I live in Portland, Oregon, and a lot of my friends have accounts with Washington Mutual, given its roots in the Pacific Northwest (WaMu was founded in Seattle over 100 years ago). Most of my loved ones' accounts aren't anywhere close to FDIC limits. But I've been getting the question almost every day: Should I take my money out of WaMu?

[Update, September 25, 10:30 p.m.: Tonight's takeover of Washington Mutual by J.P. Morgan may negate this advice; tellingly, $16.7 billion of your deposits were taken out in the past 10 days.]

Ever since the explosion of IndyMac, we've been getting lots of e-mails from our readers, wondering, "just how safe is my money?" As someone who doesn't hold even five figures in her bank account, I'm not at much risk of losing my (ahem) life's savings. But you're frightened, so let me answer some common questions about FDIC insurance for you:

• What kind of accounts are insured? Checking, savings, money market deposit and certificate of deposit accounts; also, some kinds of retirement accounts, including IRAs and Keogh accounts.
• How does the $100,000 limit work? If you hold any combination of accounts at one bank -- checking, savings, CDs, whatever -- your accounts are added together for insurance purposes. The only way to get past the $100,000 limit is if you have an IRA or certain other kinds of retirement accounts; these accounts are insured up to $250,000.

Maybe big bad banks aren't so bad after all. Recently it was discovered that a teller at JPMorgan Chase devised a scheme to fleece 86-year-old Jessie McDonald out of over $300,000 of her savings. The teller, Melindathee Hill, met McDonald while working for the bank, and offered to help her pay her bills. Hill allegedly also helped herself to some of the money, and used it for jewelry, school tuition, and home insurance. The theft was discovered by the bank in August 2007, and they fired the teller, who hasn't yet been charged criminally (although she is still under investigation).

McDonald is under the care of the Cook County guardian's office, and they asked the bank to reimburse her for what was stolen. It took some time, but the bank is now agreeing to give McDonald over $300,000 to reimburse her for her losses.

I am applauding the bank for doing this, especially since it may not have been their responsibility to do so. Even though Hill met McDonald through the course of her employment with Chase, it seems as though this theft happened outside of her job. If that's the case, I don't really know if Chase is responsible for the theft. But I do think it is commendable that they took the high road and are giving this woman her money back. During a time when all we seem to hear are complaints about banks, isn't nice to hear a good story about one?

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

While a child's bank which lobs compliments at young females under the guise of one of five heartthrobs every time she deposits money into it isn't practical for most of us, the concept is worth exploring. One of the reasons saving money is hard is that we enjoy getting stuff; the gratification that comes from making purchases is an amazing feeling. For most people the feeling you get depositing 10% of your paycheck into a savings account pales in comparison.

If only there was some way that our financial institutions could gratify us for saving money on top of the monetary rewards.While some people would enjoy a phone call from their bank with every IRA deposit, sweet nothings whispered into your ear by a robot aren't for everyone. I came up with a few ideas which my banks could use to give me some positive re enforcement for putting money into savings:

Late last year we purchased a used Chevy Equinox which was ultimately financed through a local credit union. We have been members of another local credit union for several years, my wife even longer if you count her years as a "kid saver'. We went with the other credit union because it had a better rate and offered GAP at a cheaper price as well. Once we signed all of the paperwork we set up a direct transfer to cover the monthly payments from credit union A to credit union B. Unfortunately sometime in the first month a transfer and a refund got messed up due to an error on each credit union's part.

Trying to explain the bank error over the phone to people at both locations was difficult because on each bank's computers the transaction looked to be by the books. The error was only obvious when you had both accounts in front of you. Thankfully, after I spoke to the credit union we financed our car with, their employee in charge of direct deposits took it upon herself to call up the other credit union and hash out the details. It turns out the wrong account number was used in a few places, and the money was rejected as payment by credit union B but when the money was sent back credit union A put the money in the wrong account leaving our ledger showing a payment that was never received.

The daily deal for Tuesday, May 6th is a golden egg bank. If your savings plan involves hunting through your couch's cushions in search of small change, then this might be the perfect item for you. Forget about IRAs, CDs, savings bonds and t-bills; this little baby will help you transform your nickels and dimes into early retirement and vacation homes. Best of all, your "nest egg" will remind you of exactly where your money is going!

Constructed of gold-painted porcelain in a handy little nest, Fred Flare's Nest Egg will remind you that copper, nickel and silver can add up to make some gold. Best of all, at $9.99, it's almost 60% off its regular price of $24, so the savings start even before you unpack it!

Our man Abelicio Padilla has been blogging about his personal financial situation and he has been seeking advice for making sound money decisions. I wrote this piece as my input into his situation. If you'd like more background before you proceed, read Abelicio Padilla's interesting blog posts here.

Now here's my input:

It sounds like you have a plan Abe. However, I'd like you to think a little more about if you really want to sell that house. The market is down right now which means you probably won't get your best selling price for it. Also, did you consider that if you sell the house, you'll lose your mortgage interest deduction when you file your taxes? That deduction loss will cut into the monthly savings you expect to get by selling. Even though you won't notice it month to month, you'll feel it when you file your yearly income taxes. Consider also the upset that moving can cause. It's expensive. It will disrupt operations. In the long run It could cost you more than you think.

Is your credit score a bit lackluster? Are you tempted to contact one of those credit repair services that advertise on television between Alfred Hitchcock movies at 3 a.m.? Do bankers laugh at you when you ask if you can get a loan to buy a new toaster? Is that your problem? If it is, I have one solution for you.

One of the things which will raise your credit score in a hurry, is a loan which you pay off on time, but how do you get a loan to pay off, when your credit rating stinks? I have found that if you go to a credit union and quickly explain the following plan to them, they'll be glad to work with you. The reason they will is because this strategy presents little or no risk to them.

Tell the credit union loan officer that you want a $1,000 loan to help repair your credit rating. Tell them that you'd like the money deposited into an account strictly for the purpose of repaying the loan. Set it up so that $300 is repaid at 30 days and $300 at 60 days, with the remaining balance paid at 90 days. You'll have to add about $40 for the final payoff to cover the APR, but that's a very cheap price for effective credit repair.

Try this little gambit yourself. Run it three times in one year. The result can be an increase in your credit rating anywhere from 30 to 90 points. It's fast, cheap, easy and effective. Personally, I also think it's quite brilliant.

"Big business" gets a bad rap these days. Want someone to blame for harming the environment, or not paying enough in taxes, or not offering high enough wages... big corporations are the perfect scapegoat. They seem naughty.

Their profits are huge. Well of course the profits are huge. They're huge corporations. Little company, little profits. Big company, big profits. If they're lucky enough to turn a profit, that is.

I always preferred to bank with a smaller regional bank. I thought that they cared about me more. That they would take care of me better. That they were invested in the community and wanted to provide good customer service.

Until they stopped returning my calls. They were too busy and said my accounts were too small. And then they sent me shreds of paper that used to be my canceled checks. Every time I turned around, it seemed they were sending me a message that they didn't want my business.

According to CardTrak.com, the average American household now carries a staggering $6,600 in credit card debt. When you consider that the interest rates on credit cards can range anywhere from 9% to 21%, the cost of carrying a balance on those cards can place dangerous pressure on personal finances which are already stretched tight. If you really need to use those nasty little plastic debt generators, you need to be smart about it. The following tips, some of which are provided by Investopedia.com can give you an edge in winning the battle against debilitating credit card debt.