We keep finding interesting stories around the problem of for-profit college scams. The latest is a report from BusinessWeek in the spring about how some recruiters for University of Phoenix and other for-profit colleges were targeting homeless people in Cleveland and other cities.

Benson Rollins wants a college degree. The unemployed high school dropout who attends Alcoholics Anonymous and has been homeless for 10 months is being courted by the University of Phoenix. Two of its recruiters got themselves invited to a Cleveland shelter last October and pitched the advantages of going to the country’s largest for-profit college to 70 destitute men.

Their visit spurred the 23-year-old Rollins to fill out an online form expressing interest. Phoenix salespeople then barraged him with phone calls and e-mails, urging a tour of its Cleveland campus. “If higher education is important to you for professional growth, and to achieve your academic goals, why wait any longer? Classes start soon and space is limited,” one Phoenix employee e-mailed him on Apr. 15. “I’ll be happy to walk you through the entire application process.”

Rollins’ experience is increasingly common. The boom in for-profit education, driven by a political consensus that all Americans need more than a high school diploma, has intensified efforts to recruit the homeless. Such disadvantaged students are desirable because they qualify for federal grants and loans, which are largely responsible for the prosperity of for-profit colleges. Federal aid to students at for-profit colleges jumped from $4.6 billion in 2000 to $26.5 billion in 2009. Publicly traded higher education companies derive three-fourths of their revenue from federal funds, with Phoenix at 86%, up from just 48% in 2001 and approaching the 90% limit set by federal law.

The article goes on to allege similar problems at Drake College of Business and Chancellor University in Cleveland which has Jack Welch as an investor and spokesman.

The article also alleges that relaxed standards under the Bush administration helped exacerbate the problem, but now the Obama administration is tightening the rules.

Some schools have suspended the policy of recruiting at homeless shelters after the publication of the BusinessWeek article.

You’ve just finished a conversation with a friend and are fuming that your auto insurance is so much higher. While that’s legitimate, more goes into figuring out rates than most people realize. When it comes to determining how to charge a client, insurance companies rely on one denominator to determine price: risk. This isn’t something that an insurance company determines by punching facts into a computer. They calculate risk over time to determine what age groups, types or drivers, and types of vehicles lead to the most accidents. Most insurance companies consider three things when they calculate your risk.

Insurance companies look at age to determine a basis for maturity and driving ability. Adults between 25 and 45 are much less likely to get in an accident than a distracted teen or an elderly driver. Teens are less mature, have less driving experience, and are more easily distracted than people over 25. As people age, they may lose the ability to react in a driving situation. Some people experience deteriorating eye sight. 

Another consideration is your driving history. If your record shows violation after violation, an insurance company is going to assume you are more of a risk than a person with a clean driving record. Most violations fall off driving histories after a few years, so wait a couple of years and ask for a policy re-evaluation. In the meantime, if you get another ticket, consult a lawyer about keeping it off your record.

The third factors it the type of vehicle you drive. This affects policy price in two ways. Expensive, opulent cars are the target of auto theft and are more costly to repair. Statistically, drivers with some faster makes and models are more likely to have an accident, creating higher risk. If you want to lower your insurance rate, see what you can do to lower your risk.

Assisted living is a way that senior citizens can maintain their lifestyle with dignity and independence. If you have a parent who is getting older and are worried about them, then it is important to understand the advantages of these services.

In order to understand what kind of support assisted living provides, it may be helpful to look at the example of an elderly woman named Joan. Joan was an independent and self-made woman, proud of raising a family by herself and loved by all her children and grandchildren. One day, however, she fell down and broke her hip at the age of 74. After that, life was no longer the same. She became dependent on others for her day-to-day activities. Her children and grandchildren were with her at the hospital, but they soon had to return to work and school. Joan and her family were at a quandary about what to do.

Thankfully, Joan found a solution that did not involve disrupting the lives of her children and grandchildren. She was able maintain her dignity, self-respect and independence through an assisted living program. Every day, a young woman came to her home and helped her with daily tasks like bathing, housekeeping, laundry, meal preparation and shopping. As soon as Joan recovered from her hip fracture, she was able to do everything that she used to do just as before.

Many seniors find themselves in a situation like this these days, as life expectancy continues to rise and modern science finds more ways to keep people alive and healthy. Whether help is needed temporarily or permanently, one hour a day or 24 hours a day, assisted living programs are an important service that all senior citizens should keep in mind.

Baltimore is commonly known as the “City of Neighborhoods”. There are over 300 neighborhoods in Baltimore that retain elements of ethnic groups that formed them throughout Baltimore’s storied history. Perhaps none are more picturesque than Federal Hill with its panoramic view over Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Waterfront condos are in high demand along Federal Hill; fortunately there are ample Baltimore condominiums for sale that offer all the amenities of living in Federal Hill’s quaint neighborhood as well as access to Baltimore’s cultural epicenter along the Inner Harbor.

