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Hey compadres. I humbly request your banking/broker advice. I've had my modest savings with Merrill Lynch for a long time, and although they've never overtly screwed me, I'm miffed that they won't provide me with a complete list of ALL the fees they charge me for a debit card, checking, a basic deposit account and minimal investing. I can't help but wonder why. So I'm looking for other options. I've avoided traditional banks up to know just because their return rates are so low. At least I get higher returns with a broker, but I wonder how much of those returns are going into their pockets instead of mine through fees. Who do you all use? I need to start shopping around. Thanks for the advice! Really, thanks!
I would strongly advise you to check out USAA and see if you qualify. Check deposit at home, you get cash or point rewards with your debit card, no fees, decent returns on savings/check, you can deposit checks up to $5000 from you home computer, and they return ATM fees charged by other banks. It's pretty exclusive and usually requires military or government service by you or a family member, but they've loosened restrictions and it wouldn't hurt to check.
types of brokerages and fees involved
All fees should be disclosed. If not, then it's time for you to find a new broker.
Hey compadres. I humbly request your banking/broker advice. I've had my modest savings with Merrill Lynch for a long time, and although they've never overtly screwed me, I'm miffed that they won't provide me with a complete list of ALL the fees they charge me for a debit card, checking, a basic deposit account and minimal investing. I can't help but wonder why. So I'm looking for other options. I've avoided traditional banks up to know just because their return rates are so low. At least I get higher returns with a broker, but I wonder how much of those returns are going into their pockets instead of mine through fees. Who do you all use? I need to start shopping around. Thanks for the advice! Really, thanks!
It's hard to say without knowing exactly what your goals are and how much risk you can tolerate, but I have been satisfied with ING Direct and they are completely above board. They also ate up my old online discount broker, sharebuilder.com, which is also worth checking out if you want to trade equities. It sounds as if an online discount broker might be what you are looking for. The drawback for some is that it is DIY money management; the fees are low because no one is holding your hand or advising you, but if you are an independent investor who doesn't want to pay someone to manage things for you, it is a good way to go.
Hey compadres. I humbly request your banking/broker advice. I've had my modest savings with Merrill Lynch for a long time, and although they've never overtly screwed me, I'm miffed that they won't provide me with a complete list of ALL the fees they charge me for a debit card, checking, a basic deposit account and minimal investing. I can't help but wonder why. So I'm looking for other options. I've avoided traditional banks up to know just because their return rates are so low. At least I get higher returns with a broker, but I wonder how much of those returns are going into their pockets instead of mine through fees. Who do you all use? I need to start shopping around. Thanks for the advice! Really, thanks!I would strongly advise you to check out USAA and see if you qualify. Check deposit at home, you get cash or point rewards with your debit card, no fees, decent returns on savings/check, you can deposit checks up to $5000 from you home computer, and they return ATM fees charged by other banks. It's pretty exclusive and usually requires military or government service by you or a family member, but they've loosened restrictions and it wouldn't hurt to check.
I don't bank with USAA, but I have nothing but good things to say about their insurance products and customer service.
I have tried to stick with local banks for decades, and I don't do business with TARP recipients if I have a choice. I have always separated my banking and investing however.
I don't bank with USAA, but I have nothing but good things to say about their insurance products and customer service.
Ditto here. They've been top-notch so far, in my experience.
If you are worth less than 1 mil, I recommend avoiding brokerages altogether, you're just seeding other people's fortunes.
Don't put your money in banks, go with a credit union at least they give you a vote.
Oh, and don't take financial advice from evil dead presidents.
Oh, and don't take financial advice from evil dead presidents.
...or bitter Dwarven Ranger ideologues. ;)
Oh, and don't take financial advice from evil dead presidents....or bitter Dwarven Ranger ideologues. ;)
...who carries a teapot!
:P
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If you are worth less than 1 mil, I recommend avoiding brokerages altogether, you're just seeding other people's fortunes.
Don't put your money in banks, go with a credit union at least they give you a vote.
Since I work at a credit union, I'd say pretty much the same. I had originally typed up this long response that got lost. Many credit unions also have a private "financial planner" that you can talk to about options and/or costs. Credit unions typically are far better than banks -- but are not always as good as investment firms.
USAA is also a good option. They are (technically) a pretty big competitor of ours, but they are usually more than fair and treat their clients well.
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I used to swear by credit unions over banks until I realized the only reason I thought they were so great was that I still had a student checking account. Once that went away and the fees kicked in I started looking elsewhere--Suntrust was pretty good, and I had good experiences with BOK (if you're in oklahoma) when I had my mortgage with them.
If I had one bad thing to say about USAA it's the fact that I don't have a location to deposit cash if i need to. I have to deposit it in another bank and use the free wire transfer service USAA has to get it which will take a couple of days. Aside from that, no complaints whatsoever.
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I used to swear by credit unions over banks until I realized the only reason I thought they were so great was that I still had a student checking account. Once that went away and the fees kicked in I started looking elsewhere...
That's weird. Look for a different credit union. The only fees we have are if you can't keep money in your checking account. AND we pay interest on our checking account -- around 2% right now, but it was as high as 6% about a year and a half ago.
I used to swear by credit unions over banks until I realized the only reason I thought they were so great was that I still had a student checking account. Once that went away and the fees kicked in I started looking elsewhere...That's weird. Look for a different credit union. The only fees we have are if you can't keep money in your checking account. AND we pay interest on our checking account -- around 2% right now, but it was as high as 6% about a year and a half ago.
When I was employed with a midwest regional bank until recently let go, with the exception of my mortgage, I did all of my loans and other banking at the credit union because they had rates better than what I could even get with an employee discount.
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I used to swear by credit unions over banks until I realized the only reason I thought they were so great was that I still had a student checking account. Once that went away and the fees kicked in I started looking elsewhere...That's weird. Look for a different credit union. The only fees we have are if you can't keep money in your checking account. AND we pay interest on our checking account -- around 2% right now, but it was as high as 6% about a year and a half ago.
And that's the thing, at this juncture in my life, I am unable to keep any type of sizeable balance in my checking account. Because of this my CU was charging me more money than someone who can (which doesn't really make sense to me). When I switched to USAA, they don't care how much money I have in my account, they're just straight free...and I think the interest rates are comparable to what CUs are offering ATM.
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And that's the thing, at this juncture in my life, I am unable to keep any type of sizeable balance in my checking account. Because of this my CU was charging me more money than someone who can (which doesn't really make sense to me). When I switched to USAA, they don't care how much money I have in my account, they're just straight free...and I think the interest rates are comparable to what CUs are offering ATM.
We don't have a minimum required to keep in your account(s). And there are no fees. We have free checking. Free debit cards. Free bank checks. When I said "not able to keep enough money" I was talking about people who keep a negative balance -- in which case, yes we have a fee. We also have free online bill payer. I'm not sure what else there is, but there are actually very few things that our members have to pay for.
