This article was originally published on my old blogger site, Impoverished Geek.
So, here’s the thing: I don’t make a lot of money. You may have gathered that from the name of the blog, or the statement on my bio, but it bears stating due to the subject of this article. So, I repeat: I don’t make a lot of money.
When you are broke, what little money you have is incredibly important. You find little ways to save a few more dollars: you watch for sales and buy food early; you keep what little change you have in a cup or a jar, when it’s full you use it to buy food or splurge on a book or DVD.
When you are broke, you can’t take chances with your money. That’s why Washington Mutual’s Free Checking drew me in three years ago. They gave the outward appearance of being customer-oriented — or at least as customer oriented and banks get. Their rates seemed reasonable, and they even offered some nice, simple savings plans. Granted, the interest wasn’t too high, but when you don’t have a lot to give, all you want is to feel that you’re securely setting aside something for a rainy day.
It’s started to pour here, and guess what? Washington Mutual took my money and built a house of cards. I know, my pithy savings are FDIC insured. That’s not the point. It’s likely I’ll have to look for a new bank. Chase is hardly the customer-friendly place WaMu made itself out to be. It’s likely that in the coming months, I’ll see new fees where none existed before. It’s even more likely my nice interest rate of 6.25% will be lost when it comes time to renew my “Success” account.
Why aren’t these great businessmen and women able do to something that even someone as low-income and “uneducated” as myself do on a daily basis?
No Fun Berg 