Aubrey Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 For a tiny personal acct--say for hs book purchases--what bank would you recommend? My mom wanted me to use her bank, but they charge a monthly fee if you maintain less than $1500 balance. :svengo: If possible, I'd like to open an account w/ $50 or less. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 :bigear: Or you can convince me that the acct is *worth* $5/mo. (That's what mom says, lol.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I'm not sure, other than something like ING Direct, that there are any accts without a monthly fee. Problem with ING is accessibility. When I looked into them, years ago, it seemed like a big hassle to access your $, fees for withdrawals, etc. Read all fine print very carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 We originally had Chase, but then they changed their rules. Now, you need to have $1500+ in the account every day or have a direct deposit of over $500 (that's ONE direct deposit) to avoid their checking account fees. :glare: Now we're with Wells Fargo. They also have checking account fees, but they are a lot easier to get around. You can get around them through large direct deposits OR just by an automatic transfer of at least $25 to a connected savings account every month. We've been doing the latter. I don't remember how much was needed to open an account, however - and if you only want to use it for one thing, then this probably wouldn't work for you either. I think the monthly fee is something like $3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristinaBreece Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 We bank with PNC, who bought out National City (in our area, at least) a few years ago. I do think there are still National City banks around, and we were also happy with them. No minimum balance with either bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kipling Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Check local credit unions. They provide the security of a bank but without the fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Under the mattress :001_smile: Do you really need a bank account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 You can always ask the bank to waive the fee. Many will agree to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I was going to suggest a credit union as well. Ours has very good options with $5 minimum balances. Do you have other checking accounts, etc? If so, talk to that bank? I have 2 different check books on the same account with 2 sub accounts with our credit union. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnTheBrink Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Check local credit unions. They provide the security of a bank but without the fees. Yes. I have to keep $5 in savings to keep my account open. No monthly fees. Free box of checks when I opened the account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 We originally had Chase, but then they changed their rules. Now, you need to have $1500+ in the account every day or have a direct deposit of over $500 (that's ONE direct deposit) to avoid their checking account fees. :glare: :blink: We have Chase--I hadn't heard this change! Eek! Now we're with Wells Fargo. They also have checking account fees, but they are a lot easier to get around. You can get around them through large direct deposits OR just by an automatic transfer of at least $25 to a connected savings account every month. We've been doing the latter. I don't remember how much was needed to open an account, however - and if you only want to use it for one thing, then this probably wouldn't work for you either. I think the monthly fee is something like $3. What do you mean about this part? I get tiny little paychecks here & there for writing or tutoring, & I just thought it would be nice to have an acct for hs expenses/my checks. And of course, there's the annoying bit about linking PP to an acct. I don't want that to be our main acct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Under the mattress :001_smile: Do you really need a bank account? Yeah, for pp. For some reason, once you link a business, you have to have a bank acct linked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unicorn. Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Yes, yes, yes! Go w/ a credit union. Ours has the $5 savings requirement, and checks are always free when ordered online. No fees at all. Ours also has negative balance protection, where they take money out of our savings if we write a check and don't have the money in our checking to cover it. Of course you have to have money in the savings to cover it. No fee for that either. Too many banks now have free checking, AND they make money off of your money, so I would never go w/ a bank that charged you fees to house your money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Check local credit unions. They provide the security of a bank but without the fees. Our credit union recently tacked on that monthly $5 fee - one way around it was to agree to electronic statements AND at least 5 debit card withdrawals a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn in OH Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 We have an account with Hungtington. I'm not sure what states they are in, but at the time they were in the 3 states we were living and travelling in. There is no minimum balance or fees for our checking account. We even get free online banking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Strawberry Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I use Paypal for my business account. I <3 it. I have a debit card, if I ever need to deposit a check, I drop it into our main checking and transfer funds immediately. But I haven't done that in some time. I get all my payments via PP or cash. There is a small fee ( I think 3% on incoming payments) but it's worth it. I never notice. I can use the card at the register or as a credit card if a site I want to order from doesn't accept PP directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 I wish I could remember what bank I used to use for MK. I think they may have been bought out, though. If you can find a credit union, do that. Sometimes you need to have a "sponsor." That's the best way to go, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Do you have a household account, and you just want a separate one to deal with book purchases/sales, etc.? If so, you might want to ask your bank; If I remember correctly my bank doesn't charge me fees for my "field trip money" account because it's tied to my regular checking account. It is *hugely* helpful for me to have the separate account, as I frequently buy large numbers of theater tickets etc., which wreaks havoc with our regular account. (Hubby: "You bought $900 worth of theater tickets?????" Me: "Well yes, but it was for 90 of my friends...") