The United States suffers a critical shortage of physicians and nurses. Especially in depressed inner cities and remote rural areas, people have little or no access to quality healthcare, because the country does not have professionals to serve them. In the next decade, the nation will need a million new nurses and almost as many doctors. With the passage of health care reform legislation, the nation urgently will need primary care physicians and Certified Nurse Practitioners. Therefore, as Congress and the President approved the Economic Recovery Act of 2009, they built-in provisions for literally billions of dollars in grants and scholarships for students entering the allied health professions.

Naturally, first priority for a grant or scholarship goes to students in pre-med majors or on track to bachelors degrees in nursing, but students in RN, pharmacy, and surgical technician programs also qualify. These grants do not replace Pell Grants or federally guaranteed Perkins loans; instead, they supplement those awards, basing qualification on satisfactory progress through higher education and students’ financial needs. Naturally, the grantors award some special consideration to students whose families have histories of economic and educational disadvantage. The criteria, however, are strictly numerical-grade point averages, test scores, and family incomes.

Single mothers naturally gravitate to allied health professions, because their experience as mothers prepares them to serve as exceptional caregivers, and the diamond lanes to the degrees remain wide open. Online nursing programs especially award transfer credit up to ninety units for well-documented “life experiences relevant to students’ degree expectations.” If a student demonstrates minimal competence in reading, writing, and mathematics, many online degree programs will allow them to test out of or petition out of other general education requirements for the sake of quick advancement into their pre-professional programs.

Single mothers typically can expect financial aid awards to the full extent of their needs. Pell Grants alone will cover approximately 30% of a student’s annual expenses. Grants from the Health Careers Opportunity Program and other special pre-health initiatives pay for textbooks and materials; they also pay for some housing and everyday living expenses. And the best online schools and four-year institutions assist students in their searches and applications for “merit-based” scholarships to meet 100% of students’ financial needs.

With proper financial support and appropriate motivation, a single mother can earn her RN in approximately two years. Moreover, in 2009, Registered Nurses commanded average starting salaries over $55,000, and most received “sign-on bonuses” in excess of $2500(US).

Did you know you can get a $10,000 scholarship for Moms just for registering? Apply right now for free: Scholarships for Moms

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michel_B.

Historically, people have always established relationships with their banks. They would open an account as a child and continue to deposit – or withdraw – throughout their lives. Over time, the relationship would strengthen as customers borrowed money for homes, cars, and other needs. As a result, millions of people have come to think of their banking institutions as friendly resources that serve their needs with their best interests in mind. Unfortunately, most people would be stunned if banking institutions were completely honest with them. Below, you’ll discover 4 things that your bank will never openly admit to you.

#1 – “We need you to buy our products.”

Have you ever wondered why so many banking establishments maintain expensive physical branches while the world becomes more comfortable doing everything online? The truth is, they need to sell you financial products in order to make a profit. The most effective way for them to do that is in person. When you walk into your local branch, every employee has been trained to sell. Even though you might think they have your best interests in mind, they’re often only interested in selling you.

#2 – “You’ll get a better deal somewhere else.”

If you keep a savings or money market account at a large, national bank, you might have noticed that the annual yield is dismally low. Large banking institutions rarely offer competitive yields. In nearly every case, you’ll find that smaller establishments offer much higher yields, and often, fewer fees.

#3 – “We love to charge you fees.”

In a lot of ways, fees are a bank’s bread and butter. They don’t normally affect the rise and decline of their customers’ deposit assets. And most customers either don’t notice the fees or simply accept them as a fact of their banking arrangement. For example, an overdraft in your checking account might cost $30. Using an ATM to withdraw money may cost another $2. Transferring funds or letting your balance dwindle below a given mark might result in more fees.

Month after month, millions of people have small fees deducted from their accounts for a variety of reasons. Banks love to charge them because they add up and travel straight to their bottom line.

#4 – “We make a ton of money off college students.”

