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Here's what you need to know about the impact of collections and how to get them removed from your credit report. As it ages on your credit report, its effect on your credit score will decrease until it falls off entirely. There are a few different — and completely legal — ways you can try to remove it from your credit report to fix your credit score. While paying off a debt in collections will not improve your credit or remove the collections from your credit report, a collections agency can sue you for unpaid debt if it's still within the statute of limitations. A CFPB report on credit reports in 2022 found 175 million total collections tradelines on credit reports, down from 261 million when the report was last updated in 2018.

Persons: it's, there's, John Owens, you've, Markia Brown, Brown, Owens, Rick Eicheldinger, Zarrad, Eicheldinger Organizations: Service, Monterey Financial Services Locations: Wall, Silicon, Chevron

☆ When you come up short one month, here's how to prioritze which bills to pay first
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Jeanne Sahadi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The last thing you need is to have what is most essential to you taken away or to ruin your credit. For starters, speak upThe most important thing you should do is let your creditors know you’re in a jam. Then think about your credit cards: These shouldn’t be your highest-priority bills to pay when you’re up against a wall. If you are late with a payment, call your credit card issuer to see if they can waive the late fee, Robertson said. The initial review is typically free, and beyond that someone using ongoing counseling services may pay $35 to $40 a month on average, McClary said.

Persons: you’ve, ”, Bruce McClary, McClary, you’re, Linda Robertson, ” Robertson, “, Robertson Organizations: New, New York CNN, National Foundation, Credit Counseling, Energy Assistance, Housing Locations: New York

Hong Kong CNN —The head of Japan’s biggest music agency has apologized over allegations of years-long sexual abuse committed by its founder, the late entertainment mogul Johnny Kitagawa. “We sincerely apologize for the great deal of trouble caused by our founder Johnny Kitagawa’s alleged sexual abuse of individuals,” said Julie Fujishima, the company’s president and CEO. “On the other hand, Johnny Kitagawa, who is the party concerned, cannot speak on the accusations.”Fujishima also warned of the risk of “slander, due to speculation,” suggesting skepticism over some claims. They spoke about alleged sexual assault committed by Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019. A Tokyo High Court partially overturned the earlier decision in 2003, ruling the published sexual abuse claims were not libelous.

Here’s what we know so far about those killed in the Texas shooting:The Cho familyCho Kyu Song, 37 (husband) and Kang Shin Young, 35 (wife) are shown in an undated photo. William, who just celebrated his birthday, lost his mother, father and younger brother in the shooting, according to the post. Daniela and Sofia MendozaSisters Daniela and Sofia Mendoza were both elementary school students in the Wylie Independent School District, according to a letter sent to parents by the district. “Words cannot express the sadness we feel as we grieve the loss of our students,” the letter reads. “Please hold the Mendoza family close to your heart.

☆ As cost of living crisis bites, some Brits are questioning spending money on glitzy coronation As cost of living crisis bites, some Brits are questioning spending money on glitzy coronation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Ivana Kottasová | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

The church operates the cafe alongside a food bank which offers free food, clothes, household items and other necessities to locals who are struggling. When it first opened before the pandemic, the food bank was serving mostly homeless people. Liz Coopey, left, a volunteer at the Given Freely Freely Given food bank in Doncaster, helps local resident Angela Davis with her shopping bags. The Given Freely Freely Given food bank in Doncaster offers its clients other items than just food, including household goods and clothing. Liz Coopey, one of the volunteers there, said she understands the idea of having to rely on a food bank might be scary to many.

☆ The creepy secret behind online therapy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tanmoy Goswami | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Crisis Text Line, now in its 10th year of operations, uses artificial intelligence to respond to people experiencing emotional abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. 'The vast majority of mental-health apps are exceptionally creepy'BetterHelp, a poster child of online therapy founded in 2013, calls itself "the world's largest therapy platform" and says it has over 2 million users. One of the first popular mental-health apps, PTSD Coach, was launched by the US Department of Veteran Affairs in 2011. But for mental-health companies these practices can undermine the very foundations of mental-health care: dignity, trust, and psychological safety. As Crisis Text Line wrote on its website extolling its deal with Loris: "Why sell T-shirts when you can sell what your organization does best?"

If you're in debt or need help with your taxes, you can often get free help. Some situations may require the help of a financial advisor, and a fee-only advisor can be a good choice. Whether you simply don't want to pay for a help or are unable to, there's good news: Expensive professional help isn't the only way to solve your financial problems. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling provides credit counseling for any income level. Investing for retirementThe Financial Planning Association allows financial planners to provide free advice for families experiencing cancer, households needing help after COVID-19, and more.

☆ FTC bans online mental health company BetterHelp from sharing user data for targeted ads, as federal crackdowns on info misuse intensify
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The FTC announced a settlement with BetterHelp over allegations of sharing user data with third parties. BetterHelp will be banned from sharing the data with outside parties for advertising, and pay $7.8 million in partial refunds. Users who signed up from August 2017 through 2020 may have had their data improperly shared, per the FTC. He continued: "Instead, BetterHelp betrayed consumers' most personal health information for profit. The company was similarly banned from sharing the health information of its users with advertisers, and agreed to pay a $1.5 million fine.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said on Thursday it will close all COVID-19 disaster declaration incident periods on May 11 when the U.S. government ends two major pandemic-related emergency declarations. All 50 states, five territories and three tribal nations are seeing a major disaster declaration for COVID-19, said FEMA Associate Administrator for Response and Recovery Anne Bink. "With the administration's announcement to end the public health emergency and the national emergency declaration on May 11, 2023, today we announced the incident period for all FEMA COVID-19 disaster declarations will also close on May 11 2023," Bink told reporters on a press call. All eligible costs under the FEMA disaster declarations will continue to be eligible until May 11, and there will be a follow-up period afterwards for applicants to submit reimbursement requests, said Bink. Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ We asked ChatGPT to write a layoff memo and it turns out this is 'a difficult time'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Insider asked ChatGPT, the AI chatbot, to draft a layoff memo for a pretend tech company, Gomezon. After a little prodding, the chatbot wrote a layoff memo just as formulaic as the others. Surely it could compose a layoff memo of reasonable quality, right? ChatGPT can write a layoff memo InsiderThat wasn't the answer I'd expected, but in some ways it made me feel somewhat better about the technology. Maybe I should have accepted the technology's initial reluctance to write the layoff memo.

