My Finance: Changing Banks

One of my favorite blogs is Fabulous Financials written by Single Ma. A few weeks ago, she wrote an article about her bank increasing the interest rates after she had already found another bank. If you recall, one of my short term goals was to find another bank as soon as possible. Well, the time has come for me to make a BIG move. My bank is trippin'!



Mr. HM and I have about 6 or so accounts with the same bank. Yes, I know, you should not keep all of your accounts with the same bank. However, when you live in a small town and there are only 2 "hometown" banks, you don't really have much of a choice. But now, the time has come for me to move on.

ACCOUNT MAINTENANCE FEES
One of the worst things for me to do is to keep paying those stupid monthly account maintenance fees. My bank does not have "totally free" checking. GASP! That's right folks! My bank has not come out of the stone ages. The only accounts that do not have maintenance fees are the savings accounts for minors and there are free checking accounts for college students. I am paying $10.00 per month for 6 accounts, which is a total of $60.00. I've been with the bank for almost 24 months. So 24 multiplied by $60.00 is $1,440.00! Yes folks, I am ashamed to admit that over $1,000.00 of my hard earned money has gone to stupid fees.

BANK HOURS OF OPERATION
If the account maintenance fees aren't already enough, the hours of operation totally suck! Get this, the bank is open Monday thru Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM! One branch of the bank keeps their drive thru open until 6:00 PM. Like that is any better! I work from 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM Monday--Friday. I usually have to spend my prescious lunch break in the bank, or I have to leave work to go to the bank. One branch of the bank is open on Saturday from 8:00 AM until 12:00 AM. There is also a branch of the bank in one of the local grocery stores, but the hours still aren't much better.

CRAPPY CUSTOMER SERVICE
The customer service at the bank is also crappy. Customer service in this town is crappy overall at most establishments. I hate to go in the bank and hear loud tellers discussing other people's business and the party they went to last weekend. That is just tackless to me. I've been a bank teller before, and I know you want to talk to your co-workers about non-work related stuff, but geesh, wait until the customers are gone!

THE FEW BENEFITS OF MY BANK
One of the only benefits to banking with my bank is that I can easily transfer money between my accounts and my husband's accounts (we have one joint checking and savings and individual checking and savings accounts). Now that I have mentioned that one benefit, I really can not think of any other benefits. So, as you can see, the negative far out weighs the positives in this situation.

I'm looking for a new bank, any suggestions? Where do you bank? What do you like about your bank?


My Life, My Love, My Finance

Love ya,
Ms. HM