ditching your checking account?

[hmcart]

ditching your checking account
I read this and honestly I have no plan to ditch my checking account. I still bank at a small town local bank and we do have a free account. We pay for checks but that is it. What do yall think?

[monkeywrangler71]

I thought it read like an advertisement, which made sense when I saw who the author was. "Odysseas Papadimitriou is the founder and CEO of Card Hub, a marketplace for the best credit cards, prepaid cards and gift cards."

How would you buy the card and load money on it without a bank account to take the money from? How would you have your paycheque deposited to a prepaid debit card?

I don't really understand much about American banking, so maybe those things are possible. But, personally, I wouldn't feel very secure having all my money sitting on some pre-paid card.

[Shewillbemine]

My checking account is my primary account for purchases and payments. I believe some people try to invent different strategies for the sake of saying something different in order to sell you something.

[greekislandgirl]

I closed my checking account last week, so I no longer have check writing capabilities. I think the last time I wrote a check was in 2008, and I had other reasons for closing the account (their FEES!). Instead, I maintain an account at an investment firm that manages my retirement stuff as well. Dh doesn't have a checking account either, but if he needs to write a check on his savings account, the bank teller can do it.

[Contrary Housewife]

You're right MW, I don't think you can direct deposit to a prepaid card...

Our bank doesn't charge fees for a checking account, or have balance requirements. They did charge for online banking, though.

[PlainCash4]

I dunno, i like my checking account at the credit uinion i bank with. I hardly write checks at all. Maybe for rent and sometimes my credit card, but even for that i pay online most of the time. Now instead of checks , i order "check registers"....lol. I pay a couple of bills online too through bill pay at my bank.

[josantoro]

I have cut back on the number of bank accounts I have, dropping two "nationwide" banks and keeping two local banks. I don't pay any fees for any account. I use paper checks so seldom I think I now have a lifetime supply. I mainly just need a place to deposit cash and checks that I get.
ING Direct has an online checking account that pays interest, no fees, no minimums, and will mail out paper checks for you for FREE anytime you need one sent to pay someone. Can't beat that.

I hear credit unions are very good too.

[Neeley]

We use a local credit union and pay no fees whatsoever. I do write a few checks; mortgage, power, to DS's school.

DD and DS also have their checking accounts piggy backed off of ours, again no fees for their accounts either.

I would not want to be without a checking account.

[Lady_V]

I'm in the "going to keep the checking" camp. I too write so few checks, that unless we move, we'll never need to reorder them. The only time we use the paper check is for school events, or if we are mailing a money gift since I will never mail cash in a card. I honestly can't remember the last time I even mailed a check to someone.

On the OTHER hand, I like being able to write the check, if I needed to. I could look in to the savings accounts, and the bill paying ability, but I'm not ready to give up being ABLE to write paper checks quite yet.

[nodmicks]

We are very happy with our credit union and no fees

[Uniwolf]

I am with Lady V. I may not need to very often, but if I need to write a check, I am gonna have the ability to do it.
our bank account is free everything except for the checks, so not a big deal