My husband was in law school and I was working, so we thought Freeport would be a logical place to do our banking while he was in school.
These were the days when women couldn't have a checking account in their own name, so we had to open it in his name -- even though I was the one working.
We didn't keep much in it, because we didn't have much. I still remember when I wanted to open an account at Marshall Field's [a department store in Chicago that was acquired by Macy's in 2005], and they called my bank to check my credit. The person at the bank told them we always maintained a three-figure balance but he didn't ask where the decimal point was -- so we got to open the account!
Later, when my father-in-law passed away and left $1,000 to each grandchild, we opened accounts for them at the same bank.
I probably go into the bank every six weeks. It's nice to be able to go in there and get some personal attention once in a while -- to get called by name and have people recognize you.
I don't use ATMs or anything like that -- I hardly ever carry cash. I put everything I can on my check card or use checks. The only fee I've had to pay is for overdraft, but I haven't had to do that for awhile thankfully.
We found 8 with zero ATM fees, free checking and high-yielding accounts.
