-
No-Interest Loan for Deferred Action
It sounds like a dream come true. And in a way it is. Thanks to an anonymous donor the NYC DREAMer Loan Fund can help you pay the $465 fee for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA). The fund is administered through the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), which is working with community groups. The community groups will provide free screening assistance and help you fill out the application. Once that’s done, they’ll send you to NEDAP, which will connect you with either the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union (BrooklynCoop), or the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit…
-
Why Veterans Should Avoid For Profit Colleges
There is good reason why veterans should avoid for-profit-colleges. Very simply, the cost can eat up all of of your G.I. Benefits Sam Oakford works for NEDAP, a consumer counseling and economic advocacy group. He talks to veterans all of the time who find that they are in financial trouble because they used their G.I. Benefits and borrowed money to pay for an education at a for-profit college or trade school. Most find they have worthless educations and owe a great deal of money. Sam offers an important warning. Also see our video about Payday and Auto Title Loans
-
HOW TO APPLY FOR DEFERRED ACTION
Immigration attorney Ryan Muennich walks you through the application process for the U.S. Deferred Action Program for Childhood Arrivals program. He says in many cases you don’t need to pay a lawyer to fill out the paperwork for. Ryan also warns that you must follow all of the rules after you make yourself known to immigration authorities. That means you have to update them about where you live. Deferred Action. You only need to get legal assistance from a qualified immigration attorney if you have a problem. Ryan tells you the circumstances in which you do need help in Dream Act Immigrants- Apply Without a Lawyer….
-
HOW DO I REFINANCE MY MORTGAGE
You’ve read about it. You’ve heard about it. Mortgage loan rates are extremely low. And that’s why bankers will tell you it’s a great time to think about refinancing to lower your monthly mortgage payment. But before you take the leap, figure out if refinancing is worth it for you. Refinancing is great only if the fees you pay to get the new mortgage don’t exceed the amount you’ll save and don’t add to your mortgage debt. The cost is often surprising. KEEP FEES LOW Treat this like a business deal. You want to keep the fees low and try…
-
HOW TO PAY DOWN YOUR STUDENT LOAN
Matthew Vann investigates the best way to pay off a student loan. He comes up with a solution that’s not too painful. The average student loan debts is more than $23,000, and most people wait until after they graduate to begin to think about paying it off. But reporter Matthew Vann discovered that the longer you wait to start to pay down the loan, the more you’ll pay. Let’s say you take out a graduate Stafford Loan for $20,000. $20,000 STAFFORD LOAN 6.8% INTEREST PAY WHILE STILL IN SCHOOL-$113.00 A MONTH PAY AFTER YOU GRADUATE -+$2,000 IN INTEREST= $230 So you…
-
No-Interest Loan for Deferred Action
May 8, 2013
-
Why Veterans Should Avoid For Profit Colleges
May 5, 2013
-
HOW TO APPLY FOR DEFERRED ACTION
Feb 17, 2013
-
HOW DO I REFINANCE MY MORTGAGE
Jan 6, 2013
-
HOW TO PAY DOWN YOUR STUDENT LOAN
Dec 11, 2012
FEATURED STORIES
3 Tips to Manage Credit Card Debt
Okay. There’s something you have to buy, but you don’t have the cash. That means you’ll load up your credit card. You can make the payments, but can’t pay off the bill at the end of the month. Does this automatically ruin your credit rating? It doesn’t have to. We found an simple, honest strategy and explain it here in our 3 Tips to Manage Credit Card Debt video.
