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I am not actually someone who is frustrated with my bank personally. I bank with a reputable bank, part of the big 4 banks in Australia and have to say I have no issues. But for those of you who do actually have a bone to pick, what are your options? Are you able to leave them and if so, who should you join?

We look at the alternatives to banks.

A bank is simply..

An institution that accepts deposits from you, uses those funds to lend to people (taking a cut of interest) and houses your money while doing so. Banks are highly regulated (as they should be, holding so much of our money) which means they often get caught up in a lot of red tape and bureaucratic layers of support.

So at the end of the day, a bank is really there to offer you a place to store your money (safely, we hope!) and give you the convenience and tools to be slightly more creative with your finances. Whether it be borrowing money, saving money, using money – the bank provides the infrastructure and tools to let you do so.

So who else can help you do this?

Mutual’s – credit unions and building societies

The unknown little brother and sister of the banking industry. Although they aren’t classified as banks, they are still deposit taking, money lending institutions capable of looking after your financial needs. The point of difference with these credit unions and building societies is that they are cooperatives. This means they are run to benefit the customer (you) and not underlying profits of a larger company all the time. This can lead to better support, customer care, needs analysis and more.

Is your money safe with a building society or credit union?

This is quite a hard question really. No money is ever safe, even with a big bank. Just look at Iceland and the banks that literally vanished over night. So really there is no answer to this. Though many credit unions and building societies have been around for many years, earning the reputation as sound platforms for financial management. Even St.George bank started out in the early days as a building society. So the answer is they are safe. They are highly regulated just like the banks, just without the numerous layers of fluff.

Do credit unions and building societies offer the same products

The answer is yes. Often these institutions offer all the same products of major banks, with lower fees and charges. My grandfather was a strong believer in these institutions, only ever taking loans and accounts with them – avoiding big banks. He did rather well for himself, as people went with big banks at higher lending rates, he went with smaller credit unions with smaller charges. This over his life time made quite a big difference to his state of affairs.

Sick and tired of your big bank?

You may as well consider looking at some of the key players in the mutuals arena. Some off the top of my head are:

• CUA
• IMB
• Savings & Loans
• Abacus - ”Comes Back To You” (this site shows you all about credit unions and building societies)

Before you leave your bank

Be sure you are making the right choice. You need to consider fees, ATM availability, convenience and more.

Ben Affleck uttered this unassailable truth in the 2000 film Boiler Room. What could better sum up the attitudes of seedy brokerage agents that pepper our screens or the conmen that swindle the baddy of all his millions only to lose it again by the time of the sequel? It’s something that dominates our thoughts, behaviours and attitudes, so is it any wonder that money figures prominently in the movies as well? Here is my list of my favourite films about money, from the classic through to the hilarious.

Wall Street (1987)

Impossible to go past on any list of movies about money, Wall Street is the classic of the classics. The storyline is simple- naïve and idealistic young man (Charlie Sheen) seduced by the ruthlessness of Wall Street, epitomized by the inimitable Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas). Rumours are floating that a sequel is on the cards, a very fitting tribute to the global financial crisis.

Take home lesson: Greed is good and lunch is for wimps.

The Money Pit (1986)

A remake of one of the greatest film of all time, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, The Money Pit is a hilarious look at home renovations. The process of fixing up the house from hell is meant to last two weeks and instead takes four months, almost taking Tom Hanks and Shelley Long’s relationship with it. Occasionally too accurate to truly be funny.

Take home lesson: Watch it before you renovate and at various points throughout the renovation- it may be the only thing that keeps you sane.

The Sting (1973)

It’s got conmen, its got conniving, it’s got more class than you could swing a cat at, The Sting is still the best movie about swindling money with a great deal of panache. Robert Redford and Paul Newman team up in an attempt to bamboozle everyone, crooks and cops included, out of a great deal of cash.

Take home lesson: It’s not immoral if you are stealing off gambling tycoons. Robin Hood would be proud.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Based on a true story, this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in the last couple of years about what life can be like before you make it. Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a salesman-turned-stockbroker, competing for a lucrative position with Dean Witter, but forced to undergo a six month unpaid internship to earn it. The catch? He is a single father with a young son and finding a place to sleep each night isn’t a walk in the park.

Take home lesson: The American dream can come good, but it’s a question of a lot of hard work and sometimes a bit of luck.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

The movie my father makes me watch every Christmas; It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the best movies about the things beyond money. A businessman prepares to throw himself off a bridge on Christmas Eve only to be visited by his guardian angel who shows him all the positive effects he’s had on the people around him throughout his life.

Take home lesson: Money is important, but it isn’t everything.

Trading Places? Boiler Room? What classic do you think needs to be on this list? Send me your suggestions and I’ll compile a reader top ten of best movies about money of all time.

It is interesting to see that ‘saving money’ has come back into fashion at the height of our turbulant year of financial issues around the world. Savings Guide cannot wait to see the first episode, it is airing on September 2nd at 8pm.

For any producers out there at Channel 9 – we would love to be involved! Get in touch with us!

Straight from Channel 9, here is the low down:

As the editor of Money magazine, Effie Zahos has some great tips and tricks for making a bit of extra cash. Australia’s undisputed money guru, Paul Clitheroe, will be sharing his financial insight throughout the series.

Shelley Craft’s first job was flipping burgers and wearing a silly suit at a theme park, so she knows that you’ve got to start somewhere to make money — you have to be positive, passionate and keep your sense of humour. Hawthorn great Shane Crawford, who played more than 300 games in the AFL, has taken a few knocks in his time so he knows all about bouncing back too.

