You may appear to be a normal weight, even thin. But your insides may be composed of way too much fat and not enough muscle.

We spoke to Dr. Eric Braverman, a neurologist by training and now the director of the Place for Achieving Total Health (PATH Medical) on Manhattan's East Side.

" Basically what "normal weight obesity" means," said Dr. Braverman, "is that many people of normal weight are so out of shape that they have the amount of fat that an obese person has when they're overweight. So an overweight person can have a lot of muscle and a lot of fat or they can have a thin person whose thin but has so much fat that they're actually "normal weight obese".

" Actually more of America is currently "normal weight obese" than is just overweight or obese.

" Preliminary data suggests that 60% of America is obese with a great majority having normal BMI and reasonably normal weight. We're just out of shape. There are a lot of reasons: from toxic air affecting our metabolism, to hormones to electromagnetic fields to poor health to incredibly bad diets, to the wrong beverages. We have now an obese epidemic which is basically a disease of the brain, and the brain's metabolism.

" The ways we fix it is we improve the brain's metabolism, which can be anything from teas, spices, whole grains and various nutrients, amino acids, herbs and in cases hormones, and in some ways, flush of toxic metals that are in the air, in new york and other major cities.

Also make sure to get an accurate measure of your bone density and your body mass index.

" When you do a bone density most good quality machines have simultaneous fat measurement

at each part of your body, so a person may be 40% body fat in their arms and only 25% around their waist and then 30% in their legs so they're morbidly obese arms with normal weight around their belly and their legs are actually just obese." Each body part has it's own separate measurement.

" So you have really a fantastic tool for specific obesity management; specific training of the person. You identify obesity earlier, and this is now very important that we start treating the "normal weight obese" because the "normal weight obese" will almost always progress to the severely obese.

" Each type of person has different obesity so one individual has these massive tricep flabs and another has the pear fat around the hips and thighs and then male obesity can frequently be abdominal which means heart disease and the pear type obesity may mean more lack of fitness and cancer risk, so there are important issues in seeing where your obesity is."

Can't someone just use the rough measure of body mass index, the formula we've been told about?

Braverman says no. " BMI is what we call the baloney mass index," said Braverman. " The body mass index means the majority of americans that pass it are still unfortunately obese or overweight. It's imprecise and will be replaced, as every aspect of medicine will be replaced by computerized technology. Technology is the way to examine fat, simple as that.

" Technology examines fat more accurately, the technology of the dexa scan is very advanced and this study supports the fact that normal weight obesity is an epidemic and it's serious because each level of obesity produces more heart disease and probably more memory deficits and more depression. That's because we're a culture obsessed with thinness without fitness. This is particularly more a female problem. There's probably a higher prevalence of normal weight obesity in women, who particularly have hormonal imbalances starting between 25 and 30 and going into full perimenopause by 40. There's a huge loss of tone in women even when they preserve weight. Our society's answer to this has been plastic surgery of the face and moisturizers. Plastic surgery and moisturizers are not going to repair this process.

So knowing and controlling your cholesterol numbers are not really the answer? We're not focusing on the right thing?

" We're not," said Braverman. "You know, when a house gets hit by a hurricanes, you don't focus on door knobs.

" America's health house has been hit by a hurricane and we're talking about cholesterol when we have an epidemic of obesity that's causing more depression, more cognitive or memory loss as well as heart disease. The real source of obesity remains the brain's metabolism and our culture right now has to be diagnosed as toxic to our heads.

For more information:

http://www.pathmed.com

New research shows people who are sleep-deprived may think they're caught up after a 10-hour night of sleep but that is not the case.

We spoke to Dr. Carl Bazil, a neurologist and Director of the Epilepsy and Sleep Division at Columbia University's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center.

" There's a lot of research that shows you can catch up on sleep but it takes a lot longer than most people think." said Dr. Bazil.

" If you are deprived of sleep, say you get six hours sleep a night for several days, you will show deterioration in your attention and in your memory and that accumulates over time. So if it's one night, it's not a big deal, if it's two nights you start to show a difference.

" So what happens after that? Well you try to recover sleep; that's what most of us do and you can do that to some extent, but it probably takes several nights depending on how much sleep you've lost.

" There's a number of things that happen if you don't get enough sleep. The most obvious is usually attention and drowsiness. That happens to just about everyone. What happens during sleep is not just rest, your mind is very active, and sleep is a time when you consolidate many kinds of memories and it's actually a time when you process information you've learned during the day. So that's good, it shows that you need sleep, but the more interesting thing is if you don't get the sleep for the right period of time, you'll never learn that information.

