*cough*credit union*cough*

What's the deal with credit unions? I've always used banks.

The big credit union in VA is Navy Federal, but I think you have to be in the government or related to someone in the government to use their services.

they are free.

Free in terms of what?

I don't pay any fees or anything with my current bank account.

banks can screw you over with fees. my friend got nailed with $200 in overdraft fees on things he spent less than $10 on. Credit unions are in my opinion better. Unless you want to take out a big loan or something. then a bigger bank would probably be better. but you save a lot of hassle in general if you go with a credit union

pretty much what bacon said.
when it comes to credit unions, they tend to favor making the simple stuff really easy and free. all the debit cards ive ever gotten from credit unions have been free. same with checking accounts, and other things that my ex-bank made me pay for.

bank of america

My stuff is through Citi their online web thing is nice...

I know TD is Canadian and they're not that big in the states. They're popular here and have good hours though, but I wouldn't recommend them for banking unless you want to do international banking between Canada and the states.

IMO I've liked BOA, my old man banks with them. He doesn't seem to have any problems

I use both a credit union and TD bank. The credit union is police and fire credit union for phila. and thats where my loans and other credit accounts come from. As for my bank I simply pick one thats close to my house and have direct deposit to my bank and my wifes checks go to PFFCU to automatically pay some of my bills.

If your only looking for a place to keep your paychecks thats convient and accessible any day of the week then go with a bank, "insert name here". If your looking for loans and future lines of credit get with a credit union today. The longer your with them and the more activity you have with them betters your chances of getting lines of credit from them and at a better interest rate in the future.

I was lucky enough to get on board with the best credit union in the city when I was in the 3rd grade and they have been very good to me when I applied for credit.

I'm really not looking for loans right now and my credit is spotless.

What I'm looking for is this: Somewhere to keep my earned money and to be able to write checks and use a debit card...which is what I have now. If I could earn interest, that would be even better. I might do a separate savings account, too.

One of the best I've found so far is Charles Schwab. Their high yield checking is pretty much what I'm looking for.

http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/hom ... ount_types

I use BoA. Their online banking is good, and there are always plenty of their ATMs, usually (depends on state I guess). Had my account that I opened in the Pentagon since '98. Also, they have an iPhone app and probably for Android and BB as well. It's nice being able to transfer funds when you need to. Used that to transfer cash from savings to checking when buying last two cars for the downpayment check.

ive been with TD bank, which used to be Commerce, since i was 15, so 9 years. ive had a debit card and checking account for the last 8. i havent had any issues at all. ive had direct deposit for a while and rarely need to go to the branch, but they were the only bank in SJ to be open longer than the standard 7-5. the drive-thru is open as late as 8pm which has been nice on occasion.

i think BoA is the largest bank in america, or at least holds the most private wealth or something. ive heard good things about them as well but there arent any branches near me.

i know BB&T is supposed to be decent, too. i dont think it matters much which bank you choose.

if you want better interest rates, or a checking account with interest, youll want one of the online-only banks like ING. interest rates are ridiculously low and will be for the forseeable future. i wouldnt really sweat over it right now. my ING orange high interest savings was 6.5% in mid-2007. now it's under 2.

inflation for this year could be well over 3x that 2%, so really no matter what you're gonna be losing money. inflation for at least the next few years is only going to get much worse, im afraid. i wouldnt look at interest rates to meet inflation but i dont know what else to use that is risky.