Maddie asks how to pick a bank from all the different options: credit union, online bank, local bank, multi-national – how do you choose?!

Choosing a bank is hard!

Some things to consider:

How often you need to deposit cash or checks too large for an ATMHours of the bankBanking fees for holding accountMinimum balance requiredOther account requirements (direct deposit or debit transactions)Your politics (would your rather have a bank or credit union?) – check out this list of political donations by banksHow good the app or online access is (does it make your eyes bleed?)If they have credit builder cardsIf you want manual underwriting for a mortgageIf you get free checks with the accountSign up bonuses!

Some banks we mentioned (no referral links below, just information!)

USAA (online only bank for military and immediate family)Ally Bank (online bank with high yield checking accounts)Simple (online bank with budgeting tools built in)My local Portland credit union with free business checking accountsChase bank sign up bonuses (currently $200 or $300) via NerdwalletAutomatic savings accounts from Acorns and StashCredit builder cards (google “credit build credit union” and your state’s name!)I print all my checks at home directly from Word. It streamlines a lot of processes for me! If you want to print your own checks, here’s check paper!

As always, please write in with any show questions to questions @ ohmydollar (dot) com – and let us know if you don’t use a bank or how you chose the one you have now!

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