What's a good free checking account?
The best bank with least amount of gotchas is Alliant Credit Union.  I did a lot of research and finally decided on this bank.   I did a comparative study between ING, Ally and Alliant and found Alliant to be superior than the the other two.   More about my study: http://www.moneycone.com/a-bank-thats-better-than-ally-and-ingdirect/ If you do find a better bank than this, please update this post, I'd definitely like to know! Disclaimer: I have no relationship with either of the three banks. Check with a small local bank or credit union, they might offer better terms. That said, my local credit union still charges $6/month for a checking account if you don't have a direct deposit into it. "Here's a hack for getting the ""free"" checking that requires direct deposit. Some effort to set up, but once everything is in place, it's all autopilot. (If your transfer into savings is higher than your transfer out of savings, you'll build up a nice little stash over time.) I don't know if there are deposit amounts or frequencies that you must have to qualify for the free account, if these are public or secret, or if this works everywhere. If anyone else has experience using this kind of hack, please leave a comment." "If you want to deposit checks or conduct business at a window, you should look at a local savings bank or credit union. Generally, you can find one that will offer ""free"" checking in exchange for direct deposit or a minimum balance. Some are totally free, but those banks pay zippo for interest. If you don't care about location, I would look at Charles Schwab Bank. I've been using them for a couple of years and have been really satisfied with them. They provide free checking, ATM fee reimbursement, free checks and pre-paid deposit envelopes. You also can easily move money between Schwab brokerage or savings accounts. Other brokers offer similar services as well." Capital One 360. No minimums balance, no fees. Everything's online. Make deposits using an app or an image of the check. ATMs are free almost everywhere. Online banks are the future. As long as you don't need a clerk to talk to (and why would you need?) there's nothing you can't do with an online bank that you can with a brick and mortar robbers. I use E*Trade trading account as a checking account (it allows writing paper checks, debit card transactions, ACH in/out, free ATM, etc). If you don't need paper checks that often you can use ING or something similar. You can always go to a local credit union, but those will wave the fee in exchange for direct deposit or high balance, and that you can also get from the large banks as well, so no much difference there. Oh where where did Washington Mutual go....
"the easiest thing would be to go to walmart and stock up on 1000$ money orders paying a 70 cents fee for each. your landlord would almost certainly accept money orders, but double check first just in case. i say stock up because you can't get a money order for more than 1000$ and they usually won't let you buy more than 3 per day. alternatively, you can probably open a bank account using your ssn and your passport.  look for any bank offering ""free"" checking, and they should be able to give you a few ""starter"" checks on the spot when you open the account. in any case, they can certainly get you a cashier's check for free or a small fee.  side note: if you want to shop around for a checking account, look for a bank or credit union offering a ""kasasa"" account." One reason why keep my DCU account active.  Free fico credit scores! https://www.dcu.org/electronic_services/index.html but specifically this page https://www.dcu.org/electronic_services/FICO.html By signing up to receive your FREE credit score in PC Branch you'll be   able to monitor your credit score, receive two reasons why your credit   score is not higher, and learn how to take positive steps towards   improving your score. Other services such as this may cost you more   than $165* annually. Through DCU you can receive your Equifax FICO   Credit Score via PC Branch under Account Manager in your Inbox once a   month FREE as part of your Checking Plus or Relationship Checking   benefits. ... Digital Credit Union "I think the other answers raise good points.  But to your question, ""How do I find an honest financial adviser"" ask your friends and family.  See who they talk to and confide in.  Go meet that person, understand what they do and how they view things and if you gel, great.  Honesty and strong ethics exist in individuals regardless of laws. What is it you're trying to accomplish?  You just have some money you want to put aside?  You want to save for something?  You want to start a budget or savings plan?  Your first step may be talking to a tax person, not an investment adviser.  Sometimes the most significant returns are generated when you simply retain more of your earnings and tax people know how to accomplish that.  You're just graduating university, you're just going to get your first job.  You don't need to hunt for the right heavy hitter 30% gains generating financial adviser.  You need to establish your financial foundation.  