BEYOND THA BASICS

Monday, March 23, 2009

Out & About: Halle Berry

Halle was out in L.A. with her daughter Nahla spending some quailty time......

Meanwhile in the ATL.....

T.I. hosted a huge birthday party for his sons Major, Messiah, and Domani and Tiny’s daughter Zonnique over the weekend in the ATL.

Diddy’s daughter Chance and her mom Sarah attended the event.

And Monica hit up Frank Ski Kids Foundation Local Legend Luncheon in Atlanta over the weekend.

Work it Out Regina!

Regina King got her work out on at the Reeboks Jukari Fit To Fly Workout Studio in L.A. over the weekend.

We See you Tristan

Tristan Wilds showed up to the "90210" wrap party with a cutie on his arm....Very cute!

Kim Porter & her son Quincy (his father is late 80's and early 90's R&B signer Al B. Sure) hung out at the the UNICEF/Tap Project Benefit Concert “Tap With A Beat” at the World Peace Ikeda Auditorium in Santa Monica yesterday.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Kelis & Nas Baby Shopping

TheYBF.com caught pics of the happy couple picking out things for baby.... can we say....Awwwww

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Out & About: Beyonce in LA

Its Coming....

Bossip .com reports: Rapper KANYE WEST is set to appear as a hip hop wannabe in FAMILY GUY spin-off THE CLEVELAND SHOW.The Stronger hitmaker is a huge fan of Seth MACFarlane’s original animated comedy , and jumped at the chance to lend his vocals to the up-coming show. The new series sees character Cleveland Brown move away from the neighborhood he shares with bumbling Family Guy patriarch Peter Griffin.

This has to end!

Bravo T.V. has announced there will be a "Real Housewives of New Jersey"

People.com: "Get ready for The Real Housewives of New Jersey!

The newest cast of Housewives is close-knit and includes friends, a pair of sisters — who married brothers! — and their sister-in-law. The show is set to premiere May 12 (11 p.m. ET) on Bravo.
From left to right, the women of The Real Housewives of New Jersey are …
Jacqueline Laurita: A former cosmetologist, she is now a stay-at-home mom, but still loves to pamper herself. She has a teenage daughter from her previous marriage and a 6-year-old son with her husband Chris, who owns wholesale apparel businesses and is brother to Caroline and Dina.
Teresa Giudice: Born and raised in New Jersey, her husband Joe owns a successful construction company. Together they have three young daughters, who take up much of her time. A friend of Dina and Caroline, she also loves to shop, get spa treatments and spend time at her beach house on the Jersey Shore.
Danielle Staub: “You either love me or you hate me, there is no in between,” says the single mom of two daughters. She prides herself as one of the first female American Express Black card members in New Jersey. She is also active in her local parish and regularly attends mass. She and Jacqueline are friends.
Dina Manzo: Founder of the nonprofit Project Ladybug, which helps children with cancer, she’s also an interior designer, an event planner, mother and best friends with her sister Caroline. Her husband Tommy works with his brother (Caroline’s husband) at their family’s catering business.
Caroline Manzo: She’s a mother of three and own a real estate firm and a line of children’s accessories. Described as a “feisty spitfire,” she’s Dina’s sister and is on the board of Project Ladybug. She’s married to Albert Manzo, brother of Dina’s husband Tommy. Dina and Caroline’s brother is Jacqueline’s husband Chris."

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

And Baby Makes 5!!! Neffe is Pregnant Again!!!!

Sister 2 Sister Reports: “I’m pregnant and I got an attitude with him and don’t want him to f***ing touch me right now—or ever,” Neffe told Jamie. “Because I—was not supposed to happen this way. Now I’m trying to figure this s**t out, ’cause I just had Jaylen.” The happy couple (yes, they were very lovey-dovey before this announcement) was a little confused about the details. Neffe didn’t know how far along in the pregnancy she was, although Soullow said “about three” months. He also quickly said, “It’s good,” referring to the upcoming baby, but admitted, “We really try to protect ourselves. It just happened. “Regardless of how it happened, Neffe says that she’s a good mama. “I love children,” she said. “If you notice, I have six of them upstairs!” The new baby will be the couple’s first together and the fifth for Neffe. Her older children are Brianna, Christare, CiCi, Jaylen, and her ex-husband’s children, whom she is raising. Soullow also has children from previous relationships.

Finance Tips by G. Hogan

Don’t Lose Your Home; It’s one of the MOST Important Assets you can OWN
1. Do NOT Ignore the PROBLEM: Contact your lender IMMEDIATELY
2. PRIORITIZE your Debts:
Is your LUXUXRY CAR more important than your home?
Down Grade your CAR! Instead of having a $700 car note, TRADE and get something with a $350 car note! You can always get that STATUS QUO car back LATER!
3. Have you thought about taking a SECOND JOB?
Let the PRIDE GO! A few extra dollars a month can help you save your HOME!
IT”S ALL ABOUT SACRAFICE! This will all blow over soon!

Speak with a HUD Approved Counselor
HUD Approved Housing Counseling Agencies
Call – 1-800-569-4287 or click link below to search for counselors in your state:
http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/hcc/hcs.cfm.