Federal Hill is home to some of Baltimore’s most spectacular and renowned restaurants and bars. Located a few blocks from the waterfront is a wide variety of world-class cuisine. The Metropolitan, Sobo, Blue Agave, and Matsuri all call Federal Hill home. Neighborhood bars include local favorites like the Dog Pub, The Ropewalk, and Porter’s. The Cross Street Market is the retail and commercial hub for the neighborhood with a wide range of stores, restaurants, and small boutiques. The Enoch Pratt Free Library and the famed American Visionary Art Museum are only minutes from waterfront Baltimore condominiums. 

While Federal Hill is quickly becoming a center for urban dwellers who work in or enjoy the amenities of the inner city but like the communal neighborhood feel, the location above the Inner Harbor — Baltimore’s premier urban center — cannot be beat. The Inner Harbor is home to Baltimore’s main cultural and tourist destination. Positioned at the western point of the harbor, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is one of the largest Aquariums in the world and is a recognizable Baltimore landmark. The Harborplace is largely considered the heart of Baltimore and offers a large variety of classic seafood dining establishments that specialize in soft-shell crab as well various retail stores and historic sights.

Waterfront condos in Federal Hill are the ideal neighborhood with a big city feel.

Care packages from mom can brighten anyone’s day. Remember coming home from school to fresh baked cookies and milk?

Most college students live in dormitories where they don’t have that kind of warm welcome anymore from their mothers. They’re busy going to classes, libraries, and extra-curricular activities. They don’t have time to think about eating or sleeping. 

For mothers, this can be a source of stress as they worry about their children. Although they may wish to do so, mailing their children a home cooked meal isn’t exactly that practical. In addition, mothers who want to send food to their college students are often working or busy so they don’t have the time to send care packages. 

However, there is a solution now, as care packages can be purchased and sent to children by working mothers instantaneously with the click of a button.  

What would you put into a care package if you were sending something to your child right before exam time? 

Well, whatever you choose, you know it has to be something that your child will easily pick up and eat on the go or microwave in a few minutes.  

There are a variety of foods and drinks to choose from. For those students with a sweet tooth, there are candies, cookies, chocolate, and a variety of other baked goods available. For those students who need some protein-rich foods, there are nuts, sausage and beef jerky, instant soups, and cheeses available. All these snacks are excellent choices, as your child can much on snacks while they study hard. 

These days, families are scattered and living farther away from each other than ever before. You want to send a treat to your brother or sister, or even your niece or nephew for their birthdays. Whoever receives a care package full of treats will be delighted for the gift and for the thought behind it, which is what really counts!

Before you buy chicks, remember to have some good chicken houses available for them. Once you do, you’re all set to pick them up. If you start out early in the spring, you can take a trip out to your nearest farm supply store and pick up a few baby chicks.

You can find an enormous variety of breeds through mail order catalogs, but chicks must be shipped in a fairly large quantity so they can keep each other warm. That works fine for the small farm flock, where 20 or 30 new chicks make sense – but if you can only have three, what will you do with all the extras?

Many people prefer not to raise too many (or any) male chicks, because they grow up to be roosters and cause havoc in chicken coop. Therefore, you may want to think about how many chicks of each sex you wish to raise. Most male and female chicks are indistinguishable, except by a chick-sexing expert. The experts aren’t always right either, so even if the feed store sells sexed chicks, you could still end up with a rooster. Most people who want a few chickens as pets won’t want to kill one of their pets once it grows old enough to sport the clear indications of maleness, no matter how mean your juvenile rooster might become.

Another alternative is to start in the summer and get three hens from a local farmer. You’ll enjoy the trip to the country, and you’ll be able to ask the farmer a few questions about chicken care. Some people get a bit carried away by creating architecturally designed chicken houses are extremely expensive. If you want to strut your stuff, go ahead, but the hens won’t be impressed. Anything that keeps them dry, safe and warm will work just fine.

Most vegetables are made up of about 80-95% water. The water content in meat runs from about 50-75 %. Foods spoil because water forms a hospitable environment in which various strains of bacteria can grow and multiply, rendering food dangerous to eat if left out for over an hour. Food Dehydrators, through their use of constantly moving heated air, remove the water from food — making it safe to eat months after dehydrating it.

The benefits of using a food dehydrator are seemingly endless. Harvested fruit and vegetables not immediately sold or eaten can be dehydrated and enjoyed months later. Food can be dried and stored, making a readily accessible cache of food always on hand in case of an emergency or disaster. Dried fruit, vegetables, and meat (known as “jerky”) are delectable and healthy snacks that retain all of their nutritional value when dehydrated.