Crawl, walk, then run. There are some basics (that transcend international borders).  If you don't know much about investing, most (if not all) retirement and individual brokerage type accounts will give you access to some kind of market index fund.  You don't need to multinationally diversify in to high fee funds because ""emerging markets are screaming right now.""  Typically, over a few years the fees you pay in the more exotic asset classes will eat up the gains you've made compared to a very low fee market index fund. You can open free accounts at a number of financial institutions.  These free accounts at these banks all have a list of zero commission zero load funds, all have something resembling an index fund.  You can open your account for free, deposit your money for free, and buy shares in an index fund for free." "The answers here are all correct.  This is 100% scam, beyond any reasonable doubt.  Don't fall for it.  However, I felt it valuable to explain what would happen were you to fall for this.  It's not all that hard to understand, but it involves understanding some of the time delays that exist in modern banking today. The most important thing to understand is that depositing a check does not actually put dollars in your account, even though it appears to.  A check is not legal tender for debts public and private.  It's a piece of paper known as a ""bill of exchange.""  It's an authorization for a payee (you), to request that their bank pay you the amount on the check.  A transaction made with a check does not actually draw to a close until your bank and their bank communicate and cause the actual transfer of funds to take place.  This process is called ""clearing"" the check. Despite living in the modern times, this process is slow.  It can take 7-10 days to clear a check (especially if it is an international bank).  This is not good for the banking business.  You can imagine how difficult it would be to tell a poor client, who is living paycheck to paycheck, that he can't have his pay until the check clears a week later.  Banks have an interest in hiding this annoying feature of the modern banking system, so they do.  When you deposit a check, the bank will typically advance you the money (an interest free loan, in effect) while the check ""floats"" (i.e. until it clears).  This creates the illusion that the money is actually in your account for most intents and purposes.  (presumably a bank would distinguish between the floating check and a cleared check if you tried to close out your account, but otherwise it looks and feels like the money is in your hands). Of course, if the check is dishonored (because the payer had insufficient funds, or the account simply did not exist), your bank will not get the money.  At this moment, they will cancel any advances you received and notify you that the check bounced.  Again, this happens 7-10 days later. The general pattern of this scam is that they will pay you by a method which clears slowly, like a check.  They will then ask you to withdraw the money using a faster clearing method (like a wire transfer or withdrawing the cash).  Typically they will be encouraging you to move quickly (they are on a timetable... when their check bounces, the game is up!)  At this time, it will appear as though the account has a positive balance, but in fact it has a negative balance plus an advance on the check.  This looks great until 7-10 days later, when the check bounces.  At that time, the bank will cancel the advance, and reality will set in.  You will now have an open bank account, legally opened by you in your own name, which is deeply in debt.  Meanwhile, the scammer walks away with all the money that you sent them (which cleared quickly). There are many variants which can hide the details.  Some can play games with check kiting to try to make your first check clear (then try to rope you in for a more painful hit).  Some will change the instruments they use (checks are the easy ones, so they're simply most common).  Don't try to think ""maybe this one is legit.""  These scammers literally make a living off of making shady transactions look legit. Things I would recommend looking out for:" They are the worst.  I knew all about these deceptive practices when I decided to open a checking account for my business with them in 2015.  I was working in a remote place and it was one of the two banks that had locations germane to both work sites.I didn't like signing up with them because of all this bullshit but hey, they had the branches, right?  Then I found out they were charging my workers $5 to cash checks.  Pressured them to open an account or else: $5.  Fuck you and the carriage you rode in on, Mr. Wells.  I went to the other small regional bank and even though they don't have a slick web interface that makes it easier for me they DON'T charge my guys to get their money.  