We've been banking at the same financial institution for a half-dozen years, ever since we had to open up an account there when we refinanced our mortgage. And while the ATM machines weren't on every block, there was one in a convenient location for me. But not for Mr. Kablog.

He was pretty good at not incurring fees, but this year has been a busy one and he has little time to waste by going out of his way to withdraw funds. After paying another $5 ATM charge last month, I decide it was finally time to shop around.

What a time consuming task!

I initially started the hunt for a local bank or credit union with a pretty wide ATM network. But I was loathe to start yet another relationship with a financial institution. If you count our "high yield" savings accounts, various investment accounts and credit cards, we have more accounts than you can count on both hands. Plus I know Mr. Kablog is not the sort to waste time locating an in-network ATM and hoofing it across town.

Ultimately, we selected USAA. For one, Mr. Kablog' s "his spending" account is already there and I have my term life insurance policy with the bank, which serves military members and their family members. USAA has good customer service. And Mr. Kablog loves the Android application for banking, which allowed him to deposit a check the other day simply by taking a picture of it with his phone. I have to say that's a huge incentive for me to turn in my Blackberry.

The clincher was the ATM fee policy. The bank doesn't charge ATM fees for the first 10 transactions each month and reimburses $15 for other bank ATM usage fees.

If I'm right, most months we won't pay a dime for this account.

But the legwork in switching online bill pay and direct deposits and all is a huge pain and a major time suck! I spent several hours this weekend immersed in this unpleasant task. The Internet is a godsend, but then there are all of those passwords to remember and routing numbers to input.

Let's just say I hope bank policies don't change and our needs don't shift. This isn't a task I'm willing to undertake again any time soon.

Readers, how did you shop for your bank or credit union accounts? Have you used a site such as findabetterbank.com or mybanktracker.com? Findabetterbank.com actually picked USAA for me. Mybanktracker.com didn't have a search for free ATMs.The Center for Responsible Lending just came out with this guide to better banking.

Are you fee-focused like I am or is there something else you care about more?

Any tips on streamlining the bank switching process would also be very welcome.