Different Perspectives
I know that everyone has a different opinion when it comes to things, and especially when it comes to personal finance. Tonight I went out to dinner with some friends to catch up, as we have now all been gainfully employed for a month! One of my girlfriends showed up first and somehow the conversation moved towards bank accounts. (I think it was due to the fact we get excited whenever there is a payday, like today!) I was mentioning to her that I was looking to open a new checking account and getting rid of my out-of-state account, plus my debit card still has not arrived.
She started complaining about WaMu after I named it as one of my options. She stated that she's had horrible customer service, she had issues opening the account, etc. When I briefly flitted over my other idea of an online-only checking account, my friend just about flipped her lid. Basically, she told me that she would never, ever want to open any sort of account where she could not go in and speak to someone, especially for a checking account. She said she thinks it is unsafe.
What I really wanted to ask her was if she had done her research on the topic, especially since I certainly have. I just let her have her rant, but found it funny that she had so many complaints about her current brick & mortar as well as online checking accounts! I have no problem if she would rather use a b&m than an online account, as to each their own. Part of me also wanted to offer a bit of pf advice - especially since I love learning about and now I even blog about it! - but I kept my mouth shut and told her that she had some good points. I just hope that she at least has a savings account with WaMu! :)
Do you have friends that you wish you could help out, but sometimes realize it's not your place to say anything? How do you deal with it?
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5 comments:
I've posted about this on my site. Well, I posted about why I love PF, which was in response to someone telling me I was stupid for "worrying" about it. I have a hard time with people who are like that.
Wow...
I think you handled it perfectly. From the sounds of it, your friend seems to be a bit of a fireball! :) And the best way to handle that is to just keep quiet, and, like you said, let them have their rant.
Well done.
Those types people make me boil!
one of my friends still will not deposit checks straight into the atm machine. She waits for a actual person to do it for her at the bank... my husband works in Banking- the chance of error of a human is higher than the machine...
interesting how even with close friends you can talk about everything and not touch upon money or finances... i for example had no clue about the above until I happened to walk into a bank one day with her.
Wow I love your blog! My friend and I started our blog this June as well- I just went through some of your posts and I feel we have alot in common: I just graduated from a private uni in NYC this year and I'm trying to organize my finances as well. I look forward to reading your blog! ~Y
Lots of comments today from me- just stumbled on your blog! We have a lot in common.
As far as internet-only banks, I have all of my accounts with USAA, who's only physical location is in Texas, and since I live in NYC, I will probably never step foot in it. However, I can do pretty much everything you can do with a brick and mortar bank, such as get cashiers' checks (and the fee to have them overnighted is less than what you pay in fees to get a cashier's check from BOA!), order deposit slips, cash checks (you can now scan them for immediate fund availability, and then follow-up by mailing in the checks), and my favorite thing is that they refund ALL ATM fees up to $13 or so each month. That's my favorite perk about internet banks- they will either refund all of your ATM fees, or have agreements with many banks and ATM providers to waive the fee in the first place. Talk about convenience! I have never missed having an actual bank to walk into. And the customer service is awesome when I need to talk to an actual person. I'm considering opening up another account with ING direct to diversify.
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