I saw an interesting report this weekend on how truly predatory some of our bank's overdraft fee policies are. Of course no one likes them, but one (slightly strange-looking) guy decided to fight back. He asked none other than perennial Green Party presidential candidate and consumer advocate Ralph Nader what he should do.

Nader offers some good advice and the guy ends up getting his money back. Turns out if we all did this, the banks would flip their shit. Or eventually, simply hire more lawyers to defend themselves. But for now here's a way you can 'beat the bank':

With the average debt in the United States rapidly rising, many individuals are looking for a better way to manage their bank accounts, credit cards, savings and investments. While there are lots of software solutions available, cutting edge Web 2.0 technology has given rise to many new money management tools and services that make keeping track of personal finances easy. However, don't let all the jargon make choosing between these tools difficult.

If you have never used a Web 2.0 money management tool or service, don't miss out on all the advantages they offer. Here's a monster list of 18 of the top Web 2.0 finance services currently available. This list covers new sites offering services in a variety of specialized fields ranging from online banking, personal finance, investing, business tools, shared bills and housing prices. Be sure to fully investigate all the features and security details on a site before signing your life away and deciding which one best fits your needs. Or you can just choose the site with the coolest logo, always a fundamentally sound means of selection.

Enjoy, and let us know what you thought of your experiences with these sites.

ONLINE BANKING/PERSONAL FINANCE

1. DimeTracker

DimeTracker is an easy to use tool that is perfect for keeping track of everyday expenses. If you are a person that constantly makes small purchases that land you in hot water when you fail to include in your check book this program is for you. DimeTracker is 100% free to use and has a mobile feature which can be used on the go. Use DimeTracker to keep tabs on spending at fast food restaurants, last minute grocery store visits, and other small expenses.

I know what you're saying -- 'when would you ever want to make an investing mistake?'. Well, the truth is some honest advice is more difficult to process and stick to in times of market peril.

It's like that time you were in a bit of 'drought' and when you were just about to go for some boob grabbage on that hot chick at your dorm, you puked on her shirt and ruined the whole deal. Disaster.

Bankrate.com, a solid and objective personal finance/investing site, has got you covered on the investing advice, but nothing to report on 'stealing 2nd base' tips unfortunately. They put together a good list of 6 Deadly Investing Mistakes you can make in this market. Although none of them are literally 'deadly', it is a pretty badass-sounding title.

Of course, a lot of this might be common sense, but trying to explain anything stock market/investing related with 'common sense' has always been an uphill battle.

We've given Bankrate's 6 Biggest Mistakes some thought:

1. Panicking over market fluctuations - Dude, chill out. Don't go thinking this 'recession' is really the Depression. You won't be living in Hooverville anytime soon. I assure you.

Impulse buying is hands down the best way to waste your expendable income. And in this hard-fought consumer-led recession period, every dollar counts.

One family decided enough was enough and diced up 8 of their 9 credit and debit cards. They left the last one literally frozen in a cup of ice in case of emergencies.

Switching to the slow paced cash-only mentality was difficult for the Farhat family profiled by ABC News.com, but it eventually saved them $1,800 in one month.

The cash technique puts an added level of thought to your day-to-day purchases. If you're too lazy to go to the ATM and painfully withdraw money while watching your account level fall, then maybe you shouldn't be using a debit card so much to begin with.

I'm not sure this technique would work too well for the young single guys out there. No online gambling or online spending at all? Bummer. But think of all the good ways to spend those singles at the local strip club and elsewhere.

It's back to school time out there for all you bright-eyed, young business leaders of tomorrow. Ughh, those first few days after Labor day are the college equivalent of those cold winter Monday mornings. It's harsh.

But Bank of America is trying to make things as easy and as lame as possible for your finances this semester. They've got this new site feature with a wacky/hip college guy named Morris teaching us all the valuable lessons of helpful banking services and how we can use them with a Bank of America account.

I've watched a few of the episodes on the site and it seems like Morris is painfully out of touch with legit college problems. The dude is supposed to be an upperclassman but he has a 1950s-era 'State' pennant hanging on what appears to be his dorm room wall? Come on bro, man up and move off-campus to avoid the noise violations and puritanical drinking restrictions.

Also, as AdFreak points out, Morris appears to be stone cold sober in all of his little introductions. Even his 'Spring Break' segment has him drinking a large fruity drink labeled 'Non-Alcoholic'. Get real, Morris.