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 US Bank--it looks like there is no fee and $50 required to open one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted April 22, 2011 Author Share Posted April 22, 2011 Do you have a household account, and you just want a separate one to deal with book purchases/sales, etc.? If so, you might want to ask your bank; If I remember correctly my bank doesn't charge me fees for my "field trip money" account because it's tied to my regular checking account. It is *hugely* helpful for me to have the separate account, as I frequently buy large numbers of theater tickets etc., which wreaks havoc with our regular account. (Hubby: "You bought $900 worth of theater tickets?????" Me: "Well yes, but it was for 90 of my friends...") We have a household acct; I could use that one, but for several reasons, I'd rather not. I don't think I want it linked to our household acct, either. But I'm wondering about direct deposit...could that come from something other than work? Like...if I set the household acct to "directly" put $ into my acct every month, would that make the free-if-you-have-direct-deposit acct free? :lol: Because that sounds like a *good* idea to me! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disney Dreaming Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 Do you have a local "hometown" bank? Not owned by bigger banks? It seems they are more likely to have checking without monthly fees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted April 22, 2011 Share Posted April 22, 2011 We have accounts at a couple of small, local banks. Love them! We have the basic checking accounts, so there are no monthly fees. One of the banks not only doesn't charge if you use ATMs that aren't theirs, but they refund the fees that other banks charge for using their ATMs as well! This is really helpful to us, because my DH works fairly far from home, and there are no branches of our bank near us, and when he needs some cash, the couple of dollars of fees really adds up. No more! I'd really suggest looking into a small, local bank. I've also been very pleased with ING for storing kids' money and stuff like that. I don't know if you can do direct deposit with it or not, but I love that it lets you separate your money into small sub-accounts. Then you can use the debit card feature from the main account and just transfer the money from a sub-account as needed. Their customer service has always been beyond excellent too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 We have a household acct; I could use that one, but for several reasons, I'd rather not. I don't think I want it linked to our household acct, either. As I said, my field trip account is "linked" to our household account. All that really seems to mean is that I keep the minimum amount to avoid fees in the household one, and thus I don't have to do that for the other one. I can easily transfer money from one account to the other online if I want, but I rarely do because the whole point was to keep the field trip money completely separate from the household money. The fact that the accounts are linked means nothing to the people I write checks to or deposit checks from, etc. It's just a way for the bank to give me another account without charging more fees. You can even have another person on one of the accounts but not the other - they are separate accounts except for the fees part. Talk to your bank, and see if they offer something that would work for your situation - it is *much* easier for me to have both accounts at the same bank, as I can make deposits at the same place, do the online stuff at the same site, etc. etc. It's hard enough to keep up with changes at one bank - I can't imagine having to do it double. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3lilreds in NC Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 SunTrust is the bank I used. Do you have one near you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommybee Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I'm not sure, other than something like ING Direct, that there are any accts without a monthly fee. Problem with ING is accessibility. When I looked into them, years ago, it seemed like a big hassle to access your $, fees for withdrawals, etc. Read all fine print very carefully. That's interesting! I absolutely love my ING accounts. Maybe it's just different now, but I have had great luck with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 What do you mean about this part? I get tiny little paychecks here & there for writing or tutoring, & I just thought it would be nice to have an acct for hs expenses/my checks. And of course, there's the annoying bit about linking PP to an acct. I don't want that to be our main acct. Sorry this was confusing! :001_smile: For our Wells Fargo account, we have to transfer $25 to a linked checking account every month in order to avoid the checking account fee. If you were going to have smaller amounts of money in there, that $25 transfer could be impractical/a pain. That's what I meant. It is possible, however, that Wells Fargo has other accounts that might work. Chase sent us a letter in the mail about the checking acct fee changes. Maybe your account didn't fall into that category for some reason? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 US Bank--it looks like there is no fee and $50 required to open one. Yes, I was going to suggest US Bank, too. We have an account with them, with no fee. Our main accounts are with a local credit union (by "local" I mean statewide), and we have no fees with them either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyFL Posted April 24, 2011 Share Posted April 24, 2011 If you or your husband happen to be a veteran, this one is great... https://www.usaa.com/inet/pages/bank_checking_main Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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