Poverty in Illinois is higher now than it has been in decades. It grew 16% during the period from just before the recession to after the recession, according to the recent Report on Illinois Poverty released by the Social Impact Research Center at the South Loop-based Heartland Alliance. Post-recession has seen no gains for struggling families.

In the report, the center documents hardship across a variety of indicators including income, employment, housing, and assets. Together, these indicators document the conditions faced by struggling families across Illinois. Nearly one in three Illinoisans now are considered poor or low income.

Continuing the trend of the past decade, median household income has declined steadily in Illinois; it currently is $52,972, down 3.4% from the recession and 6.9% from before the recession.

For families at the bottom of the income spectrum, having limited resources results in having to balance budgets through short term trade-offs that have long term consequences such as deferring needed medical care or dipping into retirement savings.

Byron Dickens, a local resident, illustrated the pressure of trying to make ends meet on a low income. “Working 40 hours a week in a minimum wage job I don’t earn enough to cover my housing, food, transportation, and all my medical expenses,” Dickens said. “And I don’t even have a family.” Unemployment in Illinois skyrocketed 82.3% during the recession, and since then unemployment has held steady at around ten percent. The average length of time Illinois workers are unemployed has nearly doubled since 2007, with people spending an average of nearly 37 weeks unemployed in 2010.

Illinois would have to add 528,844 new jobs to return to the number of jobs lost during the recession and add the number of jobs needed for new entrants to the workforce.

These conditions of declining incomes and rising poverty and unemployment are ripe for growth in homelessness. Housing costs have long eaten up large portions of family budgets, and now families have even less income to devote to housing. The number of people, 241,093, living doubled-up (families living with friends, relatives, or other families) increased by 15% from 2008 to 2009, and one out of every four households in Illinois now is considered to be severely rent-burdened, with housing costs taking more than half their income.

“These living arrangements are unsustainable in the long run and are the last step before homelessness for many,” according to Amy Rynell, director of the Social Impact Research Center. These conditions also have eroded assets and added debts, increasing economic vulnerability of families across Illinois. In 2011 the average debt of Illinoisans increased 37% over 2003 to $13,416, and the average amount of student loan debt among graduating seniors from four-year Illinois colleges is $23,885.

Low credit scores also are on the rise, which can limit prime borrowing opportunities greatly for car loans, credit cards, and housing loans. Since 2007 the rate of Illinois consumers with credit scores below 620 has increased 22%. Without government assistance, nearly twice as many people nationally would have experienced poverty.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps) continues to respond to growing need: the number of households receiving assistance has grown steadily as incomes have declined, increasing 64% from before the recession to the post-recession period, with 874,109 households now receiving assistance.

The Earned Income Tax Credit, a refundable federal income tax credit, has reached more households in Illinois, growing almost ten percent from pre- to post-recession. More than one million Illinois tax filers now receive the EITC.

The Unemployment Insurance program was by far the most responsive during the recession, growing more than 75%. Since then, however, while unemployment has stayed at the same level, the number of recipients has plummeted almost 30%.

“Personal, social, and economic costs of low family incomes are far too great, compromising Illinois’s economic strength, human capital, and future well-being,” said Sid Mohn, president of Heartland Alliance for Human Needs Human Rights. “State policies and investments need to support an economy that works for everyone, promote work that pays a livingwage, ensure that all have access to a quality education, and that families are able to access adequate income supports to help make ends meet.”

The Social Impact Research Center is the research arm of Heartland Alliance. Visit www.heartlandalliance.org/research to download the report.

Heartland Alliance is located at 208 S. LaSalle St., Suite 1818. For more information, call (312) 660-1300.

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A few tips are listed below help you protect yourself. Identity theft remains a problem everywhere so its up to you to be careful and mindful of how your personal information might be obtained. 

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Follow St. Charles Patch on Facebook or with Twitter!           

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Tips for preventing identity theft include:

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• Shred any trash that may contain; personal information, including charge receipts, credit applications, insurance forms, medical statements, checks and band statements, expired credit and debit cards and direct mail credit offers. 

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• Occasionally have your credit reports checked by calling; Equifax (800) 525-6285, Experian (888) 397-3742, or Trans Union (800) 680-7289.

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• If a wallet or purse is stolen, notify the local police department to make a report and notify your credit card companies, banks, and social security office as soon as possible.

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• Sometimes you may receive e-mails on your computer that are made to look like legitimate requests from financial institutions to verify usernames, passwords and other information.  Never respond!  No legitimate company would conduct business that way.

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Stop by the St. Charles Police Department lobby to talk with an officer for more information and to request an Identity Theft Victim Packet.

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Information provided by the St. Charles Police Department

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NEW YORK (AP) — Don’t choose a prepaid card just because it’s from Suze Orman.