As for the financial advice - it seems like Bank of America is trying to do too much. Under their 'college tips' advice index the sage wisdom is filed under Financial Advice, Dorm Room, Random, Classes, Food. What, no 'Sex' advice? No cross promotional thing with Trojan? Opportunity lost.

The classes, food, and dorm room stuff is all very typical and obvious. Sounds verbatim like all the paperwork and colorful posters hanging on your RA's door. But let's take a look at the financial tips they offer:

The new "most baller" way to give presents is to wrap them in sheets of real US currency.

That's exactly what Edwina Rogers, wife of famed Washington lobbyist Ed Rogers, does for all her 'small thank you gifts'. I kid you not. The woman purchases sheets of 32 $1 bills for $55 from the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing's 'moneyfactory' website, and then proceeds to mutilate, cut, and tape the legal tender for the purposes of giving a cute gift.

Although this video is part of a terrible video series that resembles "MTV's Cribs for Washington's most influential players" aka 'The Lamest Episode Of Cribs Imaginable', it is worth watching the first 2 minutes to see this insane 'gift wrapping' in action: [further analysis after the jump]

Your bank charging an overdraft fee is similar to you getting punched in the stomach, then getting robbed. It's something you didn't really want to begin with, but afterwards you're even worse off.

Everyone loves their debit cards, but if you're a broke college student or a dude living paycheck to paycheck, you have to be careful with these overdraft charges.

There is hope, though. Carmen Wong Ulrich, CNBC's new personal finance show host, interviewed a bank fees expert yesterday. I was really surprised at all the different ways banks are able to swindle you out of some extra cash. Luckily, there were some simple solutions to each of these ripoffs. Here's 4 that will really help you out:

1.) "Courtesy" Overdraft - This is the one where you buy something using a debit card, but you don't have enough in your account to cover the purchase. Rather than denying the charge, the bank will gladly pay it for you, and then charge you anywhere upwards of $40 for that 'courtesy' afterwards.

Solution - Luckily, you can just tell your bank to set your 'overdraw amount' to zero and deny your card anytime your account can't cover it. Throw in a nice "F*@# off" for good measure.

These days, crazy threesome-ing college students can spend between $700 to $1500 a semester on textbooks. Seems like a lot of cash to spend on an Organic Chemistry book that (despite having an awesome picture of a skier or snowboarder on the cover) is the least fun thing in the world to read.

Here's a few money saving suggestions that should provide a boost to that Smirnoff Ice fund of yours (you pussy):

1. eTextbooks - They are all the rave now, many times they are literally 50% cheaper than their Johannes Gutenberg-style counterparts. Check out websites like CourseSmart to find out if potential book list money drainers are available on the interwebs.

Can knowing what the masses are thinking really help make you more money? Piqqem.com believes this technique is the best way to make informed investment decisions. It's kind of like mob mentality meets web 2.0, only with a lot less lynchings and burnings at the stake.

This interesting new web startup from Silicon Valley is now in public beta with an easy free signup. The focus of the site is on providing potential traders with added collective insight. In addition to predicting and seeing predictions for popular and unpopular stocks, the site also features a financial wiki for each equity, email alerts, user rankings and custom created indices.

The wiki entries for public companies are surprisingly thorough and offer a lot of extra background information not given within CNBC or Yahoo Finance's little blurbs. For instance, Best Buy was originally called 'Sound of Music' in the 60s? Weird. Then again, these are wikis, so take any of the info with a grain of salt. (further analysis and screengrabs after the jump):

MSN Money has an interesting feature story on why Americans love to buy crappy stuff. Of course, it's good to be thirfty and frugal sometimes, especially if you lost your job and your gas tank costs $80 to fill, but there are some things that just aren't worth the savings.

The article points out a few useful tips on things you should spend more money on to get quality merchandise (splurge) or buy cheaply for the savings (skimp). Here's a sampling:

Mattress: SPLURGE. You sit, sleep and God knows what else on this item. Get a good one.

Men's dress shirt: SKIMP. If your suit is well-tailored and the tie spectacular, the shirt will be an afterthought.

Chef's knife: SPLURGE. One 8-inch chef's knife is all you need.

Overcoat: SPLURGE. First impressions mean a lot.

Accent chair: SKIMP. If it's cool and rarely supports a rear, quality can come after design.

Table linens: SKIMP. Choose inexpensive table cloths and napkins to keep your tabletop trendy.

As I'm sure many of you could care less about 'table linens' and crap, I've decided to add to that list. Here's a few starter notes on guy-centric splurging that is definitely necessary: