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Recent studies have shown that today’s youth are piling up debt faster than ever before, complicating their current lifestyle and compromising their future financial health. Major factors in this unhealthy trend are limited financial training, the accessibility of credit cards and loans, and the scarcity of information that addresses their specific needs and situations. A recent study by Nellie Mae Corporation reported that 66 percent of undergraduate students surveyed have credit cards while their average outstanding balance was $2,169.

Recognizing this trend, YOUNG MONEY, the leading national money and lifestyle magazine for college students and young adults ages 18 to 25, has expanded its reach and financial education resources for American youth. The publication announced today that it has added a 200th college now distributing copies on their campuses nationwide, up from 110 colleges in January 2007.

With more than 800,000 readers, YOUNG MONEY has grown in popularity and service, experiencing a circulation increase of more than one hundred percent over the past five years.

For more information, visit incharge.org

After concluding their tax preparation activities, many people will see that they are entitled to a rebate from Uncle Sam. “Whether your rebate is large or small, you are wise to determine now what you will do when that check arrives,” says Sheryl Garrett, CFP®, author of Personal Finance Workbook For Dummies® (Wiley, November 2007) and founder of the Garrett Planning Network. “Don’t fritter it away or spend it on a whim.”

On a recent teleconference, network members brainstormed 13 ways taxpayers can put this “found money” to work:

1. Put the entire amount toward funding your 2008 IRA contribution.

2. Give the money to charity and claim that amount as a tax deduction on your 2008 tax return, if you itemize using Schedule A of Form 1040.

3. Sign up with www.kiva.org and provide micro-loans to budding entrepreneurs in third-world countries.

4. Start a tax-sheltered 529 college savings plan to fund your own or children’s/grandchildren’s educations.

5. Check that you have adequate insurance coverage on the following types of policies: property and casualty, life insurance, health insurance, long-term care and disability insurance.

6. Use the rebate money to engage the services of an estate planning attorney

7. Use the money to purchase stock mutual funds at current prices.

8. If you have credit card debt, pay off as much as possible.

9. Mortgage interest rates are the lowest we’ve seen in a long time. If you have a good credit score, now might be a good time to refinance your first mortgage and/or to wrap your Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) debt or second mortgage into a more attractive home loan.

10. During economic slowdowns, including a recession, job losses and/or business declines are inevitable. Take a course, add to your credentials and consider how you can improve your skill set to make yourself as attractive as possible in the marketplace.

11. Schedule your annual check ups with your doctor and your dentist.

12. Schedule a financial check up for yourself. Annual trips to the dentist, the doctor - and your financial planner - are wise investments

13. Purchase a gift certificate, for a set amount of professional financial advice, for a loved one.

For more information, visit garrettplanningnetwork.com

Credit problems are increasing dramatically both in the UK and abroad and even consumers with decent income and substantial assets are severely challenged by the deepening crisis. Major lending institutions are reeling from the catastrophe, including powerful leaders like Barclays and HSBC. Northern Rock has virtually collapsed, and Alliance and Leicester have incurred serious losses. A significant shortage of investment capital for loans now exists, and banks and mortgage companies have tightened their purse strings in an attempt to avoid greater losses.

Subprime mortgages are blamed for much of the trouble, so lenders have virtually eliminated them. But subprimes have traditionally served those people who have bad credit. Without subprimes many borrowers do not know where to go to get vital loans, even as the financial crisis worsens. Faced with tighter restrictions on loan applications, and more difficulty qualifying for loans, many consumers with less that perfect credit are frustrated and desperate.

But for many, the answer to their problems lies in procuring a bad credit loan. These unique loans are specifically tailored to customers who may be unable to get credit or loan approval through conventional channels like banks and mortgage lenders.

Companies who specialise in bad credit loans structure their business portfolios so that they can assume higher levels of risk than ordinary lenders, and they exist for the sole purpose of making good loans to people with bad credit. The services they provide - and the creative types of loans they offer - are becoming a valuable asset to UK consumers as other sources of loans evaporate.

For more information, visit loansbadcredit.org.uk

Privacy Matters Identity (SM), a leading security and privacy membership program from Adaptive Marketing LLC, knows that a lost wallet can mean instant panic. And those first few seconds of helplessness — followed by everything from self-deprecation to worry, even to anger — are perfectly normal. Still, if it happens, consumers need to have a recovery plan in place.

Sure, it’s inconvenient to have to deal with the loss of critical and personal items — not to mention cash — but no one else will do the legwork. So if that trusty billfold or favorite hand bag should suddenly goes missing, PMIdentity recommends creating some semblance of the following “Lost Wallet” recovery plan:

– Practice the three “Cs.” Easier said than done, but this is a good time to try to be cool, calm and collected.

– Dial for dials. Don’t give up “the hunt” right away, but don’t dally either. If there’s sensitive and personal information in that wallet, anyone who can read can use it for personal gain. Keep those phone skills sharp, think about canceling all the credit and charge cards, and get replacement account numbers.

– Sound the alarm. So once those account numbers have been canceled through the individual credit companies, call up the major credit reporting agencies, and ask them to flag accounts with a “fraud alert.”

– Meanwhile, back on the busy phones … Once all the financials have been handled, get on the phone with everybody else — utility companies, the bank and the phone company — just in case someone out there feels like becoming an identity thief might be an interesting career move.

For more information, visit identity.privacymatters.com