We have provided links to the following sites because they
have information that may be of interest to our users. The Office of
Financial Aid at Hostos Community College/CUNY does not necessarily
endorse the views expressed or the data and facts presented on
certain sites.
Helpful Documents
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Credit and Debt Management Websites
National
Foundation for Credit Counseling
A national non-profit network to assist individuals with credit
counseling.
www.nfcc.org
Equifax
General credit information Check your credit Credit watch - identity
protection.
www.equifax.com
TransUnion
Ordering a credit report Restoring credit Credit card fraud -
protection tips.
www.transunion.com
Experian
General credit information Credit repair Credit refusal.
www.experian.com
Federal
Trade Commission
Consumer education on credit reporting, repairs and debt relief.
www.ftc.gov/bcp
BankRate
Sponsored by CNBC to provide credit card, investing, tax-money
management tools and on-line calculators.
www.bankrate.com
SmartMoney
Advice on debt management, consumer credit and more.
www.smartmoney.com
MSN
Money
On-line calculators, an article index, tool list and other resources.
www.moneycentral.msn.com
MyFICO
Credit scoring, ways to improve your FICO score and information
about identity theft prevention.
www.myfico.com
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Retirement
Choose
To Save
This is the best online calculator for figuring out how much you'll
need in retirement, and how much you should be saving now.
www.choosetosave.org
Health
Grades
Now you can compare costs of procedures at hospitals in your area.
As an informed consumer, if you're spending your own money on
co-payments or coinsurance, you will want to know what hospitals and
physicians charge for common procedures ranging from the heart
surgeries to childbirth.
healthgrades.com
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Investing & Money For Kids
Saving For College
Every state has one or more "529" College Savings plans - either
pre-paid tuition plans or investment plans that allow you to
withdraw all gains tax-free if used for college expenses. Learn
about them at this website, and also use their "search and compare"
feature to see your state plan's performance and features- since you
do not have to use your own state's plan.
www.SavingforCollege.com
ShareBuilder
Lets you start investing with only a few dollars, and has special
information packages for children to teach them about the stock
market.
www.ShareBuilder.com
Visa BUXX
Start early to teach your children about wise use of credit cards.
This site links you to banks that offer a re-loadable debit card -
perfect for the student going off to college. Mom and Dad can
re-load a monthly allowance directly from their bank. And both
student and parents can securely view all spending and cash
withdrawals from the account, using a PIN. No more midnight pleas
for money without knowing where it all went!
www.VisaBUXX.com
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Financial Planning
The
Association of Certified Financial Planners
The Association of Certified Financial Planners. You can search for
a planner by zipcode, or learn more about becoming a CFP.
www.cfpboard.org
Financial Planning Association
Find a Certified Financial Planner in your area, or search by name
or specialty. This site will connect you to professional members of
the Financial Planning Association.
www.plannersearch.com
Mint
Mint is a modern, powerful, easy and secure Web–based solution for
on-line financial management. And it's free. Mint automatically
categorizes all your purchases, showing you how much you spend on
gas, groceries, parking, rent, restaurants, DVD rentals and more,
with amazing precision. An advanced alerting system highlights any
unusual activity, low balances, unwanted fees and charges, and
upcoming bills so you're in constant contact with your
money—effortlessly.
www.mint.com
Quicken
It's worth changing over to Quicken 2007, because the new program is
greatly simplified, and the new home page lets you view your
finances in a "what's coming in/what's going out" format that's
truly useful. While you're there, click on the new Quicken Home
Inventory manager -- something you'd be glad you had used in case of
a fire, flood, or other disaster.
Quicken.com
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Credit
& Debt
Access Group WiseBorrower® Tutorials
Tutorials designed to help you understand the basics of personal
finance and debt management.
www.accessgroup.org
Annual Credit Report
This is the website to get your free annual credit report from each
of the three major bureaus. Just click on the links to the bureaus,
and space your reports throughout the year.
www.AnnualCreditReport.com
Card Web
Here's the place to search for credit cards with lowest rates and
fees, secured cards to help you build, or re-build, your credit, and
even get answers to your credit card questions.
www.cardweb.com
My
Public Info
If you're worried that someone's using your Social Security number,
or that someone else with the same name is being confused with you
in public records, you'll be interested in this in-depth public
records check -- searching billions of databases including
bankruptcies, criminal records, etc.
www.mypublicinfo.com
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Saving
& Interest Rates
Treasury Direct
Everything you need to know about Treasury bills, notes and bonds -
including how to open an account and buy them online. Also,
everything you need to know about U.S. Savings Bonds - including how
to value your old bonds.
www.TreasuryDirect.gov
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Insurance
Accuquote
Compare term life insurance prices, and save money! A toll-free
number puts you in touch with individual assistance in choosing the
best policy.
www.Accuquote.com
Amsterdam Financial
If you have cash value life policies, you need to understand the
consequences and costs before you make a switch. Take advantage of
their free policy analysis - before letting an agent make money by
changing an old policy to a new one.
www.AmsterdamFinancial.com
eHealthInsurance
The place to search for health insurance coverage, whether long or
short term, Health Savings Accounts, student policies, etc. You can
compare online, and their toll-free number connects you to
individual advice.
www.ehealthinsurance.com
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Permission to use from the CUNY School of Law
