Thursday, December 11, 2008

IVA - Government Legislation Designed to Help You

IVA, Government Legislation can help those who are struggling with UK personal debt problems. Those who are struggling with debts over £12,000 may find that an IVA can help them to deal with their debts, without having to face the prospect of bankruptcy.

IVA stands for Individual Voluntary Arrangement, and was introduced as part of the 1986 Insolvency Act. This form of IVA government legislation can be seen as a more practical alternative to bankruptcy.

An IVA is the only debt solution, besides bankruptcy, which allows a certain amount of debt write-off. It means that you can avoid long term implications which are usually associated with bankruptcy. This includes the hindering of future career prospects and the loss of high-value assets, such as your home or your vehicle.

If you are accepted for an IVA, then you will find additional benefits. You only make payments to your creditors for an average period of 60 months. These payments will be based on what you can afford to pay.

IVA's are legally binding to both the debtor and their creditors. This means that, as long as you make the payments to your IVA, your creditors cannot continue to chase you for this debt. In fact, they will not be allowed to contact you at all.

Once you have completed your IVA, you can be debt Free with the help of this IVA Government legislation. After all payments have been made to your IVA, any unpaid debt will be written off and you will become debt free!

Monday, November 17, 2008

Government Help For Foreclosures

Foreclosures are the biggest financial problems in U.S. and have led the real estate market to crash badly while raising questions on the liquidity scenario in the economy. The banks initiate the foreclosure when the borrower is not able to pay the monthly installments. The banks in order to escape the NPA's, auctions the property for recovering the loan. This abrupt sale by the banks leads to reduced property prices in the market as the banks is initiating an immediate sale and the purpose behind sale is recovery of outstanding amount. The bank is not concerned with the market price of the property. This is the worst for any real estate.

As a result of the above problems, Government of U.S. has started working on methods to stop these increasing foreclosures.

Foreclosure destroy the Homeowner

Foreclosure is a serious problem for any homeowner and the same destroys the homeowner financially. There could be various reasons for a foreclosure which may be divorce, unemployment, interest rate hike, bankruptcy or death of the borrower. The homeowner who comes under foreclosure is deemed financially unfit for several years and the bad credit record does not allow any other institution to lend credit to him. The borrower has to immediately the house which makes him lose his shelter. The impact of foreclosure on homeowners affects their personal, financial and social life.

Steps taken by Government

The U.S. government is working on several methods to stop this increasing financial devil. The following are:

1. Bulk Auction Sale: This facility is provided by the government authorities to private lenders and banks to sell off their NPA to the government and recover their loan amount. The government authorities shall support the homeowners for some period to make them come back on payment cycle.


2. Providing protection to lending companies: The government is working on methods to provide cover to the lender in case of a lawsuit filed by the borrower which is the main reason why banks initiate foreclosures.


3. Freezing Interest Rates: The government is trying to freeze housing rates where the loan amount will not be increased and the installment shall be same for coming years which will not disturb the payment capacity.


4. Starting Research groups: The government has setup certain authorities which will be led by experts of finance to understand the problems faced by borrowers and work on solutions for them.


5. Control on Lending institutions: The government is planning take control of lending institutions which can not forcefully initiate foreclosures and help the borrowers in repaying.

These steps by the government shall help in understanding the problem f borrowers and solving the same by working out methods. The government is working on checking the increasing rate of foreclosures and is planning methods to resolve issues with banks and borrowers which brings the borrowers on payment cycle.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Billions of dollars have been lost. Could some of it be yours?




Billions of dollars have been lost. Could some of it be yours?

NAUPA is the association of the state unclaimed property programs, but the databases are located and maintained by each state, not NAUPA. However, most states participate in MissingMoney and we suggest that you search there. You may also link to all state databases individually from this Web site by clicking on Find Property and then choosing each state from the map or drop-down box where you wish to search, then scroll down to see the contact information and Web site link.



Answers to Questions about Unclaimed Property



What is unclaimed property?

