New housing legislation is set to help as many as 500,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure by helping them refinance into more affordable government-backed mortgages. However, many more struggling borrowers will not qualify for the programs. Luckily, there are some alternatives for these homeowners in the form of "short sales" and "deed in lieu of foreclosure" transactions. The Wall Street Journal outlined these two strategies in their article "Two Alternatives to Foreclosure" in today's paper.

These options won't keep you from losing your house or damaging your credit score, but they will both ease and slow the process to give you time. Short selling involves the borrower selling the house at a fair market value that is less than the amount owed on the mortgage and then having the lender forgive the remainder of the debt. The other option involves handing over the property to the lender in lieu of waiting for foreclosure with the lender assuming the remainder of the debt.

Both of these options allow homeowners to escape with little to no debt, but no money or house to speak of. In contrast, foreclosures can result in lenders pursuing the differential owed to them. The two also allow borrowers to face a shorter waiting period before they can obtain another mortgage. These two options can help homeowners get back on their feet quicker than they would be able to through a foreclosure.

Employees are expecting another pay raise this year on par with last, but the increase may be offset by rising inflation rates and lower bonuses tied to company performance. Raises are expected to come in at around 4.4% among high performers and 2% or less for more mediocre workers. However, inflation is rising at a hefty 5% rate, which means rising costs will eat up most of that extra income. Even high performing workers will likely still end up losing.

The exception to this pay rule appears to be workers that fill difficult-to-replace positions or those working in growing industries. Heathcare, government and education jobs are among those that can count on decent pay raises to offset rising inflation. Other industrials that aren't willing to issue raises may face troubles with retaining key talent, according to employment experts. Companies that get too far behind inflation risk upsetting their employees.

In the end, the American economy functions such that employees are rewarded for performance. With a bad economy overhanging, it is difficult to reach and surpass performance goals. However, Americans also do not like moving backwards in pay. This conflict may end up shaking up the American workforce over the next few months as the economy slowly begins to recover.

Students have been increasingly targeted by credit card companies and lawmakers are finally starting to notice. Times may be difficult for homeowners, but teenagers with no credit or job history are finding it easier than ever to get approved for a credit card and start spending like there is no tomorrow. The House Financial Services Committee is now holding hearings to address these problems and affect changes.

The legislative panel is led by Representative Carolyn Maloney and will be hearing from the credit card industry and consumer advocates including the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Research has shown that students are targeted and bombarded by credit card company solicitations in the mail, phone and while walking on campus. The research group found that 80% of students said they received direct mail from credit card companies and 22% received four phone calls a month.

Credit card companies are also offering freebies like t-shirts, pizzas or beach chairs to get students to apply for credit cards without thinking about what they are doing. This combination of strong marketing and lack of financial experience on the part of the students leads to many of them finding themselves in serious debt. Worse, many of these students are then unaware of how serious their problems will become in the future.

The average outstanding balance on an undergraduate's credit card stands at around $2,169, according to Nellie Mae which provides student loans. Nearly 56% of undergraduates get their first credit card by age 18 and 91% of students have at least one credit card by their final year. And by graduation, 56% of students carry four or more credit cards. Clearly, this is a problem that should be addressed now before these adults run into real problems.

Credit card companies like students because they are a relatively untapped market. Many of them hold onto the same credit cards into adulthood while college graduates typically earn enough money to eventually pay off their debts. So, all of the interest being accrued while in college is paid off and they keep the card longer - the perfect customer. Indeed, many students handle their debt much better than the average adult population.

Those reaching retirement age may not have to save up for a car anymore, but they are digging deep to pay the increasing costs of prescription drugs. More than half of all insured Americans are now taking at least one so-called maintenance drug for a chronic condition, according to a recent report.

The increased demand has lifted the price of such brand-name medications some 2.5x faster than the rate of inflation last year. Luckily, there are many ways to lessen the pain without resorting to shady practices like traveling to Canada or Mexico and smuggling drugs (prescription that is) back into the U.S.A.

Many discount chains have begun selling their own prescription drug programs to provide an alternative. Wal-Mart began selling 30-day supplies of generic drugs for just $4 each and recently unveiled another plan providing a 90-day supply of generics for just $10 (or your co-pay if it's less).

Another growing trend is mail order pharmaceuticals. Some employers are now requiring their workers who fill the same prescription for three months in a row or more to order 90-day supplies from an approved mail-order company. It is wise, however, to check out these companies before using them as many are sketchy.

These two alternatives are becoming increasingly popular as insurers are raising co-pays on brand-name drugs. Generics have always been cheaper than brand-name drugs, but it has been increasingly costly to insit on a brand-name. The average co-pay for a brand-name drug is now $43 compared to just $28 in 2001.

So, the next time you hit the store to fill your prescription, ask yourself if there is some way you could do it cheaper!

Automated Teller Machines (or ATMs) are among the most popular methods for people to get cash out of their checking accounts. Naturally, this has attracted a number of criminals that are interested in gaining access to such cash quickly and easily. There are many ways that criminals can do this, but practical security measures can help you avoid running into any problems.

The most popular form of theft is through a technique known as skimming. This involves inserting a device into the card slot of ATMs that will steal the data right off your card's magnetic strip. The highest risk machines for this type of practice are convenience stores that are allowed to maintain their own ATMs as they can be easily tampered with without the bank knowing. The best way to prevent this is to use bank ATMs as much as possible.

Other thieves have gone through more extreme measures and actually installed software on a banking server that can capture the electronic encrypted PIN number as it passes through, but such instances are very rare. Again, this can be avoided by simply using the ATM machines located at your bank's branch. These are closely watched with security cameras and never tampered with by criminals.

Ultimately, a criminal will need your PIN number in order to access your account. As a result, one great way to reduce your risk is to change your PIN number often and keep it as random as possible. People that use the same number for multiple accounts can see more than just one of their accounts drained. Meanwhile, those that have a PIN number equal to their birthday or house number see a higher rate of crime.

One final piece of advice deals with making online purchases. It is always best to use your credit card whenever possible because they are required to assume nearly 100% of the liability in most cases. Debit cards, on the other hand, often assume little or no liability and you can be stuck footing the fraud bill. Also, you will never be required to enter your PIN number online - anyone that asks you to do so is trying to rip you off!

The bottom line is that there are basic measures that you can take to protect yourself from becoming a victim of ATM fraud. Using your local bank's ATMs and changing your PIN often can reduce your chances to nearly zero while making online purchases with a credit card can protect you in that arena. Remember these tips your next time using an ATM!