I went into the Army out of high school in 2008. I arrived at my first duty station at Fort Drum, New York, 1,000 miles away from where I was born and raised. The local bank I had accounts with since I started my first job went out of business. I had $50 in my pocket. For two weeks, I ate and bought gas with that $50, waiting for my FDIC checks, and not having a paycheck. Right as my bank went out of business, my room mate in the barracks told me I could call up USAA and open an account over the phone, and about fifteen minutes later I had a checking account, and a place for my direct deposit paycheck. A few days later, my debit card came in, and by the end of that two weeks, I had a paycheck and then my FDIC checks came in for the money in the crashed bank.
I now have a checking account, emergency fund, insurance, and a fully funded Roth IRA with USAA. I also have $1,000 cash locked up in a safe place so I don't have to live off of whatever is in my pocket for two weeks in case something bad happens. I will not borrow money unless I haven't eaten in three days, and I love the reverse credit card theory. It's kind of like a pre-paid plan, where my emergency fund grows interest, instead of a regular credit card bill growing interest. Plus, I set my own credit limit.
