Building My Personal Finance Team - Starting A Local Bank Account

Working On My Personal Finance Team – A Local Bank Account

Posted on: October 16, 2008 by Matt

Since moving back home to Vermont I have continued using my bank from Colorado. As I mentioned earlier I believe that having a local bank is an important aspect of building my personal finance team. My bank in Colorado has so far been very accommodating (reimbursed ATM fees, sent me postage paid envelopes and deposit slips) but I like the security of being able to walk into a physical location when I have a problem.

I decided to head down to a home town bank that my entire family currently banks at (well all that are still in Vermont that is) and one of my sisters even works at. I had an old account still standing left over from college with $1.76 left and a check for $40.95 from my CashCrate payment. The minimum balance to open a new account is only $25 so I opted to close my old account, transfer the $1.76 into a new checking and deposit the CashCrate check.

When the teller began to explain my checking account options to me I expected the standard pitch but was nearly blown away by the package she described. With the “Reward Checking” program offered by the bank my account would:

Not have yearly maintenance fees: Pretty standard but
Include a debit card: Ok, so this is pretty standard these days.
Reimburse competitor ATM fees: Up to $5.00 for ATM fees per transaction. My bank in Colorado only offered this after discovering I was moving out of state.
Offer a 3.98 interest rate (4.05 APY) on my funds: I heard her say it and immediately thought – well maybe with a minimum balance of like $10,000 or something. This was not the case – the interest rate applies to any balance between $0 and $25,000. Over $25,000 it drops to 1.05%.

Of course there had to be a catch on getting an interest rate that high on a checking account. I asked the teller and she let out a mild laugh and responded that the catches are:

I have to use internet banking: Basically, I have to create a logon to access my account online and view it once a month.
I have to have at least one direct deposit or ACH transaction per month: My company requires direct deposit, should not be an issue. She also noted that writing a check at the local Price Chopper qualifies.
I have to receive my statements electronically: This is fine with me – I have done this for a couple of years now and prefer not to waste the paper unless I need to print it out for some reason.
I must make ten debit card transactions per month: I am pretty sure that I use my current card more than ten times in a month – this requirement should not be an issue.

All said and done – I was pleasantly surprised and really look forward to moving all of my regular banking to my home town bank. I already have a relationship started with them from growing up here and my family using the bank extensively. I hope that someday I can cultivate the relationship with the bank to a point that I can work with them for all of my financial needs.

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