As I make my way through these forums, and begin to learn about investments, taking more of an interest in them than I've ever had in my life, I'm discovering I've just been letting some things ride along, to my detriment. So I'm questioning some decisions I've made in the past.
1. Local banks etc.: I have a checking account (no minimum balance, no interest) at NBT Bank. I've had it for years. I used to cash my paychecks there back in the day when direct deposit was the exception and not the rule. It was also located on my way home from work, so it was easy to access. There's still a branch located near my workplace. I mostly use it for a) Pay Pal transactions; and 2) some check cashing (for instance, I redeemed a EE bond recently. No bank would do this unless I had an account there).
I also have a credit union account (Pentagon Federal). This goes back more than 30 years, when I worked for a local army facility in a civilian capacity. I've had my checking account there for years, plus a savings account. I always got the impression that credit unions were better than Evil Banks, and I never really had any issues with this one (even though it's changed hands twice). I pay all my bills from the checking account, I do occasionally cash checks there, groceries etc. get paid from there because my paycheck gets deposited there. Also, from there money is automatically transferred to:
Capital One 360. I've got several accounts there (because you can make these little mini-accounts). One is a checking account with a debit card w/no foreign transaction fees (I opened this for when I traveled to England). One is for a new car, when I need it (just made this into a money market account for more interest). One is for recurring expenses (such as car insurance, birthday gifts, etc.). One is just called "savings bond," where I dumped some of the money from last year's EE bond. This is a sort of emergency fund. I say sort of because I've got an equal amount ($5K) in my PenFed savings, which is earning...less than 1%!
So today I'm reading around on here about what to do with $5K, and I followed some links to this:
http://www.magnifymoney.com/blog/earning-interest/best-online-savings-accounts275921001/. And the other day I posted about why there are so many variations on how much of an emergency fund one should have. We don't own a home, so the furnace dying won't be a problem. As I mentioned, I've got money for another car. For job loss, unless it was some sort of catastrophe, I'd rely on UC benefits initially.
I should mention: one thing I don't do is put money aside for clothing. I never have. I've always taken it out of my savings account (I know, I know...). I've often received clothing as gifts at birthdays and holidays. However, I'll grant that a clothing fund is probably a good idea.
OK, so:
1. Do I need all these bank accounts?
2. Do I actually need a local account (for those occasions when I need to cash a check or bond), as opposed to an online account?
3. Should I consolidate any of the above?
4. Should I go to, say, Synchrony, with my PenFed savings since it is going to earn more interest?
Please be patient with me; I am still learning and I do find a lot of this quite bewildering. Sometimes I feel like Alice down the rabbit hole.
Thank you!