I just read a blog that made me laugh. In fact, I have read several lately about having money/investments in multiple banks. When did this get to be such a new and radical thing? I can't imagine why it has never occured to those consumers, that you can choose different banks for different services. Maybe because we landed in the era of "big banking" where one bank could "do it all" for you. We have savings in a credit union, this is the only place that Hubbys employer will deal with to debit from his paycheck directly into the savings account. Its also in a neighboring town, so harder to get to when we're tempted to withdraw money. (for us, this is good) We have checking and savings in our local (regional) bank, this is where my paycheck is direct deposited, and an automatic sweep puts money into that savings, every time I get paid. This is the account I pay bills from. We also have savings in another regional bank, they have a branch in our hometown, and also the town where hubby works, so he can cash his paycheck there if he wants, without a fee. We don't have any money in CD's at the moment, but the third local bank usually has better return rates on CD's, I always used them before. I consider this all to be plain, everyday banking. If we had money invested? That would be a different story. I don't have any desire to watch the ups and downs (especially the downs) on a daily or weekly basis. Hubbys 401K is invested in a Vanguard fund, and I do glance at the quarterly statements, but not very closely. I was looking at online savings a while ago, but then the rates have dropped on them also. I think that when we get the emergency fund to where I like it, then I might revisit a few of those. I think that being frugal involves not only saving money, but trying, even in a small way, to be smart with where you keep it. Hubbys Grandpa (true story) used to complain that he kept cash buried in jars in his backyard, but he had to dig them up every few years and exchange the cash, it would get MOLDY! I laugh every time I think about that! And I thought I had problems!