" You've lost your opportunity to learn it so the idea that it's good to stay up all night before an exam for example, is probably not good. You're not going to consolidate that information and as soon as you leave the room, you're not going to learn it as well as if you'd gotten a full night's sleep."

So what you're saying is that if you've had a busy day and you learn a ton of information, you're not going to retain it if you don't get a good night's sleep that night?

" You certainly won't learn it as well as if you got the sleep you need," said Dr. Baliz.

" This is a concept called sleep debt. It actually seems to be true. If you don't get the full night of sleep, and believe it or not for most people that's over 8 hours, even for adults. If you don't get that, what happens is you start to accumulate what we call sleep debt and there's a price to be paid there. You have to make that up and the more debt you have the more impaired you get and also the more time it takes to pay that debt back.

" If you get severely sleep deprived, that is, many nights of missing an hour or two or even one night of no sleep, it's probably going to take you several days to make that up.

"If you miss an entire night's sleep you have at least eight hours of sleep debt so if you sleep ten hours the next day you haven't paid that debt back.

" It's not really hour for hour. The best information we have is it's probably at least half of that. What happens in recovery sleep is your brain gets back what it needs the most, we think that is the deeper stage, what we call non-REM sleep, or slower sleep.

You don't necessarily make up the lighter stages of sleep.

" In many industries, say pilots and truck drivers, there are a lot of regulations. They are not allowed to work long periods of time. I've been on flights, and seen pilots lay down and go to sleep for a period of time.

" Doctors are no longer allowed to work more than 24 hrs in a row. It's better. But even over a 24-hour period you will deteriorate. So you have to balance that against the need to take care of a patient; and maintain patient safety; and maintain continuity of care. It's always a trade off.

" For most people with sleep deprivation they don't really realize that they're not functioning as well. That's been shown in testing as well. They don't think that they're that drowsy. They think their attention's OK. But if you test them they're clearly not as good as when they get a full night's sleep.

" If you are completely sleep deprived for 24 hours, you shouldn't be driving because you're functioning like someone who's legally intoxicated."

Dr. Carl Bazil is a Professor of Clinical Neurology and Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center's Epilepsy and Sleep Division at Columbia University

His offices are at The Neurological Institute on W. 168th St. In Upper Manhattan.

Local property owner wants national charity to pay up.

Heart disease is the number one killer of women. One in every three women will succumb from cardiovascular disease, only one in 10 will succumb from breast cancer.

We spoke to senior cardiologist at EHE International, Dr. Herbert Insel. He is a clinical instructor in medicine at the NYU School of Medicine.

"The trouble is," said Dr. Insel, "women don't perceive heart disease as their greatest risk. They don't fear it as much as breast cancer which is probably more personal for them as a female. They should probably try to fear heart disease more because their risk of dying from heart disease or cardiovascular disease is 10 times greater than that of breast cancer.

What would you do if Channel 11 gave you $1,000 in cash?

" The number of hysterectomies in this country," said Dr. Ernst Bartsich, a gynecologist with New York Hospital/Weill, "is unacceptably high.

" What I mainly want to do is call attention to the unacceptably high number of hysterectomies performed. You have 600,000 hysterectomies performed per year for benign reasons, we're not talking about cancer.

" There is no justification for that. We have alternative methods available. They are in place, they aren't new; I'm not talking about revolutionary procedures. These are established procedures, they are part of the training program for residents for the past 15 years and yet the number of hysterectomies performed has remained at 600,000. That is three times the rate of any industrialized nation. That is a rate of one out of three women aged 60 or 62 and one out of two women aged 65.

" Absolutely this is too high.

" The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the National Institute of Health and Human

Services has reviewed this and they find that 75% are not justified. In three quarters of the cases there is no justification for doing this and yet they are done, and done and done again.

" So the profession is entrenched in the traditional approach and you cannot get them to change. Our residents are trained. They are proficient in the alternative methods. A resident does not graduate successfully from any training program in the country unless they are trained in these alternatives. And yet they don't do them.

" Certainly if cancer is involved there is no argument a hysterectomy is necessary. But for the most part fibroids are benign. The most common reason for a hysterectomy is fibroids. The symptoms are bleeding and pain and endometriosis. Again, most fibroids are benign. Why do a hysterectomy and take a normal, healthy organ out?

" Why not just remove the fibroids? There are ways to do that which are less invasive, less

complicated, and even less expensive and yet it remains standard practice to do a hysterectomy.