Unclaimed property (sometimes referred to as abandoned) refers to accounts in financial institutions and companies that have had no activity generated or contact with the owner for one year or a longer period. Common forms of unclaimed property include savings or checking accounts, stocks, uncashed dividends or payroll checks, refunds, traveler’s checks, trust distributions, unredeemed money orders or gift certificates (in some states), insurance payments or refunds and life insurance policies, annuities, certificates of deposit, customer overpayments, utility security deposits, mineral royalty payments, and contents of safe deposit boxes.



What happens to these accounts that have no activity?

Acting in the best interest of consumers, each state has enacted an unclaimed property statute that protects your funds from reverting back to the company if you have lost contact with them. These laws instruct companies to turn forgotten funds over to a state official who will then make a diligent effort to find you or your heirs. Most states hold lost funds until you are found, returning them to you at no cost or for a nominal handling fee upon filing a claim form and verification of your identity. Since it is impossible to store and maintain all of the contents that are turned over from safe deposit boxes, most states hold periodic auctions and hold the funds obtained from the sale of the items for the owner. Some states also sell stocks and bonds and return the proceeds to the owner in the same manner.



How do states try to return this money?

State unclaimed property programs publish names of owners in newspapers, set up displays at state fairs, malls, and other public events, work with other public officials such as legislators and local librarians, and make searchable databases available via the Internet. Unclaimed property officials welcome opportunities to speak to the media and other groups.
In 2006, over 1.9 million claims were paid to owners totaling at least $1.7 billion.

Unclaimed Funds

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) provides deposit insurance to financial institutions and depositors of these institutions. If a financial institution is closed, by a regulatory agency, the FDIC is appointed as Receiver and is responsible for the payment of insured deposits and the liquidation of the remaining assets. If you did not claim your funds previously you now have another opportunity to do so. Review the "How to claim your funds" section below and complete the attached form.

Why does FDIC have unclaimed funds?

When a failed financial institution (bank or savings and loan) with federal deposit insurance is liquidated, the FDIC resolution division is responsible for paying:

Unclaimed insured deposits up to $100,000
Dividends declared on excess deposits over the $100,000 insured amount
Dividends declared on general creditor claims
Funds distributed to the shareholders of the failed institution
In many instances these funds remain unclaimed because:

The insured deposit is never claimed from the assuming financial institution
The dividend check on the excess deposit amount is not cashed
The dividend check on the general creditor claim is not cashed
The check to the shareholder is not cashed
A valid address is not on file and the dividend check has been returned to the FDIC
What funds are available?

The database for this site contains unclaimed funds for either unclaimed insured deposits (for receiverships established between January 1, 1989 and June 28, 1993), or for dividend checks issued which were undeliverable or never cashed. As receiverships are terminated, under Federal Law 12 U.S.C., 1822(e); see also Pub. L. No. 103-44, section 2(b) unclaimed insured funds can no longer be claimed and data will be removed from the website. Dividends, however, for uninsured portions of a deposit might be claimed post termination if a dividend check was returned for a bad address.

How to search for funds:

Before doing searches on unclaimed funds, please read the FDIC's general disclaimer.

Search options are first name only, last name only, first and last name, business name, or official item check number. To narrow your search you may enter additional information; i.e., Failed Institution Name, OR City, OR State. After you have entered your search criteria, click on submit. The results for name searches will return with all matches to your character string. Then you may review the results to determine if the FDIC holds funds for you. If you find your name and believe FDIC may be holding your funds, please follow the instructions in the "How to claim your funds" section below.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Crisis Opportunities - Interim Management

Such dire climates we are in right now will show what type of manager will float and who will drown. Many will, and this is therefore the right period for interim management.

An interim manager may apply unpopular measures that are not allowed under normal circumstances. Interim managers often use a "harder" approach to the organization, whereas normal - nice weather managers - apply a softer approach.

