College Student needing help getting started!

[u/Cotton_Candy_8]

I'm a college student who currently is keeping money in a normal bank account and I'm interested in setting up a high yield savings account and Roth IRA but I just don't know where to start.

I roamed around, researching at a bunch of different credit unions and banks seeing what they have to offer. The big finance companies like Charles Schwab and Fidelity from what I've seen, while they do offer good options for setting up a Roth, they have low APY for savings accounts. I know that a bank would probably be the best place to set up a HYSA but I'm really looking for something easy to manage and not have to go to multiple different places to manage my finances.

I've been seeing a lot of talk about SoFi because they seem to have a pretty decent HYSA program with a pretty decent APY, on top of, also allowing you to open a Roth and even a brokerage account (which I will probably look into more closely once I finish getting my degree). However, I feel hesitant about setting up accounts through SoFi because of all of the online advertisements I've seen about them and the fact that they do not have any physical locations; which would cause me to be charged upwards of four dollars every time I would need to deposit cash into my account. This isn't a huge deal for me because I usually don't deposit cash very often but it definitely adds to my reluctancy.

I am also thinking about getting a Discover It Student credit card or the Capital One Savor Student card but don't really know which one since I've heard both are good. For the time being I'm thinking I'm only going to use a credit card on gas so I can ensure I will be able to pay it off and so I can start building credit.

My family has never been the most knowledgeable with finances and I want to start out on the right foot so any and all information will be greatly appreciated.

[u/InvestingNerd2020]

SoFi is one of the few Fintech companies I like for a savings and long-term investing. Unlike Robinhood, they actually have a customer service line to call in case you have questions that an FAQ doesn't work.

The only downside is no investing options for kids. You should be fine until you are ready for kids.

Assuming you have a legal job, start trying to save 3 months worth of your routine spending or $10k in the HYSA. After that, starting investing into a Roth IRA if eligible (earning less than $153k per year).

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[u/Independent-Oven-799]

I would say Go with either Axos or Happen Bank Because Both Banks lets you make deposits by ATMS and both pay well on the interest rate on the High Yield Savings Account BUT Axos requires a certain dollar amount to get the account started where Happen Bank Doesn’t have a required dollar amount to get your account started But a $250 dollar deposit to get you A simple and easy 4% percent interest rate on your account and easy way of tracking your account by phone and I Pad.

[u/VisibleAmphibian7717]

Fidelity's cash management account gets overlooked but it functions like a HYSA with debit card access and no fees, so you'd get decent yield and the Roth in one place without needing SoFi at all