Did you switch to a credit union?

[Uno-Mom]

Please tell me about why & how you worked out the details.

We're just plain annoyed with our regular, national bank. The only thing stopping us is the inconvenience. We have most bills paid by auto-withdrawal and our paychecks are auto-deposited.

When you switched, how did you make all those transitions? I'm wondering if we need to cancel all our auto-payments and then re-start them from the new account. Seems like it would be easy to make a mistake and get overdrawn when a company is too slow about updating their records.

I'd also like to hear what benefits you've found in a credit union or small local bank. The only drawback I'm expecting is fewer ATMs, but it's probably better if accessing our $ takes a little more thoughtful effort - it'll help us stick to our budget!

[AnnieW625]

I switched from a large national bank to a credit union when I was 18 yrs. old. It was mainly closing out the account and then walking about 6 blocks to the credit union with my savings in cash (that was the scariest part), but not a huge deal. I lived in a small city then. I stayed with that credit union until 2005, so I was a member for 10 years. We could've stayed with the credit union once we moved here even though there were no branches but we opted for a regional bank, Bank of the West with locations here and in Northern California.

I don't have auto pay on my accounts, only for my auto insurance, and DD1's 529 account. Our paychecks are direct deposited, but I avoid all other set payments over $500 for precisely that reason (and those are in the middle of the month). If I ever had to switch banks I'd be afraid of messing up the order of things. It takes one full paycheck cycle for us to switch our direct deposit so if I wanted to switch today the paychecks would be available at the new bank starting in January.

Credit unions often do have better deals for things like auto loans, home loans, and still have savings accounts for kids with minimal interest. Our girls both have accounts with our local credit union. Our credit union also has free access to Citi Bank ATMs, which are nicely located at 7-11. We actually did switch from our regional bank to the credit union for about a year, but we still had to keep our regular bank account because the credit union didn't have 529 plan like the regional bank did.

[niccig]

We've always been with a credit union. We can use any other credit union's ATM and not get a fee - and there are lots of those around. I did a search and listed the closest to home, to DH's work, to DS's school.

I think I would open up the credit union account, get your paycheck autodeposited, stop the bills from the other account and pay with check for a month or two. Then when you know the auto deposit is going in and the bills have stopped from the bank account, set up the auto bills for the credit union account. I would do it in stages, just to make sure everything is done

[brittone2]

We were with a state employees' credit union while DH was in grad school (he was eligible as a TA) for 5 years. When we relocated we found a small local bank using the MoveYourMoney links from HuffPo. We are using the small local bank for our mortgage (in process).

[new_mommy25]

We opened a credit union a few years ago because they offered interest checking. Our bank does not. However, we still havenʻt made the switch because itʻs a pain! Pros for our regular bank are there are locations everywhere, including some open on Sunday, and long and late hours. Like you, I have direct deposit, plus several bills that are automatically deducted. Our credit union doesnʻt open until 10am, which I donʻt like. They are partnered with national bank so we can use their ATMs and not get a fee. For the last few years we have been using our CU as a savings vehicle. We put in money for things like vacations that want need to save for. When we go on vacation, we use the CU debit card to pay for all our purchases. Also, both our children have their savings account at the CU. I really should look into switching over!

[klwa]

I switched to a credit union back in college after my big bank had screwed up my account for the umpteenth time. At least ours has free withdrawals from "Cash Points" ATMs, which are everywhere around here. Lots of branches for when I need to run in. Haven't had a problem since. (Oh, they DO charge a $1 fee on checking, but the interest rates usually more than make up for it.)

[Uno-Mom]

For the last few years we have been using our CU as a savings vehicle. We put in money for things like vacations that want need to save for. When we go on vacation, we use the CU debit card to pay for all our purchases. !

That's a good idea. Maybe we'll start with that.

Thanks for the thoughts, all! It was helpful.