I just signed up for the “Keep the Change” plan on my BofA accounts. What it does is round up all your debit card purchases to the nearest dollar, and put the extra into your savings account for you automatically; plus they match it 100% for the first three months, and 5% after that, so it’s basically helping you to set a little money aside all the time, and giving you free money.
This is a good time to mention that I’ve been using BofA for 12 years, and I always hate those bank commercials that insinuate that the “big banks” (assuming they’re implying BofA in that category) always hit you with all kinds of extra fees, and the commercials talk about how you can get “free checking” and other free services with their banks, as if you don’t with the “big” ones. I must say that it’s a bit deceptive, since the entire time I’ve been with BofA I’ve never had to pay any fees and gotten every service I’ve heard them mentioning (online banking, bill pay, etc).
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Keep the change - surprise follow up…
About a year ago, I posted about how I was starting to use the “Keep the Change” program at my bank.
I was checking my accounts the other day and noticed that I had about $200 more than I was expecting to see in my savings account. Turns ou…
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Although, the Big Bank will not give a kid an account without a student ID. Not an 8 year old kid with $50 to put in a savings account. I have to say Ventura Credit Union wins out on that one.
You should try to make all your debit purchases $x.01 for the next three months.
wow, that’s pretty cool. almost makes me want to switch. if money were the most important thing.
jared, you obviously have never worked a job that pays you cash or with an actual check. back when i was in high school bofa and wells fargo wanted >=$5 a month to allow me the privillage of storing my money with them. all because i didn’t have direct deposit or a minimum balance.
washington mutual (then called american west, i believe) was the only bank that would have me without a we-hate-poor-people fee. for that, i swore i would always bank with them. they helped me out when i needed it and i want them to continue helping others. so i keep my money with them because they do a little bit of good in a realm filled with corruption.
Ya, I did, actually, and they didn’t charge for non-direct deposit accounts at the time.
Maybe they instituted that practice later, after I had already moved to direct deposit, I’m not sure. The only catch when I first signed up was that there would have been a fee for going into the branch and doing business (the business that could be done at the ATM, that is) at the counter rather than the ATM. This never bothered me, since walking into the branch was never anything but a colossal waste of time; that’s the whole point of ATMs.
In any event, I think these days most employers do direct deposit, so it’s probably not as much of an issue anymore.
A much bigger issue for me (and another reason I’ve always liked BofA) is the availability of ATMs. Especially around here, I don’t think any bank can beat BofA in that regard. Some banks tried to mitigate that by not charging you for using other ATMs, but those other ATMs will still charge you, so in the end the higher number of “home bank” ATMs still wins out.
PS - I’m definitely not trying to be a bank evangelist or anything here; just relating my personal experiences. I’m sure there are plenty of other banks out there that are each wonderful in their own special way.
i also spent several years without an atm card to inforce better financial management. i went into the bank constantly. i still do for certain types of transactions involving large amounts of currency.
Just out of curiosity: why go in with the larger currency, unless it is just a huge wad of cash that won’t physically fit in the envelope? I’m assuming you’re not talking about stuff like cashiers checks, etc. that you can’t do at the ATM anyway.
i just don’t like flashing cash around standing on a public sidewalk. do you?
I usually hit the drive thru one on Telephone & Victoria, but I don’t really think that I’d be hesitant to deposit a large amount of cash at a walkup ATM, at least not anywhere around here. Maybe if it was a regular thing I’d be nervous about making a habit / recognizable pattern out of it.
Watch out with that drug money. Depositing huge wads of cash could be dangerous.
that’s why i take my drug money to several different locations.
good for you…