Chris happened to live in Minnesota when he opened his first bank account at age 18, and went with Wells Fargo. They were everywhere, convenient, and the rest of his family were all signing up with them too. Shrug – why not? He stuck with them for more than a decade. He moved around the continent and a lot of things changed through his twenties, but his Wells Fargo account was a constant. Sometimes it was a little inconvenient, but he stuck with them out of habit. Until his balance fell low enough that they began charging him fees for the privilege of being their customer. It took him less than an hour to switch everything over to a local bank that isn’t fee-happy. Why, he wonders, did he stick with Big Stagecoach for so long? [More]
How I Stopped Rationalizing And Left Wells Fargo Behind For A Local Bank
By November 12, 2012
How To Find A Good Local Bank
By April 12, 2010
So you’re tired of banking at one of the big, faceless national chains and want to keep your money local? You can try one of the recent sites devoted to the local bank movement, like anewwayforward.org or moveyourmoney.info, or you can follow this Kiplinger columnist’s lead and do it yourself with a little online research. [More]
Credit Unions Ask Customers To Leave
By March 16, 2010
Credit unions might be attractive alternatives to big commercial banks, but they’re not crisis-proof. OregonLive says about a fifth of the nation’s credit unions are having financial troubles right now. To get in better financial health, they’re introducing fees for services that have long been free, and even asking members to move their deposits to other institutions. [More]
