FREE CHECKING + SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
Finance freebie..
Everyone should have access to at LEAST one free checking + savings account. Saving your money and using it SHOULD NOT cost you money every month. Back when I got my first bank account, Wells Fargo charged me monthly maintenance fees on both of my checking accounts totaling $20+ EVERY SINGLE MONTH. Eventually I wisened up and went and got an account at my local credit union and I haven’t looked back since. Fast forward 12+ years to the present, there are plenty of options for you to use to not only save your money but to watch it grow!
You should not have to pay $12/month per bank account for the bank to store your money. THE BANK USES YOUR MONEY TO INVEST AND MAKE A PROFIT AND THEY DON’T GIVE YOU ANY OF THE PROFITS (well not a significant enough amount to write home about).
Free Online Banks
Banks are financial institutions (an entity that deals with financial transactions, such as loans, investments, deposits, and currency exchange). They are for profit institutions and they’re not member owned, which means they usually abide by what is best for the shareholders and not the account holders. They’re usually owned by shareholders and controlled by a board. Online banking has exploded over the last decade with many people not even needing a physical bank to go to. These online banks have crushed it recently providing thousands of ATMs and other perks and benefits in app to make banking a lot simpler.
Credit Unions (not for profit)
What is a credit union? A credit union is a not-for-profit financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members. Members typically have a common bond like a workplace or school. Credit unions work in the best interest of its members and offer services that align with this mission. Because of this, there are many different credit unions across the United States and they all have different requirements for joining, ex: must be a resident of the state or an employee of a specific company.
How to find credit unions that you can use
Search “your state” + “credit union”. Example: type this in Google: “credit unions in Georgia”, you find a few that you can join today just by being a resident of a county or the state or for working for the state or a county. Pretty simple.
Search for credit unions across the nation. “best credit unions in the USA”. Example: Digital Federal Credit Union is nationwide and only requires you to be a current or past employee of a long list of companies.
Here’s a few that you might like from the College Investor (full list with links and info here).
