Financial resources for 
                             the Santa Barbara area

Current Topics:

FIRE SEASON
Plan for Emergencies and Disasters

Disasters and Financial Planning: A Guide for Preparedness is offered to you as a public service of the AICPA Foundation, the American Red Cross and NEFE.

Get a free Emergency Financial First Aid Kit from FEMA and Operation HOPE

Make a Disaster Plan.  Ready.gov offers resources for your emergency kit, family emergency plan and great activities to prepare kids.  FEMA has good overall disaster preparedness information.

Prevent and mitigate possible damages with the advice found at www.disastersafety.org

Ask your insurance agent to help you determine if you have enough coverage to rebuild your house in case of a total loss.  Keep your policy up to date with improvements.  You can use online replacement cost calculators at http://accucoverage.com/ (for a fee) and www.xactinfo.com/apps/hov/ (for a fee as well).

Make a home inventory with free software provided by the Insurance Information Institute at KnowYourStuff.org .

SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE CRISIS
RESOURCES FOR FORECLOSURE PREVENTION INFORMATION

 

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Includes listing of HUD-certified credit and foreclosure prevention counseling agencies. Call (800) 569-4287 or visit www.hud.gov/foreclosure/

 

Peoples' Self-Help Housing provides affordable housing in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura Counties and offers free foreclosure prevention seminars 

Homeownership Preservation Foundation: Call (888) 995-HOPE (888-995-4673), or visit www.995hope.org/. 

Mortgage Bankers Association's Home Loan Learning Center (www.homeloanlearningcenter.com ). Click on "Your Finances" on the right side, and then on "Foreclosure and Delinquency." Includes contact information for many major mortgage lenders and servicers.

Center for Responsible Lending - A resource for predatory lending opponents and for consumers seeking help 

Americans for Fairness in Lending (AFFIL) exists to raise awareness of abusive credit and lending practices 

This website focuses on free and objective resources.  Yet, Ithe following business must be noted as a possible resource.  The name says it all...
www.YouWalkAway.com 

INVESTMENT & SAVINGS INSURANCE
FIND OUT HOW (OR IF) YOUR ACCOUNTS ARE INSURED

Bank Deposit Accounts
An online calculator available at the FDIC's web site (http://www.fdic.gov/edie/) can help you estimate the total FDIC coverage on your deposit accounts. Try also www.myfdicinsurance.gov 

Credit Union Accounts
You can estimate your existing coverage by using the calculator at the NCUA's web site at http://webapps.ncua.gov/ins/ 

Brokerage Accounts
Most brokerage accounts are protected by the Securities Investor Protection Corp (www.SIPC.org ).  It's important to remember that SIPC does not protect against market risk or price fluctuations.



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