Free Government Money News July 2012

Happy Summer! Are sun and sand and leisure time in your immediate future? We hope so. But we also know it can be tough to enjoy the summer when money is tight and when jobs are so frustratingly difficult to find.

We've been busy working on new tips and articles to give you ideas, inspiration, and important news about resources and deadlines - plus a warning about a new scam that wants to take what money you have left!.

New Articles Here's some fun: did you know there are billions of dollars sitting around in unclaimed money and some of it (maybe a lot of it) could be yours?! Our new article about unclaimed money will send you on your own personal treasure hunt - at no cost to you!

The new Health Care Act has been declared constitutional. It has some benefits and high costs; the impact may surprise anyone hoping for a free or lower-cost ride. See our thoughts as well as highlights in our new Health Care Reform article discussing the website healthcare.gov.

Small Business Opportunity Deadline Have you increased working capital with the SBA refinancing program that is part of the 2010 Jobs Act? The deadline is coming up, read more below!

You've probably heard some of the buzz about Unclaimed Money (or what the government refers to as Unclaimed Property) lately. Good Morning America has done a whole series about it (and helped people find hundreds of thousands of dollars in their name!) and authors are promoting how-to books extensively. Agents even offer to help you find money that might be rightfully yours - for a fee of course.

The important thing to know is that you can do a very thorough search for unclaimed money without paying a dime! The government holds this money (over $30 billion!) for safekeeping, and it's their job to make it as easy as possible for the owners to find it. You don't have to buy a book and you certainly don't need to pay an agent. Just check out our new article Find Unclaimed Money and discover your personal treasure hunt guide. We show you step by step how to research state, federal and private resources - with some tips and tricks to maximize your success. Happy hunting and good luck!

The passage and court upholding of the Affordable Healthcare Act is being touted as a great success for President Obama. As much of the contents and implications of the Act are yet to be determined, the jury is still out on whether it will in fact be a good thing for the American people.

The Department of Health and Human Services has created the website healthcare.gov to help people “take health care into your own hands.” Part sales pitch, part useful resource, the site is a promising first step in making information accessible (without having to slog through the entire 2700 page Act…). Our new review of healthcare.gov shares our assessment of the site as well as a summarized guide to its five major sections: Find Insurance Options, Get Help Using Insurance, The Health Care Law and You, Comparing Care Providers, and Prevention and Wellness. The information is limited in some of the sections and we were disappointed to find no insurance plan options that would reduce our current costs after we filled out the brief questionnaire under “Find Insurance Options.” However, we were impressed with the category called Finding Care You Can Afford. It links to a very useful and comprehensive directory of local clinics and centers that are federally funded and provide a wide variety of healthcare services free or on a sliding scale based on your income.

A special opportunity for small businesses to refinance eligible assets - without having to show expansion of the business - expires September 27, 2012. If you haven't taken advantage of this provision you should check into it right away. It offers the possibility of locking in long-term financing at low and stable rates. According to changes made in October of 2011, you can now refinance as much as 90% of the appraised value of eligible fixed assets. The proceeds can be used for any expenses that are directly related to operating your business and can include salaries as well as ongoing expenses such as utilities and insurance. The debt you want to refinance must have been incurred at least two years before the date you apply for refinancing. And an independent, new appraisal of value is requred. There are other qualifications as well so you should have your financial expert check it out. More information is available at the SBA website - and read our guide to the SBA website.

We've had some excellent feedback about this resource called Five Days to Foundation Grants. It is concise,readable, and easy to digest in just a couple hours or less. If you follow the steps you can actually set up a winning system in one week - and you don't have to be an expert to do it. The system is instantly available for download and comes with useful bonuses that will make you even more effective. The author, an experienced grant-writer who has also worked as a grant-maker, shares insider secrets to writing funded grant proposals. If you don't have much money and are totally strapped for time, you must check this out. See our review at Write Foundation Grants Fast.

Watch out for “phishing” emails that look like they are from the Department of Defense (DOD). Phishing emails are designed to appear to be from a very official source and typically require that you provide personal information they then use to steal your identity and/or your money. A recent one looks like it comes from the Department of Defense – it looks so real it even has .mil in its email address. It targets veterans, people currently enlisted in the military and other employees of the DOD, claiming you could be eligible to get extra funds from the IRS if you are currently getting disability payments from the Veterans Administration. To get the additional cash you are supposed to send personal, private documents like award letters and even tax returns to an address in Florida. The information is then used for completely illegal purposes. So far complaints have come in from recipients of the emails in New Jersey, Missouri and Illinois, but the hoax is probably not limited to those states. Beware and be aware!