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I hope lots of people! Proper fiscal responsibility would mean that you have 6 months of savings to cover living expenses in cash on hand. Simply take $2500 of that from your savings account, earning 1% interest, and keep it in checking. There is a reason why the "rich" get richer, they take every advantage of the system that is set up to drain the less responsible.
so you would leave $2,500 in an account that doesn't earn any interest, just to avoid fees that shouldn't exist anyways? even at a crappy 1% APR, you're losing $25/yr. sure, you're getting reimbursed for ATM fees, but if you were smart, you'd never pay an ATM fee anyways.
The rich don't get/stay rich by keeping $2500 in a measly checking account. A good credit union will offer free no minimum checking with interest, free ATM access, no check fees, no silly fees that banks somehow get away with.
You also don't have to have $2500 in a checking account to meet the "6 months" minimum living expenses. There are other ways to achieve the same goals and make more money on it than padding the bank's bottom line.
OP, a credit union is the way to go.
bingo!
i use Citibank, which i just have to have direct deposit set up, no minimum balances, just direct deposit. no fees, 7/11 ATMs are Citibank ATMs, etc.
I also have Schwab checking (since i have a schwab brokerage account). They reimburse all ATM fees and pay a paulty 0.20% on my checking account, so i'll generally keep $100 or so in there as an emergency account if I'm stuck somewhere I am forced to pay an ATM fee. but, i'm mostly shifting all of my money back to Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU). I'll park my cash in their money market account and earn a decent i-rate, and transfer it to checking when needed. There's the Credit Union network of ATMs, plus they'll reimburse ATM fees. Only reason I've hung on to Citibank is just for some basic activity I earn points that are worth about $25-$50 every 3 months towards my student loans, so I'll keep a small direct deposit there until i'm done paying those off or they stop giving me points (which will probably happen first).
I'd go Credit Union or local bank, but just pay attention to ATM accessibility if you use cash much.
ME EITHER! I have a free credit union MAC/Visa card which I use at free ATMS (Wawa or Quick Chek).
It's ridiculous to pay fees for that. And I agree with the previous poster, TD is getting fee happy.
I think it's fair to say if you keep $2000 in your checking account, most banks will offer "free" checking.
yeah. i mean, Commerce Bank was a great bank. TD Bank is certainly an above average bank. But that's only if you're talking about the big big big banks. TD Bank is slowly eroding away all the good things about what was Commerce Bank. Hell - if you let me hold $2,000 of you're money, i'll reimburse your ATM fees! lol
I still use Atlantic Stewardship (based in Midland Park) from VT.
But I agree credit unions are probably better. I have a CU up here but haven't moved everything over.
I leave enough in checking so I don't need to worry about when my bills are paid. They are all paid automatically. I have enough in there so I don't need to worry when my paychecks come in versus when any of my bills are paid, or if I write a check of any normal amount (not buying a car for example) there's enough there to cover it. I get a whopping 1% on my checking, with the assumption that I make 10 debits a month, pretty easily done just going to the grocery store. ATM fees are automatically refunded.
I love TD Bank. If you keep a $2500 checking balance and set up direct deposit all the fees are waived and they even reimburse for ATM fees charged by other banks. Tons of branches with free change counters, lollipops, coloring books and bubbles for the kids and even dog biscuits.open 7 days a week! What more could you want?
The rich don't get/stay rich by keeping $2500 in a measly checking account. A good credit union will offer free no minimum checking with interest, free ATM access, no check fees, no silly fees that banks somehow get away with.
You also don't have to have $2500 in a checking account to meet the "6 months" minimum living expenses. There are other ways to achieve the same goals and make more money on it than padding the bank's bottom line.
OP, a credit union is the way to go.
Yes, go with a credit union, if you like having to go to one location( or a very limited amount of locations) and work within their ridiculous hours to do all of your in person banking. I need the flexibility to conduct in-person banking transactions, out of my town, out of state, after 5pm and on Sundays.
The rich-stay rich comment was not to be taken literally as it pertains to $2500 in your checking account( I assumed that would be obvious, but I should know better) . It was meant to signify a way of looking at things and taking advantage of any and all situations where you have the opportunity to get free services on the backs of others who pay the fees for you.(another example I gave was no-interest financing, just like keeping a minimum balance this requires discipline).
The ATM reimbursement I get is for all fees associated with using an out of network ATM. EVERY ATM is a TD Bank ATM in my world. I don't know any Credit Union that reimburses you for the $2.00-$4.00 surcharge collected by Bank of America when you use their ATM. I could be wrong about this but I'd love to see an example, regardless I still would go with a bank that had 100's of locations vs. 1-10. TD bank and PNC bank are the only large retail banks that offer this in NJ the last time I checked but that was a few years ago. Even if you only use this benefit once a month is more than pays for any lost interest you have from keeping a minimum balance.
Look, bank where you want. If a $2500 cash reserve is putting you in the poor house or that $25/yr interest you are missing out on is contributing the degradation of your long term financial goals then by all means look elsewhere. All I'm saying is that I've been a happy TD Bank customer for over a decade( was with Commerce before they switched) and I don't pay any fees, get free treats for the kids, and get conservatively $120/year in ATM reimbursement fees far surpassing the $25 in lost interest.
Last edited by Goldendoodle1969; 09-18-2013 at 11:44 AM..
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