Family Living Focus Janice Stoudnour Bedford County ( Cooperative Extension Debt Survival: Make Good Choices I received a call the other day from a woman who was having financial difficulties. She had questions about whether she should take advantage of a credit repair company’s offer to “clean up” her credit report. Of course, a red flag went up when she mentioned the compa ny being able to ‘repair” her or anyone’s credit report. This type of service cannot change your credit status. Anything it can do; you can do yourself for free. Save your money. If you are feeling pressures caused by a tight bud get, watch out for the red flag “opportunities” that can make your financial situation even more difficult. What are the choices that can get you into more financial trou ble? First of all, be careful of ad- Bring the whole family to see this inspiring story vertising or offers with easy ways to reduce your financial prob lems. Don’t be tempted with “quick fix” offers. Don’t com pound an already difficult finan cial problem with bad choices. There are businesses that thrive on people in financial distress; don’t become their next prey. “Payday” Lenders: this is a simple offer to let you post date a check for sometime in the short future. They in turn loan you the money (an amount less than what is written on your check) until the end of the agreed time period at which time the lender will cash your check. The differ ence between the amount of your check and the amount of cash you get in return is interest or the loan fee. Sound simple? It’s ex pensive. This can go on and on with the lender continuing to refinance the loan and you in return receive less and less of your own money back. Your bad situation just got worse. Short of cash and your clothes washer just died? Don’t be fooled that rent-to-own is an economical way to replace or obtain appli ances, electronic equipment, fiir niture, or anything else. Rent-to own is marketed to people who cannot qualify for credit, but can use the items while purchasing through the applied “rental” method. Items purchased through rent-to-own often cost you more than three times the cash price. Often times, the items are not even new, but used. For example, a “rented” 19-inch television val ued at $3OO would cost you $l6 per week for 52 weeks. Do the math. That’s a total of $832. You just spent $532 in interest (254 percent on an annual basis). Sec ondly, if you miss one payment, the item will be repossessed and you have lost your total invest ment. Waiting for your tax refund? Need a loan? How convenient to use a tax refund anticipation loan. Red flag! You will be “ad vanced” your refund at the time of the loan note less the interest rate. The interest agreement will usually be estimated for 2 to 3 months. Your tax refund will ar rive in 30 days one month. So, the bottom line is that you will Energy Supplement For More Energy and Weight Loss Use “MOMENTUM” • Lose weight now • Helps control sugar cravings • Helps preserve lean body mass while you lose tat • All natural capsule foimula • Excellent for migraine headache One bottle for $25 95, 2 bottles for $5O 00 or 6 Bottles for $ 135 00 Free shipping OMAR FISHER 434 NEWPORT RD. RONKS, PA 17572 Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 22, 2003-B7 pay for a very short term loan at a very high rate of interest that was calculated for a longer term than needed costing you a lot more money than you need to pay. The best advice here is to avoid tax refund anticipation loans. Wait for your full refund. By filing electronically, you may be able to get your refund more quickly. Now you feel that all else has failed and you need debt counsel ing. You’ve heard the advertise ments on the radio for debt coun seling and that sounds like some thing you could use. If you decide to choose this route, find a nonprofit debt coun selor. Even the nonprofit counse lors may charge a fee, but they will be less than a for-profit coun selor. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between non-profit and for-profit because for-profits have names like “foundation or service.” Before doing anything, contact your state attorney general’s of fice, local legal counseling serv ices, or a consumer help hotline to check them out. Also, talk to people who have used their serv ices. You may want to think twice about companies who accept your money and pay the bills for you. How do you know if the money is being paid in a timely manner or at all? You may find that your creditors will still be calling you at home. Also, not all of your creditors will want to get involved in lowering your interest rate or altering your payment schedules, but you won’t know Monroe Co. Extension Elects Officers STROUDSBURG (Monroe Co.) The Monroe County Co operative Extension Association recently elected officers for 2003. Elected were: President George Prosser, Stroudsburg; Vice-Presi dent James Gaymon, Toby- hanna; Secre tary Jane Person, Brod headsville; Treasurer Maryellen Mross, Bar tonsviUe. County representa tives elected to the region al 8 county board were Richard Sei- this until after you’ve paid your “fee.” It’s best to work with your creditor direct to make alterna tive arrangements before paying someone else to do it for you. Check debt counseling compa nies out thoroughly. How about telemarketing op portunities for jobs and other “get rich quick schemes?” You’ve been reading the newspapers and watching the commercials: real estate investments, work at home opportunities, are just a few of these “opportunities.” There are usually set-up or start-up fees and/or an aggressive effort to sell you something with many prom ises in return. Don’t hold your breath for the promises to come true. Use common sense; if it seems too good to be true, it prob ably is. Any advertisement which mar kets easy money almost always waves the red flag as a rip-off. Never agree to buy anything over the phone, give out your so cial security number, bank ac count numbers, or personal in formation to a telemarketer. Do you really know who you are talking to? If you are truly interested in the offer, ask them to send you detailed information in the mail before you agree to anything. This will give you time to check them out and read the actual terms in writing. If the offer is only good while you are on the phone, then you know for sure that it is a scam. Red flag - don’t fall for this one no matter how tempting! You will pay somehow in the end. The only guaranteed winner in this offer is the person selling the scam. dof, Sciota; Rick Hackett, Brod headsville; George Prosser, and James Gaymon. State Board member is Richard Seidof. Additional directors include John Burms, Brodheadsvilie; Jo sephine Goldberg, Tannersville; Steve Slutter, Blakeslee; Ana Velez, Blakeslee; Karen Ezzo, Stroudsburg; Gerry Rennekamp, Stroudsburg; Neal Murphy, Kunkletown; and Donna Asure, Commissioner representative. NOTiCE: FARM OWNERS Goodville Mutual is One of the Top 5 Farm Insurance Companies in Pennsylvania WANT TO KNOW WHY? Liz Martin Martin Insurance Agency 459 C N George St Millersville PA 17551 (717) 872-7756 Toll Free 1-877-791-5235 www marlimnsurance com Affordable insurance for farm home.vehicle and small business Agent for Goodville Mutual
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers