1. Check that your bank accounts are federally insured. Yes. See my post on the FDIC and why you might need it.

2. Make sure your brokerage accounts are federally insured, too. If you have them, yes. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) guarantees that if your investment bank fails, you’ll get your investments back. (It’s not, obviously, insurance against securities losing value).

3. Put money in thy purse. Yes. Even if you’re not feeling the pinch of the crisis yet, start trimming expenses and saving extra where you can. Increase savings and pay down debt—especially if you are close to your credit limits. Credit could be hard to get in the coming months, so if you’re faced with an emergency, you want to have reserves to draw on (preferably cash, but also credit as a last resort).

4. Set up a home equity line of credit while you still can. (If you own a home yes, sure: get some HELOC quotes and see what you can do. If you’re not a homeowner, consider applying for a credit card or two now). What? Apply for more credit? I know it sounds crazy—and it’s not something I would ordinarily recommend. And I’m not, of course, telling you to rack up debt. I’m telling you to prepare for the worst. Access to credit could really dry up in the coming months; we just don’t know. Better to have a few extra thousand dollars of available credit should you need it down the road (if, for example, you lose your job).

5. Refinance your mortgage. The Journal’s thinking is that rates are crashing, so why not refi? Only problem is you’ll need really good credit to refinance right now.

6. Stop procrastinating over your worst investments. It’s not time to pull out of the market altogether, but the Journal recommends taking a long hard look at any investments that have really bombed, suck it up, and sell them. Rather than looking solely at past performance, I recommend thinking strategically about stocks that may do well as the market eventually rebounds, and shifting your portfolio accordingly.

7. Don’t panic. Couldn’t agree more. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. Things could get worse, things could get better. Do what you can to take care of your needs, and go about your business.

8. When it comes to your short-term money needs, nothing has changed. True. If you need access to money in the next two years—it shouldn’t be in stocks. I doubt that this would be the case for most readers under 30, but if it is, consider cashing out—as painful as it may be—and investing in a high yield savings account or 12 or 24 month CD.

9. If you are investing for five years or more, buy some stock. This goes for all of us! If you can afford it, start buying stock! Up your 401(k) contributions, max out your IRA, or start trading on your own. (Check out the October $50 bonus offer from TradeKing).

10. If you want to worry about anything, worry about your taxes. Unfortunately, it’s true. No matter what happens and who is elected, taxes will have to go up. Consider using a Roth IRA to save for retirement. You’ll make after-tax contributions, but withdrawals after retirement age are tax-free. And by then taxes might be really, really high.

1. It started with easy credit. Many people are (understandably) baffled by all the factors that contributed to our current economic mess. But the one thing most of us understand is this: Banks approved too many mortgages for people who couldn’t afford them. Lesson: Just because a lender says you can afford it, does not mean that you can. Anytime you make a big purchase or take on credit, soberly assess your own financial situation and determine what you can afford.

2. Banks are not invincible. First IndyMac fell, then WaMu, and Wachovia. Even a year ago, few people would think that a savings and loan—much less the largest in the country (WaMu)—could go belly up in a matter of months. Lesson: Never put all of your eggs in one basket, or more than $100,000 cash in an FDIC-insured account.

3. Home prices can go down. A real estate bubble led millions of Americans to gamble on interest-only mortgages featuring low monthly payments for five or ten years before shooting sky high. Buyers assumed profits were a sure thing. When they weren’t, homeowners owed more than the homes were worth and worse, faced payments they couldn’t afford. Lesson: While your primary home may appreciate, real estate—like any investment—carries risk. Put 20% down and buy a house you can assuredly afford.

4. Don’t trust anybody. People lie, cheat, and steal. Whether or not today’s crises result in any criminal convictions, some of the banking practices that got us here were dubious at best. But money was being made, and so everybody turned their heads. Lesson: Question authority, arrive at your own conclusions, and, if needed, go with your gut. Never assume just because somebody is a professional they are 100% right all of the time. Diversify your information sources in the same way you diversify your investments.

Have you taken anything away from the events of the past few weeks? Is there anything you think we all should take away?

What are credit unions?