Never again. "What is a good bank to use for storing my pay? Preferrably one that has free student accounts. Can I save money from my paychecks   directly to a Canadian bank Otherwise, can I connect my bank account   to my Canadian account online? Any (almost...) bank in the US has free college checking accounts. If the bank you entered doesn't - exit, and step into the one next door which most likely will. The big names - Wells Fargo, Bank Of America, Chase, Bank of the West, Union Bank, Citi etc - all have it. Also, check your local credit union. Do I need any ID to open a bank account? I have Canadian citizenship and a J-1 visa Bring your passport and a student card/driving license (usually 2 ID's required). What form of money should I take with me? Cash? Should I apply for a   debit card? Can I use my Canadian credit card for purchasing anything   in the states? (Canadian dollar is stronger than US dollar currently,   so this could be to my advantage?) There's some fuss going on about debit cards right now. Some big banks (Bank of America, notably) decided to charge fees for using it. Check it, most of the banks are not charging fees, and as far as I know none of the credit unions are charging. So same thing - if they charge fees for debit card - step out and move on to the next one down the street. Using debit card is pretty convenient, cash is useful for small amount and in places that don't accept cards. If you're asking about how to move money from Canada - check with your local (Canadian) bank about the conversion rates and fees for transfers, check cashing, ATM, card swipes, etc - and see which one is best for you. When I moved large amounts of money across the border, I chose wire transfer because it was the cheapest, but for small amounts many times during the period of your stay it may be more expensive. You can definitely use your Canadian credit/debit card in the States, you'll be charged some fee by your credit card company, and of course the conversion rate. How much tax does I have to pay at the end of my internship? Let's assume one is earning $5,000 per month plus a one time $5,000 housing   stipend, all before taxes. Will I be taxed again by the Canadian   government? $5K for internship? Wow... You need to talk to a tax specialist, there's probably some treaty between the US and Canada on that, and keep in mind that the State of California taxes your income as well. What are some other tips I can use to save money in the California? California is a very big place. If you live in SF - you'll save a lot by using the MUNI, if your internship is in LA - consider buying an old clunker if you want to go somewhere. If you're in SD - just enjoy the weather, you won't get it in Canada. You'll probably want a ""pay as you go"" wireless phone plan. If your Canadian phone is unlocked GSM - you can go to any AT&T or T-Mobile store and get a pre-paid SIM for free. Otherwise, get a prepaid phone at any groceries store. It will definitely be cheaper than paying roaming charges to your Canadian provider. You can look at my blog (I'm writing from California), I accumulated a bunch of saving tips there over the years I'm writing it." "Noted... the tricky thing is that some people are quite literally living paycheck to paycheck, even without any extravagant spending.  If you're in this boat, and something comes up, like a broken tooth, or a transmission, or something else, and you think, ""Well, I can pay this big bill today, then my check get deposited in 2 days, so I can pay my phone then, even though it'll be a little late, and so on and so on. You weren't going to bounce anything, true, but then the bank took an extra day to deposit a check FROM ANOTHER BRANCH OF THE SAME BANK... and now you owe them $35.   I'm not saying we shouldn't all be financially responsible, we should. It's just that things can be really, really tight for people. ""Just don't spend it,"" literally isn't an option.   I honestly have been the best about money when I only had an account that I had to deposit by mail... I had to plan enough ahead that I couldn't get too low. I'm thinking I may go back to that system, just for that reason." "I opened several free checking accounts at a local credit union.  One is a ""Deposit"" account where all of my new money goes.  I get paid every two weeks.  Every other Sunday we have our ""Money Day"" where we allocate the money from our Deposit account into our other checking accounts.  I have one designated as a Bills account where all of my bills get paid automatically via bill pay or auto-pay. I created a spreadsheet that calculates how much to save each Money Day for all of my upcoming bills.  This makes it so the amount I save for my bills is essentially equal.  Then I allocate the rest of my deposit money into my other checking accounts.  I have a Grocery, Household, and Main checking accounts but you could use any combination that you want. When we're at the store we check our balances (how much we have left to spend) on our mobile app.  We can't overspend this way.  The key is to make sure you're using your PIN when you use your debit card.  This way it shows up in real-time with your credit union and you've got an accurate balance.  This has worked really well to coordinate spending between me and my wife.  It sounds like it's a lot of work but it's actually really automated.  The best part is that I don't have to do any accounting which means my budget doesn't fail if I'm not entering my transactions or categorizing them. I'm happy to share my spreadsheet if you'd like."