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Credit Scores Eyed After Sallie Mae Mishap
MSNBC.com | Friday, May 16, 2008
A mistake last week by student loan firm Sallie Mae temporarily wrecked the credit scores of a million loan holders, with some victims saying their scores had sunk 100 points or more. While the scores have since been fixed, the Sallie Mae mishap provides a startling look at the impact of credit scores, how fragile the credit-scoring business is and how severe the punishment can be for one credit-related error: a potential cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars to individual consumers. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news, credit

Affordable housing: Stopping the exodus
Santa Fe New Mexican | Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A new study by Homewise Inc., a nonprofit that has helped more than 1,200 low- and moderate-income people purchase homes, shows a migration of workers to more affordable communities is having a serious economic impact on Santa Fe. About 9,000 Santa Fe workers have moved outside the county, but continue to commute to their jobs. But they don't spend their money here. Homewise estimates the city loses more than $301 million annually, based on the calculation that these homeowners spend about 63 percent of their annual incomes where they live, not where they work. The study reports that in the last year alone, 640 workers moved outside the county, taking with them $21.4 million in annual spending. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns

City digs in on affordable housing as builders ratchet up opposition
Santa Fe New Mexican | Thursday, April 17, 2008
Mayor David Coss, three city councilors and other advocates of the city's inclusionary zoning met in a south-side home Thursday to celebrate two national awards for local efforts to encourage homeownership. ... The councilors applauded the program's national attention. It was named by the Harvard Innovations in American Government Awards as one of its 2008 Top 50 and was recognized with a $25,000 grant from the United States Conference of Mayors' Dollar Wi$e grant program for financial-literacy efforts. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns, Capacity Grants Program

Clues for the Clueless: The mortgage crisis may create momentum for improving our financial literacy. It's about time.
Newsweek | Monday, April 14, 2008
It is, or at least it should be, a simple question. You have $200 in an investment that's earning 10 percent a year. Assuming you let the money grow, how much would you have at the end of two years? If you answered $240, you've got plenty of company: in a 2004 survey of American adults, 34 percent gave that answer, which is incorrect, since it ignores the principle of compound interest. In fact, that $200 investment would earn $20 during year one and $22 in year two (on the larger balance). That totals $242—which only 18 percent of adults answered correctly. (The rest gave even worse incorrect answers or copped out.) While it may seem like a trivial exercise, research shows that people who can answer questions like these do better at planning for retirement, saving and managing their debts. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news

Kids will visit Federal Reserve
The Miami Herald | Sunday, April 13, 2008
The city of Doral is launching a financial education program called Dollar Wise to coincide with the observance of Financial Literacy Month that is observed annually in April as an initiative of the United States Conference of Mayors, the city announced. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns

In Boston, Residents Seek Face-to-Face Advice to Avoid Foreclosure
The New York Times | Sunday, March 30, 2008
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino organized a workshop intended to help the city’s homeowners avoid foreclosure. Representatives from five mortgage companies met with clients to try to restructure loans. The workshop also offered classes on homeownership, credit ratings and other financial topics, in addition to providing residents with access to foreclosure prevention counselors. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns

IRS to help insure reception of economic stimulus
News 14 Carolina [AP] | Tuesday, March 25, 2008
WASHINGTON | In order to get the economic stimulus payment coming out later this spring, you have to file a federal tax return.

The problem is, a lot of people don't, among them people whose income is either too low or not taxable.

To help them, the Internal Revenue Service will open hundreds of locations this Saturday to prepare the simple Form 1040A for people who are filing a return solely to get their stimulus payment. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news

IRS.gov | Economic Stimulus Payments Information Center
Internal Revenue Service | Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Starting in May, the Treasury will begin sending economic stimulus payments to more than 130 million households. To receive a payment, taxpayers must have a valid Social Security number, $3,000 of income and file a 2007 federal tax return. IRS will take care of the rest. Eligible people will receive up to $600 ($1,200 for married couples), and parents will receive an additional $300 for each eligible child younger than 17. Millions of retirees, disabled veterans and low-wage workers who usually are exempt from filing a tax return must do so this year in order to receive a stimulus payment.

