6 Answers

• Reputation: 959 Q&A: 19 0 5 517 38 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  8 0 Get out of commercial banks and join a credit union. They are much less focused on ripping off your money a few dollars at a time. I use Watermark Credit Union. I can withdraw money from the ATMs in any 7-Eleven with no fees, which problem gives me better ATM access than I would get with any bank. I can make deposits using almost any credit union's ATMs. I think BECU has the same policies. Tom Sackett answered in Personal Finance about 1 year ago | Report 4 comments by Bion Satir, Rev.Enant, and Basil… 0 0 I agree! I switched from WAMU to Washington State Employees Credit Union about 8 years ago and I've been totally happy. Customer service is great, and like Tom said, they don't try to rip you off. WSECU has some eligibility requirements, but any credit union will be better than a commercial bank. Bion Satir commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I love me some CU. Thumbs up! Banks take too much of your money for most simple/day to day things. The flip side, for full disclosure, is that credit unions aren't as free-wheeling with their loans - they tend to guard the purse strings and have higher bars for qualifying (less so on smaller things like cars, moreso on houses, boats). Makes sense, really - but CU's are generally for those with the 'C' part already in Good shape. (How's your credit? YOUNG newlyweds might want to start at a bank and then move to a CU... depends on your livelihood/finances, IMO) Banks also tend to serve Self-Employed/Business propriators better as well and for pretty much the same reasons. Rev.Enant commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 I agree, though I use BECU. Basil commented about 1 year ago | Report 1 0 Here is my favorite piece of banking advice for couples: In addition to your joint account, you should each have a personal account. Every month put a small portion of your income in each personal account. You now each have a little spending money that you can use however you like without consulting with your partner. This can help you avoid a lot of arguments. You'll want to set some guidelines about what should be joint expenses, and what is personal spending. Typical personal items include: books and CDs, meals and entertainment without your spouse, hobbies, electronic gadgets. Clothes may, or may not, fall under personal expenses. You can either fritter away your money on small stuff, or save it up for big things, like a new guitar, that you could never justify spending joint money to buy. Lastly, when you buy gifts for you partner, you'll find it feels better to do it with your own money than with joint money. Tom Sackett commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 1421 Q&A: 44 0 4 469 28 4 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 asteria

  3 0 I've had my main personal accounts at BECU for a long time, and so far am loving it - it's free, and I get 6% interest on most of my money with member advantage. Once I overdrew my checking account, and they pulled money from my savings to cover it at no charge. Sweet! When I recently moved in with my boyfriend he opened a personal account at BECU, and we opened a joint checking account for our joint expenses (we still have our individual accounts). It's super easy to transfer money between our accounts and the joint checking instantly, it's free, there are tons of BECU branches/ATMs around, and as Tom pointed out with the 7-11 ATMs and the credit union co-op network there are lots of options to access your money. Also, since I had my account at BECU first I got a $25 referral credit, and my boyfriend got $25 too. Another nice perk is that with our personal BECU accounts we can access accounts at other banks/credit unions through external transfer - it's free for the standard 3 day transfer and now there's an option for next-day transfer with a fee. So you & your spouse could still keep some money in your banks, and transfer as needed between BECU and Chase/Wells Fargo as needed. My boyfriend still does most of his banking with Bank of America, which I think is crazy but that's his choice. If you do want to try BECU, I recommend going into a branch to open the joint account, instead of doing it online. That way you both would be primary account holders. Another thing to be aware of is that BECU works best if you do direct deposit and/or use their ATMs - they don't have any tellers except in Tukwila & Everett. If you need a teller you can generally use other credit union's branches, although some of them have stopped doing shared transactions. asteria answered in Personal Finance about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Basil… 0 0 Seconded. Basil commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 287 Q&A: 5 0 5 88 6 1 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 1

  1 0 I also second the credit unions. The employees are always really nice and helpful, and as a member of a credit union, you actually are part owner of the credit union. I have accounts at both BECU and Verity, and they both have great services and perks. If you frequently go out for dinner, I would apply for the Verity Passport Unlimited credit card. It gets you two for one dinners at a bunch of restaurants in Seattle (great for couples). I have one and I use it all the time. michiko swiggs answered in Personal Finance about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 3723 Q&A: 109 0 27 1716 713 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 1

  3 3 Jaded A: Bank apart - you're newlyweds after all. Wait for 5 years and after seeing each other's credit reports before diving into a joint account that might screw both of you and your credit. Fair A: Choose a different bank than either of you are at: BoA is just about as evil as Chase. Better yet, go small bank, like Frontier or Sterling? Rev.Enant answered in Personal Finance about 1 year ago | Report 3 comments by CrazyCatLady, asteria, and Rev.Enant… 1 1 Somebody probably downvoted this for the "jaded A" but, let me tell you, shit happens, and I've seen many a friend brought low by the financial entanglements that go with marriage. Love and money do not necessarily mix, and love may indeed go smoother if you leave money out of it. Also speaking from personal experience, BoA is Evil. CrazyCatLady commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 0 Frontier Bank went down because of bad loans - it's Union Bank now. asteria commented about 1 year ago | Report 0 1 crazycatlady: TRU DAT on all counts. Rev.Enant commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 891 Q&A: 9 0 20 319 28 4 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  0 0 I don't think any banking institution has made a niche catering to newlyweds. But Credit Unions have worked out a niche of not screwing people over; which is really helpful for people embarking on new stages in their life. Be prepared to do less in branch banking, if you even do much of that. Best used with direct deposit & online banking. There is a little variability in free services. My housemate is with WESCU and she gets up to 6 cashiers checks per day with no service fee. At BECU both money orders and cashiers checks cost a fee. I've gotten my debit card replaced twice in the past year for free (BECU). Think a little about what you need to do with this joint checking. Find a few credit unions that have favorable interest rates and see if they'll satisfy your needs. internet_jen answered in Personal Finance about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by internet_jen… 0 0 I usually get my rent money order by buying it from QFC for 75cents. internet_jen commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

  Share this answer with a friend:

• Reputation: 1812 Q&A: 22 0 42 1409 992 23 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 3

  3 5 Best book for newlyweds? "The Guide to Getting It On" by Paul Joannides. It's written in a light, breezy style, that not only.... what? A BANK? Oh, that's different. O my captain answered in Personal Finance about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

  Share this answer with a friend: