Bank fees are on the rise, and sometimes it may seem like there's not much we can do but complain. But complaining is something.

Now, I know that it's nothing new to blast a bank on a blog, or trash it on Twitter or spread your fury about their practices on Facebook, but with bank fees climbing and climbing (overdraft fees are estimated to cost Americans $38.5 billion this year), I went on my own little Internet tour today, looking around for reactions to banking fees, just to see what I could find and get a sense of how people are feeling toward banks these days. Not too surprisingly, I found a lot of ugly out there.

People are mad. As Hell.

Got a Citibank credit card, or any one of the co-branded cards, including Sears and MySpace, among many others? You may have hoped you'd be safe from unreasonable rate hikes thanks to new Federal constraints on banks' ability to raise rates for borrowers. But those laws don't go into effect until February 2010, and for Citibank, there's no time like the present.

According to the Financial Times, Citibank has already raised rates for you -- and you -- and you!

As many as 15 million U.S. card accounts in total. And the increases are big. A Credit Suisse analysis of the past several months' data indicates that rates were up an average of 24% between January and April of this year. That represents a three percentage point increase for those who don't pay their balance in full each month. For instance, if your rates were 10% before, now they're 13%; this would represent about a $200 difference in the amount of interest you'd pay in a year on a $5,000 balance.

Bank of America complained that the credit markets were so tight, soooooooo tight, that it couldn't possibly generate cash in the private sector, and that was why it needed a federal bailout.

Well now it got its federal bailout, and it continues to rip off consumers across the country with one of the worst savings account rates in the world -- 0.10% APY.

This means that for every $1,000 you save with Bank of America, you get a pre-tax return of $1 per year.

Emigrant Direct's FDIC-insured savings account pays 1.55%, and the national average on a money market account is 1.29% according to BankRate.com

My family knows about cashier's check scams and other crafty international methods of loosing the elderly and other emotionally fragile types from their money. Over the past few months, both my husband's great uncle and his sister's ailing landlord have been the subject of a series of shysters and hopeful perpetrators of fraud; and despite a great deal of effort on my husband's part, no law enforcement officials, banks or wire services helped in the least. Fortunately, my husband has talked them out of sending money in each case.

Growing up, I always had the sense that a bank was where you'd go if you wanted to make money, not lose it. After all, I remember watching Mary Poppins on TV, and Mr. Banks' song, "Fidelity Fiduciary Bank," where he told his son in song: "If you invest your tuppence wisely in the bank, safe and sound, soon that tuppence, safely invested in the bank, will compound."

Granted, you can still make money at your neighborhood bank, of course. But you can lose a lot of money, too. Even in these recessionary times, and actually because of these recessionary times, bank fees are going up and getting more punitive toward consumers.

Even if your credit card company refused to cut you a deal on your credit card balances just a few months ago, you might want to try again. The New York Times reported today that some credit card companies have changed the rules and are giving front-line customer service reps the right to cut your principal balance, as well as interest and penalties, if your balance is past due.

Credit-card companies are realizing it's better to get something than nothing. (And customers seem perfectly happy with the arrangement, if the photo of one smirking consumer in the story is any indication.) Now that people don't have equity in their homes, there really is no option for unsecured debt.

In the past, credit-card companies could take you to court, get a judgment, and then try to collect by putting a lien on your home or garnishing your wages. But with unemployment high above 9%, even wage garnishment is often not an option for collecting from deadbeats.

Credit-card companies must write down a balance to zero once a person has been delinquent for six months. That doesn't mean they won't stop trying to collect the debt, but it does mean they have to show the loss on their books. With 6.5% of credit card debt at least 30 days past due in the first quarter -- the highest percentage since the Federal Reserve starting tracking it in 1991 -- credit-card companies need to do something, however desperate, to stop the bleeding.

How much interest are you earning on your savings account? Checking? Now when was the last time you checked that amount?

You may be surprised to find out just how low you're "High Yield" online savings account's rate has slipped over the past year. Since banks aren't required to inform you of every rate change the way credit card companies are it can be hard to track how hard your money is working for you but thanks to BankFox you can now get e-mail alerts anytime your rate changes.

According to BankFox founder Josh Schanker, "Even people who think they know their rate are often surprised when they discover what they're actually earning."

Last week, Microsoft announced that it would no longer sell its semi-popular personal finance program Microsoft Money. The announcement no doubt brought fear to many Money users who have years, possibly decades, of financial information wrapped up in an encrypted and proprietary file.

While a situation like this would normally lead to a lot of angry customers, Intuit, the makers of Quicken have teamed up with Microsoft to offer Money users the ability to import their important data into Quicken.

Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York asked CitiBank, Wells Fargo and two smaller banks to freeze approximately $30 Million of funds in accounts owned from offshore poker sites such as PokerStars.net and FullTitlPoker.com.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 states that it is illegal for any bank or financial institution to process any credit card or bank payment to an online gambling site. However, the Poker Players Alliance, a group that defends the rights of poker players, argues that the banks do not have to abide by with this legislation until December 1, 2009.

A few weeks ago, the manager at my bank disappeared, replaced by a perky young woman who has mastered the concept of customer service. When I sidle up to the counter to deposit a check, she knows my name and seems very concerned that I'm getting the banking service I need.

She may be too good, or perhaps I've grown to be too accustomed to being ignored and under-appreciated because I've found her cheerfulness almost disconcerting. In any case, I can't help but wonder if she is part of the trend that The New York Times wrote about Monday, in which they noted that banks' advertisements are turning warmer and cozier.

The California Supreme Court ruled that banks can use cash from Social Security checks to cover overdraft fees incurred by their customers.

It seems perfectly logical: When people overdraw their checking accounts, any overdraft fees are paid out of checks that are deposited into the account. Why should Social Security checks be immune when other checks aren't?

