this post was submitted on 06 Jul 2024
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It has been a constant source of amazement to me over the past couple decades that people give their money to banks instead of credit unions. They are better in every single way unless you are one of those last few people who actually have to go to a branch to deposit a paycheck or have a need to visit your financial institution in 13 different states or something. I average less than 1 visit a year to mine, they have no fees for anything except ordering checks (and who the fuck needs those anymore?) and I get free $5,000 in overdraft protection on my account, only have to pay nominal interest if I dip into it. No ATM fees if I use a credit union co-op ATM to get cash (and who the fuck needs that anymore?) Easy peasy and they aren't trying to wring every drop of blood out of my bank account.
The only reason I have found to stick with one of the large banks is to interface with a wealth management team. I have yet to find a credit union who can offer the same types of services as say, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management.
Savings accounts are one of the biggest scams of all time; 4.2% interest? Oh boy! You have $10k in the bank so that gives you a whopping $420 at EOY.
Compare that to existing avg returns on WM accounts of nearly 18% where that same $10k generates $1800.
Don’t have to like the game but play the game to win. And it costs me zero time and effort but still lets me dictate where it can be invested (aka fuck Elon)
The way you're presenting this seems pretty fishy. There's no way to guarantee an 18% return without an equal dose of risk. Interest on savings accounts are guaranteed, up until they change the rate. So that's apples to oranges.
What is your bank's wealth management team doing for you? I've always assumed they were overpriced and set up to sell their own products.
Yup, they're a scam that just charges a fee to park your money in index funds.
Ally (GMAC) offers 0.1% interest on checking accounts and 4.2% on savings accounts. No monthly or yearly management fees just for having the account. Same kind of ATM sharing you’re talking about, but they will also reimburse me $10 a month in ATM fees which is really nice because how often do you really go to an ATM?
Credit unions are nice and definitely better in some senses, but the benefits I described I’ve not seen offered by any credit unions in my area. I’m curious what sort of interest rates you get.
Yeah, I don't imagine some of the online banks changing their operations, as places like Ally already provide a lot of cover for things like overdraft.
In that scenario it becomes another reason to not do business with JP.
That seems like a pretty awesome rate. I keep all my extra money in a HYSA so I never cared much about the CU rates, but you’re definitely beating my CU for anything over $2k. They give 5% for that but it drops sharply after the first 2k.
They have no physical locations, so if you need that kinda stuff, it’s a bad fit. If you don’t though, you get the savings passed along in a generally better than market rate.
If you’re curious about who still needs checks, I need them for random things for my kid’s school because they themselves are ancient. I also know some people who refuse to pay their rent electronically because some asshole landlords love to tack on bullshit “electronic payment” fees. But I agree with you in every single way. I wish credit unions were more accessible in more areas though. It’s not like you’ll find out around every block like a traditional bank.
https://co-opcreditunions.org/locator/?ref=co-opsharedbranch.org&sc=1&utm_source=co-opfs.org&utm_medium=cta&utm_campaign=b2bsite&utm_term=locatorpage
Look at the map of your area and see what's there. This is only the branches - for atm, any 711 has a navy Federal credit union ATM that should link to your bank account.