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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…
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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
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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….
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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…
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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…
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No Interest Loan for Deferred Action
May 8, 2013
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Why Veterans Should Avoid For Profit Colleges
May 5, 2013
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HOW TO APPLY FOR DEFERRED ACTION
Feb 17, 2013
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HOW DO I REFINANCE MY MORTGAGE
Jan 6, 2013
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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.
Elizabeth Warren Proposes Student Loan Reform
Senator Elizabeth Warren introduced her first bill today and it’s aimed at helping students burdened by debt. The Massachusetts Democrat says, “We shouldn’t be profiting on our students who are drowning in debt.” She proposes lowering the rate on subsidized federal student loans for one year to .75 percent. That’s the same rate big banks pay to borrow money from the Federal Reserve Board. The current rate of 3.4 percent is set to go up to 6.8 percent on July 1 unless Congress does something. She also suggests the one-year rate drop should be followed up by long-term reform. Watch…
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…
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…
Don’t Spill the Salt
by Barbara Nevins Taylor While I was at an outdoor cafe eating breakfast, I overheard a dad talking to his daughter who was maybe four years old. He said, “Don’t ever spill the salt.” She asked, ”Why?” He replied, “It’s very unlucky.” Suddenly, I remembered swirling on a swivel seat in a diner, playing with the salt shaker, when I was about the same age. And I heard my mom’s voice say, “Sit still, and don’t play with the salt. It’ll spill and that’s unlucky.” It’s funny how these superstitions taught in childhood stay with us. I’m still careful not…
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55 PLUS NEWS
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…
Fraud Warning For Baby Boomers
We have a lot to forward to and unfortunately much to look out for. The Federal Trade Commission‘s (FTC) Acting Director Charles Harwood told a congressional committee the FTC forecasts that scams aimed at baby boomers are an “emerging trend.” And his testimony can serve as an early fraud warning for baby boomers. Healthcare Scams The FTC expects to see more and more frauds involving health care, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and changes in Medicare that may confuse some people. Typically, bad actors pounce on any change in Medicare and…
Missing My Mom
by Barbara Nevins Taylor Julie Segal, my mom, died at 95 about nine months ago. I woke up this morning and had no where to go but the gym. I miss the Mother’s Day visit and all that went with it. I miss my mother. Our relationship was complicated. I adored her at the beginning of my life. She taught me everything that was important: how to be a good person, how to read, how to ride a bike, how to roller skate, how to jump rope, how to throw a ball. She was steadfast and tried to stop me from…
