The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has staff and other resources that can answer questions about deposit insurance and banking and can help resolve questions or complaints involving an individual institution.

Start at www.fdic.gov/quicklinks/consumers.html or call toll-free 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342). FDIC publications, including our quarterly FDIC Consumer News and articles referred to in this special guide, are available at that same Web site and telephone number (select the option for "FDIC publications").

You can also e-mail us using the Customer Assistance Form at www2.fdic.gov/starsmail or send a letter to the FDIC, Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, 550 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20429-9990.

Other federal regulators of financial institutions publish consumer information and have staff, Web sites and other resources that can help answer questions on financial matters. Start at www.mymoney.gov, the federal government's central Web site about managing your money. It is a service of the interagency Financial Literacy and Education Commission, of which the FDIC is a partner.

Other federal, state and local government agencies publish consumer information, offer financial education classes and help answer questions on money matters.

For more help from the U.S. government, start at www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Money_Taxes.shtml or call toll-free 1-800-FEDINFO (1-800-333-4636). Also check out the financial information and programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Cooperative Extension System (go to www.csrees.usda.gov/financialsecurity). One of Cooperative Extension's projects is an interactive Web site featuring answers to more than 1,100 frequently asked questions on personal finance and the opportunity to "ask an expert" from a university (www.extension.org/personal+finance).

You can also find additional information at your state or local government's Web site or by calling a consumer affairs office listed in the government pages of your phone book.

Financial institutions, consumer organizations and the news media publish personal finance tips you can find by searching the Internet.