Susan raised an important point in her comment last week: Credit unions are a great alternative to banks, and I have neglected them in my writing here (despite the fact I am a satisfied credit union customer). And, in today’s economic situation, credit unions are looking even more attractive. [...]

So Washington Mutual, once the nation’s largest savings and loan, yesterday became the nation’s latest bank failure. If you have money deposited with WaMu—or use the bank for any other financial products like loans, credit cards, or your mortgage—you don’t have to panic. In this case, Chase has acquired WaMu’s assets (and deposits). Here’s what this means for you. [...]

Banks are failing, the economy is lifeless, and taxpayers are getting the bill. Were this 1929, we’d have our money under our mattresses, and we’d be sitting on them. Assuming, of course, we still owned homes with mattresses! Now, the question everybody wants to know is: Who can we blame? [...]

My twenty something friends sometimes ask me whether they should hire a financial advisor. Usually, they have just read an article or heard a high-pressure marketing spiel. The fact is, unless you have over $100,000 in investments, you don’t need a financial advisor or planner. Here are five financial services you probably won’t need before turning 30, and why. [...]

I find it interesting that even though the Federal Reserve opted not to lower interest rates this week, some banks are adjusting their interest rates anyway. HSBC Direct lowered its online savings rate from 3.50% to 3.25%, giving competitor FNBO an upper hand in the battle for top high yield savings account (FNBO’s rate is still 3.50%). American Express also raised the regular APR for new credit cards issued by an average of 1.0% on several popular cards. Despite the rate hike, with a 9.99% regular APR, Blue from American Express remains one of the best all-round cards available. As the financial industry struggles, they’ll try to squeeze customers to remain profitable, but if you know where to look, good deals on your basic savings and credit products are still out there.

Lehman Brothers’ and Merrill Lynch’s employees and investors are having a bad, bad day. But if you’re not one of them, how do the failures of these Wall Street giants affect your wallet today? Hopefully, you won’t even notice it. [...]

Online checking accounts are popping up like dandelions. Banks hope that promises to pay interest or waive fees on any balance will lure consumers away from brick and mortar checking accounts. Often, standard checking accounts at big banks are not cheap. You certainly can’t earn interest unless you have a hefty balance, and you get charged for everything from checks to using the ATM. Why not, then, switch to an online checking account? [...]

Wanna watch 134 YouTube videos about people saving money? The videos are responses to a contest sponsored FNBO Direct, a high yield savings account that will give away $5,000 to five finalists to be selected in October. [...]

I think there’s some truth to the title of Larry Wignet’s book You’re Broke Because You Want to Be. Heck, I’m broke because I made the (albeit uninformed) decision to buy things I couldn’t afford for about five years. But I don’t want to be broke anymore, and if you don’t either, here are five things—easy things—that you can do today (before you even leave your computer). Really. [...]

Thanks to Emily from Taking Change for the guest post at Free Money Finance highlighting an important survey showing that young people are in financial dire straights. The report, released by the financial advocacy group Qvisory, indicates that adults ages 18-34 are facing stagnating incomes, higher expenses, and increasing debt loads. Not surprisingly, we’re also worrying about our finances more than ever. [...]