller Machine to get some quick cash for lunch or supper or whatever it is I need to buy. When I stop for groceries at Hy-Vee or need some shampoo from Target, I pull out my nifty little Shazam card when I’m ready to check-out. When I get my paycheck from the Daily every two weeks, I immediately drive to the nearest ATM to deposit it.

The truth is, I can’t really remember life before the ATM. I have vague recollections of walking into a bank and asking a smiling teller to deposit my birthday check from grandma. Occasionally, dim memories resurface of days when I went to a financial institution with my mom to get money for Christmas presents.

But I haven’t taken care of any financial business with an actual person for more than two years. In fact, I haven’t even been to my bank in two years.

It’s so convenient for me, someone whose finances are hardly considered organized, to pay for everything with my cash card. I don’t have to worry about over drafts or bounced checks. I simply swipe my card and punch in my PIN.

As I stood at the ATM the other day, waiting for it to pump out my $15, I started thinking about these machines. I didn’t know a lot about them even though I worship them so.

So, as I often do, I got on the Web to search for some information. I found some interesting facts about ATMs and those who use them.

According to The ATM Connection Web page, ATM customers spend an average of 20 to 25 percent more money than non-ATM customers. (I can certainly validate that statement — if I know there’s an ATM around, I’ll definitely plan to spend more.)

Also according to the Web site, 60 percent of Americans ages 25 to 34 and 51 percent of Americans ages 25 to 49 use ATM machines eight times a month. On average, those Americans withdraw about $55 per transaction.

In 1994, there were 8.3 billion ATM transactions in this country, according to the site. That figure, although I couldn’t find facts to prove it, must surely have risen in the past few years.

Another fact on the Web page stated that the most popular day for ATM usage is Friday. Judging by the people lined up at the ATMs on Welch Avenue Friday night, I’d say ISU students prove this statement true.

I was also amazed at the number of Web pages devoted to selling the money-spitting machines. I guess it hadn’t occurred to me that people were making money off of my transactions. (With my ATM record, I’ve probably bought someone a new car.)

The ATM Financial Group Web site stated that putting an ATM in a business can earn that business some big bucks. Business owners not only make a 25 or 50 cent surcharge profit for each transaction made, but the ATM also increases the change of people spending money in the store.

In fact, nightclubs that have ATMs on the premises often see as much as 70 to 80 percent of the dispensed cash spent in the club.

The best information I found, though, was that I could install my very own ATM at the Daily office for the low price of $10,995, or $275 a month for five years.

Wow, just think of it. My very own money machine to worship each day. The possibilities are endless.

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Keesia Wirt is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Panora. She is editor in chief of the Daily.