" When fibroids cause symptoms, it depends on where they are and what size they grow. Certain fibroids can be removed laproscopically or there's robotic surgery. Some can be removed from the abdomen and some can be removed vaginally but still without a hysterectomy. This is minimally invasive surgery.

" So what's so bad about a hysterectomy? Number one it's a big operation and a long operation. There are more complications. You risk bladder injuries, bowel injures, urethra injuries. These injuries increase dramatically with a hysterectomy.

" A hysterectomy is more expensive. It requires a long hospital stay. Fertility, of course, is compromised.

" Also don't underestimate the psychological effects. Even if a woman doesn't want to get pregnant anymore, or can't get pregnant anymore, she is now dealing with hormonal changes. There can be impaired sexual function, regarding lubrication and pelvic support.

" Women are not always informed as much as we think they should be, or could be. There's a lack of information out there.

" Doctors have to inform their patients about the alternatives. There is a medical, legal issue here of whether a patient has given an informed consent. Has she been informed of alternative treatments, including the option of not having any treatment.

So more about what a fibroid is.

" The fibroid is a benign tumor. We don't know actually what causes them. It's nothing to do with diet or exercise or drinking coffee or not drinking coffee. 60% of women have fibroids, some don't even know they have fibroids.

But should they become large enough to cause pain in the back, abdomen and pelvis, bloating and very heavy menstrual bleeding, or grow to be as large as a grapefruit and begin interfering with other organs, it's time to explore different treatment options. When you remove the fibroids you restore the integrity of the uterus.

" It's amazing how little women are actually informed about their options. It is the medical profession's responsibility, but if they don't live up to their responsibility, women need to step forward and ask about other options besides a hysterectomy.

For more information:

http://www.fibroid-choice.com

http://www.womenfirst.com

http://www.about.com/womenshealth

http://www.cdc/reproductivehealth

http://www.hystersisters.com

Virtually every large bank and many regional banks and credit unions have rolled out applications that allow their clients to use a mobile phone for fund transfers, bill payments and even depositing checks. But with the increasing popularity and convenience of mobile-banking apps comes a big caveat: the risk of downloading and installing a fraudulent application that could draw your account information and, potentially, any other data stored on your mobile device. In other words, the next generation of “phishing” scams is about to explode – and it has the potential to do much more damage than earlier versions.

The trend is still in its infancy, but there have already been instances of potential fraud. In December, Google pulled 50 applications from its Android Market in response to concerns that they may be malicious. All apps were uploaded by the same developer and claimed to offer access to bank accounts from a wide variety of institutions, from big names like JP Morgan Chase, HSBC, US Bank, USAA and ING Groep to local credit unions.

“Smartphones are extremely prolific right now and there is opportunity there for criminals to be seeding stores with applications intended to capture personal information,” says Nick Holland, a senior analyst at market-research firm Aite Group. “We’re on the tip of an explosion in terms of bad apps.” Even more worrisome, fraudulent apps may be more difficult to spot than was the case with the fake web sites used by “phishing” scammers. An unusual web address, or URL, could easily flag a web site as fake, but that’s not the case with smartphone applications. And the fact that an application is available through an app store gives it an aura of credibility, says Holland.

" A lot of people suffer from discoloration on their skin," said Manhattan dermatologist, Dr. Ariel Ostad. "Certainly we see a lot of African-Americans and Hispanics, and a lot of fair-skinned individuals who develop discolorations on their skin from hormones.

" Many of these people seek treatment.

" The mainstay of treatment is an ingredient called hydroquinone.

" Hydroquinone comes in a variety of concentrations.

