Make Your Checking Account Work for You

Being married to someone from a foreign country isn’t as easy or exotic as it seems. There are times where both of us want to bang our heads against the wall because things get lost in translation. Over the course of 25 years, the number one thing we fight about the most concerns money.

It’s not what you probably think. We don’t fight over how to spend the money, we fight over where to bank and which checking account is right for us. Well, at least we used to until we bought a car, the Pacifica that has since been retired to the junkyard. It carried us through most of Maddie’s, our oldest daughter’s, high school days and through her college years until it finally had a total engine failure and forced Maddie to buy a car of her own. And, even when we bought Cady, our Acadia, we knew we wanted Coastal to finance it.

But, back to why buying the Pacifica led to us not fighting about where to put our money. The car dealership that we bought it from found financing for us. It was an unknown company for us, but it has quickly become a household name. Coastal Credit Union is where we have decided to bank. We have since financed another car through them and have an account as well.

I love the ease of bill paying and the benefits we get as members. I mean just look at all the benefits, also known as membership perks. Not only do you get loyalty bonuses like earning special dividends, but you can also get perks for special experiences – such as getting priority entry into concerts, like the Charlie Puth concert my youngest daughter and I went to at Coastal Credit Union Music Park. And of course, I can’t forget about the perks of the buy one, get one tickets to see my beloved NCFC and NC Courage soccer teams.  

Now that we have talked about the benefits, let’s talk about dividends. Did you know that Coastal’s Go Green Checking rate recently increased from 2.25% APY to 3.00% APY¹, which is now the highest rate in the Triangle? I mean seriously. While most big banks charge you fees for having a checking account, Coastal actually rewards you for having one. If you keep a tidy sum in your checking account, you can be earning money on it just sitting there in your account. To get the 3.00% APY¹ rate, you just have to make a minimum of 30 transactions with your card per month.

Plus, the customer service at Coastal is out of this world. We have dealt with other banks before and I can honestly say that this is by far my favorite. Not only do they respond to problems quickly, but you aren’t left hanging with questions like other banks will do – Coastal’s priority is customer service. Currently most companies, I hate to say, do not pride themselves on customer service. It seems like it is all about making a quick buck with most banks, but with Coastal it is about building a community and it shows.

Being a face instead of a number that is put into a spreadsheet is one of the many reasons that we are looking into setting up more accounts and I am looking to move my blog’s business account to Coastal, as well as setting up retirement and a vacation fund. With the new Go Green Checking rate increase and the added perks of being a member, it’s a no brainer for those who live in the Triangle to join Coastal Credit Union.

About the Author: 

Melissa Vera is a 40-something, animal loving, soccer mom who has a slight coffee addiction and loves to blog. She shares her life with her (native Mexican) husband of 23+ years, three beautiful daughters ranging from high school to college age, and four fur babies (one dog, three cats). With a passion for soccer, she attends games galore (the girls’ teams and her beloved NCFC). Melissa considers her blog, Adventures of Frugal Mom, to be the “jack-of-all-trades blog,” as she covers everything from crafts, cooking, recipes, frugal tips, reviews, multicultural life, and more. Occasionally, her Shih Tzu, Allie, hijacks the blog to give her barking opinion. Follow Melissa and her adventures in and around her beloved home state of North Carolina.