This is normal because under normal circumstances you should care for your popularity as a manager. In a negative economic climate there is often less space for a white gloves approach. The focus in on controlling costs and employees are portrayed as such (costs) whether in prosperity they are "our most valuable assets."

Interim management is exactly that, interim. You do not want this approach to rule for ever. But a good excuse to take unpopular measures is better done by others. Although credibility is at stake. Even better would it be to be able to fall back on a risk-fund; every organization should have a plan for such circumstances. But reserving funds is against the idea of optimizing shareholder value.

I have met one interim manager once, who used the complete opposite of this approach. He had a very social attitude and he tried to change the organization from within, having faith in the potential of the employees. Many were impressed by his focus on details and his communication skills. Yet his change path took too long and made the shareholders nervous. Or not even that, they didn't care whether the organization could change. They had already decided to diminish the head-count.

That is one of the problems with interim managers, they are often hired to do a job, and a possible potential of employees is not the first focus. The interim manager has a short term focus and is guided by a simple execution policy of higher management or stakeholder.

Is the Wall Street Bailout Affecting Credit Card Applications?

Americans have never been so in sync with the American economy. In fact, as a nation, we have never been as educated as to how our economy works, our place in the global economy and how changes to within our country's lending institutions affect us, on a personal level. As this isn't an economics lesson, I won't bore or condescend you with the same information that has been drilled into your head for the past week and a half. What I'd for you to take from this article is the real time, real life impact that a fiscal meltdown will have on you and your personal, day to day finances. At the heart of your potential fiscal woes may very well be the inability to use your credit cards or obtain new ones or even extend credit. As things trickle down, banks are coming up with less and less money to offer out for credit; that immediately translates to less available credit card offers. While it's not clear that you'll get less of them in the mail this week, the approval process is a door that may be swinging one way for a while. In terms of risk, lenders are extremely afraid of taking new risk on to add to their current risk portfolios. In fact, there has even been talk of acquiring banks eliminating the available credit for existing customers. As this is just rumor at this point, this is a very real possibility that banks can enact. It's simple, if you multiplied the number of customers that an acquiring bank has by the available balances on their credit cards, you will have one hell of a risk for that lending institution. With a slow economy, high unemployment and winter as well as the holidays coming, the possibility that banks will incur more bad debt without even welcoming any new debt, is a reality.

The chances that we'll ever see a creditless society are seemingly non-existent; however, as credit tightens up, the available credit that individuals have at their disposal becomes less. This credit becomes redistributed as credit Americans begin to use credit for everyday needs and even to pay bills, versus convenience and luxury items. Merchants, especially ecommerce merchants will suffer in a slow market like this, as items purchased online tend to be more a want and less need based. To combat this type of thing from happening, the ecommerce and more specifically credit card processing industry has acted as they have acted before when there has been a fear of increases in government regulations or a change in policy, as well as an ever changing economic landscape. Lately, moves offshore to international lenders have proven to be successful, profitable and secure for merchants. Those are three words that came if only at a steep price to those same merchants by doing business domestically. For processors and merchant service providers, the ability to source the cheapest, safest and simplest transaction processing for their clients is an entire industry in itself. As we move forward, as our economy transitions into whatever it will be and as new challenges arise, for business owners and credit card holders, the ability to process monetary transactions electronically is an capability that we cannot afford to lose.

Last Bank Standing - The Wall Street Mega-Crash

Dateline Washington, October 19th (get it?) 2010: the Peoples Bank & Trust of America has now established itself as the only bank of any kind in the USA, totally owned and managed by the US House of Representatives.

A 2/3 majority must now approve all investment banking transactions; your district representative's staff reviews individual mortgage applications; and all 401(k), IRA, and remaining employer pension assets have been rolled into the Social Security Slush Fund.

Only federal and state elected officials are exempt from the 45% all purpose Income Tax. The estimated time to bring new companies public is 4.5 years; all individual account dividends and interest are paid directly into your IRS "grabber" account; CEO's salaries are limited to 50% of the amount paid to a first year congressman, and any government budget shortfalls are withdrawn from corporate earnings before any corporate obligations can be dealt with.

