Free Money Newsletter August 2015
August is off to a rollicking start: drafts and trades in football and baseball (Russell Wilson what??), the UFC190 fight between Ronda Rousey and Beth Correia, and Paul McCartney and other big stars headlining at Lollapalooza 20015 in Chicago.
Think Russell Wilson’s new contract is a bit much? He’s guaranteed somewhere between $31.7 million (his sign-on bonus!) and $60 million through 2019. And he could have bet on the chance of getting even more if he had waited.
Yes, teachers are often underpaid. But there are a lot of them, while Russell Wilson is rare. And we pay for that. Been watching Lollapalooza 2015? Headliners like Paul McCartney at such festivals earn $1-2 million for a single appearance! And they don’t typically risk getting seriously injured….
Those numbers boggle the mind. Especially if you’re struggling to find, buy, keep, rent, repair, or improve your home. Or if you're working to finally turn a dream into your own business. This edition is for you:
Discover your program today!
August Free Money Highlights
We publish new articles and updates based on new developments regarding available money and on the feedback we get from our Community.
One of our most in-demand topics involves multiple aspects of homes and housing. So we’ve added many articles on the topic! They’re full of valuable and actionable information you can put to immediate use. But they’re not always easy to find on a large site.
New Article: Home Grants
To help you find what you need we’ve put together a summary of nine articles about critical home-related topics. Whether you rent or own, are ready to take money out of your house or can barely pay for public housing, are afraid you might lose your home or are tired of living with a health or safety hazard you can’t afford to fix, there is something here for you. Following are the topics and articles we cover in Home Grants:
Loan Money News from the SBA!
In July we reported good and bad news in Grants for Small Business. Small businesses had been thriving and new loan activity in SBA guaranteed loans was way up this year. The bad news was that the SBA had run out of money per the program’s “Authorization Ceiling” for the current fiscal year. All new loans were on hold. The Senate had passed an increase in that ceiling and we hoped that the House of Representatives would do so as well so the upbeat business pace could resume.
We delayed publishing this newsletter hoping for such a development — and we learned early this morning (August 2) that it has! The new Authorization Ceiling is now $23.5 billion, up $7.35 billion. That’s great news for those whose loan applications have been on hold and for any small business looking for a loan with that valuable SBA guarantee. Learn more in Grants for Small Business.
New Article: Small Business Grants for Women:
The new small business loan money now available via the SBA 7(a) program is not the only good news about business! Our latest article - also by popular demand - is about Small Business Grants for Women.
While venture capital going to women has tripled in the past 15 years, only about 15% of the businesses that do get venture capital have a woman playing a major role in running the business. And women are still more likely than men to be turned down for a traditional business loan from a bank.
Lots of folks are trying to change this, including the SBA through their numerous programs specifically developed to promote women’s business success. Small Business Grants for Women reviews these programs including federal and state grants, private programs and new sources of funds such as crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending. A fun — and promising — note: women are outpacing men in terms of successful crowdfunding campaigns! It’s a great sign that at least some of those results come from women supporting other women. Crowdfunding is turning out to be one of the ways to level the playing field for women — and for investors. And you don’t have to give up part of your company with this type of financing.
Learn about these and other opportunities in Small Business Grants for Women.
Just for Fun: Ronda Rousey Update
Have you seen our previous comments about Ronda Rousey, bantamweight champion of the Ultimate Fighting Challenge? In our April Newsletter we marveled at her health and overall prowess both in martial arts and looking great in a Sports Illustrated photo shoot. In July we updated regarding her response to Beth Correia’s trash talking about an upcoming fight. Rousey promised to put Correia away slowly and painfully. In fact, in the August 1 UFC championship battle Rousey won decisively in the first 34 seconds with some surprise moves.
Who knows what other surprises August will bring? Check back often to find out — and enjoy the rest of your summer!