Check up on your bank.

Most of you who talked to me in person have heard me go on something about banks. Unlike some people who rant about banks, I'm not against them. That being said, please carefully read up on and evaluate which bank you do business.

I have to say that Wells Fargo and Bank of America have lost a lot of points in my book. Not only were they caught up in a series of scandals, which actually isn't over with given how slowly they've adjusted their practices. If they keep this up they'll be facing another round of multi-billion dollar mortgage lawsuits. But that's not why I'm really upset with them. It's how they've been building fees into their accounts. Their "free" checking and savings can run into the hundreds of dollars a year in fees. A number of their services, most notably Wells Fargo's inferior online banking, are notably lacking.

The galling bit is that there is no reason for anyone to put up with this. No reason at all. Sure, changing banks takes time and is a huge hassle, but you can save hundreds in fees and get better rates at other banking options. Credit unions, local banks, even investment banks often offer better alternatives to the commercial banks. Different situations and different people means that any attempt I make at giving general rules of thumb will be wrong as often as it's right.

Remember they put on these fees because people don't react strongly to them. It doesn't take much movement to make them sensitive to customer service again, after all they need us more than we need them. Banks depend on deposits to do what they do, there no reason to pay them to let them do it. In fact, the interest those accounts bear is the bank paying us. They'll do what they can get away with, so let's not let them get away with anything too bad.