Two weeks ago we looked at choosing a small bank that would be a good fit for you and your money. Last week we looked at all the advantages of banking with a credit union. This week we are going to look at how to move our money, to a smaller more customer friendly bank.

Moving from a big bank to a little bank, if done wrong, can cost you hundreds of dollars, and lower credit score. If done right, the move will be relatively painless along with not have you paying any late or overdraft fees.

The best way to move from a big bank to a little bank is in stages. I have broke it down into 5 stages. That you will sure that the transition will be smooth and painless as possible.

A few days ago, I was talking to a small group about some articles, that I am doing on how people are ditching large banks in exchange for smaller local banks. One of them spoke up and proceeded to tell up about all the advantages of a credit unions. After listening to what she said, I wanted to find out how valid were her points about credit unions.

The result of my research lead me to find 7 overwhelming reasons to put my money in a credit union as opposed to a bank. Those 7 reasons are what I have listed below.

Lower Fee – Since credit unions are member owned any profit gets distributed to the members in the form of dividends. This results in lower fee for overdrafts combared to non-credit union.

There has been a lot of discussion about moving from large banks like Bank of America and Chase to smaller local banks and local credit unions. This has been the result of general frustration that a lot of people have had with their big banks. Now that frustration has reached the point of taking action.

In my travels, I see smaller local banks and credit unions courting the average depositor. They want people like you and me to move our money to their smaller bank, where we will be treated with more respect.

Once again, how much is enough? How much square footage does a person REALLY need?  How many rooms in a house are full of “stuff?”

It is a universal principle that if you are a good steward to what you have you will gain more. Those who are bad stewards will lose what they have. You see these people who never seem to have anything nice. They don’t take care of what they have, or they are replace what was stolen from them.

I hang my head low in shame over the amount of stuff I have had stolen or lost over the years. I must admit it was through carelessness on my part. I either did not lock locks or I left valuables in open tempting people to come by and steal from me.

There has been years where our whole tax refund was used as a bail out. We were so far behind in bills that we needed that tax refund to get our heads above water. Times were hard.

This year we are floating on top of the water. We can take the income tax refund money to treat ourselves. Well, not all of it. We have allocated the refund money into three areas.

1. Treat Ourself
2. Donate
3. Save

Remember the old saying, about death and taxes. This is the time of the year where some people talk like it is a near death experience. Maybe that is why some people wait until the very last minute and mail out their income tax filing just before midnight on April 15th.

Over the years I have struggled with doing my yearly obligation. I have set down with a W2 form, a couple of 1099′s, a calculator, and a pile of tax forms.  One year, I took a box full of receipts and invoices into my accountant and set it on his desk. A week later I went back with my checkbook in hand. There I wrote him a heft check, along with a small one to the federal government and a modest one to the state government.

I am sure all of us has seen the commercial from FreeCreditReport.com. I am sure we have laughed at this poor guy with a friends driving down the road. Because of a bad credit score stuck with broken down sub compact. Then two beautiful ladies in a convertible drive beside him and laughing.

The truth is a low credit score can cost you a lot of money. Even keeping track of you credit score can cost you money.

Federal law requires the three major credit reporting agencies, Equifax, TransUnion, and Experian, to provide consumers with one free copy of their credit report once every 12 months from a centralized source.