Creating Free Bank Account in US

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I recently got accepted by an online tutoring website. I figured that as a starting career, this might me a good fit for me; I don't have to deal with people face-to-face, and I just help them understand math concepts without creating detailed, complex lesson plans. One thing stopping me from getting to work is that I need to create my own bank account. Does anyone know how I can create one for free in the US? I hear that creating bank accounts is usually expensive, and since my weekly salary isn't much, I feel like I'm in a bit of a quandary.

You could try Googling a local credit union, which would make you a shareholder as opposed to an account holder. That's what I use.

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Actually - JP Morgan Chase does really cheap accounts. As long as you have some money you can put in right a way and pay $5 a month, you should be golden. The hard part is that you have to go make one in person, but it's better than doing a really expensive one over the internet.

Definitely don't go to a local credit union unless you know for certain what their prices and reputation are.

As others have recommended, I suggest a neighborhood credit union. You can open a CU account for $5-25 (one-time, refundable membership fee). After that, the account is free of charge. If all you need is a deposit account, you can use just the savings-account feature and withdraw from it using an ATM card. That is the most basic of accounts, and you can add other features if you need them.

Also, especially for online or international deposits like you described, you can create a PayPal.com account and link it to your brick-and-morter CU or bank accounts.

Just a couple of affordable ideas for you! Stay away from big banks.