Dehydrating, as opposed to freezing or canning, is much more cost effective and faster. For example: a food dehydrator can dry meat and fish in about 4-6 hours and does not entail the additional material cost, hot water, and mechanical operation of canning. Once dried and stored, jerky can be enjoyed for months to come. A food dehydrator can be used to make yogurt, pasta, vegetable chips, and food adornments for well below the cost of buying the same item at a store.

Aside from their traditional use, food dehydrators serve as a multi-faceted appliance that performs a variety of household tasks. For example you can use a food dehydrator as a humidifier in the winter, an air freshener, a composting aid for organic and non-organic waste, a food re-crisper, as well as a great wearming cabinet for raising home made bread. With as much as a dehydrator does, you will wonder how you lived without one.

If you don’t know by now that the Internet is your friend, then you have been living under a rock. The information super highway is the single best invention for streamlining your life and giving you all the wonderful access that it contains. Now, if the Internet is good for one thing, it’s good for saving you money on the things you want. You can comparison shop as well as find alternatives to the products that you want.

But what you may not know is that the Internet is also good way to save you money on your next vacation. Believe it or not, the Internet is big business when it comes to finding you ways to save on your next trip and it happens in a variety of ways.

Going on a cruise is a great way to spend your week, but paying a lot for it can put a damper on it. Going online and searching for cheap cruises can produce some great value buys. You can head out to exciting destinations for just pennies on the dollar. When you are working on a budget, like most Americans, that is music to your ears.

The Internet can be a great way to find hotels for less when booking your next vacation. Many of these sites are hooked up with the hotel owners themselves and are allowed to authorize great deals on their behalf. Getting online and booking a hotel through one of these sites is most assuredly the best way to save money on your next stay in a gorgeous city.

Planning a vacation can be both costly and exciting, so planning it online is the most logical choice if you want a vacation that not only gives you memories to last a lifetime but gives you comfort in your checkbook.

Gazebos are the perfect addition to any back yard or large property. In addition to providing an additional room, they add quaint charm and style to your garden. Many people choose to get married in a gazebo near a beautiful lake or forest. A gazebo can also be the perfect spot for a romantic meeting between two lovers. One of the reasons gazebos are so charming is that they originated in the Victorian Era, which is noted for specific, sophisticated architectural designs.

Adding such a structure to your property is fairly simple and inexpensive. It involves ordering a gazebo kit from a manufacturer then assembling it with a hammer and a screwgun. Most gazebos can be constructed from preassembled wall sections, but help is usually needed in installing the preassembled roof panels. The requirements for the floor and foundation vary, depending on what type of gazebo floor is chosen. Gazebos can be attached to an existing deck, a wood floor, a concrete slab, or paving bricks. Like any well-built outdoor structure, there is no special maintenance required for your gazebo. It is also possible to create your own custom-designed gazebo with specific shapes, sizes, and materials.

One question that many people wonder about is the necessity for building permits. It’s best to check with your local permitting agency to see if it’s necessary to apply for one. Usually, gazebo manufacturing companies provide standard building permit specifications along with the gazebo. Sometimes local government officials ask for architectural stamps which can also be obtained from the gazebo manufacturing company.

If you have children, they will be sure to enjoy the extra play space and structure to add to their play-acting and drama adventures. After you add a beautiful gazebo to your home, sit back and throw a tea party and enjoy the fresh air and beauty of your landscape in your cozy new room.

It seems like everyone is trying to find ways to save money, and they’re finding creative ways to do it. Making changes like dropping your gym membership, waiting for the DVD release instead of going to the theater, brown bagging your lunch equal savings that add up in a hurry. Of course, there is another way to save money without waiting for a movie’s DVD release: refinancing loans.

When you think of the word “refinance,” thoughts may immediately turn to home equity loans sold by annoying home loan commercials. The radio, TV and Internet are flooded with refinancing opportunities, and homeowners can save thousands by refinancing their mortgage. Another no brainer is the option of refinancing your auto loan. Much like refinancing a home, refinancing an auto loan will help you save money over the life of the loan and it will help you lower monthly payments.

Disposable income will increase when you enjoy a lower monthly payment, allowing you to cover other wants or needs in your budget. Some transfer that new income toward the principle of the loan, thus shrinking the life of the loan; that helps you save significantly on the amount of money you pay toward interest.

Who can help with a refinance auto loan? In fact, many banks or credit unions offer this service. A simple Internet search will yield many options. Look around and make sure you put forth some due diligence. Some loans will cost more up front with the promise of a lower rate or monthly payment, but that promise maybe worthless if the total value of the loan remains the same, or even possibly more, than the original loan.

So start looking. Refinance that auto loan and start digging yourself out of debt quicker. Feel free to treat yourself to a movie in the theater when you pay off that car.