☆ More than 500 Salesforce employees wrote to execs demanding layoff answers. Read the leaked messages showing how management responded.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Salesforce appeared to have responded to employees' questions through a Q&A titled "Top Questions from Employees," posted to an internal Slack channel by Salesforce executive vice president of employee communications and engagement Jill Unikel. Are you a Salesforce employee or do you have insight to share? SELECTION CRITERIAQuestion: What criteria was used to decide who was in the 10% of employees affected? If an affected employee finds a new role internally before their termination date, they will remain a Salesforce employee and not receive their communicated severance. BENEFITS FOR AFFECTED EMPLOYEESQuestion: Did affected employee receive benefits included in their severance?

☆ Meet a 26-year-old who acquired $1 million in real estate properties starting with an $18,000 loan. He explains his strategy, and why beginners should purchase their first homes through FHA.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

James Walker III has acquired $1 million in real estate properties at 26 years old. Four years ago, he used with an $18,000 loan to buy his first FHA property for $350,000. "So you see that genesis of both real estate and entrepreneurship coming in my formative years through seeing my parents really go big in real estate," he said. With an FHA loan, the property must be the borrower's primary residence for at least a year. You build this up foundationally and you set yourself up for the day where real estate surpasses your primary income."

☆ The founder of a baby-services startup that just launched in Walmart shares her tips for working with the retail giant
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Ben Tobin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tot Squad began selling services at Walmart stores nationwide and on Walmart.com in February. After being "relentless" and pitching to many different people at the company, Tot Squad finally signed a contract with Walmart in August 2019, Saxton said. It wouldn't be until February 2022 that Tot Squad would officially launch in Walmart. Customers choose between video consultation or personal installation by a Tot Squad expert technician for an extra $40 or $80, respectively. For example, she said Angi — formerly known as Angie's List — is the home-services partner for Walmart, and Tot Squad is the retail giant's baby-services provider.

☆ 19-year-old N.Y.C. school staffer in critical condition after being shot in the head
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-12 | by ( Chantal Da Silva | Chantal Da Silva Is A Breaking News Editor For Nbc News Digital Based In London. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

A 19-year-old New York City school worker is in critical condition after he was shot in the head Tuesday afternoon while leaving the elementary school he was working at. As of early Wednesday morning, the NYPD said the victim remained in critical condition. The victim's union told NBC New York that he worked as a school paraprofessional for the Department of Education. He also said he would be working with the NYPD to increase security around the school. "This is a tragedy," New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a tweet, responding to the deadly incident.

☆ Free weekly credit reports are available through the end of 2023. Why you may want to check yours now
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Lorie Konish | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Your credit score can make or break your ability to open a credit card or buy a new car or home at attractive interest rates. Keeping tabs on your credit report — which outlines your debts, bill payment history and other financial information — can help you do that. The three major credit reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — recently extended the availability of free weekly credit reports to consumers through the end of 2023. The reports are available at the Annual Credit Report website. While the free credit report you'll get won't show your credit score, it can offer clues in terms of how to boost that number.

☆ Biden administration wants psychological tests for parents of separated kids
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is asking that parents of children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border undergo another round of psychological evaluations to measure how traumatized they were by the Trump-era policy, court documents show. Government investigators have said children separated from their parents showed more fear, feelings of abandonment and post-traumatic stress symptoms than children who were not separated. Biden administration officials have decried the Trump-era policies. The two sides had been negotiating a settlement, but then Biden said that families of separated children deserve some form of compensation. The Biden administration has formed a reunification task force that has reunited roughly 600 families.

☆ Virginia governor seeks to roll back transgender student protections
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Glenn Youngkin’s administration has rewritten Virginia’s model policies for the treatment of transgender students, issuing guidance for school divisions that would roll back some accommodations and tighten parental notification requirements. Regarding parental notification, the guidelines say school divisions may not encourage teachers to conceal information about a student’s gender from his or her parents. And they say parents must be given an opportunity to object before counseling services pertaining to gender are offered. Democrats, the Virginia Education Association and LGBTQ advocacy groups, meanwhile, criticized Youngkin, saying the changes would harm vulnerable children. But many school boards never complied, according to a recent analysis by Equality Virginia, an LGBTQ advocacy group.

We all love to DIY, but there are certain times when seeking professional financial help is wise. Michael Garry, a financial planner, self-described "recovering lawyer," and founder and CEO of Yardley Wealth Management outlined seven situations where you should talk to a financial planner. Garry suggests talking to a financial planner before doing anything with a windfall, especially if the money is new to you. College decision time is a critical moment to sit down with a financial planner and figure out the ramifications of different school choices. For people whose stress comes from crushing debt, the fee for a financial planner may be unaffordable.

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