Choosing Power of Attorney Tips
There are a few important things to consider if you or someone you know is thinking about choosing a person to act as a power of attorney. Sylvia DiPietro is an estate and elder care lawyer. She is also a professor at Brooklyn Law School. She’s helped many who made mistakes and picked the wrong person and were harmed by their bad judgement and actions. This video, “Choosing Power of Attorney-Tips,” gives you the “Do’s and Don’ts” and provides the information that you need to make a good decision and protect yourself. Watch key steps to plan retirement, when to…
How to Improve My Credit-The Truth
The good news is that you can improve your credit. Start by examining your credit report. A credit report shows your bill paying history and what you owe. And its important to check it to make sure that everything is accurate and up-to-date. A lot of companies advertise on TV, radio and the Internet that they can fix your credit for a fee. Don’t believe them. You can get a free credit report three times a year at annualcreditreport.com This is a collaboration from the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. If a company that advertises on the Internet suggests that…
55 PLUS NEWS
Taking Care of An Elderly Parent
More than 43 million Americans take care of someone over 50 according to the Family Caregiver Alliance. It’s a difficult job. I know it because I took care of my mom who died at 95-years-old recently, and I still take care of an elderly cousin. And like me, most care caregivers are women. Gerontologist Faye Radding with the Met Life Mature Market Institute says their surveys show who carries the burden, “We know the average caregiver is 44, likely to be a woman, likely to be employed and likely to be a caregiver for four years. Caregiving is a special…
Advocate for My Mom
by Mary Russo My mother lived with my husband Dan and me for eight years before she left this world. It was a privilege to have her with us and I could write a book about the wonderful experience. But I also remember the challenges, especially the medical problems that required me to step in and become her advocate. She was 89 and all seemed just fine, until she had a mild heart attack. During her recovery, her lungs repeatedly filled with fluid. Mom’s regular doctor was not…
When to Choose Assisted Living
Sometimes events make choices for us. Superstorm Sandy devastated thousands of homes and caused many on Long Island and New Jersey to think about assisted living for the first time. According to the Associated Press, there’s an increase in the number of people who are seeking safe homes in assisted living facilities Our video describes what you need to know and do when you make this choice. My family knows a great deal about these choices. Most recently, the storm uprooted my uncle and aunt. In Babylon, my Uncle Murray and Aunt Phyllis’s home of more than fifty years…
Surprising Number of Elderly Live in Poverty
It is surprising, even shocking to learn that between 9 to 15 percent of elderly Americans live in poverty. The recent debate about requiring Medicare recipients to pay more for medical care and the discussion about reducing Social Security’s cost of living adjustment provoked the Kaiser Family Foundation to do some research. It investigated where poor people over 65 live. New poverty rate It also considered a new formula created by the Census Bureau for determining the poverty rate of seniors. In 2011, the Census began to calculate poverty of the elderly by including actual expenses like medical care. The bureaucrats…
Join Our Conversation
Click the Photo to Ask Barbara
I won 22 Emmy Awards and now I'm here to work for you. Take advantage and ask a question.
CONSUMER NEWS
Crackdown on Telemarketers
Telemarketing scams get quick access to consumers’ money by going directly to their bank accounts. Now the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants to end that practice. It has proposed new regulations that would stop the use of payment methods that con artists use to take advantage. New proposal Stop telemarketers from dipping directly into consumer bank accounts by using unsigned checks and “payment orders” that have been “remotely created.” The FTC says this is the way telemarketers debit your account without your permission Bar telemarketers from getting paid with traditional “cash-to-cash” money transfers, as well as “cash reload” mechanisms, that…
Robocaller Stopped
Federal investigators are nibbling away at the robocalling problem, taking out one company at a time. The latest robocaller stopped was actually an enabler for telemarketers. It used “voice broadcasting” and computers to send pre-recorded messages from telemarketers to our homes. But it won’t be doing that anymore thanks to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC settlement requires California-based CallFire and its parent SkyyConsulting, Inc.to stop making illegal robocalls. It charges that the company knew, or consciously avoided knowing, that their clients were violating the law. CallFire was also fined $75,000. Tell us your robocall story….
Spouses Get Credit Card Help
Spouses and partners will finally get credit for having access to their family’s income stream. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 16 million married Americans do not work outside the home, and anyone who is part of that statistic knows it’s hard, if not impossible, to get a credit card in their own name. Now stay-at-home spouses and partners can qualify for credit cards under the umbrella of the family breadwinner. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) first proposed this idea in the fall of 2012, and after…
