I'm a Bad Blogger...

And I can't spend a lot of time here today (there's a CAT Show this weekend, so Nana Sadie Rose is busy!), but I did want to touch base and let you know I'm still alive and still planning on doing a decent job over here with regard to making sane and sensible choices for money management and the environment, as well as good stuff to eat to help lose weight (on my/your body and in my/your pocketbook!) while staying mostly local in your shopping choices...Wow! That's a tall order!

Well, I can say that so far I'm doing pretty well with the "cash in the envelope" for groceries, except that I'm not using cash. I'm using my debit card, and keeping the receipts and a running total with the envelope...because I can't seem to get by my bank often enough for cash. So far, I've cut my grocery spending - and the actual time in the store - but I haven't had time to do the math to see how much I've cut compared to last year.

So since this has to be a short post, and for your reading pleasure, and because I'm a big, big proponent of "small banking/credit unions" I wanted to be sure you saw this: The Red Tape Chronicles is one of my favorite stops in the blogasphere, and I am a faithful viewer of Keith Olbermann and also of Arianna Huffington. Lately, Huffington has been encouraging us to "vote with our feet" and Move Your Money.

A few years ago, I moved from a very large bank to a credit union. I did this because it was the only place my office had direct deposit, but I was also ticked and tired of being jerked around by the BIG BANK. (This was before the recent crisis in banking, btw). Then this fall, I changed Nana Sadie Rose's accounts to a regional bank that I'd worked with for my job because they offered me Merchant Services that were more competitive (and LOCAL!) than what I'd had for the first five years of my business. I've been nothing but content with the results. There's a lot to be said for calling up the person I've signed up with and knowing they know my name, and ask how my most recent show has gone...

Credit unions are paying somewhat higher interest on deposit accounts, local or regional banks are less likely to have taken TARP money, and generally have higher reserves (and more conservative requirements for lending money) making them a safer alternative to the BIG BANK...

Still I won't argue: it does take time to make the changes. But no one should "hang on" to a big bank (or any bank!) because it's time consuming to change. It makes a lot more sense to vote with your feet, if you're sick of the treatment you're getting, or you don't like the fees.

Often? Smaller is better. And I'm of the mindset, that ALWAYS, LOCAL IS BETTER!
See you soon!