wedding gift: cash toward
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MSN Money - A practical wedding gift: cash toward a home MSN Home My MSN Hotmail Shopping Money People & Chat Sign In W eb Search: Money S earch MSN Money: Help Home News Banking Investing Planning Taxes My Money Portfolio Loans Insurance Planning Home Retirement Savings Insurance Family/College College Tools Scholarship Search College Search Resources Decision Centers Commentary Index More Tools Related Links Message Boards Print-friendly version Send this to a friend Get market news by e-mail See if refinancing works Personal finance bookshelf Find It! Article Index Finance Q&A Tools Index Site map Related Articles Marriage means updating important documents Romance can wait; first, talk cold, hard cash Tie the knot without busting your budget Related Resources Decision Center: Essential homebuying guide Decision Center: Love, money and marriage See if youre carrying too much debt Stay at home or work? Try our calculator Related Sites Bankrate.com The Basics A practical wedding gift: cash toward a home advertisement If anyone asks what you want for a wedding present, you might try 'cash for a down payment.' Its legal, if you follow the rules, and asking for cash even meets the Emily Post test for politeness. By Bankrate.com June is the busiest month for weddings, and a forest's worth of invitations either already has been mailed or soon will be sent. A lot of couples want money for wedding gifts. A wedding-day cash infusion can make putting a down payment on a home easier. With prices appreciating rapidly in much of the country, lots of couples need all the help they can get. There are formal and informal rules governing gifts of money to help newlyweds buy a house. First, the informal rules: Is it OK to ask one's wedding guests for money? "It's not rude to request money as a wedding gift," says Peggy Post, author of Emily Post's Wedding Etiquette. "However, it's extremely important to ask politely." Peggy Post is Emily's great-granddaughter-in-law, the wedding etiquette expert for WeddingChannel.com and the main spokesman for the Emily Post Institute. She says one of the most common challenges that couples face is how to request money as a wedding gift. Doing so is acceptable, if done politely. If you seek down-payment money, get the word out through family and friends, Post recommends. Just don't include that info in the same envelope as a wedding invitation. "If you are asked point-blank what you would like for a gift, you might say, 'Whatever you choose will be wonderful, I'm sure, but money for a house down payment is on the top of our wish list,'" Post says. It's OK to say what it's for Go ahead and tell people what you want the money for. Who knows? If you let people know that you plan to spend the money on a down payment, rather than on a honeymoon in Tuscany, they might be more willing to open their pocketbooks. Wedding guests who insist on giving you yet another toaster or wicker picnic basket or a set of rosewood corn holders should be thanked anyway, even though they aren't helping you buy a house. "You should always accept any gift graciously, and remember that the choice of what to give really belongs to the gift giver," Post says. With the etiquette question out of the way, that brings up how to get the money from your guests' pockets and into the hands of the folks who eventually sell you their house. It's not simple, because mortgage loan programs have differing rules on the use of gift money in making a down payment. So know the gift rules Generally, you are expected to be able to make a down payment of at least 5% from your savings, excluding gifts. But what if you are too impatient to wait that long? Some mortgage programs allow you to use gift money if you can't scrape together that 5%. Loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration allow you to use money from gifts to make a down payment of as little as 3%. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest purchasers of home loans, offer similar programs through lenders. Fannie Mae's program is called "Flex 97" and Freddie Mac's is called "Alt 97." If there is a problem with these loan programs, it is that they limit whose money you can use. The FHA, Fannie and Freddie allow you to use money from family members. In the FHA's case, givers have to be members of your "immediate family." It's up to the loan officer to figure out who is family and who is immediate family. What about friends? Can you use gift money from, say, the woman who has been your mother's best friend since kindergarten? Technically, no. The money has to come from family (or from a nonprofit or government agency, but they don't give wedding gifts). It wasn't always this way. In 1996, the FHA encouraged lenders to offer "bridal registry accounts," where couples could stash gifts from friends and family. "Then, when the newlyweds purchase their new home, the money will be available and documented through a lender-supervised account," the FHA said. A few lenders responded enthusiastically, establishing account programs specifically for newlyweds complete with gift cards that could be returned to the bank with a check enclosed. One such lender is SunTrust Mortgage, a subsidiary of SunTrust Banks. Through SunTrust Mortgage, you can open a bridal registry savings or checking account at SunTrust Bank. When a wedding guest makes a deposit, the bank sends a card to the bride and groom to let them know. Ready to find a mortgage? "When they're ready to go ahead and make that first home purchase, they access those funds and we get a mortgage for them -- and we hope they remain a SunTrust banking customer," says Cheryl Nolda, senior vice president of marketing for SunTrust Mortgage. In the last few months, about 500 brochures have been given to prospective couples, Nolda says. The lender usually sees an upsurge in interest in the two months before June and October, which tend to be the busiest months for weddings. Despite their success at SunTrust, bridal registry accounts never really caught on. You can always open a regular old savings or money market account to hold your down payment fund, but you might need to document where the money came from. That's easy enough when the money comes from your paycheck. If some of the money comes from gifts, be prepared to document the source. Encourage gift-givers to give checks from their personal accounts. And don't forget to write those thank-you notes. 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Jewelry Gift
