o
of your in om with
iv from p -
Entertainm n
Xp n
A numb r of things can trig
r an udit, and qu tionable
entertainm nt is high on t hf?
list. Undocumented e
: 15.4%
: 16.7
Ha v you made out your
Chri t mas Ii t and checked it
twice? If not, the Michigan
Credit. Union League (MCUL)
encourages consumers that a
li t is a good place to begin your
holiday shopping.
"Holiday shopping is fun and
people like to plurge for special
occa ions," says Michael Kelly,
enior Director of Information
for h MCUL. "Unfortunately,
con umers don't always realize
how m uch damage they've done
to th it' s vings ccount until
the bills begin arriving in Janu
ary and aren't paid off until
Jun." Kelly ugge a few aug
ge t ion on how to shop within
your mean for the holidays .
Be creative to
reduce the expense
Can you bake oooki or make
a Christma ornam nt ra her
than buy a mor exp iv gift?
A coupl with children m y ap
pr iat a gift of "baby itting
coupons" red mabie to you. An
oth r possibility is shopping for
an ntire family versus indi
vidual
For xampl ,an annu I fam-
ily p to th Detroit Zoo costs
50 and includes 2 adults, chil
dren and gr ndchildr n. You'll
'find that cr ativity involves
more tim and thought than
money and p pie will appreci
ate your extra effort .
extra holiday expenses you an
ticipate, like greeting card,
stamp, food for holiday parties
or tickets for the N w Year's Eve
extravaganza. Can your budget
cover all thi ."
Make aUt
A Ii t will help you see how
many p pl. you will be, buying
gift . for this year. Whil you're
at it, make another list of all
mean
Don't spend money
you don't already have
B wary of spending a Christ
mas bonu before you have it -
this might be the year that the
bonus i a frozen turkey instead
of a ch k. If you hav enough
disciplin ,you can add a holiday
gift lin to your own budget and
avail y ar long. "
Take advantage 'of
the credit card bUtz
Many major credit card com
panies such VISA and Mas r
Card offer credit rd with low
intere t rat ,U t.h cards
instead of departmen store
card which end to have a
high r inter s rat. Alway
r ad th fin print. If a low in
ter t ra is only good for ix
mont ,payoff th bills before
the 11 winter t rat b om
effectiv .
Gcvernment pledges
.to low-· come 0 ......
Charitabl
Contribution
Your h rt may in h
right pla wh n you giv to
charity, make ure you can
docum nt the gift. Ta law
now demand ven mo proof for
claiming ny charitabl contri
bution orth 250 or mor proof
for claiming any charitabl con
tribution worth 250 or more.
For property contributions
over 500 but no mo than
5,000, attach an apprai a1.
Y JACQU LV R. AR"
M�g.n�I!I�
In an effort to reinvigorate
African-American homeown
hopes of purchasing a home, the
Federal National Mortga As
socia ion (Fannie-Mae) an
nounced that it is providing $1
trillion in financing to assist ap
proximately 10 million low- to
moderate-income familia y
the year 2000.
Unfortunately, th d am of
being homeown rs has oft n
been deferred for Afri an
Americans. Studies by acad mi
cians and community activist
groups d tailing the high in i
den of red lining and mortga
loan discrimination hav 1 to
sound bit expo ur in th m
dia, and a cynical approach to
mortgage loan applica ions y
Blacks.
Fannie Mae is a f d rally
chartered, private corporation
that buys and sells performing
mortgage loans to and from
originating lenders. It r pa -
ages and re lIs them in th
open market as mort
backed securiti ..
Wh n Fannie Mae pu h
performing loans from fin n ial
institutions owned by African
Americans, like Family v
ings, the eIling bank gen rat
cash. With more cash, th b nk
is able to m k more 10 ns. With
more loans, more African
Americans are abl 0 purchas
their own homes.
. "
U. ATI -
o Child car cr dit
writ 0
For anyon who k r 0
your children you must list th
me, ddr , oci 1 ecurity
numb r nd b amoun paid for
rvice on Form 2441 to g th
maximum cr it.
Anoth r r d flag which n
trig r an udi i ov rstating
property appr i al made
fore and aft. r th casu lty, po
Ii or fir d partmen cord,
pl phot of th dam
yndicated radio p ram, "Your I't
onnl Fuuin. . H and author o(Your{'fJn1
n.wn. . Guid If) I' rsonal Fuumrui!
l'tantung
fund
buy-
cr it ri
High 0 r newp 0-
gram will allow a "qualifying
flexibility" that will addr th
fact that Black famili tradi
tionally spend a higher percent
a of th ir in m on living
expens .
Last year, Fannie Mae ended
a similar program funded with
10 billion. The government
agency boasts that it e ded
To obt in informa ion on thi
program, call 1-800-7Fanni .
Fanni Mae will s nd you a 124
pa booklet titled ning th
Door to Hom of Your wn.
Kayla French
pronloted
Mi higan.
F nch nd h r hu.
r id in troit.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Bla k attorn y
.. h