The personal finance guru this week introduced a prepaid card that she’s touting as a “smarter way to stay debt free.” Orman says that her Approved card costs just $3 a month “if you use it how I tell you to.”

But as with most prepaid cards, the amount cardholders ultimately fork over will vary significantly depending on their spending habits. Other features of the card are worth a closer look as well.

In general, prepaid cards are used as a stand-in for debit cards by individuals who don’t have checking accounts. The cards are advertised as a way to control spending or dodge steep bank fees. But the fees on prepaid cards can rack up quickly as well.

Orman isn’t the first celebrity to stake a claim in the rapidly growing prepaid market. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons offers the Rush Card, which consumer advocates have criticized for its $10 monthly fee, among a host of other fees. Simmons also recently introduced a prepaid card in partnership with Yankee shortstop Alex Rodriguez.

The celebrity card that generated the sharpest criticism to date was the Kardashian Kard, which the reality TV sisters quickly cut ties with after its high fees were slammed by consumer groups. The card cost $59.95 just to buy and use for six months, or $99.95 for 12 months. That didn’t include any money loaded onto the card.

Orman’s monthly fee is clearly a better deal than the Kardashian card. Yet it’s not necessarily “the smart choice for you!” as she states on the card’s website.

Here’s a closer look at the terms:

FEES

The upfront cost of the Approved card is $3, which is line with some of the cheapest prepaid cards on the market. But after the first month, the card charges a $3 monthly fee.

By contrast, the American Express prepaid card doesn’t carry a monthly fee. Other prepaid cards, including the one by industry heavyweight Green Dot, give users ways to avoid the monthly fee, either by setting up direct deposit or making a certain number of transactions each month.

The ATM fees are another matter. The Approved card partners with the Allpoint ATM network, which has 35,000 machines nationwide in drug stores such as CVS, Walgreens and other retail locations. But customers using an Allpoint machine are still charged $2 per withdrawal, unless they set up direct deposit or a recurring bank transfer of $20 or more. Each transfer or deposit waives ATM fees for 30 days.

If cardholders use an out-of-network ATM, they’re charged $2 per withdrawal plus the ATM operator’s fee. In most cases, that would add up to $4 or $5 per withdrawal.

Then there are the more ancillary fees to consider. For example, cardholders can speak with a customer service representative once a month. But after that, each call costs $2. It’s free to pay bills electronically. Those who need to pay rent or another bill by paper check have to pay $1 per payment. A full list of fees can be found at http://theapprovedcard.com/fees .

Keep in mind that it also costs $3.50 to reload cash onto the card at a retail location. It’s free to add money through direct deposit or a bank transfer.

FREE PERKS

Even if you incur several fees, you may feel that card’s free perks make up for the costs.

For example, one of the unique features of the Approved card is that it gives users unlimited access to their TransUnion credit reports and scores for one year. But it’s worth noting that the score cardholders receive is a VantageScore, and not the widely used FICO scores.

Free reports and scores are also available from other sources, without having to buy a prepaid card, says John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for SmartCredit.com.

The credit monitoring website CreditKarma.com, for example, offers users free unlimited reports and VantageScores from TransUnion. Users don’t have to enter any credit card information either. The site makes money through the credit card ads users are shown when they log on.

If you don’t feel you need ongoing access to your credit report, don’t forget that everyone is entitled to a free credit report from each of the three national credit bureaus once a year at www.AnnualCreditReport.com .

CREDIT IMPACT

Those who’ve read about the Approved card may be confused about its impact on their credit profile.

Orman says that the Approved card is the first prepaid card to share information with TransUnion. But for now, the cards do not have any impact on credit reports.

TransUnion is simply analyzing the anonymous transaction data to see whether it can eventually help supplement the thin credit profiles of those who have limited access to credit. But there’s no guarantee of how the experiment will play out, and historically, debit transactions haven’t been considered predictive of a consumer’s creditworthiness.

And there are skeptics over whether prepaid cards will ever be included in credit reports.

“It would be completely inappropriate,” Ulzheimer said. “It’s like putting a checking account or brokerage account on your credit report. It has nothing to do with credit. It’s a stored value card.”

Finally, a common marketing tactic in the prepaid industry is to tout that a credit check isn’t required; Orman’s card riffs off this idea with the “Approved” moniker. But the reason a credit check isn’t required for prepaid cards is that no credit is being extended; the cards only come loaded with however much money individuals fork over.

That’s why a quick “approval” is guaranteed.

Candice Choi can be reached on www.twitter.com/candicechoi .

Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Dissatisfied with the current military loan offers available for American servicemen, the bad credit consumer site ReallyBadCreditOffers.com, has stopped recommending military loans until better offers become available. In an effort to increase the benefits and flexibility of financial offers for military personnel the site has changed its offer selection to include no lenders.

