(no subject)

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

Hello all,

I've looked through the "banking" tag and don't see anything that specifically addresses this, so I'll go ahead and ask: I'm currently with Wainwirght and I like a lot of things about them, but I depend upon a lot of online features that they just don't have, which unfortunately has me considering changing banks. I'd consider switching to a bank that had all of the following:

• Free billpay that consistently deducts money when the check is cut, not when it is cashed


• Online statements going back indefinitely (or at least more than a month or two)


• No charge for transferring between multiple checking accounts


• A decent online banking interface


• A branch and ATM somewhere within 5ish miles of the Davis/Porter sq area

Wainwright meets, at least arguably, the last three requirements, but not the first two as far as I've been able to tell.
Does anyone know a bank that meets all these criteria and that they've been happy with in terms of customer service and all that? One that still has the progressive hippie-fu of wainwright would be nice, if such exists.

Comments

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

It's gone sooner, but also predictably. I have a spreadsheet with when each of my bills goes out and for how much, from which I can calculate the amount that I absolutely must have in my account at any given time of month. WW's billpay changed a while ago so that they dont' always pre-deduct, so now I have no idea how many more bills I need to allow for without going through my statement to see which checks have been cashed.

[cos]

You should be able to see, in the bill pay interface, which bills are pending. That also includes bills for the next month that haven't been cut yet, and it totals them up for you, which I think is useful. It's definitely better to have your money in your account for a little bit longer, it gives you more flexibility. If you're calculating how much you need, you can look at the pending bills and pre-deduct yourself (bank can't pre-deduct *everything* you plan to spend, so it's better for you to do that yourself anyway).

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

You should be able to see, in the bill pay interface, which bills are pending.

True, but as far as I can tell, that only shows which checks are about to be sent, not which checks have been cashed. If someone sits on one of my checks for a month and I haven't thought to check the actual statement to confirm it's been cashed, then I end up with a big expense at an unexpected time.

It's definitely better to have your money in your account for a little bit longer, it gives you more flexibility.

Hmm.. I disagree with you there, at least if we take as a given that I don't treat paying bills late as an option, since my finances should be able to handle them all if I'm not over-spending. If I'm not going to cancel a billpay when my funds dip too low, then practically speaking the money's gone as soon as the bill comes due, so I'd just as soon have it gone in actuality then too.

I also have an unusual setup for my banking, wherein I've created four checking accounts. The first one is where my paycheck gets direct-deposited to and where all bills of predictable frequency come out of. All of my bills are set to auto-pay on the 1st or the 15th from that account, so basically the pay goes in, the bills go out and within a day what I have left is what I can afford to spend on other things (I am lucky enough to have sufficient income to do this comfortably, though I realize such an arrangement would be riskier under other circumstances). The second and third accounts are for groceries and unplanned small expenses, and personal allowance respectively, and a fixed amount gets auto-transferred into each of those, again on the 1st and 15th. The fourth account is what I use for paypal and possibly-sketchy online stores, and I only transfer what I need into it when I make a purchase. I also have a savings account (well, at the moment I don't, but when I sort out the rest of my banking issues I will) into which I periodically transfer the excess from the first checking account.

If there's an obvious flaw in my thinking here, feel free to correct me, but I've found it to be a very effective means of managing my spending.

[ellf.livejournal.com]

If someone sits on one of my checks for a month and I haven't thought to check the actual statement to confirm it's been cashed, then I end up with a big expense at an unexpected time.

Don't rely on your statements - keep a ledger, and consider money "gone" when you write the check. Most double-entry systems will automatically do this.