Purchase Structured Settlements! One Way To Get Some Quick Cash Is.......

If you are receiving structured settlements either from a lawsuit or some other means you may be able to get some "quick" cash by going to a company that will purchase structured settlements!

How this works is that the company will purchase your structured settlement and pay YOU a lump sum in cash. Companies that purchase structured settlements will purchase your structured settlements so that then they receive your structured settlements and YOU will receive a lump sum payment in exchange for your purchase structured settlement.

You do have to be careful though because there are a lot of places with the advertisement of "we purchase structured settlements" and I have even seen a few commercials on TV from lawyers and law firms saying that they also purchase structured settlements. There are also advertisements both online and off saying "we will purchase your structured settlements for cash!

Some places offer to give you a free quote before you make the decision to let them purchase your structured settlement. Some of these companies will also provide you with information on buying and selling structured settlements at not obligation or cost on your part.

There is even an option of you purchasing structured settlements yourself if you are thinking about investing your money. You pay someone cash for their structured settlement and you in turn receive the installment payments of the structured settlement yourself!

So if you're looking for a way to be able to get cash you may want to look into companies that purchase structured settlements. It is a way for you to be able to get some quick cash!



Keep in mind though that some of these companies that purchase structured settlements intend to profit from their purchase, and sometimes their offers may seem quite low so it is a good thing for you to shop around to get the best (free) quotes available from companies that want to purchase your structured settlements.

Tips To Avoid Vehicle Theft!

Nobody likes to have their car broken into! It has happened to me and it has happened to a lot of people as well! I found an online article that gives some helpful tips to help avoid one's car being broken into.

Some of the tips are obvious like locking all of your car doors but it's surprising how many people don't do this! I know that there are people who want to make a "quick" stop into a store or something and they think that they won't be long but it doesn't take too long to steal a car - especially when you don't lock your doors.

Here is a link to the online article and hopefully it will provide you with some very valuable tips to help avoid your car being stolen!

Tips To Avoid Vehicle Theft!

Here Are Some Job Positions Currently Available

Since I work from home doing grant research, I have a Working From Home blog. But I have come across some websites that are listing job openings that they have available. Here is another such site!

Liveperson.com has a number of job openings posted on their website. A lot of the job positions are in Israel but they also have some job openings for those that live in the United States. A lot of the positions are for manger-type jobs but there is an interesting position for a content writer as well.

You can find out more about their job openings by clicking here.

Can't Afford To Pay Your Income Tax?

Did you know that every year, the IRS receives millions of returns from taxpayers who can’t pay what they owe before the April 15th deadline?

Banks Starting To Charge Debit Card Fees!

The online articles say that you should check your receipts to make sure that you are not being charged a fee for using your debit card!

It seems that since President Obama wants to crack down on the ways that banks charge for credit card fees the banks have found an alternative source of generating some income for themselves and that alternative is to charge people for using their debit cards.


It seems that this year more people used their debit cards than they did their credit cards which has been the first time that this has happened.

It seems that a number of banks are coming up with something called "loyalty" programs for their debit card users. However the terms still require either a fee or that the debit card user meet specific terms to be eligible for the loyalty program.

According to one online site:

"Consumers need to have an eyes wide open perspective when it comes to financial services. Fees are going to be cropping up, but that also gives you a chance to comparison shop. There may be just as many good deals at the other end of the spectrum."

To read more about this and view the article, just click here.

Are You Looking For Work?

Did you know that despite the news about there not being enough jobs for people, there are some industries that are begging for qualified workers!

One of the biggest industries that need qualified workers now is the health care industry! There are many job openings for nurses and home health care workers and aides. Also according to my Grant Basics 101 Blog, there are many job openings in our own government. Here is a quote from one of the online articles:

"Many of the positions, which require specific skills and offer salaries in the range of $30,000 to $45,000, have been vacant for six months or longer"

Since workers are needed so badly a hiring incentive program was recently announced to help encourage existing employees to refer viable candidates. Those responsible for bringing in new hires are eligible to receive $2,500 to $5,000, depending on the position. Also added in is a signing bonus for the new employees!

