... and before you apply for the dreaded payday loans with the 300% interest rate, have you considered borrowing from "people" instead? Maybe you don't know anyone who can lend you money- or you're too embarassed to ask someone you know for help- but there is a community of people who lend money to people like you (and me! I used prosper to finance my trip to Australia!)

Right now, I have a checking and savings account at Ingdirect.com for personal use; and a joint checking account at Bank of America with a partner on a business project. I love my ing direct accounts... I can electronically write checks and Ing Direct will print & mail them (and at no additional cost to me!), and I can send money to people and it works exactly like a direct deposit into their accounts (you just need their account number and routing number).

There are however five future proofing financial steps that we can take to protect our current financial status, improve our future financial prospects and secure our long-term financial success.