bettyo - they both come automatically when you open a brokerage account. Each one has a "cash account" that's separate from your equity share account, and you transfer assets from one to the other at will. This has the advantage of never having more money in the debit card account than you're comfortable with.

Thanks so much RP for telling me so much about what I already knew. By the way capitalism perhaps is the best system if you're wealthy! Free enterprise is great, but the greed of business, not only of banks, in this country has become frightening. The disparity between the rich and poor is worse than it was in the 30s. Tell me again about how great capitalism is.

Thanks so much RP for explaining to me how to handle my banking. It took your expertise to enlighten me about changing banks if I didn't like their practices. Very profound!

By the way capitalism perhaps is the best economic system if you're wealthy! Free enterprise is great, but the greed of business, not only of banks, in this country has become frightening. The disparity between the rich and poor is worse than it was in the 30s.

No, posting on Fodors won't change these attitudes or practices, but isn't this where we express our opinions and exchange information?

I don't believe all that stuff about the gap between the rich and poor widening being a bad thing. I think it's a distortion of the math to achieve political advantage.

Look: if my net worth is 10 and yours is 100 and we both improve by 10%, the result is that I have 11 and you have 110. The distance has increased from 90 to 99. Is that unfair to me?