Banking Exhaustion

 

This drawing is the closest I could find to explain how I felt dealing with the reality of withdrawing cash from my own credit union accounts today. Of course, this is not limited to credit unions - it applies to regular banks as well. I know this from an experience with local banks when we moved from California to Minnesota in 2023.

It is impossible to get more than $4000.00 cash in one day. However, I did not know this until we had driven around for two hours checking in at different credit unions. We wanted $6400.00 in cash for a metal lathe Joe found. I called Golden 1 customer service and explained what I wanted to do. I was assured that the credit union would lift my minimum cash withdrawal to $5000 with a teller and $1400 through ATM and that I could use a co-op bank.

We went to two different credit unions and three different ATMs that have a co-op agreement with Golden1 to get $4000. Each credit union had a different maximum that could be withdrawn. We did not know, until later, that we had hit paydirt when the first credit union agreed to give us $2500 of our money at the counter. The maximum ATM withdrawal at the first place was 600.00 which, even though they were a co-op, they charged us $2.50. Joe ran into Kwik Trip and got $200.00 from a co-op ATM (no charge!). We used this $3300 to put a deposit on the lathe. The second credit union maximum was $500.00 with a teller and $200 at the ATM. Still, $2400 shy of our goal, I was exhausted.

Frustrated, I called Golden 1 - this time the customer service representative explained that the first representative explained things to us incorrectly. That the maximum withdrawal of cash is $1000 at an ATM and $3000 at the window/counter. 

Fortunately, we have until Wednesday to get the remaining cash to pick up the lathe on Wednesday. 

Meanwhile, I am harboring ill feelings toward the entire banking and credit union industry ...