1) The commenters saying online bill payment is the way to go are absolutely correct. However, there is a small catch at the moment with doing this. I’m shopping for a different checking account in VA. I am royally irritated with Wachovia for charging Quicken users from avoiding the Wachovia website. While I have been training myself to download directly from the bank’s website, I don’t like it. I’m actually looking at Bank of America once more. Many years ago in California and Maryland, I banked with BofA. I found their online payment site very easy to use and convenient. Who knows when I’ll get around to do doing this, but I will soon, hopefully.
2) I cannot wait for bonus season to get here. (Nevermind, since drafting this post, I got paid the bonus today rather than on the regular paycheck cycle! Whee! Kick up your heels and do a happy dance!)
3) I ate at one of my favorite restaurants that carries Old Dominion Root Beer. I completely forgot and broke Lent by having a soda. The restaurant is the Lost Dog Cafe in Arlington’s Westover neighborhood. They freeze the glass so cold, that the soda freezes in the glass. It’s AMAZING. There’s no ice at all in the cup so they serve you a full pint, just like they would with a beer. (of which they have many, a bit like the Brick.)
4) My homeowner’s insurance is due. It’s $55 more than last year because I filed a claim, but I can still pay it in one lump sum, which is good.
5) I liquidated some of my emergency fund for some car repairs and to finish paying off one of my credit cards because the balance is less than $500.00 now. I am down to two cards, one of which is 0% till June.
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Do you have a credit union you could join? Personally, I am anti-big bank. Both CUs I use have good bill pay systems. Just say no to ridiculous bank charges!!
Congrats on the bonus! Hooray!
Keep up the great work!
I agree with Pollyanna, go for a bank that is not “big block”. My bank is smaller and has all the bells and whistles of the big bank. Free no minimum checking, free online banking and a real person to talk to, if you need it.
I agree with everyone else, CUs are the way to go.
I also do my bill payment with an MBNA credit card.
that’s great about the bonus! my husband found out he’ll be getting a great raise when his review is due…in September, it’s gonna be a long wait. I agree with the credit union. My CU even has better interest on the checking account than my big bank savings account. But you could also have an account at a big bank, with not a lot of money it in. It can come in handy if you need to use an ATM every once in awhile, since some of the smaller CU’s do not have a lot of ATMs everywhere. But then again, there’s always the cash back option, which is great in a pinch. I have some student loans through Wachovia, and they are only ok to deal with for me. Good luck finding a new bank.
I’ve been very happy with Western Federal Credit Union. I really like their website, and bill pay. They have several branches in NoVA.
I’ve been a member of BoA for 6 years now (in VA, even though I live in MD now) and I admit their billpay is really nice. I also use their Portfolio to track all my other accounts, but you can do that mostly with Quicken or Money too.
However, if you can, try to get a bank that gives you a good billpay checking AND a good money market savings. BoA has crap for savings accounts, so I’ve moved out all but the $300 minimum into HSBC.
I’ve been pretty happy with BofA. I liked my credit union, but they never offered a really good online bill pay system. I keep money in the CU account, just in case, but I use BofA for my normal banking needs.
No advice on banking, but the Lost Dog rocks. I live in California now, but I still dream of their root beer (ok, and regular beer too).
I love the Lost Dog cafe! My favorite is the Irish Gyro. And their peanut butter pie or whatever that delicious dessert is called. Just a few more months and I can have one!
Just found your blog, will read some more. Love reading about someone who is in my old home area of NoVa!