One of the many reasons I couldn’t get ahead financially was the bank that kept my Money.

Most banks have high fees and so many charges it will make your head spend. So when I started on the road to becoming financially free, one of the significant changes I made was where I kept my money.

I could probably write an E-book on why I left my traditional bank and moved to a non-traditional or online bank. However, I will narrow it down to five primary reasons.

The first reason was ATM fees. I was spending a lot of extra money to take money out to pay cash. So much so that I stopped using the ATM. Why do you have to spend money to take your Money out of the bank? Yes, you can always go to their ATM, and it’s free, but what if it’s out of your way or not even in the city you are in (if you are traveling)?

The second reason was NSF. Non-sufficient funds fees that the bank charges you for not having money to pay for a bill. So, if a statement comes through, I don’t have the money, it doesn’t get paid, and then you charge me for not having it.

Once a check is deposited, the bank takes the money you owe them, making your Money short for your other bills. This is how I end up in the whole every month and not paying my bills on time. I would get a fee not just from the bank but from the account for paying late and a return check fee. I was in a vicious cycle of insufficient money to pay my bills. The bank once charged my daughter $29 for a penny, something tried to take a penny out of her account, and the bank took $29 from her direct paycheck deposit.

The third reason is the monthly maintenance fee. So, you get charged a fee for using their bank to hold your hard-earned Money. I don’t think I should have to pay for putting my Money in an account. Some banks charge extra if you don’t pay a certain amount every month.

The fourth reason is transferring. I got my kids a savings account with my bank when they were younger, and they later opened up their own checking accounts. We had some bills together, and we used family plans. The bank would only let us make so many monthly transfers, so we had to devise a way to move money from account to account if we used up all our transfers. Of course, it’s a lot easier this day due to PayPal and Cash App. Yet back when they first started working, it was like having a second job just trying to get the bills paid.

The fifth and final reason is low APY %. Most banks have a deficient APY %, and the savings account doesn’t pay hardly anything unless you have a large sum of Money. It’s hard to have your Money work for you when you don’t have anything to work with. This is why I put my Money in a high-yield account. I get more bang for my buck if you know what I mean.

Where did I put my Money?

I changed to a no-fee or minimum-fee account. Many of these accounts are online banks. However, they are better for banking when trying to live a frugal lifestyle.

I use 360 checking and savings with Capital One. I set up all the companies I pay for every month, and I get reminders in advance to settle those accounts. This helps keep my finances in order. It also enables you to track your spending and keep up to date with your credit score. They also have a .40% yield. Another thing I like about it is the easy online shopping.

You can access 70,000 fee-free ATMs, Capital-one brands, All point, and Money Pass. You can find these machines at CVS, Walgreens, and Target.

My daughter uses Chime. Chime is an online-only financial company that offers no monthly fees and no overdraft fees. It has 60,000 user access fee-free ATMs. With direct deposit, you can get your paycheck 2 days early. You can pay bills online through the Chime checkbook feature. They do not offer a joint account, so it’s not ideal if you want to share. Chime doesn’t charge for using your card out of the country. It’s best if you use direct deposit to upload Money. You must go through Green Dot (for cash), but you can upload a check online through the App.

It also has a yield of .50% with no minimum balance, and it will round up your change on purchases to the nearest dollar. Then, it will deposit the difference to your savings account. You also get unlimited transfers from your savings account into your spending account.

Both Capital One 360 and Chime have high ratings on Nerd Wallet. These are just the two that we use. Others you may want to look at are below.

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Discover

Chase- they have a sign-up bonus

Well, that’s all I have for today; I hope this helps you on your journey.

Thank you for reading Everything Frugal.