But there are more details to know about and even a calculator to use. Find out more here and visit this page regularly for the latest updates. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news

Know Your Score: Tips on How to Improve Your Credit Score
CBS News | Monday, March 24, 2008
In times like these, a good score is more important than ever. Because of the ongoing credit crisis, lenders have pulled back. Whether you're looking for a mortgage, a credit card or a small business loan, the standards are now tougher. If you want to get the best rates, you need a great score. FICO scores range from 300 - 850 and you should shoot to have a score of 750 or higher. The good news is you can take steps to increase your score fairly quickly. Step number one is to know where you stand and you can pull your score at myFico.com. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news, credit

Credit Scores 102: A Crisis, and Some Changes
MSNBC.com | Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Having taken a look at what credit scores are -- and what they aren't – in Friday’s column, we’re ready to look at how they came to be used for purposes for which they were never intended and how they gave birth to a cottage industry aimed at manipulating them. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news, credit

Credit Scores 101: What They Are -- and Aren't
MSNBC.com | Friday, March 14, 2008
If American consumers feel like they are back in school again, angling for a few more points and good grade, that’s no accident. The aggressive marketing of three-digit credit scores has practically turned a high figure into a status symbol – but it’s so much more than that. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news, credit

From Foreclosure Signs to Auto Repo Lots: Easy Credit Gives Way to High Consumer Debt and Defaults
The Washington Post | Monday, February 18, 2008
A growing number of Americans are buckling under the weight of debt as the troubles that started among homeowners with subprime mortgages last year spread to other consumers who rely on credit. Auto loan borrowers are having an especially hard time. The number of people more than 60 days late on their car payments has spiked to a 10-year high, according to Fitch Ratings. ...[continued]
Labels: consumer news, credit

OnTrack gets $14,000 check for financial classes
Asheville Citizen-Times | Wednesday, February 13, 2008
ASHEVILLE – More working families might get workshops to better manage their money and counseling to fend off foreclosures on their homes, thanks to new office additions and a $14,000 prize to OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns

USCM issues Dollar Wise grants
American City & County | Friday, February 01, 2008
Santa Fe, N.M.; Caguas, Puerto Rico; and Jackson, Miss., have received grants for financial literacy programs from the Washington-based U.S. Conference of Mayors’ (USCM) Dollar Wise program. The programs in each city educate residents on personal money management, and the Dollar Wise program supports such programs nationwide. ...[continued]
Labels: Capacity Grants

Hare Argues For a 90 Day Foreclosure Freeze
Foreclosure Dataonline | Friday, February 01, 2008
US Rep. Phil Hare has proposed that a 90 day freeze on foreclosure proceedings are introduced to assist people to have the time to try and avoid the foreclosure. He believes that during these 90 days the borrowers may be able to refinance or find another method to save their homes or investments. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns

Around the Islands: Tudela lauded for Dollar Wise campaign
Marianas Variety | Friday, February 01, 2008
Saipan Mayor Juan B. Tudela was recently recognized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in its 2007 Dollar Wise Partnerships magazine for his effort in promoting the island campaign that focused on the cash management symposium held last year in observance of Dollar Wise Week. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns

Mayors Encourage Financial Literacy
PR Newswire | Friday, February 01, 2008
The United States Conference of Mayors Awards Dollar Wi$e Capacity Grants For Improving Financial Literacy: Caguas, PR; Jackson, MS; and Santa Fe, NM are Winners ...[continued]
Labels: Capacity Grants

Hare seeks foreclosure freeze
Quad-City Times | Wednesday, January 23, 2008
U.S. Rep. Phil Hare, D-Ill., wants to see a 90-day freeze on foreclosure proceedings in an effort to help people hang onto their homes. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin Meets with High-School Students to Discuss College Plans
U.S. Mayor | Monday, January 14, 2008
College advice from a trusted advisor can be invaluable to high-school students planning their future—especially when that advice comes from Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. And that’s exactly what more than 150 Atlanta high-school students got at the Mayor’s Youth Program Saturday Session, December 15, 2007. ...[continued]
Labels: local campaigns, U.S. Mayor articles