Why I Like My Credit Union

Years ago my mother opened up a checking and savings account for my siblings and me at one of our local credit unions. When she did that I had no idea what a credit union was. Now, in my early 30’s I am glad that she took the time to do that. My credit union has been great to me over the years. I’ve had a couple of accounts with major banks over the years and can honestly say that my whole banking experience has been remarkably better at the credit union. Today I would like to share with you why I like my credit union.

The first reason why I like my credit union is because they treat me like a real person, not just another customer. From my experiences the tellers in the credit union seem to value their customers a little more than tellers in banks do. They also seem to go the extra mile a little more as well.

The 2nd reason why I like my credit union is because they are not constantly trying to sell you things or get you to open up another account. I typically go to my credit union twice a month. They have never asked me to sign up for a credit card or a loan. It feels good to go into a financial institution and not be bombarded with questions. I have a credit card with one of the major banks. I go to one of their branches every once in a while to make a payment. Every time that I am there the teller asks me to open a checking or savings account with them. Every time I tell them no!

After working as a bank teller for nearly 2 years I understand that the more you sell the higher your bonus will be, but some tellers go overboard. One of the reasons I stopped working in the bank was because of the excessive selling. I couldn’t justify trying to get someone who had a negative in their savings account and $2 in their checking account to open up a credit card. By the looks of the first two accounts, they are already struggling. A credit card for them would only make things worse.

The next reason I like my credit union is because their fees are not as high. When I was younger I over drafted on my credit union and major bank (when I had one) checking accounts a few times. The overdraft fee that my credit union charged me was $15. The major bank charged $35. That’s a $20 difference. Something else that irked me was that my major bank tried to charge a fee each month if I didn’t have a certain amount in there. I closed that account after they told me they couldn’t waive the fee. I now have accounts with 2 different credit unions. They don’t charge any crazy fees at all.

The 3rd reason that I like my credit union is that I have received better interest rates on products from there in the past. I’ve had two car loans in my life. Once was from a major bank and the other was with my credit union. The interest was lower on the loan from the credit union.

The final reason that I like my credit union is because they have different events throughout the year. They have a couple customer appreciation days. They also have educational workshops on money from time to time. Lastly, they have good used car sales.

Do you use the credit union? 

Jason Butler

Jason Butler is an Atlanta native, as well as businessman, blogger and teacher. Not only is Jason a prolific flipper, marketer, writer and side hustler his number of years in higher education and student support have given him expert knowledge in understanding the economics of the student loan industry.