Consumer

• H&FF Radio covers financial tips for veterans
• Mortgage market has opportunities for consumers
• Companies start to hire, not fire

H&FF Radio covers financial tips for veterans

WASHINGTON (11/6/09)--Sunday's H&FF Radio show addresses financial topics for military families: Cutting grocery costs, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Military Line, and veterans benefits.

Home & Family Finance airs Sundays at 3 p.m. ET on the Radio America Network. The show also is carried on American Forces Radio Network. The one-hour program devoted to consumer finance issues is brought to you by America's credit unions and their 90 million members, and is presented by CO-OP Network.

The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) and Radio America are podcasting Home & Family Finance through iTunes, Podcast Alley, Odeo, and other popular podcast library sites, as well as on Radio America and CUNA's websites.

Sunday's show, which you also can hear later via the Internet, features Paul Berry, Washington, D.C., journalist and broadcaster, discussing these topics with special guests:

• "Ways to Cut the Cost of Your Groceries," with Sgt. Shopper, a.k.a. Karen Jowers, contributor, Military Times, Springfield, Va.;

• "U.S. Better Business Bureau Military Line--What's There for You?" with Holly Petraeus, director BBB Military Line, U.S. Better Business Bureau, Arlington, Va.;

• "Veterans Benefits," with Keith Pedigo, associate deputy undersecretary for policy and program management, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.; and

• "Navigating the Veterans' Benefits Maze," with Shad Meshad, founder and president, National Veterans Foundation, Los Angeles, Calif.

Home & Family Finance is a resource center for personal finance information at CUNA. The radio show is sponsored by CO-OP Network, the national credit union ATM network; Cabot Creamery Cooperative, maker of award-winning cheddar; Western Corporate FCU (WesCorp) and its member credit unions; and the Defense Credit Union Council and member credit unions, serving those who serve the country worldwide.

For more information, read "Tough Times Series: Gouged by Groceries" and "Tough Times Series: Services, Sites Help Veterans Navigate Benefits Maze" in Home & Family Finance Resource Center.

Resource Links

Home & Family Finance Resource Center

Home & Family Finance Radio

We're Here for You drive-up envelope

Build a Basic Budget: The 5-Step Spending Plan member seminar kit

Mortgage market has opportunities for consumers

MADISON, Wis. (11/4/09)--Nearly 6.5 million home owners are deciding whether to stay with their adjustable-rate mortgages or lock in fixed rates (Money November).

In fact, September's 9.4% sales increase was the largest monthly hike in 26 years as buyers moved to qualify for the first-time buyers incentives expiring this month. Nationwide, sales are up nearly 24% since January (MSNBC Oct. 23).

Foreclosures and short sales--where the mortgage exceeds the sales price--have forced prices downward 9% from a year earlier. The median price in September was $174,900, down from $191,200 in September 2008. And prices could fall further if unemployment, expected to rise to 10.5% next year, leads to more foreclosures. Inventories of unsold homes, which fell about 7% in September, are at their lowest level since March of 2007 but could well rise with higher unemployment.

In fact, what is happening in the mortgage market is regional. During the past three years, home prices in metro areas of 23 states recorded gains. The South, the Plains, and most of the non-coastal West showed some ability to weather the stormy mortgage market, according to Fiserv (CNN/Money Oct. 21). Meanwhile, 16 states--those in the Northeast plus California, Florida, Nevada, and Arizona--have posted declines.

For many consumers, the issue is whether to lock in a fixed rate. Roughly 6.5 million homeowners have adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) and many of those notes are coming up for adjustment.

For the short term, consumers with ARMs should be fine. But once the economy stabilizes and the government starts to remove policies that are keeping mortgage rates low, rates are likely to rise.

Here are some thoughts about whether to stand pat with your ARM or move to a fixed rate:

• If you plan to move within the next three years, if you have less than 20% equity in your home and home prices have taken a beating in your community, or if you have a jumbo mortgage, you may be better off with your existing ARM.

• If you plan to move in the next three to five years or you have a jumbo mortgage, look at a 5/1 ARM. (A 5/1 ARM locks your interest rate for the first five years and then can adjust annually for the life of the loan.)

• If you plan to stay in your home for more than five years, or you plan to use the equity in your home for college expenses or some other need, you may want to look at a fixed-rate mortgage now; they are not likely to go lower after the next year or so.

• If you have doubts about your future plans, it is usually safer to lock in a low rate while you can.

Resource Links

What To Do When Your ARM Is Due statement stuffer

10 Questions to Ask a Mortgage Lender statement stuffer

How Much House Can You Afford statement stuffer

Mortgage Trouble? Visit Your CU statement stuffer

Home Buying Program Workbook

Your Path to Homeownership

Companies start to hire, not fire

McLEAN, Va. (11/2/09)--A new survey by the National Association for Business Economics, Washington, D.C., finds that economic recovery is slowly under way. For the first time since the recession began, more companies are planning to add staff than to cut jobs (USA Today Oct. 26).

This may be good news for the future, but if you're unemployed, you're probably wondering how you're going to stay afloat until your personal situation improves (Marketwatch.com Oct. 27).

If you've experienced a job loss, the Credit Union National Association's Center for Personal Finance gives this advice to help you get back in the job market:

• Get the word out. The most important thing to do is communicate. Let everyone know you're looking for a job.

• Network. The more people who know you're looking for work, the better. Don't forget former co-workers. Consider using professional online networking tools such as LinkedIn to stay in touch with former colleagues and business acquaintances.

• Consider temp work--especially if you need to work now. Some income is better than none, and you never know when something temporary may turn into a permanent position.

• Revamp your résumé. Focus on achievements rather than descriptions; edit, cut, and condense your information; list your successes by showing your accomplishments, committees you've joined, and quantifiable results.

• Think about nontraditional job options. Using your talent and skills from a previous job and working from home can make freelancing or starting a small business a lucrative option.

For more help in surviving a job loss, see the "Get Back in the Game After Losing a Job" Turning Point in Home & Family Finance Resource Center.

Resource Links

Home & Family Finance Resource Center

Your Survival Guide for Tough Times handbook

National Association for Business Economics survey

U.S. Labor Department Employment & Training Administration