The problem is that overdraft fees -- $15 for buying a 99-cent pack of Twinkies when you only had 82 cents in the account -- are complete and total garbage. Why the (expletive) should government money be used to line the coffers of the most incompetently-run organization in history, Bank of America? And even if government money should be used to unjustly feed these pigs cash, don't we already have a program for that? Yes, it's called TARP.

The bottom line is that people who are collecting Social Security and bouncing checks are, shockingly, likely to be among our most vulnerable citizens. No society with any kind of conscience would allow the one safety net we have in this country to be siphoned off to pay overdraft fees to banks that are receiving far, far more government help than these senior citizens could ever dream of. If the court found that it didn't have the authority to interpret the statute in question to explicitly ban the use of SS checks to pay overdraft fees, the legislature should move quickly to make the statue more explicit.

And one final point: Bank of America fought this thing all the way to California State Supreme Court in a battle that has lasted more than five years. Can you imagine how much cash BofA must be raping out of our elderly and economically-disadvantaged citizens?

In a crowded market of online budgeting applications, it's hard for a product to stand out, especially when the competition contains heavyweights like Wesabe, Mint and Rudder. But that's what Quicken Online does. Quicken separates itself from its competitors in two important areas; ease of use and a clear focus on those of us living paycheck to paycheck.

For new users, the ease of use is quickly apparent when it comes to linking your bank account with Quicken Online. While account linking is a standard feature of online budgeting tools, those who of us who bank at smaller institutions and credit unions have had to manually download account activity and then upload it in order to keep accounts up to date. Quicken has made it easier than ever to update your info. By working some magic on the back-end, it's able to link up to my credit union's online bank account with only a "captcha" to stand in the way; a great improvement from the upload practices at other budget tools.

A lot of people are having a tough time paying their taxes these days, but that's still not likely to generate much sympathy for the former Wachovia bank in Shoemakersville, Pennsylvania. After the branch -- the rural town's only bank -- closed last month, an enterprising local reporter started digging through public records and discovered that the property was sold at auction the previous September after the bank blew off its tax bills for two years.

Wachovia, a big player in the mortgage market before the credit crisis hit, had been on the rocks and was bought by San Francisco banking giant Wells Fargo last September. Wells Fargo took $25 billion in TARP bailout money from the government, yet the subprime scofflaw managed to avoid paying a comparatively measly $9,600 in back taxes.

In the coming years, many books will be written about the subprime fiasco -- most of them reported from the outside of the bubble looking in. If the authors look close enough, they might see Edmund L. Andrews staring back out at them.

It will be hard for any chronicle of the bubble to match the stomach-clenching verisimilitude of Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown, Andrews's account of his own mortgage disaster. Andrews (right), an economics reporter for the New York Times, was covering the market meltdown as a journalist -- and, to his dismay, living the meltdown at home. Turns out all the economic expertise in the world couldn't keep the subprime crisis from tearing apart his personal finances and his new marriage.

This week's carnival has a lot of great stories and tips in it, from sticking to your dreams after losing your job, eliminating overwhelming credit card debt, to making money in a lending club the smart and safe way. To host an upcoming carnival, check out Carnival of Money Stories' website. I enjoyed checking out these great sites and voices! Happy Memorial Day, everbody!
YourMoneyRelationship got a great travel deal on an all-inclusive exotic trip (a honeymoon) with the help of AAA.
BudgetsAreSexy shares a good tip for having will power to save: write a love letter to the stores you miss shopping in.
SpendingIt explains the three biggest opportunities to save money.
TheDigeratiLife shares a success story of how to pay off credit card debt.
TheSmarterWallet breaks down the YNAB Way--You Need A Budget Way, smart, new saving software.
TheHappyRock is brave enough to put a personal annual budget out there for all to see and give feedback on.
FreeFromBroke shares an anecdotal story of what to do if you find a fraudulent charge on your credit card bill.
AskMrCreditCard interviews Adam of Man vs Debt about eliminating his 80k credit card debt. Wowzer.
MoneyBlueBook does a thorough review of social network peer loans and borrowing. Not to be missed.
MyDollarPlan has an interesting post on the returns of being in a lending club and how not to get greedy with it.
Spend on Life says debit cards are better than spending on credit.
PrimeTimeMoney doesn't want you to think you're obsessing about money, but rather building security and value.
BillEater breaks down what your credit card knows about you and when do they know it.
DebtKid shares three life-changing personal finance and business books.
FireFinance reminds you that job jobs change but dreams don't--you can still achieve financial independence if you're laid-off.
LeaveDebtBehind shows you how to start a budget for your family.
CashMoneyLife puts the breaks on pursuing an MBA and explains why.
FineTunedFinances dishes on starting a health savings account.
AmericanConsumerNews shares a great service for becoming debt-free.
DebtFreeAdventure shares financial philosophies for creating wealth.
Bargaineering breaks down how secured credit cards work.
TheLucrativeInvestor has found some good job markets for grads.
FreeMoneyFinance has a great strategy for reacting to credit card companies become stingy with their bonuses and customer appreciation rewards.
DarwinsFinance shows you how to start an investment club.
BibleMoneyMatters shares a first-hand experience with the Making Home Affordable Refinance Program.
WebCareerGirl outlines important lessons when it comes to making money on the web.
LazyManAndMoney shares an entertaining story on why its important to have an emergency fund.
MoneyHelpforChristians will give you your first step in developing a personalized investing plan.
GoodFinancialCents shares smart money decisions for starting your career. (Every grad should read this!)
EnemyofDebt explains why knowing what to do about debt, sometimes, isn't enough.
FunnyAboutMoney breaks down working a manual labor job, like painting.
PassiveFamilyIncome discusses business ideas for financial freedom.