There are several online sites that you can go to that post job openings in your area. You should also look into working for the government as well because they have many job openings and government workers receive good benefits in addition to a highly competitive salary.

As far as other kinds of job openings are concerned here is another excerpt from an online article:

Things are even worse on the higher end of the pay scale. At a wireless leasing firm, a position for director of lead generation, which pays $90,000-$140,000, has been open for three months, with no candidates in sight.

Debt Collector Was Sued And Now Has To Pay!

Here is a very interesting article about someone who sue a debt collector and WON!

The details are kind of complicated but hopefully after you read the article you will understand the whole thing better.

Basically it seems that the article is saying that the debt collector was in fault because they didn't properly review the details of the debtor and a judge ruled in the favor of the debtor.

Outsmarting A Debt Collector

Are You Praying For A Financial Miracle?

Are you praying for a financial miracle seems to be one of the most popular blog posts on this blog. I'm guessing that that means that people are looking for a financial miracle even if they have to find it on the Internet!

I guess that I really shouldn't be surprised about this because so many people are facing financial crisis of one kind or another!

A lot of people are losing their jobs and they don't seem to be finding any promising prospect soon. If you have ever considered working from home then you should take a look at my Working From Home Blog.

Home foreclosures are on the rise but there is still some hope. Take a look at my The Foreclosure Blog to see how some people have managed to save their homes from foreclosure. There is even one story of a person who got their home back after foreclosure because the person that won the foreclosure bid on their house actually gave the house back to the homeowner!

I hope encouraging stories such as this will show people that there is still some hope!

Are you praying for a financial miracle? You just may get one!



Also be sure to take a look at my blog The Unclaimed Money Blog to find out more about unclaimed money and whether you or someone in your family is eligible to claim some of it!

"Confessions Of A Debt Collector"

I found a very interesting article online about what it's like to be a debt collector. A real debt collector was interviewed about the various aspects of her job. While this would probably also be a good blog post for my Working From Home Blog because of a salary that a debt collector can make, it is also quite interesting to see how being a debt collector works.

I had my suspicions that these debt collectors got a commission off of the money that they collected but I didn't know that they had high quotas to fill (according to the online article) It also doesn't surprise me too much to know that some of these debt collectors are quite human in that some of them don't like to be harrassed theirselves or talked to in a negative way. And even sometimes they will speak to people who are in such a dire financial situation that the debt collectors "feel" for them but they still have to do their job. I remember one example from the article mentioned one person saying that they lost their job and that the wife lost the baby that she was carrying but still the debt collector asked "so when can you send in a payment.........".

It also seems that a debt collector's salary averages to about $14 per hour. BUT according to the article they have to make a certain quota or they risk losing their jobs.

The article also gives some advice on what debt collectors can and can not do as far as when they can call you and what they can say. There are also some good insights as to how sometimes the people they call can get the best of them by getting them to go "off script" or just by not co-operating.

A very interesting online article indeed!

Confessions Of A Debt Collector

Woman Feeds Her Large Family On $4 A Week!

I found another interesting article online about how a woman feeds her large family (and pets) on $4 a week!

Of course the secret to this is coupons! The online article calls her the coupon queen! In one example she bought over $200 worth of groceries and paid less than $1 for all of them!

This is definitely something you may want to look into if you are looking for ways to save money - especially on food!

Sunday papers are loaded with coupons and mailing advertisements and circulars also have a lot of coupons in them. You can also even get coupons online as well!

Here is a link to the article:

Woman Feeds Family For Less Money!

Avoiding Those Banking Fees - Tips!

I'm a very big fan of Selfgrowth.com and I found this article about tips to help one avoid those high banking fees!

I thought that I knew almost everything about how to avoid high banking fees - you know things like not using ATMs that are from another bank, etc.,....... But after reading the article I found some interesting stuff - especially about overdraft protection!

I always thought that overdraft protection was a good idea BUT I didn't know that there was a charge to have it!

It seems that there is a lot that I don't know!