This update applies to all searches regarding military loans, whether they be for emergency cash, car loans, refinances or any other financial needs members of the military community may be seeking. A number of specialized financial offers for military members exist in the market, and the site is considering the various offerings for offers that best meet the needs of servicemen require.

ReallyBadCreditOffers.com provides visitors recommendations of various services for people with bad credit, traditionally denied approvals from traditional lenders. Visitors can find emergency loans for bad credit, help declaring bankruptcy, and be connected with credit repair agencies to help rebuild after hardship.

There are many times when military families need emergency cash in order to bridge the financial demands of a surprise deployment or extended service demand. The demands of military life often make it difficult to maintain the stringent demands of the credit bureaus that determine credit score.

Those who serve, deserve our thanks, our understanding, and our help. Until we find the right loan offer that makes allowances for these sacrifices, we will not be recommending a lender, said Ariel Pryor, loan expert, We are actively searching for an offer worthy of our best and brightest.

Military loan programs are designed to be more flexible and understanding of the unique demands of service that can often ruin credit scores by no fault of the borrower. The loan programs are only offered to military, and as such, have entirely different rates and repayment schedules than do the normal bad credit loans offered to the general marketplace. The loans can range from as little as $500, to up to $10,000 and are exclusive to the military.

These loans are easy to get approved, and most military loans offer 24 hour service to accommodate international deployment time zones. Upon approval, the money is deposited directly into the borrower’s bank account and is usually available for use on the next business day.

The website offers visitors a number of information resources so that people can find the help they need when faced with low credit scores. Visitors can compare instant loans for bad credit, credit repair companies and get help with bankruptcy or buying a home.

About ReallyBadCreditOffers.com

The site has proudly helped over 100,000 consumers since its inception in 2005. The credit resource works to connect people facing financial challenges with the services and help they need, emergency resources for people when they need it most.

Contact:

Ariel Pryor, Bad Credit Expert

http://www.reallybadcreditoffers.com

(520) 344-2001

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In an effort to support Solano County communities through financial education, Travis Credit Union will offer a free seminar on Saturday, Jan. 21, from 9 am to noon, in the TCU Community Room located at One Travis Way, Vacaville. To reserve a spot, call (707) 449-4000 or (800) 877-8328 by Jan. 20.

Preparation for home ownership begins long before the purchase actually takes place. This seminar covers pre-purchase issues such as budgeting, determining how much house is affordable, saving for a down payment and other costs, credit reports, debt-to-income ratios, as well as the mortgage lending process.

Headquartered in Vacaville, Travis Credit Union is a nonprofit cooperative financial institution serving those who live or work in Yolo County.

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The deal: CreditKarma.com has offered free credit scores for a few years, and has now added free credit monitoring.

The service tracks credit reports provided by credit reporting agency TransUnion. That means if TransUnion gets a request for information regarding a new credit application or adds a negative item such as a late payment to a credit report, Credit Karma will send an email letting the individual know, said founder Kenneth Lin.

The service is available to the sites 4 million existing users, in addition to new users as they sign up. Everyone must opt-in by providing details such as their Social Security number and birth date to enable the service to track credit history. Lin said the site does not share personal information. It uses several well-known security measures to protect users data.

The benefit: Everyone is entitled to one free credit report per year from TransUnion, along with one from both of its two major competitors, Equifax and Experian, each year through www.annual creditreport.com .

What Credit Karma is offering is a service that many banks and others typically charge around $12.95 a month, marketed as identity theft protection — a program that provides a heads up when there is activity related to your report.

Although Credit Karmas service does not include information from the other two agencies, which many ID theft monitors do, it still provides a good way to keep tabs on whats happening with your credit. It can give you a heads up if your identity is stolen or if someone is applying for cards or accounts in your name.

The downside: Credit Karma provides credit scores produced by TransUnion and VantageScore, but does not offer FICO scores, which are the most widely used among lenders. The scores it provides can give you a good idea of where your credit rating stands, but may not match up with the scores your bank uses if you apply for a loan or credit card.

The fine print: Credit Karma earns its revenue through advertising that appears on the site. Lin said the ads may be targeted to users based on the information they provide.

For instance, users with very high credit scores may see ads for cash-back credit cards that are marketed to consumers with strong credit histories.

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When we want something–we pay for it–and get it–instantly. If you did some impromptu spending at Christmas, you may be paying for it now with regret.

Experts say its time to realize what you did wrong on 2011–Mostly likely–it was failure to budget.

Living within a budget, sometimes a budget is a four letter word, you hear it and its like a financial straight jacket, but thats not what it is at all.A budget allows you to take control of your money, said Jeremy Johnson, a financial planner with Bank of Oklahoma.

