Chase, I Gotta Let You Go

I love the first of the month.  Everything on my Mint.com is green, all my budgets have yet to be blown and my account balance is high.  It's almost like financial do-over, 12 times a year.  It's a chance to wipe the slate clean and start fresh with a new attitude and new plan of action.  The goal is simple: earn money.  Whether you earn it by working, spending less or savvy investments it's all about making money.

When the first of this month rolled around the first thing I did was check my checking and savings account to see how much interest I accrued.  When I looked at my Chase accounts I was greeted with a whopping credit of... $0.12!  That's just enough to piss me off.  How insultingly low is that?  I have found more money on the street than that (6/2/11 I found $0.14).  Finally, I have had enough.  I need a new bank, preferably a credit union.  Regular banks don't make money for me.

My experience with credit unions has been limited.  I've only been a member of my credit union at work for a short time.  But I hate them already and I want to leave.  Their online banking is weak.  Their mortgage department is not my friend.  They are not accessible 24/7.  They do have some very attractive rates and programs though but for now I'll focus on their rates and save their programs for another time. 

The best rate they are offering is a checking account that pays 4% annually on the first $1,000 and 0.0025% there after, until your balance goes over $10,000 then they adjust a smudge.  So, essentially they pay you $5 a month, or $60 a year.  It's a great rate for my first $1,000 but after that it's sucky and on par with Chase (who's an evil regular bank).  What I need to find is a good place to put my money that's only earning a frosty 0.0025%.

Since I'm still young and unrich (not poor, unrich) I have time to find out where the best place to put my money is.  Whenever I crank up my account balance into baller numbers I already need to have a home for it.  I want all my little George W's to go out and meet Mr. Abe and be introduced to the Jackson's living down the street, then invite them all over to a party in my wallet.

Now my search for a new credit union has begun.