(February 17, 2009) – Let’s face it – the big banks are in trouble.  For year’s they’ve made profits by charging their customers additional fees for everything.  When I had an account with a bank, it greatly annoyed me to see the bank charging a fee for savings – often the fee was higher than the interest earned.

There are banks, and credit unions, that operate on different business models.  They offer a lot of services free.  The pay slightly higher interest rates on savings.  They don’t charge fees on savings accounts.

Look around your neighborhood for a local bank or community credit union.  Drop in and find out about fees and services.  Be sure that the bank is covered by FDIC or the credit union is covered by NCUA, and you’ll have the same government protection as you had at the giant, fee-charging bank.