In episode one, Effie will show you how to get a bonus worth nearly $3000 a year.

Shane meets a man who has turned his love of beer into a business. Five tradesmen take Shelley’s lunchbox challenge. And there are words of wisdom from money-man Paul Clitheroe. Plus the “Super Scrooge of the Week” segment with the scroogiest ideas to save a buck.

This show is going to be interesting, must watch TV for all Savings Guide readers!

So hopefully you now have a high interest savings account, or better yet – just about to sign up for one as today we are looking at the benefits of shopping around and comparing savings accounts on the internet to ensure you are getting maximum interest rates on your hard earned savings account.

The difference between one savings account and another can be as much as 4% interest or more – imagine the money you could be losing? Depending on how big your savings account is, you could be losing anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to thousands per year – all because you haven’t taken 5 minutes to search around for the latest and greatest savings accounts.

So where do you start to find the best Savings Account?

After trying very hard to find a website that allowed me to compare savings accounts in a non biased way, I stumbled upon Mozo – a relatively new site, that’s sole business is to compare savings accounts and other products like credit cards, term deposits and loans.

The difference with Mozo that impressed me, is that unlike many of the other comparison websites – Mozo offered honest advice, has an ACTUAL office (unlike many of the other websites out there) and they appear to have put a new spin on comparing financial products.

Something on the site that also helped me was the fact that the savings accounts had actual savings account reviews, voted on as such with testomonials. This gave me an inside view from actual account holders as to what the best savings account for me was and it helped my decision making process substantially.

The benefits of comparing savings accounts

While looking at the different savings accounts available at Mozo, I compared my top 3 options; Raboplus, ING or ANZ. I ended up signing up for an ANZ account as the interest rate was high, lasted longer than other providers and at the same time was a very well known, established Australian bank. The benefit of ANZ is that they have branch access, no minimum balance and no monthly fees – all for a interest rate that is much higher than most of the other banks.

The money I deposited into this account was substantial, it is the money I am saving for a very big trip I will be going on to Scotland, Europe and America in the coming year. I can easily say from my calculations that by swapping accounts (previously I held a high interest account with another bank) I will be making around $500 extra in interest over the coming year. Not bad in my opinion.

Give Mozo a try yourself

If you want to try out Mozo for yourself, you will be able to compare savings accounts easily and also narrow down your comparisons using the following predefined catagories;

• Top Picks
• Standard Rates
• Promo Rates
• No Monthly Fees
• No Minimum Balance
• Branch Access

To check Mozo out, visit them at;

http://www.mozo.com.au or give them a call on; (02) 9037 4366 (I even like that you can actually call them!)

This been said, a new website has been launched that is taking a new look at the old system of rate comparisons. It is called ‘Rate City’ – a joint venture between NineMSN and Cannex (a leading rates and finance figures distributor).

Pro’s of RateCity

I must say that I am rather impressed with RateCity and its layout, style, usability and function. It really does make it easy to compare rates between different providers of financial services products.

• Easy to use navigation, letting you select between credit cards, term deposits and more.
• Up to date information courtesy of Cannex.

Con’s of RateCity

There are not many negatives of this site at the moment. Its rather easy to use and offers lots of content. But none the less I have to pick a few things that could be improved upon;

• Needs to let me know the deals are up to date somehow.
• Inter linking between pages is a bit extensive, sometimes ‘SEO’ work can work against you.

Conclusion

RateCity is very useful for those wishing to review financial products and find the best rates and offers to accept. I suggest any readers of mine to have a look at their site before choosing a product or rate with their current credit card or term deposits as you could very easily save some money by spending a few minutes looking at this new site.

Like any business or product that requires a level of loyalty, you are always as loyal as the deals that are around, meaning that if another bank is doing much better – consumers will inevitably move banks. Sometimes however, the consumer (me) has so many accounts with the original bank that it makes it hard to move, though for me this is not the case and wanted to state that before I continue.

What products do I have with St.George?

• St.George Everday Savings Account.
• 4x Dragon Direct High Interest Savings Accounts. (Dont ask why I have 4!)
• St.George Vertigo Mastercard
• Soon to have a loan also.

Customer Service at St.George

To date I have never been treated rudely by a member of St.George bank, whether it be in person or via the telephone banking. I have seen other members of the public lose their cool inside the branch but this normally is the result of their own issues – not that of the member of staff serving them.

So was service better 10 years ago? In a small way, I believe Yes. The reason for this was because the branches were not as packed, there was not as much formality – and St.George prided itself on being the happy bank (or happy dragon?). This does not mean to say that the service today is worse – its just different and not as great as when I first became a member.

Why is St.George ‘my bank’?

• They are polite when I enter the branch.
• Their rates are well below that of all the other major banks.
• They offer a great diversity of products and services that fulfill my financial needs.
• I have been with them for a while.
• Great telephone support that is not sent overseas!

Where St.George could improve

• Offer more competitive rates. The Mastercard (Vertigo) was once the best on the market. Now its quite average.
• Offer higher interest earning on everyday accounts. Eg; My Everyday savings account should fight to have my monthly pay cheque put into it.
• Make it possible to lower your credit limit via online banking.
• Offer incentives for doing certain things with financial products. Eg; Invest $500 each month into your Direct Saver account without withdrawing and recieve bonus monthly interest.

Where do you bank and why? I would love to hear from you.