" Recently there's been a controversy regarding hydroquinone. The question is whether prolonged exposure to hydroquinone can lead to problems later on; whether it can be a cancer-causing agent. The FDA is still out on that. We still don't know.
" We do know that used for a short time, in low concentrations, it's been used over a decade and it's been proven to be safe.
" It's when people use higher and higher concentrations, it's when people use it for prolonged period of time potentially a few things can happen. Number one you can actually get the opposite effect. You actually get darkening of your skin or you get a condition called okrinosis, where that hydroquinone can actually get deposited in your skin and actually causes a darkening of your skin.
" There are incidences where where researchers feel that hydroquinone may actually cause problems years later, and we still, the jury is still out on that. We usually say that it's safe to use hydroquinone for approximately 6 months, we say in low concentrations, usually up to 4%.
" There's a lot of companies that promote their hydroquinone at 2% and you can find that over the counter.
" There's hydroquinone at 4% by prescription which is clearly twice as strong and works faster and works better but certainly these products should not be used for a long period of time. Use should be done under the supervision of your physician.
" The problem we also run into is that there is an unrestricted use of this bleaching creams that are mixed with steroids. We're seeing more and more people finding these bleaching creams mixed with steroids that are sold over the counter, at hair salons, at spas and unfortunately the consumer doesn't know what the ingredients in this are. They begin to use it and it's only later that they experience that they've actually got what's called atrophy, which causes thinning of the skin or stretch marks on their skin, especially if they're using it on their face. They can develop broken blood vessels, and certainly with prolonged use you can actually get absorption of steroids in your body which can lead to elevated sugar levels or diabetes, also high blood pressure, and certainly osteoporosis with bone loss. So it's important that you seek the advice of a physician before you go ahead and rely on someone selling you these products over the counter.
" The label might say hydroquinone but sometimes you have to look very carefully to see what the other active ingredients are. Unfortunately even if the active ingredient is labeled, it won't tell you if there's a steroid, it certainly won't be called anything you would recognize.
There was always much speculation about what Michael Jackson was using to lighten his skin.
Dr. Ariel Ostad has some ideas.
" I think he was using a very high concentration of hydroquinone, your physician can sometimes formulate hydroquinone that can go as high as 8%, 9% and that can really fade your skin. But it can certainly cause problems later.
" Although hydroquinone is the mainstay of treatment, and certainly it's available over the counter at a low concentration and there are prescription strengths of hydroquinone which a majority of physicians use, but it's important for listeners to know is that there are alternatives to hydroquinone. Certainly for people who have tried hydroquinone without success, or for people who do not want to take the risk of using hydroquinone, there are other products that absolutely don't use any hydroquinone and they work as effectively.
" There's one called Black Opal. It's a gel that's used lighten brown spots and discoloration. The main ingredient is 2% hydroquinone. It is safe, if only used for 6 months. The problem with 2% is that it is not that effective.
" There is Kinerase with furfuryladenine. It's an anti-aging brightening system that's able to turn your skin over and lighten spots.
"LaRoche medical serum is like Kinerase. It's sold over the counter. It's a spot concentrate, the main ingredient is Kojic acid, and also contains alpha-hydroxy, it turns your skin over safely. It doesn't contain anything that would create abnormal cells.
" Lamixyl is highly effective. It's more potent than 4% hydroquinone. If spots prove resistant to over the counter mixtures, get a prescription for this topical brightening cream.
"These treatments are permanent," said Ostad, "as long as the patient doesn't get any sun exposure in the future. Any exposure will tan those spots again.
It's important to use daily suncreen that you reapply after about three or four hours. No sunscreen lasts beyond that time."

The Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Division of Consumer & Business Education has issue the following consumer alert:

Free trial offers can be an efficient way to sample a new product or service without paying for a membership, subscription or extended service contract. Sometimes, though, if you accept a free trial offer and don't cancel on time or according to the stated policy, you may be unintentionally agreeing to a contract to buy additional products and services.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, says "try before you buy" offers can be effective ways to market. If you like what you try, you may want to go ahead and make the purchase. But if you don't want to buy the product or service, you may need to cancel or take some other action on a particular timetable to avoid being charged.

When a company takes your failure to cancel before the end of the trial period as permission to continue billing you, you've made a "negative option" purchase. Sometimes, unscrupulous merchants make it tough for consumers to take the action that would prevent negative option billing: these merchants may hide the terms and conditions of their offers in teensy type, use pre-checked boxes as the default setting, and put conditions on returns and cancellations that are so strict it could be next to impossible to stop the deliveries and the billing.

Whiter Teeth? Flatter Stomach? Shiny Hair?

If you see a free trial offer online for a product you're interested in, stop - and read the details.

Find the terms and conditions of the offer.• If you can't find them or can't understand exactly what you're agreeing to, look for another merchant. You don't want to commit to recurring charges for products or services by mistake - or before you've tried them and made your deci­sion.

Pay attention to pre-checked boxes.• That check may bind you to terms and conditions you're not comfortable with - or ready to accept.

Look for information how you can cancel• future shipments of merchandise or services if you don't want them. Do you have to pay? Do you have a limited time to respond? If you're not satisfied with the information in the offer, look for another one that meets your needs.

Read your credit and debit card statements• very shortly after you've responded to a free trial offer - and often afterward - looking for charges you don't recognize or didn't authorize. Contact the merchant first to try to resolve the issue; notify the card issuer promptly if you see any unusual or unauthorized charges.

