I'm 17 and have a job. In about 6 months, I'll be heading off to college 1000 miles away from home, so I want to save up some $$ for when I'm in college (not for tuition and stuff, but just for everyday living expenses). I wanted to get an online savings acct for three reasons: A. More distance between me and the account means I'll be less tempted to withdraw $$ from it and B. They're high yield, so I'll get more interest than I get with the 0.01% APY rate from my current local credit union and C. My checking is connected with my savings, so whenever my minimum wage paycheck ($150 per pay period) goes into my savings and I go get $40 worth of gas, as soon as that level in my checking hits $15 (the safety limit set by my credit union), overdraft protection immediately kicks in and puts $100 into my checking, incurring me a $2 fee for the OP and toward the end of the month a couple of $10 charges for withdrawing from my savings too many times in the monthly statement period. (This costs me on average $45-$50 a month; roughly 17% of my total monthly wages.) So I could save some money, I wanted to open up a high yield MMA from Ally and put $50 per paycheck in, since overdraft protection from my bank won't kick in if less than $100 is in the savings (I try to split my paychecks 50/50 between checking and savings when my paychecks get deposited. So if I was putting $50 in the Ally MMA, then that would leave $100 to split between my checking and savings). However, to open up an Ally MMA, I have to be 18 or open the acct up as a custodial account. I have one of these with ING, but I can't use it myself since it had to be hooked up to my mom's checking account, to which I have no access. I keep asking her to take $50 a month from my account, but she's so busy she always forgets.
I guess after this sort of "rant," isn't it kind of ridiculous that I can earn money myself but not manage it? If you can get a job by yourself at 16, you should be able to get a bank account at 16 too. (I'm talking a savings account here; not even a checking account or a loan/line of credit.)|||It sounds like your best bet might be to look into opening an account at a different bank. I am a bank manager and I have made exceptions for teenagers in the past to open up accounts on their own when they do have similar situations where they are independent and interested in managing their own finances responsibly.|||I do work for a national bank, but I can't disclose which one. It is one of the ones you have listed. Speak directly with a banker and ask them if it is something their manager can make an exception for. If it is not, try the next one. It really is a branch discretion in most cases.
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|||Thanks!
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|||Nope. I have no problem with a banking system requiring a minor to have a parent involved with banking operations until they are of age.|||You must be using the wrong banks. I know several teens (15/16) with their own bank account.
However, you are talking about a specialized account and restrictions should be expected|||just get your parents to be custodian and then when you turn 18, get your own adult acct
this law has been in effects since at least the 1960's when I was a kid
"More distance between me and the account means I'll be less tempted to withdraw $$ from it "
how does "distance" mean anything with an online acct?
bank fees affect everyone of any age|||It's not ridiculous and you CAN have a bank account - you just need a parent as account custodian. Why? Because you are not yet a legal adult.
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