All employees receive the federal mandated minimum wage, except senior executives who are limited as mentioned above. Scary? This is a scenario that could play out if Congress (or the SEC) does not come to the rescue of the credit markets. You missed your opportunity to help stop it, but chances are a fix is on its way.

How many more businesses, jobs, and hopes will be killed by this irresponsible Congress? When will the average blogger realize that when a corporation fails, we all suffer? One would think that the informed and enlightened could take time out from their texting for a little research and education. Instead, they show their power by influencing public opinion numbers and the marshmallow politicians who worship them.

As economist Irwin Kellner and I have pointed out, this is no bailout and we are not nearly approaching a recession. Kellner's September 28th Market Watch article points out ten major differences between now and then: (1) In 1929, the DJIA plunged 40% in two months vs. around 30% in about a year.

(2) In 1933, the jobless rate was 33% vs. 6% today. (3) The GDP shrank 25% then, but has increased 6% now. (4) Consumer prices actually fell 30% then but haven't ever since. (5) Home prices dropped 30% then, but only 16% from the recent bubbly highs.

(6) 40% of all mortgages were in default then vs. only 4% now. (7) 9,000 banks failed in the 1930s compared with just 25 or so (bigger and broader based ones) recently. (8) The Federal Reserve reduced the money supply, (9) raised interest rates, and (10) raised taxes on foreign imports.

Further, Kellner points out, we now have automatic stabilizers, deposit insurances, and market trading restrictions as protective elements. Today's Congress however, has never been good at connecting dots, has accomplished nothing under an unpopular president, and is ignoring its role as the primary creative force in today's problems.

This transfusion is needed because: bad laws have obscured the values on financial institution balance sheets, and have created a clot in the credit arteries that keep the economy alive.

Educate yourselves on the Accounting Rule's that require institutions to book paying assets at pennies on the dollar. Find out why institutions are afraid to loan money to one another--- over night, at any rate of interest--- strangling the credit markets.

Doing nothing is killing jobs, killing companies, and deferring retirements for those who were counting on 401(k) and IRA dollars to provide them with income. Congress, of course has an old-fashioned pension plan, so it is unaffected by such financial realities.

Investigate the relaxation of lending standards that Congress orchestrated over the past few administrations, before blaming the companies that then extended credit to many speculators and other buyers who falsified application papers. Learn how the SEC was prohibited from regulating the CDOs and other multiple-leveraged credit market speculations. There are as many culprits outside the corporate executive suite as in it.

Congress is bursting with pride over bringing some of the Rich and Famous to their knees, and capping some of their obscene compensation arrangements at still shareholder pillaging levels. I've spoken often about how these salaries need to be controlled. But the multi-level-mortgage-marketing schemes that Congress encouraged must be unbundled somehow, and a buy out is the proper vehicle.

Congress has punished the entire world with its attack on Wall Street, and both parties are to blame. Representatives of the states listed below voted "no" to the credit transfusion, causing death and destruction that, in many instances, cannot be recouped. We have to replace them with better decision makers, representatives who can think in economic terms when they have to.

The number and letter code after the state designation indicates the number of representatives and their party: AL-1R, AK-1R, AZ-4D4R, CA-15D9R, CO-2D2R, CT-1D, FL-1D13R, GA-4D7R, HI-2D, ID-1R, IL-4D5R, IN-3D3R, IA-1D2R, KS-1D2R, KY-2D2R, LA-2D3R, ME-1D, MD-2D1R, MA-3D, MI-3D6R, MN-2D2R, MS-3D, MO-2D3R, MT-1R, NE-3R, NV-1D1R, NH-2D, NJ-3D4R, NM-1D1R, NY-3D1R, NC-3D5R, OH-3D7R, OK-3R, OR-3D, PA-3D7R, SC-1R, SD-1D, TN-1D4R, TX-8D14R, UT-1D1R, VT-1D, VA-1D5R, WA-1D3R, WV-1R, WI-1D2R (Names withheld, but available from the author.)

