Free Money News July 2014

The 4th of July! We hope it made you think about the exceptional freedoms we enjoy in the USA. And that during the celebrations, you stopped to honor the many heroes who have sacrificed for our freedoms.

Who are our heroes today? Do they live up to the dictionary definition of a hero as “a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities”? The World Cup has been capturing our attention and our goalie – or “keeper”– Tim Hudson was surely a hero in our eyes, for brilliant acts and qualities.

But who was named a “hero” on the 4th of July? “Competitive eater” Joey Chestnut, again the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Champion. He ate 61 dogs (with buns!) in 10 minutes – just a half hour after proposing to his girlfriend…

Hard to see Joey Chestnut as a “hero.” Kind of makes you feel like everything is upside down - especially if you’re trying to do something as serious as raise a family. Maybe you’re by yourself, doing the best you can for your kids while trying to make ends meet…and you may not feel like a hero.

Check out July Money Highlights below for lots of good resources and aid for kids so you can be their hero! Plus we’ve got some new small business financing opportunities to share:

Business News: Before we highlight resources for kids we want to share some new small business financing opportunities, one of our most popular articles. It features a number of ways you can finance your business without a bank. And that's pretty important since banks want to see a track record … and you can't establish a tract record without funding!

This month we've added a franchisor that will fund initial inventory and other capital costs for new franchisees; a high end grocer with a local producers' loan program, and an opportunity fund running a challenge to find new companies they can loan to. Their next round starts in the fall, and even if you don't apply their business plan worksheet/template could help you get funding elsewhere. Check out Small Business Financing Opportunities.

Be A Hero To Your Kids

We can help in several ways. First is our newest article, called Grants For Kids. The title might sound funny but there's lots of support out there that can help you with your kids. There actually are grants for older kids, for school. But there are also resources that will help you find and pay for quality child care, get access to Head Start and Early Head Start programs, cash aid, healthcare and more. In fact the U.S. Administration for Children and Families will give out $17 billion in aid this year (2014). If you know where and how to look some of that could benefit you! See Grants For Kids.

Still looking for a summer camp for your kids? We offer several suggestions on where to find them.

If you live in a rural area and your teenaged child is involved with a program with someone like 4H Clubs, he or she could get a great loan of several thousand dollars from the Farm Service Agency (part of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture). The loan can be used for an income producing venture like buying, caring for and breeding cows. Your child not only learns a lot but can also make some money, pay off the loan, and qualify for even better loans in the future. Check it out in Grants for Kids as well as in our article about Grants for Farms.

A couple more articles also provide great information on grants, aid and programs for kids. These include:

Grants For Single Moms: This is a great support article aimed at the 85% of single households that are headed by women — often at or below the poverty level. While many outfits try to get your attention by offering loans for school (which may or may not help you or your kids), this article offers ways that you can find emergency help, get some job training and job search assistance, and improve your housing. Check it out at Grants For Single Moms.

Grants For Widows With Children: Here we go beyond single moms to focus specifically on female heads of household who are widows with children. This article goes into more detail about available federal aid. It also covers tips and information about Private sources of help.

Widows With Children: More Grant Resources takes the previous article a bit further. In addition to government and private help it covers Business Assistance (some programs do give priority, or are solely designed for, Widows), foundations and private programs, and government grants to purchase a home.