Credit: When was the last time you checked your credit? Did you know you can do it for FREE?
Most States allow you a free report from all 3 major credit agencies;
Equifax, Experian and Trans Union
Click on link below for Annual Credit Report. You will have to put in personal information, it will also ask for a credit or debit card, YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED if you are in a state that allows free annual reports. You will be asked several security questions related to past employment, past addresses, past or current debts.
AnnualCreditReport.com - https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

You are also entitled to a free credit report if you are denied credit from someone. So if you apply for a credit card, car or loan and you are declined, you are entitled to a free credit report.

DON’T be surprised about your credit, know what is on there. You should check your credit at least once per year (for free), if not every six months.
You can also request a report by mail:
Equifax
P.O. Box 740256
Atlanta, GA 30374

Experien
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion
P.O.Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834

If you are a victim of FRAUD, you can place a fraud alert on your credit file:
Lenders will be required to contact you to verify if you have applied for a loan before the loan or account is opened.
Equifax: 1-877-576-5734; http://www.equifax.com/
Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com/fraud
TransUnion: 1-800-680-7289; http://www.transunion.com/

Your credit will allow to get almost anything you want! Buy a home, start a business

Career Advice by G. Hogan

JOB SEEKERS
Times are TOUGH, people are losing their jobs left and right.
There are many online job sites like MONSTER, CAREER BUILBER, etc. these sites have resume filters that looks for certain key words contained in your resume. Another GOOD source for Job Seekers is your State Department of Labor.
I just did a search for my state and found PLENTY of available jobs ranging from minimum wage to $50.00 per hour!
Jobs requiring little to no experience – professional jobs requiring College Degrees.
Keep an open mind, when you don’t have a job almost anything beats a BLANK. Sometime you have to START OVER and WORK your way UP AGAIN. Get your foot in the DOOR. Times and jobs are too hard to come by now in the CRAZY, UNCERYTAIN ECONOMY!

Here is the link for you to find your state office.
http://www.dol.gov/esa/contacts/state_of.htm
Once your there then you click find a job or search jobs.
Also, many state department of labor agencies have job fairs once a month. You can find that information on your states department of labor site.

Here are some other job searching websites:
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html - YES, Craigs List has jobs posted on there as well.

Personal Finance by G. Hogan

Another One Bites The Dust – How this affects your 401K Another Bank goes under; MEGA Bank Wachovia acquired by CITI GROUP. Now why is this important, many employees are now BROKE since many have a large portions of their 401K in company stock. This is not a good idea whether you work for a financial institution or not. If you have most of your allocations in the company stock and the company goes under then you lose most of your hard earned retirement money. You shouldn’t have any more than 10% – 15% in your company stock. You should also review your 401k allocations at lest once a year. Most of us don’t even pay it any attention or even know what we are looking at in our 401K. If you work for a financial institution you have a many advisors at your leisure to call and ask them to review it with you. You can also ask someone in your human resources; benefits plan administrator for the company that manages your 401k and they can go over your accounts with you for FREE. If you do not participate in your 401k at all, you are losing money since most companies match a percentage of your contributions dollar for dollar. FREE Money but don’t have it all in one basket!

Credit Advice By G. Hogan

Re-Establishing Credit after a BANKRUPTCY:
No matter what the reason was for filling bankruptcy, you got a PASS and need to START OVER and re-establish your credit.
It seems like before the ink is dry credit card companies and auto dealers start sending you applications and pre-approved notices in the mail. This is NOT a Bad thing. You have to get back into managing your debt and credit responsibly and one of the ways to do it is by getting 2 new credit accounts, typically 2 credit cards or 1 credit card and one car loan. Now, the rates on some of those offers may be EXTREMLY HIGH anywhere from 18% -24%, you may even get some lower. The key is to read the FINE PRINT. These types of offers will also have an annual fee. You will have to pay a little bit more to get back in the CREDIT GAME. You may also get a low limit $200-$500, AGAIN its ok. BABY STEPS! You have to build TRUST again. Review all offers, interest rate vs. annual fees and pick the one with the lowest rate and or annual fee. If you find that you applied for 2 credit cards even though they say pre-approved for bad credit and previous bankruptcy and get DECLINED, you may have to apply for a Secured Credit Card. This is where you send the company a check say for $500, then they issue you a credit card with a $500 limit. They will hold onto your deposit until they feel that you have used and paid back the account in a responsible manner. Most companies will send back your money anywhere from 18 – 24 months.
If you decide to re-establish your credit and you should, you have to make sure you don’t fall into a lot of debt again. You should only charge small amounts, maybe for some gas, dinner, rental car, etc BUT make sure you can pay if off when your statement arrives. You want to only use about 30% of your available credit. So this means if you have a limit of $1000, you should only have a balance of $300. Banks and lenders consider this an acceptable amount of usage. You are penalized for carrying large balances on your credit cards. It HURTS your Credit Score!
As far as the car offers, if you need a car and can get a loan get one BUT make sure the finance company or any company you borrow money from, report monthly to one of, if not all the credit agencies. Stay away from BUY HERE, PAY HERE places. They typically have shotty cars, excessively high interest rates and do not report to any of the 3 major credit agencies.
If you can get 2 credit cards and use them responsibly, this can increase your credit score dramatically over the next 12 months. You will be working your way up to getting back in the GAME and will soon be able to get credit from a traditional source (like your bank) after 2 – 3 years following a bankruptcy. Remember BABY STEPS!

BEYOND THA BASICS

The Atlanta Housewives are Coming...