If your business offers free trial memberships using negative option billing plans, the FTC suggests that you:

• Disclose the important terms of your offer in an understandable way.

• Make your disclosures clear and conspicuous to the reader.

• Disclose the key terms of the offer before the consumer pays or incurs a financial obligation

• Get a consumer's affirmative consent to the offer - for example, by asking them to click "I agree."

• Make sure your cancellation procedures work efficiently, and as promised.

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.FOR THE CONSUMER 1-877-FTC-HELP ftc.gov FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

Help Me Howard runs into a very old friend

What would you do if Channel 11 gave you $1,000 in cash?

Bornfree Natural Baby Products has reason to celebrate recent decisions regarding BPA. The following is more information they put out regarding the issue of BPA dangers and the continuing controversy:

Everyone is concerned with the latest reports on BPA leaking into canned foods … The BPA debate has a direct correlation to America’s issues on health and corporate responsibility. A small baby products company initiated the news in America on the dangers of BPA back in 2006. Now we’re amidst a political frenzy, a state-by-state BPA ban, a revolution in the baby industry as well as one in the plastics industry and a media craze.

Bornfree Natural Baby Products (http://www.newbornfree.com) is a premium baby products company which continues to be very active in educating new mothers on the dangers that BPA can have on an infant. Through research and stories from the company’s leaders, there is a lot of controversy as well as an untold story about the inconsistency in responses from consumer brands that manufacture plastic products. Likewise, there are conflicting reports on BPA and diverse state-by-state legislation on a ban.

Bornfree is a leading baby brand and “the first” to manufacture baby bottles and other products totally free of BPA and other toxins. The conflicting reports on the dangers of BPA is the biggest issue for consumers, manufacturers and everyone in between – the American Medical Association and other medical as well as government agencies, claim that BPA is unsafe yet the FDA and ACC reports claim it’s safe… For more on the FDA and its relationship with the BPA industry, review this article: http://www.environmentillinois.org/in-the-news/toxics/fda-relied-heavily-on-bpa-lobby.

If you’re not familiar with the AMA report on BPA, take a look at this article: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/300.11.1353. Essentially the report from the AMA references a consensus from the US National Toxicology Program stating that exposure to BPA during development stages causes great risk for adverse effects; the fetus and infant are believed to be more susceptible to the estrogenic effects of BPA because of small body size and limited capacity to metabolize BPA. Second, along with the exponential increase in the use of BPA in products during the last 30 years, there has been a dramatic increase in the incidence of obesity and type 2 diabetes in children. Now, there are discussions about BPA effecting a child’s behavior… According to the study published in the October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, the higher a mother’s BPA levels were during the first 16 weeks of pregnancy, the more likely kids were to exhibit the behavior changes. Girls were more aggressive and hyperactive than the norm while boys were more anxious and withdrawn.

Several baby bottle manufacturers had to change their product completely, not to mention spend millions on crisis communications campaigns to ensure safety among their customers. This was and still is a headache for many companies and some couldn’t act fast enough (on Sigg’s decline: http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/09/siggs-slippery-slip-up-how-to-lose-partners-and-alienate-customers/). All said and done, some BPA products (water bottles, baby bottles, etc.) are still on store shelves and because there isn’t a national ban on BPA, they remain on shelves in some states. The controversy will grow as both sides of the argument have a ton of money, credibility and liability at stake (the chemical industry produces 6 billion pounds of BPA alone). Meanwhile, the biggest question remains: can digesting BPA toxins in the infant stage encourage diabetes and obesity, as the AMA reports?

The controversy has forced steps towards healthier products, especially for children.

The BBB has put out an e-mail refuting a fake one that is circulating. The following is from the official BBB.

Read it to get the facts about this important consumer warning.

FROM THE BBB:

An e-mail which falsely claims to be from the Better Business Bureau about the upcoming 2010 Census is inaccurate and BBB is advising consumers to get the facts.

How to Identify a Census Field Representative
· If a U.S. Census Bureau employee knocks on your door, here are some recognition tips to assure the validity of the field representative:
o The field representative must present an ID badge that contains a Department of Commerce watermark and expiration date.

The field representative may also be carrying a bag with a Census Bureau logo.
o The field representative will provide you with supervisor contact information and/or the Regional Office phone number for verification, if asked.
o The field representative will provide you with a letter from the Census Bureau Director on official letterhead.

