Michael, open an account with someone nicer. Direct banks usually have to try harder because they don't have local branches and need to incent you somehow. ING Direct is good, but Charles Schwab (<a href="http://www.schwabbank.com/checking.do" rel="nofollow">http://www.schwabbank.com/checking.do</a>) might be better; they even refund your ATM fees. I'd keep an account at a local bank for convenience, sending everything by mail to your direct bank sucks. I wouldn't use the local account for anything else though to avoid getting nickel and dimed. Most banks allow you to set up electronic transfers between your accounts and these transfers are usually free. BOH allows this, just make sure that they won't ding you for that. This way you will have a convenient way for making deposits and a more sophisticated and friendly account for everything else. Your most pressing problem is cash though. You really need to build up a savings cushion to avoid the likelihood of overdrafts and even worse - falling into debt. I know that it's easier said than done, but do set spending budgets. Mint.com or even a simple Google doc spreadsheet are great ways of tracking your spending habits.