My wife and I will begin Full Timing in about 6 months. We plan to initially travel throught the western US and on up through Canada and into Alaska in the summer. Our plan is to avoid the big cities and stick to the lesser travelled roads.
How do we handle any financial needs that may come up? I'm thinking of situations where we may need to use a bank (especially like getting cash). We will have the usual credit cards as a primary source of purchasing things, but how do you get cash without getting billed for ATM or check cashing fees. Any suggestions?
Racerguy said
02:17 AM Sep 17, 2012
Use a National Bank(Wells Fargo etc) Some financial institutions refund you any ATM fees.
bjoyce said
03:03 AM Sep 17, 2012
As Racerguy said, "some financial institutions refund you any ATM fees". We have bank accounts with Etradebank and it does. Also you can get cash back at places like Wal-Mart if you use a debit card. If you are not getting reimbursed for fees then take out as much cash as you can at once, $500 if possible, since the fee is the same for $20 as $500. Watch your credit cards in Canada. If you can do a short test trip then use each card at least once and see what extra fees come on your statement, if any. Citiback (AT&T Universal) charged us a higher exchange rate and charged us fees for Canadian usage. American Express was better, but not taken everywhere. Capital One was great, so we use it as much as possible in Canada and any online purchase from other countries (like Hong Kong eyeglasses, which are an amazing deal). Getting cash in Canada can sometimes be tricky, not all ATMs support the US ATM networks. We use $100 or less in cash most months, instead using on credit cards we pay off every month. With the points we get gift cards for restaurants, Amazon and Wal-Mart instead of airline miles. I do mean credit cards, we have more than one we use regularly and we track the various deals on points to maximize them.
Technomadia said
03:35 AM Sep 17, 2012
Definitely seek out a financial institution that keeps the fees for ATM use free or reasonable. They area many choices out there - ING, Ally, Everbank, USAA, Charles Schwabb.
Also look for a bank with easy online management, and in particular - we love banking & deposits by smartphone.
We recently did a pretty detailed blog post about banking as a nomad, which has a lot more ideas and things to consider:
Welcome to the RV Dreams forums. You have definitely found one of the best sites for your research. We all welcome your questions and comments as we all tend to learn along with each of the other members.
If you are a veteran, look into USAA. While they used to be only for officers, they've since opened up membership to all veterans. I haven't begun using their financial services yet, but several on the forums have given them good reviews. They will initially "charge" an ATM fee but will later refund that fee back. Plus, if I understand the others right, most all the transactions done with them do not require any face-to-face transactions.
Terry
Jack Mayer said
04:08 PM Sep 18, 2012
In addition to what others have said, check out Alliant Credit Union. All electronic, including check deposits via smartphone. Easy to work with, loan to fulltimers, and the rates are good.
We have been fulltimers for over 12 years and have NEVER set foot into a physical bank or financial institution. It is easy to bank on the road these days. We use Merrill Lynch and Alliant.
heyduke said
04:17 AM Sep 22, 2012
we use Bank of America and Merrill Lynch - traveled east and west - no problems
My wife and I will begin Full Timing in about 6 months. We plan to initially travel throught the western US and on up through Canada and into Alaska in the summer. Our plan is to avoid the big cities and stick to the lesser travelled roads.
How do we handle any financial needs that may come up? I'm thinking of situations where we may need to use a bank (especially like getting cash). We will have the usual credit cards as a primary source of purchasing things, but how do you get cash without getting billed for ATM or check cashing fees. Any suggestions?
Watch your credit cards in Canada. If you can do a short test trip then use each card at least once and see what extra fees come on your statement, if any. Citiback (AT&T Universal) charged us a higher exchange rate and charged us fees for Canadian usage. American Express was better, but not taken everywhere. Capital One was great, so we use it as much as possible in Canada and any online purchase from other countries (like Hong Kong eyeglasses, which are an amazing deal). Getting cash in Canada can sometimes be tricky, not all ATMs support the US ATM networks.
We use $100 or less in cash most months, instead using on credit cards we pay off every month. With the points we get gift cards for restaurants, Amazon and Wal-Mart instead of airline miles. I do mean credit cards, we have more than one we use regularly and we track the various deals on points to maximize them.
Definitely seek out a financial institution that keeps the fees for ATM use free or reasonable. They area many choices out there - ING, Ally, Everbank, USAA, Charles Schwabb.
Also look for a bank with easy online management, and in particular - we love banking & deposits by smartphone.
We recently did a pretty detailed blog post about banking as a nomad, which has a lot more ideas and things to consider:
http://www.technomadia.com/2012/08/chapter-10-nomadic-money-banking-finances-taxes/
- Cherie
Rod,
Welcome to the RV Dreams forums. You have definitely found one of the best sites for your research. We all welcome your questions and comments as we all tend to learn along with each of the other members.
If you are a veteran, look into USAA. While they used to be only for officers, they've since opened up membership to all veterans. I haven't begun using their financial services yet, but several on the forums have given them good reviews. They will initially "charge" an ATM fee but will later refund that fee back. Plus, if I understand the others right, most all the transactions done with them do not require any face-to-face transactions.
Terry
We have been fulltimers for over 12 years and have NEVER set foot into a physical bank or financial institution. It is easy to bank on the road these days. We use Merrill Lynch and Alliant.