When Field Representatives will be Going Door-to-Door
· From April to July 2010, the Census Bureau will knock on the door of every household that does not mail back a completed 2010 Census form.
· It's critical that you take just 10 minutes to fill out and mail back your form rather than wait for a census worker to show up on your doorstep. About $85 million in taxpayer dollars are saved for every one percent increase in mail response.
· The Census Bureau must get a census form to - and a completed form back from - every residence in the United States. That's more than 130 million addresses. This is why the census is the largest domestic mobilization our nation undertakes.

What the 2010 Census DOES NOT Ask
· Field representatives will never ask you for your social security number, bank account number, or credit card number. Census workers also never solicit for donations and will never contact you by e-mail.

The Census is Safe
· The 2010 Census will ask for name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship, and whether you own or rent your home - just 10 simple questions that will take about 10 minutes to answer.
· Your answers are protected by law and are not shared with anyone.
· The Census Bureau safeguards all census responses to the highest security standards available.

For more information about the upcoming 2010 Census visit www.census.gov/2010census.

Are you sick of all those chargers..and all those cords, taking up all that counter space? Until recently there wasn't much you could do about it.
All that has changed.
Now, whether you've got a Blackberry, an I-pod, a kindle, a bluetooth headset or any one of a thousand different hand-held devices..you can use one WIRELESS mat to charge them.
The creator of Powermat, CEO Ron Poliakine, gave a demonstration.
" I have an I-phone case, totally wireless," said Ron. " Place it here on what I created, a Powermat, and it charges. For Blackberry users, we request they take off the old battery pack, try this case (a Powercube that comes with the Powermat) which has the technology inside, put it on and while it's on, the phone is charged on the mat."
Poliakine explained the technology.
" Nikolai Tesla, a hundred years ago, started to play with a phenomenon called magnetic induction. Basically, it's moving energy from one surface to another. In this case, to a wireless device. We took this concept of his and we put all the latest technology, RFID, silicon chips, etc. And created the Powermat technology. It's a combination of RFID and magnetic induction which basically moves energy from any surface to a device via a very smart handshake. The surfaces can be a mat, a table, a wall, or a kitchen counter.
" We think once we got the concept of the brain into the surface then it's any surface. Take a kitchen counter. We put some of the intelligence in there, you see here a floating circuit, nothing is connecting it, and this old mixer, put it on the spot and it's working."

What would you do if Channel 11 gave you $1,000 in cash?

The Credit Card Reform Act goes into effect Monday, February 22nd.

What does it mean for college kids?

College often gives young people their first taste of financial freedom and credit cards have traditionally been a big part of money lessons learned on campus. A new dose of responsibility will flavor the exchanges come Monday.

There are limits now for anyone under 21 years of age.
If they can not show independent income, 21-year olds will not be allowed a credit card unless they have a co-signer.

Some experts think that’s a good thing. Gail Hillebrand of the Consumers Union is one of them. “Too many young people have come out of college deep in debt and with significant black marks on their credit. This is due to irresponsible spending and a misunderstanding of how the credit system works.”

Parents need to be concerned if they are asked to co-sign. They should keep in mind that if their child pays the bill late, it will be reflected in the parent’s credit record.

This might be the time to have your child try out a prepaid or debit card. That first experience with plastic may off all the lessons in spending they need. If they prove responsible they could graduate to an actual credit card.

More from Hillebrand: “Most college students are going to be 21 by the time they’re seniors, and it’s a perfectly good time to get that first credit card at the beginning of senior year.

IF YOU WANT TO BREAK UP WITH YOUR BANK THERE IS LOTS TO KEEP IN MIND

With all the rate changes going on, should you consider switching banks?
If you want to break up with your bank and switch to a new one, do your homework first.
One website that can help you is mybanktracker.com
We spoke with Alex Matjanec about how their website works. " The first format we offer," said Matjanec, "is our comparison banking tools. We track over 1,000 banks. We do daily updates on their rates. You can find out which product is right for you. It helps you start making smart decisions for your banking.
"A lot of consumers have multiple banks and multiple accounts and they're getting hit with fees that they don't even know they're getting hit with."
" Is the fee that's being shown them the right fee for them? Is that rate a teaser rate or is it a real rate?"
Their website, said Matjanec, "helps educate consumers, to help weed out the misrepresentation. Consumers are getting hit with promotions and bargains and other forms of deals and they're not understanding which one's right for them and their lifestyle."
The website also gives you access to an online community of consumers. They review banks and share tips with each other.
If you've done your homework, and you've decided to switch banks, there are some important things to remember.
Be sure you change over any automatic transfers or any automatic bill pays that you do.
Be careful of overdrafts. It's easy to overdraft your account when you're in the middle of switching providers.

