Five Checking Accounts You must try now!

So a big part of my plan to saving money this year, was to reduce bank fees. The bank fees were a drainer on my budget, taking $15 from me every month. If you have more than one checking account to help you manage money better, then that could add up. Sure with a minimum balance you can waive that fee, but you might have different plans for your money. Also If your money isn't getting interest why leave it in a checking account. I had a Td bank account solely to make purchases and pay rent. Meaning money went in and came out, and never stayed. I didn't want to keep that minimum because I needed to use that money.

Yea, it wasn't working for me. I had the same issue with Chase and it's not worth it. You don't need to pay bank fees, and honestly you shouldn't even have to worry about it. You shouldn't have to figure out if you're meeting the minimum deposits, making enough transactions, which is something I had to do with most traditional banks. I had so many bank cards and at one point or another I would be charged a fee. 

Well I'm here to tell you, if you're tired of bank fees, you don't have to pay them anymore. Most people don't even go to the bank. I didn't except for once a month. And if you do, you don't need to. Everything can be done online and it's much easier and faster. 

Here are some great bank cards to get with no bank fees. 

Varo

This bank card has no maintenance fees, no fees period. The thing I like about this card the most and it really surprised me; was how many Atms, were available around me.  I was a little worried about getting this card at first, because if I needed money, where would I go? After all there are no physical banks. I used the app to look up Atms around me, and literally there were so many I was giddy.

I went to the city and Duane Reade was one of the places you can go to use the ATM at no cost. There was a Duane Reade everywhere. Around my area I can go to a CVS to use the ATM. CVS is also a very popular store that's around most people. 

​Another thing I found super cool, is that you might go to the store and you don't have enough money to cover the cost and Varo will allow you to go over your balance by $50. When you make a deposit then that amount will be taken out. 

This is one of my favorite features, because like I mentioned before. I use these cards to pay bills and shop. I'm not leaving my money anywhere that doesn't get me interest. So sometimes I might spend a little extra, but unlike a credit card, where you will more than likely spend too much and you will be charged interest for spending, this doesn't. Other than you paying back the amount your negative, and it's only $50, it's not gonna throw you into debt. However if you think this is something you can abuse, you can turn off this feature. Or just don't activate it. 

​Another perk that I really like, is that I get paid two days early with Varo. This might be based on your job, I'm not sure. I have two jobs and for one I do get paid two days early and for the other I do not. Not sure why. But the one I do get early is my main job, so getting that on a Wednesday instead of a Friday is a game changer for me. I can start paying my bills a little earlier, which is great. Most often when I pay my bills on a Saturday  it won't be posted until a Monday, because it's the weekend and there's a cut of time. Paying early means payments are posted the next day. It also gives me more time to be able to check all my accounts and see what I need to pay. I'm usually off from work during the week, mostly the middle of the week, which works well for me. I'm never off on a Friday or any weekend for that matter, and I'll always work late. So I rarely have enough time when I get paid to plan out my bills. It just doesn't work for my lifestyle, so getting paid early gives me so much more freedom. 

Overall the idea of no fees ever, is great and you don't need to make a deposit when you open the account. However if you do use this link and deposit $200 there is $75 bonus coming your way. 

 What I don't like?

What I do not like so much about the card is; which I know will sound weird. However when making purchases it will allow you to go over. It does not do the same for cash, and it does not do the same for bill payments, which would be a great feature. Hear me out. I have a discover card, and when a payment goes through it sends me a notification saying this payment was submitted there is no money in your account please deposit money now or it will be returned. I like that, that's great. Sometimes I'm sending in so many payments I forget which ones came out already, sometimes they come out at different times, different days, and being charged a return fee on a credit card sucks. Varo will just refuse the payment, even though I have a beautiful savings account with them, getting over 2% in interest with money I can transfer instantly. I tell you that part sucks. 

The next con is that you can only withdraw a maximum of $750 a day at the ATM, If you need more than that, good luck. But knowing this means if you can plan ahead, you can make two trips like I do. Or just keep a second debit card with another bank, which I now do, so my money isn't all on one card and if I need cash really bad I can just get it from the other card.