On Friday evening, candidates Obama and McCain gave their support to the Capital infusion, but neither bothered to explain why--- a huge audience was ready to soak up the information. Over the weekend, both attended meetings to support the plan and to generate support from their respective parties.

Is there enough time left to find a hero?

Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Real Sarah Palin Scandal

Labor Day brought us an ugly media feeding frenzy when it surfaced that Sarah Palin's teenage daughter is pregnant. But the real scandal for John McCain's V.P.-to-be is the flurry of stories that as a politician in Alaska, Palin had a voracious appetite for the very congressional earmarks and pork barrel spending that John McCain has made a signature issue of trying to stamp out.

As mayor of Wasilla, a suburb of Anchorage, Palin hired one of Alaska's most connected lobbying firms to secure almost $27 million in federal appropriations for her constituents, according to the Washington Post. Wasilla benefited mightily from Palin's decision: federal earmarks for $900,000 in municipal sewer repairs, $1.9 million for a local transportation hub, and $15 million for a rail link, among other pet projects. For a town of just 6,700 people, this amounted to thousands of dollars per resident in federal largess. And the lobbying firm, Robertson, Monagle, & Eastaugh, wasn't just any band of wannabe legislators. The firm is closely linked to Alaska's two most notorious pork barrel Republicans, Senator Ted Stevens and Representative Don Young (Stevens was indicted this summer for accepting and failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from VECO, a now-defunct oil services firm).

It gets worse. The McCain camp has made much of Palin's supposedly principled decision as governor to decline federal money to build the "Bridge to Nowhere," a national symbol of pork barrel spending run amok. In her speech accepting the position as McCain's running mate, Palin recalled: "I told Congress, 'Thanks, but no thanks,' on that bridge to nowhere....'If our state wanted a bridge,' I said, 'we'd build it ourselves.'"

Stirring stuff. But as USA Today reports, Palin was actually for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it. Campaigning for governor in 2006, Palin trumpeted her support for the $233 million bridge to reach an island of just 50 inhabitants. And displaying an unnerving understanding of how the dirty appropriations game is played, she even urged quick action to build the bridge while Alaska's congressional delegation (i.e., Stevens and Young) was well-positioned to secure the necessary federal tax dollars. Only when the bridge became a public relations debacle did Palin flip positions and declare that Alaska didn't need it after all.

We've been told by the McCain camp to overlook Palin's thin résumé because she's an insurgent pork-busting reformer in the mold of John McCain. We've been misled. Palin was looking for federal handouts just like every other self-interested politician that John McCain excoriates. Take that card away, and what does she really offer?

That's the real scandal about Sarah Palin.

Monday, September 15, 2008

State Back Taxes Settlement

Having an outstanding tax income and attempting to come to some kind of state back taxes settlement varies from each of the different fifty nifty. As a point of fact there are actually only 41 states that collect resident individual income taxes, 35 of which based their system on your returns from the federal government. Now what do you do when you have state owed taxes? The answer is essentially the same. All of the regular resources, specifically your tax professionals and the government that issued the taxes are your best bet to help settle the state taxes.

Of course to file state back taxes you need to locate or request copies of your tax information as well as the prior years state tax forms. Finding tax forms from your job (W-2, 1099) or jobs may require some digging but the website for your state will have information for its department of revenue detailing whether or not they have the forms online for print or efile. From the department of revenue find out what the deadlines are for the taxes and particularly what penalties can be incurred. The three year deadline to collect back taxes refund that the IRS practices is often in practice with the states. If you have state taxes owed that are getting ready to hit the expiration mark for refund eligibility, file that year first so you can capitalize on your refund. In the event that you are due a refund then there are no penalties owed. It is best to file all of your subsequent state taxes at the same time, however in different different packages so as to minimize opportunity for clerical error and to avoid the likelihood of an audit. If you should have both a refund and a debt and it is not automatically held, the former to pay the latter, by all means use the refund to pay off the debt as quickly as possible.