If you have visited a university campus during the past decade, you’ll have noticed that banking establishments maintain a massive presence. There’s a good reason. First, once a student can be persuaded to open an account – even a small checking account – they’re unlikely to leave for another financial institution. Second, a college student represents a treasure trove of profit. Down the road, they’ll need a car loan, home loan, credit card, and perhaps a graduate school loan. In short, they’re a rich source of new business for banks.

The purpose of exposing the banking industry’s dirty secrets is to motivate you to become a more informed customer. That way, whether you’re looking for a savings account, credit card, or home loan, you’ll have both eyes open while searching for the most attractive deal.

Copyright (c) 2010 Suzy Vanstrusen

Consumers are being advised by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to avoid dealing with illegal credit repair companies when it comes to repairing their credit. One way of avoiding fraud and rip-offs is to know the signs if false credit repair agencies. What are these signs?

Upfront payment. A legal credit repair or credit counselling agency will never ask for an advanced payment prior to providing service since that is an infringement of the laws and regulations stipulated in the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

Advises you to lie or use false information. If your credit counselor recommends that you violate the law, then this is a sure sign that you are dealing with a fake agency. For example, you may be advised to use a different Social Security Number or replace your SSN with your EIN (Employer Identification Number) to switch your credit identity.

Keep in mind that lying or using false information just to be free from your all your responsibilities will never solve the problem instead, it will only worsen the situation you are in. In the long run, you will find yourself in an even deeper problem than you are in at this time. Furthermore, you can be charged and prosecuted for the crime of fraud.

Promises to instantly fix your credit history. If the debts in your credit report are correct, it is impossible for you or any of the three credit report agencies to remove those charges. In restoring your good credit history, paying your creditors is actually the only solution.

You are not told about your rights. A genuine credit counselor must first of all present to you your consumer rights based upon the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Before signing up for a credit repair, you should be given a copy of the Consumer Credit File Rights Under State and Federal Law. Make sure that your agreement clearly stipulates the precise service you will be provided, the approximated time frame before you can see result, and all the fees that you are expected to pay.

You are not given practical advice. There are many steps which can be done to help yourself get out of bad credit without spending a cent. As an example, you are eligible to get a copy of free credit report if you think you have been a victim of fraud or ID theft; if you have been previously refused credit or employment; or if you are jobless but aiming to look for a new one within the next 60 days.

You can also obtain a copy of your free credit report by checking out www.annualcreditreport.com. The website is backed up by the three credit report agencies

The United States stock market is the largest in the world, but certainly not the only important one. Much of the world’s economic activity, and many of its public companies that pay stock dividends, are traded in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and South America.

The greatest growth potential lies in the developing world. If U.S. investors restrict their portfolios to Wall Street they cannot profit from the rest of the world.

However, it’s not easy for the average small investor to invest in companies listed in London and Tokyo, let alone Brazil and China.

If investors want to receive dividends from companies around the world, it’s difficult just to find the best ones.

However, four exchange traded funds (ETFs) now make this simple and easy for U.S. investors.

The first is PowerShares International Dividend Achievers Portfolio: PID. PID tracks the Mergent International Dividend Achievers Index. This is a list of all companies outside the United States which have raised their dividends every year for at least the past five years, and which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, or NASDAQ.

The top countries represented by this ETF are Canada, The United Kingdom, Japan, Bermuda, and Mexico. It holds ninety different companies. The top three companies it owns are Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S.A.B. de C.V. (ADS), Tsakos Energy Navigation Ltd., and BP PLC (ADS). Its distribution yield is 6.25%.

WisdomTree DEFA Fund: DWM tracks the WisdomTree Dividend Index of Europe, Far East Asia and Australiasia (DEFA). This is a fundamentally weighted index of nearly 2000 companies. They are in sixteen developed countries in Europe, Singapore, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.