Another thing Varo doesn't have is the ability to Zelle friends and family money. However to those people I say, that's what Cashapp is for, isn't there also Venmo, and when all else fails, like before you can keep another card that gives you that options, getting both benefits. I find it strange how people would say I have this bank and I don't want to change. Honestly you don't have to. I have like 6 bank accounts, do I have money in all of them, nope, but I use the benefits they offer when I need to, and when I don't need to, I don't use them. It's that simple. It cost nothing and you don't need to keep a minimum balance. I've had a capital one savings account I completely forgot about, until the other day I was like wait I can use this for putting aside some extra money for x reason. But if you want to be stuck with your crappy bank that gives you nothing, then that's your problem, not mine. Sorry, not sorry. 

One think to note is that Varo is consistently making changes and adding new features so always do research for yourself as some of these cons might change in the future. 

Chime

Chime is similar to Varo, pretty much the same concept. No brick and Mortar banks, however there is the beautiful benefits of having no fees baby. I'm talking no overdraft fees, love that. No maintenance fees. No ATM fees. No fees for having fees for too long; thanks for that one Chase. No fees period. There's a possibility you get paid early with this one too, but as before this could be based on the establishment you work for. 

The one thing I do not like about Chime, is that there are far less ATMs than Varo does. Atleast for my area. You do have lots of options however to do cash back. Clearly I'm not gonna get cash back for hundreds of dollars to pay my rent, but still great to know I have options. 

I went to Stop and Shop to got $100, and I was very happy to see they had self-check out options. It worked there, didn't need a human. I bought something for like $2 and it made me put in $100 for cash back. Not sure if you're able to get more than that or what the max is. 

Chime also boosts that they'll spot up to $100, however they only gave we $20. This amount apparently based on your history, spending habits and such, however it isn't as clear cut as I would like. Tell me what to do, so I can do it. Varo makes it clear, how you qualify.

And the card design is nice which is important to some people. 

Capital One 360

Capital One 360 offers a no fee bank card, like above, no overdraft fee, return payment fees, no minimum deposit needed. This one has many Atms around and even a few banks if you must. It is designed to be managed online, but I'm certain they'll help you when you go in to the banks. I must however say, they did close my account in the past for too many return payments. Who's to say what's too much? Anyhow. That was upsetting, however I was able to reopen another one after some time has past. 

Discover Card

No fees, no minimums. Discover also has lots of Atms, that charges any fees, through their partnerships just use their app to find one. As I mentioned before, I do like the fact that before returning a payment I have the option to add money to the account, a luxury some banks do not offer before they sully your name and making it seem like you're broke. I could be broke, or I could be bad at managing my money. It could also be both, but at least give a girl a chance Varo. 

Sofi

Similar to all the above, so I won't go into too much. No fees, and you can use any ATM, and those fees would be reimbursed. I've open this one with the goal to get in on the promotion they have of $75 if you set up direct deposit, and make a deposit of $500 sent at least two times to the account. You do have to keep the account open for at least two months and it might take a couple weeks to get the reward. It's still more than I would get from any savings account for that amount for the year. And I can put that amount back into my savings account, and get more interest. 

Redneck Bank 

This is worth a mention. Haven't tried it yet, but will soon. You do need a $500 deposit to open the account. It is however the only bank I know that offers interest on a checking account. So if you're the type to keep all your money in a checking account gathering no interest then consider this. This bank could probably solve some of my problems. I can leave money in my checking account get interest and since I'll have money in there, I won't have the return payment issues. However the interest is still less than my Varo savings account. So.. Maybe I'll have to incorporate a jounal and a calculator in my plans, and track what payments I submitted and which ones came out. What I always do is go, oh I have extra money, I should pay this bill, not realizing that something did not come out yet, and is still pending. 

That's all I have today on checking accounts you must try, these could greatly improve your lives and the way you manage your money, if used correctly. 

There are checking accounts and even savings accounts out there that gives you bonuses when you open an account and other cool benefits so I'll be bring some of those to your attention so you're able to take advantage of everything that is available to you.

Until next time, Save money. Build wealth. 

*All these APY and bank features are subjected to change, so check each website to get current information.