Should you have taxes owed that are coming up on their expiration date for refund collection it may even be in your best interest to take this return information to a tax professional to help you get all the appropriate exemptions and credits so you do not owe for that year. Every time you have state taxes with a refund then there are no penalties to draw on and the less you have to worry about paying. Each time you file on time, you want to be meticulous and try to get a refund or break even so that you don't incur any debt. A tax professional will also know all of the little nuances that are indicative to your state to help you get the most benefit of your returns. Even if your back taxes have past the point of collecting a refund, evidence that you would have earned a refund that year will keep you from owing. Paying your state taxes as timely as you can also decreases future penalties and interest that you will be charged by the state.

To find more solutions for problems with back taxes visit: State Back Taxes Help

BackTaxesHelp.com is a site dedicated to helping people settle state back taxes by providing all relevant information as well as connections with tax specialists.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Government Grant Program To Aid Minority Students

African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and other promising minority students intent on pursuing the agricultural field as a career option can attain their goals with a government grant.

Sadly, many minority Americans are finding it difficult to enhance their academic potential due to financial constraints. Fortunately, the government is exerting extra effort and allocating funds to enable bright, young minority students to fulfill their dreams. One such initiative is the Higher Education Multicultural Scholars Program that aims to assist promising students from marginalized backgrounds excel as agri-science or agri-business specialists. This minority grant provides much-needed student financial aid to undergraduate minority students funneled through colleges and universities that offer a variety of agricultural courses. In essence, this scholarship grant provides a valuable window of opportunity to diversify the work force in the field of food & agricultural science, forestry, natural resources and other related agricultural fields. More than $900,000 has been estimated to be earmarked for 2008 to benefit minority Americans, with grant funds ranging between $20,000 to up to $80,000 to be awarded.

Aside from education assistance, a typical grant search will yield thousands of sources of non-repayable grants that are awarded for virtually any worthwhile purpose. Citizens should take advantage of these funds to improve their present situation in the areas of housing, medical assistance, transportation, employment, and so much more. Millions of dollars of grant money is left unclaimed each year since many Americans are not aware of such or have no idea where to look. The Multicultural Scholars Program though is available that will greatly benefit poverty-stricken minority undergraduates seeking well-deserved professional careers.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Who Gives Away Free Money?

Government
The federal government gives out the most. To qualify, students and parents must fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. (FAFSA). Most federal grants, such as Pell grants, are awarded strictly on the basis of financial need. But some new programs, such as the Academic Competitiveness Grants and Smart Grants, are awarded to low-income students who also have good grades. State governments give out lots of money, too. Some states, such as Florida, New Mexico, and Tennessee give out grants solely based on grades. Others, such as California, give out money based on financial need and grades.

Government Can Help You Buy a 'Fixer-Upper' Home

You want to buy a house that needs repairs -- a "fixer-upper." Unfortunately, you cannot borrow the money to buy the house, because the bank won't make the loan until the repairs are done, and the repairs cannot be done until the house has been purchased. Can you say "Catch-22?" Don't give up. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has a loan program that might just get you that house.
HUD's 203(k) program can help you with this quagmire and allow you to purchase or refinance a property plus include in the loan the cost of making the repairs and improvements. The FHA insured 203(k) loan is provided through approved mortgage lenders nationwide. It is available to persons wanting to occupy the home.

The downpayment requirement for an owner-occupant (or a nonprofit organization or government agency) is approximately 3 percent of the acquisition and repair costs of the property.

The HUD 203(k) loan involves the following steps:


A potential homebuyer locates a fixer-upper and executes a sales contract after doing a feasibility analysis of the property with their Realtor. The contract should state that the buyer is seeking a 203(k) loan and that the contract is contingent on loan approval based on additional required repairs by the FHA or the lender.

The homebuyer then selects an FHA-approved 203(k) lender and arranges for a detailed proposal showing the scope of work to be done, including a detailed cost estimate on each repair or improvement of the project.