Personally, I, myself, try to avoid banking fees but I have had them! I do have to make it a personal financial goal to stop incurring those banking fees! I have used other ATM's - mostly because I was in a rush and not able to get to an ATM that was with my own bank - so I used the ATM at the store I was at even though the ATM wasn't with my own bank. There was a charge for using that ATM plus there was a charge from my own bank for using that ATM! It does add up!

I realize that there may be instances where emergencies come up and you have to use an ATM that isn't with your bank but now in today's economy you have to try and save all the "pennies" you can - especially when it comes to those (high) banking fees!

I hope the article provides useful information for you all.

Buyer Beware! Especially With Your Credit Card!

I found another online article showing yet another example of why it is a good idea to read all of the small print when you buy something with your credit card! In this case is the example of a simple rebate check that may cost you over a $100 on your credit card!

To Find out more just click the link below. If you have any comments about this article please feel free to add them here as well.

What do I think about this article? I'm glad that I read it although I personally haven't ordered this particular product. It seems to be that its getting easier and easier for companies to take advantage of peoples' credit cards! I'm even leery of giving my credit card number to the products that offer all those paid survey sites where people get paid to answer surveys (which I talk about more on my Paid Surveys Newbie blog.)

So people, lets be careful out there! - Especially with our credit cards!

That Rebate Check Could End

Up Costing You More!

Looking For A Job?

I recently posted on my Grant Basics 101 Blog about how there are many job openings in the government! Besides government grants and programs our government also has a lot of job openings as well.

I found another article online about "6 Jobs That Are In High Demand" meaning that there are still job openings out there that are available for people who are looking for jobs and for people who are looking for work.

I won't give away the whole article but one of the jobs on the list that surprised me was that of web designer. I was surprised because I keep reading about web designers out there who are having problems finding clients but according to the article - this is a job that is in high demand!

I hope you enjoy reading the article and the reason that I didn't post this on my Working From Home Blog is because these jobs (for the most part) are jobs where you are working for someone else outside of your home.

6 In Demand Jobs!

College Students & Credit Card Debt!

Here is an interesting article about college students and credit card debt! As soon as I read it I knew that I would be posting it here!

Paying Bills Online?

This is something that you may want to consider doing yourself! I just added another bill account to my online banking at this late hour of the night (what the heck! I couldn't sleep!) and it made me realize just how convenient online bill paying can be! Not to mention the fact that you won't use as many stamps and it will definitely help save you money on postage! (Did I mention the fact that the cost of stamps has gone up again!)


I know that people have to be careful about their money and how they handle it but since I do work from home, paying my bills online has become quite convenient for me and it might be the same for you if you give it a try.

I remember the first time I paid a bill online for the first time! When I first opened up my bank account one of the customer service people at the bank showed me how to do this! He was very helpful and he showed me how one pays their bills online. It took me awhile before I actually did it myself because I was worried about something going wrong! Goodness knows that I don't need ANY mistakes with my bank account!

But I finally managed to do it - nervously of course - and I got through it! Now I'm glad that I did do it because it saves a lot of time and it saves me a lot of postage costs!

If you would like to try paying your bills online then you should talk to one of the customer service representatives at your bank and ask them to show you how. You might be very glad that you did!

Be Sure To Keep A Close Eye On Your Bank Account!

It seems that the banking industry is finding new ways to gouge their account holders! Basically speaking banks are going to start to increase the banking fees that they charge their customers!

For instance some banks are going to double the fees that they charge for overdraft protection and some will even increase the fees that they charge for checking account maintenance.

An online article says that the banks say that consumers are using their debit cards more now than they are using their credit cards and since credit card interest is a big income generating thing for the banks they feel that they have to recoup their money (or should I say profit(s)) from elsewhere.

A good point that the article noted was that even though the banks got a big amount of money from President Obama's stimulus plan, the banks don't seem to be helping the consumers because of it. In fact it seems to be that the opposite is happening in that the banks are looking for yet other ways to profit.

