With the new year already begun and news of the fiscal cliff the United States plans to walk over, or, potentially avoid somehow, money is a priority in people’s minds these days like never before.
Do a web search for “ways to save money” and you’ll find everything from suggestions to ‘pack all of your lunches for work’ to getting rid of your automobile. But what about something a little more obvious, though possibly a lot more scary, how about leaving your bank?
If you’re like several people in the big wide world out there, you’re likely banking with a giant like a Bank of America or Chase, but are you happy with your experience? Between 2010 and 2012, over fifteen million individuals would answer “No.” That’s the number of people that traded their behemoth banks for smaller institutions like local credit unions.
Movements like Bank Transfer Day have gained momentum from big bank customer frustration over poo poo moves like charging people for using their own debit cards , seeing a live bank teller and not maintaining a certain balance in their accounts. Not to mention, large banks make large targets for hackers.
Mike Moebs , economist and CEO of the economic research firm Moeb Services suggests that good reasons to stick with your bank include being a regular world traveler and someone with a daily balance of over $10,000. Though Moebs says that if you spend most of your time in local spots and have problems with overdraft fees, you are better off telling your bank “sayonara,” or “goodbye” in the language of your choice.