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