That means accounting for every dollar that comes into your home–putting it where it belongs.

And if you can, you should be saving. Its hard to get any kind of a good interest rate in checking or saving or money market but the flip side of that coin is that borrowing rates are also very low, too, said Johnson.

For many consumers money is out of control–going everywhere. Now is the time to refinance high interest loans on your credit cards, cars or homes.

The pros say dont dwell on your mistakes.They say keep moving and moving towards an emergency fund.

An emergency fund is there for those events that I call life happens events when your car breaks down when your air conditioner at home goes out. You dont have to pull out a credit card to put that on because youve got an emergency fund there.

Have a plan but financial planners say be realistic about what you can spend and at you can save.

You can always ask for help–most banks have financial planners on staff– and you can always find a template for a budget.

Look for the link, attached to this story and you will find a template for your own personal budgeting plan.

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Staff report

Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly recommends that consumers add a careful review of their credit information to their list of New Years resolutions.

The start of a new year is a time when many people make plans to change old habits and improve their lives, like exercising more or losing weight, Kelly said. Credit issues can have a major impact on your life, so we urge consumers to consider healthy credit as part of their planning for 2012.

Kelly noted that many consumers only think about credit when planning a major purchase, like buying a home or a car, which is the worst time to learn about negative credit information.

She encouraged consumers to regularly check their credit history and financial accounts for signs of potential problems and be proactive when dealing with those issues.

Kelly said that many consumers still do not regularly check their credit report, even though the information is available free from all three major credit bureaus.

Regularly reviewing your credit reports and closely checking your monthly financial statements are the easiest things that consumers can do to avoid unwanted surprises involving their credit, Kelly said.

Kelly recommended that consumers check their credit reports frequently.

Every consumer is entitled to one free credit report per year from each of the three major credit bureaus, she said. Because most information is shared between the credit bureaus, this effectively allows consumers to get three free reports every year.

Kelly suggested that consumers space their free credit reports out over the entire year, getting one report approximately every four months in order to minimize the time gap between reports and improve their chances of quickly catching problems.

Check your credit history for signs of new accounts that you did not open or other unauthorized activity and immediately report anything suspicious, Kelly said. Information about reporting fraudulent accounts is included with your credit report.

Kelly also suggested that consumers review their credit history for old accounts that may have been forgotten and consider closing accounts that have gone unused for an extended period of time. Contact information for the banks or credit card that issued those accounts is listed on the credit report.

Kelly explained that identity thieves will often process small charges on stolen credit cards, verifying that the account information is valid before making expensive purchases or selling that personal information.

She urged consumers to closely review their monthly or online statements and immediately report any unauthorized charges. Instructions about disputing charges are included with the monthly billing statements.

When checking your credit history, Kelly suggested that consumers go directly to the website created by the credit bureaus for accessing free annual credit reports: http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

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Mortgage rates setting new lows is old hat at this point.  They were up slightly last week, but set record lows for the four previous weeks.  Despite a slowly improving US economy, the debt problems in Europe continue to linger over the economy, constraining borrowing rates.  Additionally, the Federal Reserve has indicated that they will keep rates low through 2012, so I do not anticipate rates increasing significantly in the near term.

Another factor to throw into the mix is the possibility that the Federal Reserve will engage in a third round of quantitative easing (QE3).  Although this possibility is still up in the air, it is something that we could see if the situation in Europe continues to devolve and the US economy lapses back into a recession.  If additional easing comes in the form of mortgage backed securities purchases, we could see rates go even lower, with the 30-year fixed rate perhaps falling to 3.5% or so.

Despite rates being at all-time lows, we are not seeing the surge in purchase or refinance activity that we would normally expect.  This is due in part to the fact that many people who are able to refinance have already done so in the recent past.  It is also because many people are precluded from refinancing or purchasing a new home because they do not meet current underwriting standards (low credit scores, and high loan-to-value ratios are the main culprits here).

If you are looking to purchase a home or refinance your mortgage, Total Mortgage may be able to help.  Our rates consistently beat the national average, and we have some of the best closing times in the industry.  Call us today at 877-868-2503 for a free consultation with one of our mortgage professionals.

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1. Upfront deposits

Just like other utility companies, cell phone companies might require you to pay an upfront deposit if you have poor credit. This gives the company a cushion with your name on it in case you decide not to pay your bill. This deposit can cover things like unpaid monthly service and breach of contract fees.

2. Higher monthly bills

Cell phone companies may require that you carry insurance on your phone or have other fees added to your monthly bill if they determine you’re a credit risk. Regardless of your credit, it is a good idea to review your monthly bills to be sure fees aren’t being added on.

3. Higher phone prices

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