For all of my adult life, I have never been a fan of banks, loans, mortgages or any type of credit. I have always been the kind of person who looks in my mailbox, smiles when I see my paper check – and grins when I go to the check cashing facility and the cold hard cash is placed in my hand. When it comes time to pay bills, I happily write money orders, pay in person – or go to an authorized payment center. For close to 15 years I have done this and everyone I tell that to thinks I’m crazy.

But if you take a moment to look at the current state of the economy – do you still think I’m crazy?

Unfortunately for our country, my fears and woes about the banking and credit systems have been proven right. Our economy is worse off now then it was over fifty years ago. Major corporations like Wachovia, Washington Mutual and Bear Sterns are gone, Circuit City has just declared bankruptcy, our Government had to pass a $750 billion bailout in order to save our crumbling banking system – and millions of Americans are spending their last few nights in the home that they are about to lose.

If I had to lay blame on anyone and anything for the horrific financial situation this country is in – which by the way is causing ripples to economies over the world – I would blame the mortgage brokers and the banks themselves.

Let’s start with the mortgage brokers. Their job is to “sell” Americans eagerly awaiting the day when they can carry their spouse over the threshold of their new home a mortgage they will be able to afford. With fine print no bigger than those on the back of aspirin bottles, they promise “low rates” and “little to no interest” – when in reality, the mortgage brokers are “selling” these innocent soon-to-be homeowners a mortgage that they know for a fact that down the road – they will not be able to afford. Why you ask? One word – commission. Whether the house goes into default or not, whether the homeowners are tossed out on the street – or whether the homeowners watch with tears streaming down their faces as people bid on what was once the home of their dreams – the mortgage brokers count the dollar bills they made off of that family like sheep as they sleep like babies.

Amazing.

Now on to the banks. When I was about 10 years old, my mother took me to the Dime Savings Bank on Avenue J and Coney Island Avenue because she had to make a transaction. You see, it was the day the interest came in – and back then – it was 16%. My mother not only collected the interest on her account – but had a choice of a free gift – such as a toaster, walkman or radio. These days, you are lucky if a bank offers you even 1% – but that’s not why they are responsible for this mess. The reason they are is because thanks to the aforementioned mortgage brokers – the banks are losing money on the mortgages they gave to homeowners like water. So where are they going to be able to redeem their lost revenue? Two words – bank fees. Think about it, banks have tens of millions of dollars pouring out of their portfolios – and hundreds of millions of dollars sitting in the bank accounts of their trusting and innocent customers. So, if they pull a check fee here, an ATM surcharge there and a “miscellaneous fee” here (by the way – those actually exist) out of each person’s account – they begin to recoup their losses – all the while pulling hapless Americans deeper and deeper into debt.

Incredible.

This is why I live in a world of paper money and a secret hiding place in my house as my financial institution. I have friends of mine that have lost over $100,000 in the stock market in the last three months alone. I know people that have defaulted on their loans and credit cards – and I even know some whose banks have literally stolen hundreds of dollars in fees from them. If you are like me and live the way I do, then you are just as safe from this financial nuclear weapon as I am. But if you are one of the poor saps who has watched your interest rates go up, your credit cards cut in half, your house foreclosed on or you, or your checking accounts overdrawn – all I have to say is – sometimes, “I told you so” just doesn’t quite say it.

Take my advice – live off the grid.