DWM is a fund of funds because it primarily invests in the more specific WisdomTree funds. These are the WisdomTree Europe Total Dividend Fund, the Japan Total Dividend Fund, and the Pacific ex-Japan Total Dividend Fund. DWM’s net expense ratio is 0.48%. Its distribution yield is 4.59%.

WisdomTree DEFA Equity Income Fund: DTH consists of the companies in the WisdomTree DEFA Index with the highest dividend yields. They must also have a market cap of at least $200 million and average trading volume of at least $200,000 per day for the past three months.

Top countries included in this ETF are currently The United Kingdom, France, Spain, Australia, and Germany. Its top holding is BP (formerly British Petroleum). DTH’s expense ratio is 0.58%. Its yield is 2.61%.

WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income Fund: DEM replicates the performance of the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Equity Income Index. This measures the companies in WisdomTree’s Emerging Markets Index which pay the highest dividend yields. They have to be in the top 30% of companies in the index. DEM’s expense ratio is 0.63%. Its overall dividend yield is 5.32%.

Top emerging countries in this fund are Taiwan, South Africa, Brazil, Isreal, and Malaysia. The top company is the Nan Ya Plastics Corporation of Taiwan.

For the greatest diversification and growth potential investors should consider buying one of the first three ETFS and DEM. That way they can profit from companies in both developed and developing countries.

Municipal bonds are issued by local city and county governments to raise money. They may fund libraries, schools, highway improvements, or sports stadiums.

Some municipal bonds are general obligation (GO) bonds. This means that the issuing government is free to use the money as it sees fit, whether to buy a new police cars or pay janitors at the county hospital.

Other municipal bonds can be used only for a specific purpose. For instance a county could use the funds to build a toll road. The tolls collected from motorists is used to repay bond owners.

Some consider GO bonds safer because the government can pay the required interest out of any money collected, whether taxes or speeding ticket fines. Some consider the other bonds safer. That’s because a municipality’s toll booth may continue to make money even as its property tax base goes downhill.

Historically, municipal bonds have low rates of default. The few cases of prominent muni bond defaults made big news. But the 1983 Washington Public Power Supply System default on bonds used to finance nuclear power plants and the 1994 Orange County California bankruptcy remain exceptions.

The big appeal of municipal bonds is that their interest is tax-free at the federal level. However, because of this feature municipal bonds pay interest rates that on average are lower than corporate bonds.

Therefore many wealthy investors with a high marginal tax rate put all their money into muni bonds to reduce their federal tax burden. Municipal bonds are not as advantageous for investors in lower tax brackets.

They also are not the best investment for tax-sheltered accounts such as conventional or Roth IRAs. That’s because accumulating tax-free income inside a retirement account is a waste of its tax-shelter status.

Interest income from municipal bonds is taxable by cities and states.

There are many thousands of muni bonds to choose from, and they are not easy or convenient to buy even for the wealthy. Bond brokers generally service institutions with millions of dollars to spend.

However, investors can buy shares of the iShares S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund: MUB and SPDR Barclay’s Capital Municipal Bond ETF: TFI.

MUB tracks the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Index.

TFI tracks the Barclay’s Capital Municipal Managed Money Index (ticker: LMMITR).

(AMT stands for Alternative Minimum Tax. So the income from both these ETFs is not taxable by the IRS.)

MUB’s expense ratio is 0.25%. TFI’s is 0.30%.

MUB’s total holdings is 592. TFI’s is 282.

MUB’s average credit rating is AA-. TFI’s is AA2.

Both funds pay dividends monthly.

MUB’s average maturity is 7.93 years. TFI’s is 7.70.

TFI has a slightly higher expense ratio. It also has just half as many holdings, so it’s not as diversified as MUB. Otherwise they have similar characteristics, so it’s not necessary to buy both.

Investors in the highest tax brackets who want to diversify their municipal bond portfolios while receiving monthly checks should consider investing in either MUB or TFI.