"Move Your Money" advice/question. Help please!

[tblue]

I want to move my $ to a credit union. I like that they are non-profit. But the moveyourmoney site lists only BANKS in my area. Granted, they are small banks with names you never heard of, and that's fine with me.

BUT

There are credit unions in my vicinity, though they did not show up on that site's search.

My question then is: If I prefer a credit union, does it matter if it doesn't come up on that list? Are any credit unions NOT good choices?

[DeSwiss]

1. Try here first.

http://www.findacreditunion.com/

[pkdu]

2. Banxodus.org search Banks and CUs by zip n/t

[graywarrior]

3. I was just looking at their site

:applause:

[benddem]

15. Locally owned banks

are considered OK. But check out their ownership, some are big repug contributors.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. also, bankrate dot com rates ..well, banks. and credit uinons. n/t

.

[shraby]

5. Do you have a phone book?

[tblue]

7. My question was: Will ANY credit union do?

No need for snark.

[iris27]

9. Make sure it is NCUA insured (this is the credit union equivalent to the FDIC). But otherwise, yes,

any credit union will do.

[murielm99]

12. I think you should ask some of their existing customers.

And find out their requirements for membership. See if there is a rating agency for credit unions, too. I do not know. Our credit union is excellent. It offers all kinds of services. We have gotten several loans there, just based on our membership. They are wonderful.

I am told, however, that not all credit unions are good. So find out.

My husband has checking and savings there for our farm business. We have gotten business loans there, for the farm, as well as car and small home improvement loans. He has some checking with another local bank. They have given us farm loans, too.

I have my own money in a small local bank. It is for personal and household use. We deal with three local banking entities, and don't mess with the large, predatory banks for our personal business.

We did have a mortgage with Wells Fargo at one time. We got that paid off as quickly as possible. However, I think we took that loan out before they turned into monsters. It was paid off well before all these scandals broke.

[shraby]

16. I didn't mean it as snark. Most credit unions are similar.

[TBF]

6. Here ya go -

http://www.findacreditunion.com/

[tblue]

8. Thanks all! What I wanna know is: Will just ANY credit union do?

Just asking because the (banxodus and moveyourmoney searches did not list any credit unions although there are several within 2 miles of me. Should I just go to a local credit union even if it is not listed on those site searches?

[eleny]

10. Knowing the vicinity of where you live would help a lot

[snot]

11. Look on bankrate.com. Detailed instructions re- narrowing your search:

Go to http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/bank-ratings-search.aspx . Check Credit Unions and select Three stars or more. This will give you gobs of credit unions from all states.

To narrow the search, scroll down and look along the left side of the page. Click on Headquarters advanced search by state/city/zip. This will narrow the results to those credit unions that have their headquarters within the geographical location you specify. I'd do zip first, then if that yields nothing, pull up a zip code map and fan out from there. If there's more than one near you, go with the one with the most stars.

No warranties, but that's what I did (so long as it's owned by the members, my main other concern is financial soundness).

[gkhouston]

13. I don't see why not. Shop around.

Drop by a few of them and ask whether you qualify to become a member, what sort of accounts they offer, what their fee structure is, which ATM networks they participate in, etc. Even if you're not interested in a loan, see what they offer--you may want to borrow from them someday, and the interest rates may vary quite a bit between different credit unions. If they're offering a better deal than your bank, go with the best one.

[graywarrior]

14. Some credit unions have requirements

The one I joined has only two requirements, that I live within the county they service and that I maintain a $25 balance in my savings account.

Most credit unions are good but I think nonprofit ones are better to deal with. You can Google your area for credit unions and then, if they have a website, go there and read the entire page. Most will post their fees and requirments. I phoned the one I was interested in and asked all the pertinent questions, like if they had fees, etc. The one I joined supports the Occupy movement which made me more comfortable joining them.

Hope this helps.

[FarCenter]

18. Not ANY credit union will do

Just like banks, credit unions differ with respect to their safety and soundness. Make sure they are federally insured. The standard is $250K / account. However, even if they are insured, it is likely to be inconvenient for you if they fail, so don't put all your money in a single institution.

Just like banks, most credit unions offer a selection of several checking and savings accounts. The differ with respect to the fees that they charge, minimum balances or minimum direct deposits to avoid fees, overdraft and other protections, linkages to other accounts at the same institution, charges to reorder checks, ATM cards, debit cards, fees for using ATMs at other banks and stores to get cash, and credit cards with various features.

So it is up to you, the consumer, to be informed and aware. Buyer beware.

[EC]

19. I'd go with a labor union

credit union. Where I live there is one that the UAW started (now called Community Credit)but still union represented and there is the teachers credit union (now Educators).

[customerserviceguy]

17. Be prepared to move around if you need to

Not all credit unions are ready for prime time, I've been in and out of two of them over the last four years, and am now satisfied by a community bank that is ultra convenient to where I work.

With the influx of large amounts of new people, I'm sure some CU's are going to handle the transistion better than others. Website problems are certainly possible, and you have to pay attention to ATM/POS fees, too. If a CU either doesn't charge them, or automatically refunds them, great. But they might not always do that, I'm sure that the swipe fee limitations will eventually be extended to smaller institutions as well.

Good luck with your search, let us know how it goes!