I came across this January 19, 2015 NYTimes Charles M. Blow opinion article "charles-blow-how-expensive-it-is-to-be-poor" that I now recommend to you. I was particularly struck by this restatement from the St. Louis Federal Reserve in 2010:
"Unbanked consumers spend approximately 2.5 to 3 percent of a government benefits check and between 4 percent and 5 percent of payroll check just to cash them. Additional dollars are spent to purchase money orders to pay routine monthly expenses. When you consider the cost for cashing a bi-weekly payroll check and buying about six money orders each month, a household with a net income of $20,000 may pay as much as $1,200 annually for alternative service fees — substantially more than the expense of a monthly checking account."
Disclosure: As a middle class individual having sufficient cash flow issues that require a banking need for me, I recommend First Republic Bank to you the reader. I discovered this bank when I became irate at the 4% fee on a $50 cash withdrawal from any ATM endowed banks. First Republic reimburses me the ATM fees charged by all banks world-wide. It is regrettable that I must keep a minimum balance in my checking account - - however if I go under, First Republic customer service is so responsive that they almost always waive the fee retroactively.
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