The appraisal is performed to determine the value of the property after renovation.

If the borrower passes the lender's credit-worthiness test, the loan closes for an amount that will cover the purchase or refinance cost of the property, the remodeling costs and the allowable closing costs. The amount of the loan will also include a contingency reserve of 10% to 20% of the total remodeling costs and is used to cover any extra work not included in the original proposal.

At closing, the seller of the property is paid off and the remaining funds are put in an escrow account to pay for the repairs and improvements during the rehabilitation period.

The mortgage payments and remodeling begin after the loan closes. The borrower can decide to have up to six mortgage payments (PITI) put into the cost of rehabilitation if the property is not going to be occupied during construction, but it cannot exceed the length of time it is estimated to complete the rehab.

Escrowed funds are released to the contractor during construction through a series of draw requests for completed work. To ensure completion of the job, 10% of each draw is held back; this money is paid after the lender determines their will be no liens on the property.
For a list of lenders who are offering the 203(k) Rehabilitation Program, please see HUD's 203(k) Lenders List. The interest rate and discount points on the loan are negotiable between the borrower and the lender.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Government Grants Can Help You Consolidate Debt

If you have found yourself in a situation were you are having trouble paying your monthly credit card bills then you should look into the many options that are available to you so that you can consolidate your debt. A Government Grant can be a great way to get help with eliminating your debt so that you do not have to have the added stress of credit card bills.

It is hard now for many people to keep up with the increasing price of food and gas so many of us have used our credit cards to purchase those things that we need. The major issue with using your credit card to purchase items we can not really afford is that when it comes time to pay those credit cards we find that our incomes have not increased at the same rate as the things we are purchasing have and it makes it hard to pay those credit card bills.

Getting a Government Grant to pay off those bills can be a great option for you because every year there is grant money that is available that goes unused. You need to know were and how to apply for this money because it is important to get out of debt and get your finances in order.

When searching for a Government Grant keep in mind that they are looking for someone who is in need of the money. If you have got in a situation were this is your only option to get out of the debt then you stand a great chance of qualifying for the grant money.

Remember that you want to get rid of your credit card debt and finding a Government Grant to help you do so can be a great option for you.

Government assistance

A single mother is tasked with the responsibility of performing the role of mother in addition to the father role. Fortunately there is government assistance for single mothers through various programs available.

A single parent has a harder task than any two parent family. Most of the single parent head of households are females. Many single mothers have not had the opportunity to get a good education nor sufficient housing.

Food and funds are often insufficient and the single woman, in many cases cannot afford child care nor can she afford a home. Consequentially, she requires assistance in order to for basic provisions for her children.

There is a government program called WIC which is designed for single women or qualified parents with children five and under. Food such as milk, cereal, cheese, juice, beans, peanut butter and eggs are the main foods that are provided.

Each month the qualified parent or parents are given vouchers which are to be use at any time before the expiration date. The above listed foods are all rich in vitamins and nutrients necessary good health. This program is offered by the Department of Children and Families.

Another program offered by the Department of Children and Families is called TANIF. This two parents or single mother government assistance program offers temporary financial assistance for needy families. Monetary funds are provided to qualified families. The parent or parents must meet all of the income and need criterion.

Grants and housing vouchers are also part of a single mother government assistance program. The housing authority will house a single mother and her family for a fraction of the cost of basic apartment.

Food stamps are also provided for a single mother. Over ten years ago food stamps came in the form of paper vouchers. Now single mothers use a card similar to a credit card to make all of her purchases. Each month, depending on a single mother's situation and income, she is awarded a specific dollar amount of food stamps.

For medical assistance, there is Medicaid or various other healthy kid programs. Children can receive medical care at not cost if they qualify. Depending on the single mother's income, a small co-payment may be charged. Every state has similar rules and regulations that apply to single mother support programs. For more information on single mother government assistance, visit your local Department of Children and Families.