if you don't need to travle a lot, check out some local banks or credit unions. Their target customers are small fish like us. Therefore they provide more flexible accounts options and more services at lower prices. Many local banks give 100 checks for free, and charge no monthly fee as long as you maintain a very low balance.

big banks like Citi don't care about individual customers. In fact, one strategy of theirs is to sqeeze existing individual accounts out by increasing services fees.

go to a local bank when they have few customers waiting. The receptionists should explaint to you exactly what each account requires, and probably recommend the one that fits you the best.

after openning a local checking account, try an ING online savings account. It offers higher interest rate and can be linked directly into your checking account.