In my opinion a good part of surviving is staying sane and saving money. One way to save is to move your money to lower cost banks and credit unions.

http://baselinescenario.com/2010/02/22/big-banks-are-more-expensive/

But there is also the sanity side of the situation. IMO the large banks have gone out of their way to wreck the system. Makes me mad. But it also makes me feel frustrated. I want to do something but can't. Or can I?

I have no illusions that shifting my relative pittance will cause the presidents of the major banks to slash their wrists in a fit of depression and shame. It is a nice mental picture.

Okay, it isn't going to change the world. But taking my money away from them makes me feel better. You also might find that while your bank account isn't big enough for the big boys to worry over it is a significant sum to a much smaller local community bank or credit union.

I can't hurt the big banks much but moving my pile of pennies feels good. It makes me feel less helpless and more in control. And that is a good thing.

Read more about it:
http://moveyourmoney.info/

Find a local bank/credit union:
http://moveyourmoney.info/find-a-bank

Shamelessly lifted from:
http://scienceblogs.com/mikethemadbiologist/2010/03/why_i_moved_some_of_my_money_t.php

Two issues to take into accoun to though.

1: Big banks contract out their services to smaller banks. Since smaller banks/credit unions don't have the resources to tooer the large varity of products that big banks do the smaller ones can just sell the big bank service with small bank's name on it.

2: Big banks have to adhere to more regulations when it comes to disaster recovery and such. The best example is NOLA, there were people with small banks there who lost everything and had no access to funds because the small bank was under water too. I don't know how it was all sorted out in the end, the news never mentioned since it probably happened a lot later.

Now the disclaimer, I work for a big bank, but the only services I use are the basic accounts that are free to anyone using direct deposit. I also have accounts at a smaller bank as well, gives me some redundancy.

But, if they are FDIC insured, your money is safe, is it not? Even small banks, at least around here, have FDIC insurance-which, as long as you stay under $100,000, you can recover your money. Now, I have no idea how to go about that. I personally bank with USAA, which doesnt have a physical address-they are an online bank, to the best of my knowledge. I also have a checking account open with a large, physical bank, which allows me to cash checks, should that need arise. But, back to OT, I am assuming that as long as it is FDIC insured, you should be OK, correct? Blanket statement I know-provided you again have less than the amount allotted. And, that being said-if you have a mortgage through the bank, does THAT count towards the cap? Or any kind of loan....this is something I never really considered before....

Sure, ok in the long run. What happens in the days or weeks following a disaster, how do you get to your money, how do you proove what you had, whose word wins in you say you had more than the bank says once they dig their records our of the remains. You will eventually get it back, its the time in between that I worried about. I have accounts at tow banks so if sone does have an issue I can use the other in the meantime,.

Again, thats a great topic-these are things I honestly never considered. If they are small banks, one hopes they keep records elsewhere, to avoid this situation. However, small, rural banks may not have that luxury. I know next to nothing about the banking industry, or any requirements-I can certainly see money on hand being an issue in a local disaster-I would suggest maybe a credit card, unused, as a backup-for those types of events where you need a place to stay for a couple of days, or need to purchase transportation. If the whole banking industry collapsed, I would think that where you kept your money could be the least of your issues.

The small credit union I belong to uses a service to provide online banking, ATM connectivity and back-end computing support. They provide account access at any credit union branch that belongs to the service; they say there are over 6300 locations. As long as I have ID, the name of my credit union, and my account number (memorized) I can walk into any of those locations and get at my money.

My accounts are insured by NCUA, which is very FDIC-like.

It would probably be safer if I kept funds in a large national FDIC-insured bank as well, but I don't have enough money for that to make a lot of sense.

This site doesn't address the concerns with the records in a small bank after a disaster, but it does provide some decent information on the finacial solvency, or lack there of, of a given bank.

http://www.bankrate.com/rates/safe-sound/bank-ratings-search.aspx

I think having cash on hand is always a prudent measure. Maybe even split over at least two secure locations. Even something as simple as a backhoe cutting through a major fiber optic line or some fallen tree that blacks out a large area could block access to ATM's or credit card transactions, even during normal times, requiring cash to get things done.

In addition, having direct deposit, setting up automatic debiting of important bills, like your mortgage payment, setting up online bill paying, using telephone services, using ATM's, using credit cards, etc., could very well keep you going even if the branches themselves are not open right away.

Of course, if ALL the backend stuff at your bank is compromised, then you're really in short term trouble. But even then, in cases like Katrina or Ike, the FDIC and state banking regulators asked banks to do things like cash checks from non-customers, waive ATM fees, forgive late/missed payments, loosen lending standards for short term loans, etc.

And I have my money at a local credit union, for "philosophical" reasons, as well as better rates, lower/fewer fees, and better service. Since credit unions typically share an ATM network or allow you to bank at other CU branches, I don't even need to pull my money out of my credit union, but use a closer credit union's ATM machines to do my withdrawals and deposits.

And I do keep cash around but I'm not going to use it to pay the electric bill for examle. Thats where the direct deposit and online bill pay work. I have a checking account at both banks and have part of my pay going into each. If one bank account were to be non accessable for whatever reason both are setup with all the account numbers of the bills so I can pay them from either. This way i can use the cash to rent a hotel room or buy meals or whatever and then sign in on the web page and pay any of those long term bills as needed.

Getting cash and service after a disaster is, of course, a concern and the actual outcome remains to be seen. We only find out for sure in the moment. Hard to know for sure whether a large or small bank gives better service ahead of time.

But I must point out that to a large bank you're likely to be so small a depositor, excluding the resident millionaires here, that your little more than an annoyance. At most your an account number and someone to nickel and dime with fees for extravagances like ... well ... walking into a bank, talking to a teller and handling your own money.

Chaps my rump when they act like they are doing me a favor allowing me to deposit and manipulate my money. Looking down their noses at me and like I was a Dickensian orphan asking for more porridge ... and bill me for the privilege?

On the other hand at the local credit union I'm a name and a face in addition to an account number. I have met the president and many of the officers and wasn't made to feel like a Dickensian orphan reaching above his station. I know where the president lives, a modest house and the only one she owns, and it is just a few miles from my house. I can't know for sure how it goes down after a major disaster but I expect that being a face and a name, and their habit of working primarily with small depositors, I get a little more attention and consideration.

I also feel like I'm more in charge of my money. Which means a lot.