College Student Can't Collect Payment After Doing the Job.

A scam alert to tell you about. Companies that are promising loan modifications and charging upfront fees.

Neighborworks America has a solution. The following is their alert announcing immediate help for families facing foreclosure:

DECLARE INCOME FROM BARTERING
Tax Requirements for Barter Exchanges
The following is from the official IRS website. These are the facts concerning bartering.
Barter exchanges, whether Internet based or with a physical location, are required to file Form 1099-B for all transactions unless certain exceptions are met. Barter exchanges are not required to file Form 1099-B for:
• Exchanges through a barter exchange having fewer than 100 transactions during the year
• Exempt foreign persons as defined in Regulations section 1.6045-1(g)(1)
• Exchanges involving property or services with a fair market value of less than $1.00
For calendar year 2008, Copy B of Form 1099-B is due to barter exchange participants by February 2, 2009. Copy A of the form is required to be filed with the IRS by March 2, 2009. If filing electronically, the due date is March 31, 2009. Software that generates a file according to the specifications in Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498, and W-2G Electronically (PDF) must be used by barter exchanges. The IRS does not provide a fill-in form option.
Caution: Paper forms are scanned during processing by the IRS. Forms 1096, 1098, 1099, or 5498 that are printed from IRS.gov will not be accepted.
Non-corporate client or member bartering is reported on a transactional basis on Form 1099-B, but additional information is to be added to the form by the barter exchange. Under Regulation 1.6045-1(f)(i), barter exchanges are required to make a return of information reporting the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each member or client providing property or services in the exchange, the property or services provided, the amount received by the member or client for such property or services, the date on which the exchange occurred and other information required on Form 1099-B. This means that multiple Forms 1099-B may be required for member clients with multiple bartering transactions during the year. To learn more about 1.6045-a(f)(i), Returns of Information of Broker and Barter Exchanges, visit the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations site, click on "Simple Search" and enter 26 in the Title and "Returns of information of brokers and barter exchanges." in the "Search for" field.
Corporate client or member bartering is reported on the aggregate for the year, rather than on a transactional basis. Under Regulation 1.6045-1(f)(ii), barter exchanges are required to file annual Forms 1099-B including the aggregate or total amount received by a corporate client or member during the year for property or services provided by the corporate client or member in all barter transactions through the barter exchange. Form 1099-B additionally requires the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the corporate client or member.
Penalty for Not Filing or Filing Incorrect Forms 1099-B
Failure to file Forms 1099-B can result in significant penalties under Internal Revenue Code Section 6721. The penalty is based on when correct information returns are filed. The penalties are:
• $15 per information return if filed correctly within 30 days of the specified due date with a maximum penalty of $75,000 per year ($25,000 for small businesses, defined below).
• $30 per information return if filed correctly more than 30 days after the due date, but by August 1 with a maximum penalty of $150,000 per year ($50,000 for small businesses).
• $50 per information return if filed after August 1, or not filed, with a maximum penalty of $250,000 per year ($100,000 for small businesses).
• A minimum of $100 for each unfiled information return for intentional disregard.
How to Determine if Your Business Qualifies as a Small Business for the Lower Maximum Penalties
If your average annual gross receipts were $5 million or less for the three most recent tax years, or for the period you were in business if shorter, before the calendar year in which the information returns were due, then you are a small business qualified for the lower maximum penalties.