The article didn't say that all of the banks would be doing this but they did give some examples of banks that will be. So if you're concerned and want to see whether or not your bank is on the list then I suggest that you check out the online article.

The Banks Are At It Again!

Want To Read About An Actual Government Grant Recipient?

If you don't already know, I do grant research as a living.

There are so many people out there who are skeptical about government grants but I'm here to tell you that they do actually exist! As a matter of fact here is a link to someone who actually got 2 government grants to get their power shut back on!

Well I'm In The Process Of Filing My Taxes Online!

I'm kinda almost finished though!

I must say that this is the first time that I have ever filed my taxes online! And for me - and I don't know why - but it felt like a scary thing to do!

First of all there was my local area tax which is called the Earned Income Tax - EIT for short. This is a tax that my local area has where residents are charged a 1% tax on any income that they have earned. Of course in the previous years I have always filed this tax the old way which was by filling out the form, paying the tax and mailing it in. But this year I decided to try and file online. Well the first time I tried to file this form online it wasn't working for me right and I got frustrated and stopped. Then a few days later I decided to try it again and it went almost 100% smoothly! I was still quite nervous filing it out maybe because it is getting so near the due date to file the income tax forms. But I did manage to get through it in one session and when I saw "your tax return has been filed successfully", I breathed a sigh of relief! *I should note here that while filing a tax return online may be more easier and convenient for some, I noticed that as far as my local tax return is concerned the company that handles it charges a fee for filing online if you owe any tax!

Ok so next comes my state (Pennsylvania) income tax form. Now while I was feeling good about filing my local tax online successfully, I was still a bit nervous about going to the next filing - I don't know why - maybe it was just because I was doing it for the first time! But after a slow start, I did successfully manage to file my state income tax form online as well and as well I got that same "your tax return has been filed successfully".

Goody! I was successfully able to file both returns online and I made it by the due date (which is next week!)

I haven't filed my federal income tax return online yet because doing 2 of them in one day is just too much more than my nerves can stand! So I still have a few days left yet to file my federal return online.

If you have never filed your income tax forms online before I'm here to tell you that it is kind of a scary thing - at least for me it was - but it may be something that you might be interested in doing. Of course you save the cost of a stamp but maybe that is just a small matter.

I'm blogging about this mostly because I don't know why I put myself in such a state of nervousness when I was trying to do this. In fact I think my nervousness and anxiety about doing this made it even worse! But I got through the first 2 forms and I'm feeling good! Now I have the one form - the federal - left to do.

If you're thinking about filing your taxes online you may find out that it isn't as hard as you thought it might be!

If You Have A Credit Card Then You Shoud DEFINITELY READ This Online Article!

I found this article online and it is about some changes that are going to be happening to credit cards in the near future!

It's bad enough when one has managed to get themselves in to credit card debt and are looking for a way out but now these new changes might be affecting those who are paying their credit card bills on time!

While it has always been suggested that one read the fine print on their credit card applications, not a lot of people do so and they aren't aware of all the charges and fees that they may be subjected to!

There are so many interesting points in this article including information about the fees being charged for credit card cash advances! There are sometimes 2 fees associated with that! Although I'm sure that a lot of people are aware of this anyway because I see so many people at the ATM machines in places like the grocery store and gas stations getting a cash advance and I'm sure that while they may be aware of the fees associated with making such cash advances, I'm sure that they have a very good reason for making such cash withdrawals. They may need the money for some type of financial emergency or something. I believe that there is even one credit card company that is paying some users NOT to use their credit card and to return them!

The article also has some advice for consumers as well.

It is quite a long, interesting and informative article!

Big Credit Card Changes!

It Seems That California Is Having Even More Bad Money Problems!

Now comes word that tapxpayers won't be receiving any state income tax refunds is there were supposed to get them.

Also some of those that work for the state have found out that they won't get reimbursed for travel expenses ie inspectors of things like nursing homes won't be getting reimbursed for the amount of money it takes them to travel to the nursing homes to inspect them. An online news article has said that some of these workers use their credit cards when paying for these expenses and if they aren't reimbursed that just makes their credit card balances higher! What's odd about it is that the state isn't even required to reimburse their state workers for their job-related expenses.

