response 25 of 59:

Dec 19 16:56 UTC 1997

I saw a brochure at Great Lakes Bank that offered commerical checking
accounts with no fee, but I didn't notice the minimum. MIght be worth
asking.

response 27 of 59:

Dec 19 22:00 UTC 1997

<sigh>

response 29 of 59:

Dec 20 05:25 UTC 1997

If the Great Lakes commercial checking is like their personal checking,
then the minimum is $0.00.  My guess is that they're hot for market share
and hoping to make up some of their losses on such accounts with overdraft
fees.

response 31 of 59:

Dec 20 21:59 UTC 1997

That's absurd Richard. The money has to go into a safe place.
That's why everyone sighs when you post here.

response 33 of 59:

Dec 22 15:34 UTC 1997

oh geez..like investing in conservative stocks in big companies that
never go down and these days are always going up is such a damn risk.

You tell the broker how risky you want to play your money.  Guaranteed
your money can be invested so it is at least as safe as if it were
in a money market or whatever.

response 35 of 59:

Dec 23 03:44 UTC 1997

I don't think grex has any business having enough spare cash on-hand to
make stock investments worthwhile.  At least, not unless somebody wants
to die and endow grex.  In the meantime, I'd rather see user membership
fees and other miscellaneous income used for something more immediately
productive.

response 37 of 59:

Dec 23 06:43 UTC 1997

Yeah, it certainly sounds like we should have a "Business Class" account to
me.  (I think those fees are effecitve 1/1/98, Valerie, which is why we
haven't been paying as much in fees as it sounds like we should.  But maybe
I don't quite understand.  I'll try to get them on the phone tomorrow.)

response 39 of 59:

Dec 23 12:37 UTC 1997

Re 35 - the whole "net investable balance" thing is a long and
complicated way of saying "the interest you earn on this
account may be greater than the amount of fees we charge you,
in which case you make money by having an account."

I think.  >8)

response 43 of 59:

Dec 23 19:28 UTC 1997

It would save us $.18, Richard.  I'd rather just give Grex $.18 than go down
to the Ameritech office carrying $515 in cash.

I talked with Alma at MNB Business Financial Services today.  She's going to
run a simulation, but her guess is that we should stay with the kind of
account we have now, since only one of our service charges in the last year has
been more than $9.  (Of course, if our balance is high enough we avoid the
$9 charge, so we need to go back and look at all the old statements to be
sure.  I'll do that.)

Great Lakes Bank is certainly worth investigating.

response 45 of 59:

Dec 24 05:32 UTC 1997

Actually, it doesn't make sense to pay grex phone company bills in
person.

So far as I can determine, the phone company *has* no walk-in business
office locations today.  Once upon a time, they did.  18 years ago, they
would actually "sell" student telephone access to UM students in the
michigan bell telephone building in downtown washington, but even then,
that building did not contain a regular business office.  The closest
regular business office was in Ypsilanti - about an hour away by bus.
Something like 12 years ago, Michigan bell consolidated all of its
business offices into something like 5 to cover the whole state.  The
closest business office to Ann Arbor was in Westland - about an hour
away by personal transportation (there is no city bus service between
Ann Arbor and westland.)  However, around 10 years ago, Michigan Bell
closed *all* of its business offices and they don't have any at all
today.

Also, there is often a fee associated with cash ATM withdrawals.  I've
never heard of an ATM card for a business account, but if such a service
were available, it's entirely possible that the fee would be larger than
the sum required for writing a check + the fee for the postage to mail
the check.

Also, I believe our treasurer has a full-time job, and is not interested
in donating $1 worth of his time, to save grex 18 cents.

response 47 of 59:

Dec 24 14:45 UTC 1997

Grex might want to consider the U-M Employees Credit Union on East
William, where Arbornet does its banking.  There are no service charges
at all.  OTOH, we get hardly any interest.
        Oh--an "escheatment fee" has to do with money that has been
transferred to the state when someone dies or abandons an account.
The money is said to be "escheated."   

response 49 of 59:

Dec 24 22:09 UTC 1997

Back when I worked on the staff of ConTraption (local
SF convention) the business account was at U of M CU.
Perhaps the rules have changed since you first called?