Tax Requirements for Barter Exchanges
The following is from the official IRS website. These are the facts concerning bartering.
Barter exchanges, whether Internet based or with a physical location, are required to file Form 1099-B for all transactions unless certain exceptions are met. Barter exchanges are not required to file Form 1099-B for:
• Exchanges through a barter exchange having fewer than 100 transactions during the year
• Exempt foreign persons as defined in Regulations section 1.6045-1(g)(1)
• Exchanges involving property or services with a fair market value of less than $1.00
For calendar year 2008, Copy B of Form 1099-B is due to barter exchange participants by February 2, 2009. Copy A of the form is required to be filed with the IRS by March 2, 2009. If filing electronically, the due date is March 31, 2009. Software that generates a file according to the specifications in Publication 1220, Specifications for Filing Forms 1098, 1099, 5498, and W-2G Electronically (PDF) must be used by barter exchanges. The IRS does not provide a fill-in form option.
Caution: Paper forms are scanned during processing by the IRS. Forms 1096, 1098, 1099, or 5498 that are printed from IRS.gov will not be accepted.
Non-corporate client or member bartering is reported on a transactional basis on Form 1099-B, but additional information is to be added to the form by the barter exchange. Under Regulation 1.6045-1(f)(i), barter exchanges are required to make a return of information reporting the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of each member or client providing property or services in the exchange, the property or services provided, the amount received by the member or client for such property or services, the date on which the exchange occurred and other information required on Form 1099-B. This means that multiple Forms 1099-B may be required for member clients with multiple bartering transactions during the year. To learn more about 1.6045-a(f)(i), Returns of Information of Broker and Barter Exchanges, visit the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations site, click on "Simple Search" and enter 26 in the Title and "Returns of information of brokers and barter exchanges." in the "Search for" field.
Corporate client or member bartering is reported on the aggregate for the year, rather than on a transactional basis. Under Regulation 1.6045-1(f)(ii), barter exchanges are required to file annual Forms 1099-B including the aggregate or total amount received by a corporate client or member during the year for property or services provided by the corporate client or member in all barter transactions through the barter exchange. Form 1099-B additionally requires the name, address, and taxpayer identification number of the corporate client or member.

Penalty for Not Filing or Filing Incorrect Forms 1099-B
Failure to file Forms 1099-B can result in significant penalties under Internal Revenue Code Section 6721. The penalty is based on when correct information returns are filed. The penalties are:
• $15 per information return if filed correctly within 30 days of the specified due date with a maximum penalty of $75,000 per year ($25,000 for small businesses, defined below).
• $30 per information return if filed correctly more than 30 days after the due date, but by August 1 with a maximum penalty of $150,000 per year ($50,000 for small businesses).
• $50 per information return if filed after August 1, or not filed, with a maximum penalty of $250,000 per year ($100,000 for small businesses).
• A minimum of $100 for each unfiled information return for intentional disregard.
How to Determine if Your Business Qualifies as a Small Business for the Lower Maximum Penalties
If your average annual gross receipts were $5 million or less for the three most recent tax years, or for the period you were in business if shorter, before the calendar year in which the information returns were due, then you are a small business qualified for the lower maximum penalties.

Engagement party refund turns into nightmare for grieving fiance.

BBB Alerts Consumers about U.S. Census Workers: Be Cooperative, But Cautious!

Genuine Census Bureau employees carrying out the first phase of the 2010 U.S. Census will not ask you for Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers nor will they solicit donations warns the Better Business Bureau. For years, Better Business Bureau has educated consumers about not giving out personal information over the telephone or to anyone who shows up at their front door. With the U.S. Census process beginning, BBB advises people to be cooperative, but cautious, so as not to become a victim of fraud or identity theft. Eventually, more than 140,000 U.S. Census workers will count every person in the United States and will gather information about every person living at each address including name, age, gender, race and other relevant data.

The Census data will be used to allocate more than $300 billion in federal funds every year, as well as determine a State’s number of Congressional representatives. Households are actually required by law to respond to the Census Bureau’s request for information.

“During the U.S. Census, households will be contacted by mail, telephone or visited by a U.S. Census worker who will inquire about the number of people living in the house. Unfortunately, people may also be contacted by scammers who are impersonating Census workers in order to gain access to sensitive financial information such as Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers.” said Claire Rosenzweig, President and CEO. “Scammers know that the public is more willing to share personal data when taking part in the Census and they have an opportunity to ply their trade by posing as a government employee and soliciting sensitive financial information.”

Law enforcement in several states have issued warnings that scammers are already posing as Census Bureau employees and knocking on doors asking for donations and Social Security numbers.

The big question is - how do you tell the difference between a U.S. Census worker and a con artist? BBB offers the following advice:

If a U.S. Census worker knocks on your door, they will have a badge, a handheld device, a Census Bureau canvas bag and a confidentiality notice. Ask to see their identification and their badge before answering their questions. However, you should never invite anyone you don’t know into your home.
Census workers are currently only knocking on doors to verify address information. Do not give your Social Security number, credit card or banking information to anyone, even if they claim they need it for the U.S. Census. While the Census Bureau might ask for basic financial information, such as a salary range, it will not ask for Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers nor will employees solicit donations.
Eventually, Census workers may contact you by telephone, mail or in person at home. However, they will not contact you by e-mail, so be on the look out for e-mail scams impersonating the Census. Never click on a link or open any attachments in an e-mail that are supposedly from the U.S. Census Bureau.

For more advice on avoiding identity theft and fraud, visit www.bbb.org

What would you do if Channel 11 gave you $1,000 in cash?