Loan Referrals

11/10/2007

Safe harbors for your money, legislation, Free Stuff Friday, Planet of Women

Student Financial Aid News
+ Inside Higher Ed: Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives failed to muster enough votes Thursday in support of a 2008 spending bill for education and health programs to override a certain veto by President Bush. Fifty-one Republicans joined 223 Democrats in voting for the appropriations measure for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Labor and Related Agencies, but that’s short of the necessary two-thirds. The bill would increase the maximum Pell Grant to $4,925 in 2008 and increase spending on the National Institutes of Health by $1 billion, to $30 billion. But President Bush and Republican critics say the bill spends irresponsibly.

+ It was pointed out at MASFAA yesterday that the current bill is $22 billion over the President’s budget; prior budgets during the Republican controlled Congress were $55 billion over and there was no problem approving those…

+ Interesting read on the Chronicle about the growth of private student loans

+ Asked by The Chronicle if Education Secretary Margaret Spellings had seen significant evidence of either layoffs or benefit reductions, the secretary answered during a conference call with reporters last week: “I’ve heard about some layoffs and maybe have seen some press about it, but no.” Asked again if she has seen any evidence even of students facing higher costs, she added: “No, have not.”

+ Which newspapers does she read, I wonder?

+ Federal student loan consolidation benefits across the board have been wiped out - those benefits used to save students tens of thousands of dollars on the life of a loan, and are no longer available from anyone

+ Followup piece and quote from TheStreet.com: “The hard part is figuring out what you own,” says James Holtzman, adviser and shareholder at Legend Financial Advisors. He says more than a few clients have inquired about whether or not their money market fund has exposure to subprime or any mortgage-backed debt.

+ Holtzman says he’s not opposed to recommending investors move to a “garbage-free” money market account, earn just over 4%, and wait this out for the next 18 months.

+ “Cash isn’t a bad thing at different points in the market cycle, and this is one of them,” he says.

+ FDIC savings accounts at places like ING Direct can give you relatively modest but safe returns, backed by FDIC insurance up to $100,000

+ Talk to a financial planner, do your research, and be careful out there!

Scholarship Update

+ The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) is an international, nonprofit organization whose members are concerned with the development and enforcement of uniform food, drug and other consumer protection laws.

+ The recipients should have demonstrated a desire to serve in a career of research, regulatory work, quality control, or teaching in an area related to some aspect of foods, drugs or consumer product safety; should have demonstrated leadership capabilities; and must have at least a 3.5 grade point average during the first two years of undergraduate study.

+ Two awards for $1,500
+ February 1 deadline
+ Details at our free college scholarship search site

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