I’ve come to realize I’m kinda whorish, let’s just say I get around. I just can’t stay tied down to any one financial institution. I keep my Roth IRA with Wells Fargo, I use Chase (the artist formerly known as WaMu) for my checking account. I use Bank of America for my personal credit card. And I had an online savings account with Countrywide, which is now BofA. I feel dirty inside for having relationships with so many different financial institutions, but I also have reasons for why I maintain accounts at each place. Let’s take a look a closer look shall we?
Roth IRA:
I maintain my Roth IRA with Wells Fargo for one reason. My financial analyst friend works for them and is intimately familiar with their investment account interface. When I first decided to contribute to my Roth, I knew nothing and woulda had one heck of a time trying to figure it out. I knew my friend would be able to walk me through the process and that he could help me out if I had any questions. It’s worked out quite nicely and I thus far, I remain a satisfied customer.
Checking Account:
I have had this account for seven years now and had no plans to get rid of it. I opened a checking account with WaMu when I was 16 y.o. so I could use a debit card, I stuck with them all the way to their tragic end. I am now a customer of chase. I’m testing the waters with them before I decide if it’s worth sticking around or if it’s time to move on. Thus far, I’m not too excited about them.
Credit Card:
I chose BofA, unknowingly. I really wanted a credit card that earns me frequent flier miles . Being that I live on the west coast, Alaska Airlines is what I fly 99% of the time. I signed up with them about two years ago and have enjoyed the perks that come with the card. One free plane ticket, two $50 plane tickets and some other sweet incentives. I plan to stick with this card for a while.
Online Savings:
I opened my online savings account with Countrywide around a year ago. They offered decent rates at the time (around 3%) and was happy with their service. About a month ago the Countrywide website transitioned over to Bank of America. The interest rate is currently 1.65% which is still pretty close to the average. Im not one to really chase interest rates so I’ll probably be stickin’ with this account for some time.
I’m sittin’ here thinking to myself … “Is it stupid to bank at so many different institutions?” I wish I had a family member in the military so I could jump on board with USAA ’cause I read a lot of sweet stuff about them. No one bank has been able to satisfy my varying financial needs. I definitely think it would be easier to have all my money in one place, but so far I have been able to manage my life just fine. Help me out bloggers. I know you all love to give advice and I need some. Would you consolidate all your accounts with one or two banks? Or are you as whorish as I am and spread the love?
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I don't see a problem with this. As long as you are able to keep track of all of them, do what you wish! You might find that as you get older ( buy a house, have savings accounts for kids and a wife) it will be easier to add on to institutions that you already use, but I think diversification is important for all aspects of life.
That said, make sure to leave a clear record of all the places you have accounts and money in case something were to happen. When we were trying to sort out my grandma's estate we found she had opened random accounts everywhere and it took FOREVER to get it all sorted out.
I'm also a banking whore.
I have my bill paying checking account with Bank of America and my credit card with Bank of America. The checking account because my mom opened it for me with Sunwest Bank when I was 10, that later got bought by Nations Bank, which later merged with Bank of America. So since my mom worked at BofA and they were REALLY good to her when she got sick (and eventually passed away) and they also gave me quite a bit of money for college, I plan on keeping this account for "loyalty" sake. The credit card was simply for the Hawaiian Airline Miles (I currently have a free round trip to Hawaii or one way trip to Australia waiting for me!)
My "emergency" checking account (where my tutoring money goes to and that I can deposit checks into since there are no BofA ATMs in my new state) with Chase.
I have my everyday expenses (gas, food, dog stuff, ect) with ING and my savings account with ING – mainly because the overdraft protection is great and the interest rates are amazing.
I used to go nuts logging in to 10 different websites to check all my account balances. Since I started using Mint, it isn't an issue anymore.
While I would prefer to have 1 checking, 1 savings, and 1 credit card account with 1 institution, it would be a lot of hassle to change everything now. Maybe the next time I move…
Oh yeah, and I also have retirement accounts with 3 different companies: Goldman Sachs, Fidelity and TIAA. I like having different accounts because it sorta feels like I'm avoiding the Bernard Madoff fiasco. Who knows, maybe I'm just deluding myself, but I feel comfortable with it.
I prefer to do banking with less banks since I can get a better deal in some cases. (like when we refi'ed our mortgage our credit union had the lowest fees, rate AND awesome service.
I don't see a problem with it as long as you can manage it, or it's automated. I hate having to log into so many accounts, so as our debt is paid off things will get easier and easier. Right now I use wesabe to keep track of all our accounts, that helps a lot.
And yes, USAA does rock. We're members.
@ Calquist- I definitely agree, as my life get's more complicated (houses, kids, wife) it will probably benefit me too try and consolidate other aspects of my life. I do use quicken to track my spending so that keeps everything in one solid location for me too
@ Dr. Faith- Whats up doc?! I'm glad you're in the whore community with me
Customer loyalty is a good thing for sure and often benefits you as well. I don't know why you would want to avoid a Madoff repeat…he made a lot of people a lot of money…haha.
@ Donnie- I feel ya man, I think if I was starting fresh I would try and do everything with one company, but I'm too lazy to switch everything around. I guess we have adjusted to the semi more complicated money managment style.
@ Kelly- I'm jealous that you have the ease of having everything at one bank…it definitely would make life easier. And im pissed at you for rubbing your USAA accounts in my face…boo to you, haha
I'm w/ Kelly 100% – USAA has got a hold on 13+ accounts of mine
the only accounts i have outside of them is for my 401k which i can't control and my 1st mortgage cuz it was way lower for some very odd reason.
1 bank surely makes my financial life much more easier to track and stay up with.