I mentor a child for a volunteer program. One day his mother started asking me about which bank I like and which was the safest. I tried to explain FDIC insuran

I mentor a child for a volunteer program. One day his mother started asking me about which bank I like and which was the safest. I tried to explain FDIC insurance and how some banks offer ATM reimbursements and free checking. The mother was probably never exposed to banking services and may be suspicious of things like free checking. Just the fact that the mother was primarily concerned about safety is telling. I remember my father taking me to open up my first checking account at a young age. Some people never get that. I also remember reading a profile some time ago about pay-day lenders (can't find the link but I think I saw it on HN). The profile actually brought up how the employees working at the pay-day lenders often times have a very personal relationship with customers. It makes sense since a lot of the same people are going back weekly. The terms are often very misleading if you're unfamiliar with concepts like APR and the market price for these types of services. I am always interested when I see the ATM receipts left from those sketchy ATMs. More often that not, I see a $2-3 fee for a $20-$40 withdraw. I imagine people the people paying these fees think of it like a fixed fee and don't put it in context of percentage. Same holds true for pay-day lenders. Interesting article about someone who, although economically disadvantaged, is able to be financially savvy. http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/15/130595403/living-at-the-poverty-line http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/10/15/130595403/living-a...