LongLocks Hair Sticks - Jewelry Gift Certificates - The Perfect Birthday or Holiday Gift! Advanced Search | Catalog | Site Map | Index About LongLocks HairSticks ® Boutique Gift Certificates LongLocks HairSticks ® and accessories make wonderfully elegant gifts that will be dearly treasured for years to come, and are destined to become the heirlooms of tomorrow. Whether it be a gift for Christmas, Valentine's Day, a wedding anniversary, birthday, or just to say "I love you," let the LongLocks HairSticks ® Boutique provide a perfectly romantic solution to your gift giving dilemma. Purchase a LongLocks HairSticks ® Boutique Gift Certificate and let your special someone shop at their leisure to choose their own unique hair sticks and jewelry from the LongLocks HairSticks ® Boutique online catalog. Your special someone will love you for it! We ship gift certificates anywhere in the world via first class mail free of charge. If you would like us to personalize your gift certificate for you, please enter the name of the recipient in the comments text box on the first page of the Secure Shopping Cart. If you are on a tight time schedule, your gift certificate can even be delivered by e-mail! Just make your request in the comments text box in the Secure Shopping Cart and be sure to include the e-mail address of the recipient. LongLocks HairSticks ® Boutique Gift Certificates are printed on beautiful floral paper stock. They are available in $25.00, $50.00, $100.00, $150.00 and $250.00 denominations and may be redeemed for one full year from date of issue. Please note that gift certificates are nonrefundable and any unused balance will be credited toward a future purchase. Discount vouchers and sale prices are not applicable to the purchase of gift certificates. Any necessary adjustments under these circumstances will be made during processing. Gift certificates may be redeemed at any time, including during sale days, and may be used in conjunction with discount vouchers. Price: $25.00 Add to Cart Add to Cart LongLocks HairSticks Boutique: $100 Gift Certificate Price: $100.00 Add to Cart Add to Cart Add to Cart The LongLocks HairSticks Boutique is updated daily with new designs! Check out What's New . Subscribe to our FREE newsletter & receive special members-only discounts & previews. Subscribe today Have an idea for your own jewelry design? Consider a Custom Design There are LongLocks HairSticks ® for men too! Check out LongLocks ChapStix Our customers say wonderful things about our jewelry! Check out our Kudos and Awards You'll find great books on hair styles and fashion in the LongLocks Library Prefer to place your order by phone? Call toll-free 1.877.745.1145 LongLocks HairSticks Boutique Hair Jewelry Catalog Index The Original LongLocks HairSticks | GlimmerStix | DuetStix | SwingStix | BridalStix | ShadowStix | GemStix HoloStix | SterlingStix | d'OrStix | FantasyStix | PearliStix | FuturiStix | GlitterStix | MystStix | DecoStix DrizzleStix | MajeStix | NeonStix | FoilStix | SugarStix | ArtiStix | SpiralStix | RapunzelStix GeishaStix | IndividualiStix | ChapStix | Special Edition Designs | Vintage Hair Combs Gift Certificates | Chinese Silk Jewelry Rolls | The Rapunzel Shoppe Collectors Club | Waltzing Willow Jewelry | Sublime Indulgences Hair Color Chart | Birthstones & Anniversaries Ordering Information
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College Gift
Skidmore College - Gift Planning - Life Income - Pooled Life Income Fund Search | Calendar | A-Z Index Thu Sep 22 5:37 PM EDT Skidmore Home | Admissions | Current Students | Faculty & Staff | Parents & Friends | Alumni Wills and Bequests Life Income Gifts More Gift Options Breaking News To Honor Donors Bring Legacy to Life! Scribner House Contact Our Staff Gift Planning Home STANDARD MAIL 815 North Broadway Saratoga Springs, New York, 12866 GIFT PLANNING PHONE 518-580-5655 E-MAIL CONTACT Gift Planning Gift Planning Life Income Gifts - Skidmore Pooled Life Income Fund The Pooled Life Income Fund (PLIF) provides a way for alumni and friends to make gifts to the College in exchange for lifetime income, favorable tax treatment, and other financial benefits. The collective power of pooling gifts from many donors increases the size and investment earning potential of the overall fund. Donors may join in the Skidmore PLIF with a gift of cash or securities of at least $5,000. Subsequesnt gifts of $1,000 or more may be added. Each participant receives a percentage share of the total PLIF investment earnings each year. The amount of income received by the donor, or a beneficiary designated by the donor, depends upon the subsequent earnings performance each year. Growth in the value of the Skidmore Pooled Life Income Fund results in increased annual income for beneficiaries and a larger eventual gift for Skidmore. When the donor and/or beneficiary passes away, the donor's share of the PLIF principal is withdrawn and transferred to Skidmore College to be used for general educational purposes or for such specific purposes as the donor may have designated. Please call or email to learn more. Bring Legacy to Life! Philanthropy • Legacy • Security The Office of Gift Planning urges donors to consult their legal and other professional advisors when considering charitable gift giving. Our staff is always pleased to work directly with donors and their advisors during the process. Creative Thought Matters. Skidmore College · 815 North Broadway · Saratoga Springs, NY · 12866 Skidmore College Main Links ©2005 Skidmore College · Contact Information Skidmore Home | Admissions | Current Students | Faculty & Staff | Parents & Friends | Alumni