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Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF)

  If COVID-19 has made it difficult for you to pay your mortgage, utilities, or other housing payments, financial assistance is on the way. The Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) was established by the American Rescue Plan Act to help homeowners financially impacted by COVID-19 with housing-related costs. Find Homeowner Assistance Fund programs in your area.…

Claim the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and stimulus payments if you didn’t file income tax return

 Most Americans received stimulus payments during Coronavirus because they had filed a federal income tax return in the previous year. If you missed receiving payments because you didn’t file a tax return, there is still time to claim your payments. check out this link to the Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/coronavirus/eip/?utm_campaign=ocomm-eip-22&utm_content=t2-learn-more&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery A new non-filer sign-up tool…

Insurance companies no longer covering 100% of Covid costs

“The days of full covid coverage are over. Insurers are restoring deductibles and co-pays, leaving patients with big bills.” Headline in The Washington Post 9/18/21. Maybe it is time for the unvaccinated to finally get the jab to protect themselves. “In 2020, as the pandemic took hold, U.S. health insurance companies declared they would cover…

Few go back to work when unemployment benefits are cut off early

 Despite the rhetoric, few Americans returned to work when red states cut back unemployment benefits early. Instead, consumer spending dropped, hurting the economies of those states. Half the states (26), all with Republican governors except one, have ceased expanded unemployment benefits during Covid. “Several recent studies, however, have concluded that the extra payments have played…

Evaluating College Aid Offers and Asking for More Financial Aid

 We live in an upside down world due to Coronavirus. Many families have experienced major disruptions to their financial circumstances. Ann Carrns, financial and college expert writing for The New York Times reports on last minute strategies to try to garner more financial aid if you family has suffered a major income loss. Keep in…

Coronavirus Relief Resources from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Relief for rentersA new law provides relief for renters and extends the CDC’s Order to protect many people who can’t pay their rent from eviction through January 31, 2021. Updates to unemployment benefitsCongress passed legislation providing an additional $300 per week to all workers receiving unemployment benefits. The supplement begins after December 26, 2020 and…

Did you get your CARES (coronavirus) payment? If not act now!

 The IRS has extended the deadline for individuals to claim their Economic Impact Payment (EIP). The IRS’s Non-Filers tool will be available through November 21, 2020.   While most people who regularly file a tax return or receive federally administered assistance, like social security, were automatically sent their EIP, several million people have not yet…

Misisng your stimulus check?

 Thanks to Michelle Singletary, financial writer for the Washington Post, for this helpful info. Lots of Americans may have thrown out what looked like junk mail but really contained not a stimulus check but a stimulus debit card. The cards were sent in May and June from MetaBank and came in a plain envelope with…

How is the financial health of Americans changing over time?

If you are facing challenging financial stress due to the coronavirus, you are not alone. Even in 2019, before the virus, most Americans were not financially healthy according to research by the Financial Health Network https://finhealthnetwork.org/research/u-s-financial-health-pulse-2019-trends-report/?utm_source=nyt-paid-post&utm_medium=pulse-button&utm_campaign=nyt-paid-pulse“In a year-over-year analysis, the second annual U.S. Financial Health Pulse report reveals that the majority of Americans are still…

Jump-Start your Emergency Savings

If you are lucky enough to still be employed now is a great time to begin or boost your emergency fund, especially since there are fewer temptations to spend in this time of coronavirus.Recently The Wall Street Journal published “35 ways to jump-start your emergency savings.” among the suggestions:If you are paid bi-weekly you get…