November 5 is Bank Transfer Day

If you’re really outraged about corporations being treated like people with rights (albeit extra powerful and rich people with their own political action committees and politicians in their back pockets) and you are with Occupy Wall Street (or even if you’re not), November 5, Bank Transfer Day, is a day to take serious action. Many people have called for taking money out of the big banks and putting it into smaller, local ones—a sound strategy for not supporting the very banks that are responsible for much of the mess we are in. (Of course, the banks couldn’t do what they’re doing without government aid—one hand washes the other, so to speak.)

So what do we do with our money if we don’t use the big banks? There are plenty of options, such as…

• Investing in a good safe for your home. Make sure it’s fireproof and secret. Of course, it’s not as safe (or insured) as it would be elsewhere, so you might want to try…
• Local, small banks. These banks support the local community and don’t have nearly as much clout in the government (or as much to do with the failing economy) as the big banks do. My husband and I use such a bank, and we love them. They work with us (and we have a lot of financial issues!), they are fair, and they don’t charge for checking or minimum balances like so many other banks are doing these days.
• Credit unions. My best friend swears by hers, and many people are choosing this option instead of the banks.

It’s difficult to wholly stop using big banks, especially if you have loans through them for your home, student loans, or other items in your life. But if we all stopped using them for our everyday purchases and money handling, it would certainly send a message—and start funneling the money into our economies close to home.

If you want to keep occupying the cities near you, by all means go ahead—I don’t really care about the naysayers who say that protestors don’t know what they want (they obviously do), and I think it’s a wonderful, long overdue showing of people who are fed up and united in asking that this country change how its money, politics, and corporations work. It’s nonviolent and it’s loud and above all, noticeable—and as long as that’s getting people to talk and pay attention, it’s a good thing. But let’s take some local action with our banks, too!