A credit union is a cooperative, non-profit financial organization that provides savings and checking products and extends credit to members. Unlike banks, which happily take profits from the money they lend, credit unions redistribute earnings to members in the forms of higher savings rates, reduced fees and, often most noticeably, lower interest rates on mortgages and other loans.

Just like FDIC-insured bank accounts, credit union deposit accounts are insured to at least $100,000 by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Certain retirement accounts are insured to $250,000.

Where are credit unions?

Credit unions exist in cities and towns across the United States. Most often, credit unions offer financial services to employees of a large corporation or government entity. Some credit unions, however, serve members of social organizations like the Knights of Columbus, and others serve anybody living in a particular geographical region.

How do you join a credit union?

If you are an employee of a company or entity with its own credit union, you can walk in and join just as you would open a bank account. Most credit unions extend lifetime membership benefits to eligible individuals and to immediate family members.

Sometimes, credit unions extend membership to nearly anybody living in certain cities—or to anybody who is referred by an existing member.

For example, I belong to Digital Federal Credit Union (DCU) here in Massachusetts. DCU was formed for the employees of Digital Equipment Corporation—a company that hasn’t existed for years! Nonetheless, DCU is expanding rapidly. They’re opening new branches and even own the naming rights to a Worcester, Mass. arena. My father was a Digital employee when he joined DCU, and I later joined as family. Today, anybody referred by an existing member can join.

How do credit unions compare to banks?

On average, credit unions provide less expensive checking accounts and lower interest rates on mortgages, auto loans, personal loans, and credit cards than banks. Some may also offer attractive rates on savings accounts and certificates of deposit.

In addition to offering lower loan rates, credit unions work for their members rather than for shareholders. That means when you apply for a loan, they want to help you get approved and get the best rate your credit history justifies rather than earn shareholders the biggest profit.

That same cooperative, not-for-profit business model is what makes credit unions such a great choice today. When big banks were making recklessly risky loans a few years ago, credit unions were plugging away helping creditworthy members get the loans and rates they deserved, but could also afford. As a result, credit unions will be able to continue to offer members those same great services today—despite the national economic climate. Find a credit union near you.

Do you use a credit union? How has your experience been?

In the short term, you can continue to access your money using WaMu’s website and ATMs. Additionally, you should continue to make payments to any WaMu loans as usual.

In the future, your accounts will be rolled over to Chase. WaMu branches and ATMs will bear the Chase name, etc. Of course, Chase may very well change your banking services. Interest rates and fees and everything else on checking and savings accounts, credit cards, and other products may change.

You’ll want to keep a close eye on your bank statements and other communications from Chase to ensure you’re still getting a good deal from your bank. Otherwise, there’s no reason to panic.

One of the things that led to WaMu’s demise was that in the past few weeks, customers have withdrawn over $16 billion in deposits from WaMu. While you should withdraw any amount over the FDIC insured $100,000 that you have deposited in any bank, there’s no reason to withdraw any amount more than that…doing so is the behavior that will simply continue to make more banks fail.

WaMu customer’s were lucky, in a way, that Chase was able to step in and buy the bank. If more banks fail, some may not be so lucky, which means that customers will need to retrieve their deposits directly from the FDIC. Curious about whether your bank might be next to go under? Learn how to check your bank’s health.

Today, the FBI announced criminal inquiries into whether leaders at Fannie, Freddie, AIG, and others committed fraud. Meanwhile, I actually heard radio talk show callers today blaming “the Jews” for greedily lending too much money and “the Blacks” for taking mortgages they couldn’t afford. (Lord! How some people see this world astonishes me.)

Racism and antisemitism aside, I think the blame for our current economic crisis can be at least partially placed on greedy lenders and investors (of all faiths) and irresponsible borrowers (of all races). Of course, it can also be placed upon our government for not reigning in reckless lending.

But what about Joe and Jane Taxpayer? They are the working couples with a mortgage they can afford (and pay on time) who will end up paying taxes that bail out the less responsible. They’re the ones who should be—and are—the most upset about this mess.

And yet, I am reluctant to call any American blameless. After all, we, as a nation, cling to the idea of the American Dream in which any American seemingly has the right to own a home. It’s a nice ideal, but one grown impractical with time.

Perhaps its time Americans redefine home ownership as the privilege it is rather than another inalienable right.

What do you think?