Also being withheld are college grants to students - government related grant programs.

For more information about government grant programs or college scholarships that you may be eligible to apple for, please visit my Grant Basics 101 Blog)

Some state workers are being mandatorily asked to not work for 2 days a month which of course means that they don't get paid for those 2 days which means they will make less money and will have less money to pay their mortgages and other bills.

Ironically, the lawmakers themselves receive as much as $4500 per month in expense allowances.

In California Taxpayers May Get An IOU Instead Of A Tax Refund!

Like a lot of states, California is also feeling the "pinch"! Not since 1992 has the state issued IOU's instead of cash payments. In 1992, amid a budget crisis triggered by a deep recession, natural disasters and the Los Angeles riots, California ran short of cash and was forced to send out thousands of IOUs. They resembled checks but included a notice that they could not be paid by California "for want of funds."

In addition to maybe not receiving tax refunds, there is also the possibility that some student grant payments will not be made as well and that vendors may also not be paid! Under the state Constitution, schools and bondholders get first rights to any cash from the state. Among the first to get IOUs instead of payments would be business and individual taxpayers who are expecting refunds, local governments and recipients of grants from that state's student aid organization. Last year, more than 10 million taxpayers received state refunds totaling $8 billion.

Court-appointed lawyers, 1,700 judges, legislators and their staffs would also go unpaid. And officials are preparing to delay a popular program that helps elderly and disabled Californians by paying their property taxes.

Last year, nearly 5,500 homeowners benefited from a 32-year-old Property Tax Program, which was created to help keep low-income elderly people from being forced to sell their homes or lose them to foreclosure.

(For more information about student loans and grants, just click here)

There is a budget gap (projected to reach $41.6 billion dollars by the middle of next year) in California and no agreements between Govenor Schwarzenegger and the democratic legislators so far.

In a letter sent to the Democrats on Tuesday night explaining his veto, Schwarzenegger wrote: "The measures you sent me punish people with increased taxes, but do not make the serious cuts in spending necessary to balance our budget; do nothing to help keep California families working during this recession; and do nothing to help Californians facing foreclosure in this mortgage crisis."

The Top 10 Scams Of 2008!

Here is a link to the top 10 scams of 2008!

It has been issued by the Chicago Better Business Bureau!

I won't give it all away but as someone that does grant research, I would have to agree that you should investigate places, people and sites that you want to do grant work for you.

Of course also included in the list are a lot of work-from-home scams as well!

Turbo Tax

Well as you know we are right at the start of tax season! Yes that's right another year has gone by and it's now time to get ready to file one's taxes for 2008!

Personally I have quite a few tax forms that I have to prepare for this year including a local Earned Income Tax that I have to pay in my own local area - LaMott, PA

One of the most popular tax software packages seems to be Turbo Tax! - although I still choose to do my income taxes by hand - the old-fashioned way - LOL!

TurboTax is the #1-rated, best-selling tax software. Free Edition includes free IRS efile. Easily prepare your tax return and file income taxes online. You can find out more about this income tax preparation software by going to the Intuit website.



Comments Received

Hadyn said...

TurboTax provides many different tax software packages...

The IRS Is Giving Some Taxpayers A Break!

With tax season here (already?) here is at least some good news for some taxpayers!

The IRS is trying to help make it easier for those that owe back taxes. They have relaxed some of their rules for those that owe back taxes.

The IRS Softens Some Of It's Rules!

The First Powerball Lottery Drawing In Florida!

It seems that the first Powerball Lottery drawing taking place in Florida is big news!

Here is a link to the winning lottery numbers for the Florida lottery drawing!

If you would like to go to the official site of the Florida state lottery, just click here.

Here is a link to a YouTube video about the Florida Lottery.

Florida Lottery Rules

Florida Lottery Drawing Creates 9 New Millionaires!



Also be sure to visit my Unclaimed Money Blog to read my blog posts about the unclaimed money that includes winning lottery tickets that go unclaimed!