I, 18M, am an out-of-state freshman starting college in NYC at the end of this month. The debit card I currently have is from DCU, but I am switching to the Capital One 360 debit card because I opened a Capital One 360 checking account today. I am switching from DCU to Capital One due to threats of financial abuse (threatening to take every last penny that I earned myself) from my father. He has joint ownership over my account, as I applied for a checking account when I got my first job at 16, and he needed to be the joint holder so I could get the account. He cannot be removed as a joint holder unless he himself signs off, which I doubt that he will. For my credit card, I applied for and received the Discover Student IT credit card, with a $500 line of credit. And for my savings, I opted for the E*TRADE high-yield savings account, with a 4.0% APY for the first 6 months, and then 3.5% APY after. My goal is to hard save so that post-graduation in 4 years, I can get an NYC apartment (I have family here, so I could move in with them in the meantime), manage paying off crazy student loans, and live comfortably. Any advice/tips anyone can provide me would be greatly appreciated 🙂
Rate my financial choices in accounts and cards
byu/catrockstar143 inpersonalfinance
Posted by catrockstar143
1 Comment
None of these really matter in terms of where you have your accounts all the big commercial banks are more or less the same in your situation.
For your bank account / debit card, just pick one that has ATMs that are near you. I live in NYC and use Chase because it has a ton of fee free ATMs and there are occasions where you need to go to a branch office, there are tons of chases near both where I live and work.
Credit card – you should use your credit card instead of debit to pay for most things AS LONG AS YOU PAY OFF THR FULL BALANCE MONTHLY. NEVER CARRY ANY CREDIT CARD DEBIT. Paying it off will help you build your credit score which helps you in the future with renting apts etc.
For HYSA, yeah just pick one that has the highest APY. If that one does, keep it for now!
Sounds like you have the right mindset for saving money! You’re still in college so please also try to enjoy your life while also saving.