Little bit of breathing room is always helpful.

via applerealty:

Unemployed homeowners with loans guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie could now be eligible for reduced or suspended mortgage payments for up to a year. The government-controlled mortgage finance companies emphasized that they were doing so at the direction of their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

Starting Feb. 1, Freddie Mac said it will allow companies that collect mortgage payments to give borrowers up to a 12-month break on their mortgages, up from a current level of six months. However, the break, known in the mortgage industry as forbearance, will only be temporary. Borrowers will still owe the payments they have missed.

“These expanded forbearance periods will provide families facing prolonged periods of unemployment with a greater measure of security by giving them more time to find new employment and resolve their delinquencies,” said Tracy Mooney, a Freddie Mac senior vice president. “We believe this will put more families back on track to successful long-term home ownership.”

Freddie Mac didn’t have an estimate available for how many borrowers would qualify

In the spirit of my last post about @TaskRabbit, here are 5 more ways to make an extra $500/month from @yahoofinance.

1. Rent out your living room

2. Rent out your car

3. Sell your knowledge

4. Cook for people

5. Sell your services

Learn more about how to actually do these things on Yahoo Finance.

Have you tried any of these ideas? Tell us about it in the comments.

Great article here from MainStreet.com about turning tax day into another pay day.  Topics include:

• Job Hunting Deduction: Taxpayers can deduct the cost of transportation to get to a job interview, the price of mailing out resumes and even the money that you may have paid to a professional recruiter.
• Medical Expenses Deduction: According to the IRS, if taxpayers spend more than 7.5% of their annual income on medical expenses (not a hard thing to do if you have next to no annual income while unemployed), then every dollar in excess of this amount can be deducted on your tax returns.
• No Penalty 401K Withdrawal: According to TurboTax, any taxpayer who is 55 or older and currently unemployed can withdraw money from a 401(K) without paying the 10% penalty.

……

More relevant 405 Club articles here

If you’re one of the 800,000-plus New Yorkers collecting unemployment benefits right now, life must feel like an emotional roller coaster. What will you do if your benefits run out before you find work?

-Jean Chatzky, NY Daily News