The IRS extended the tax filing and payment deadline to Boston-area residents who were affected by the bombings. Find out if you’re eligible.

Asked by Michelle on Facebook.

There are very few grants available to individuals. Most grants are awarded to places like universities, states, and non-profits.

You may be eligible for loans or student aid, however.

To file your return, ask for an extension or check your refund, visit www.irs.gov.

By Gail Cunningham, National Foundation for Credit Counseling

April is Financial Capability Month. You probably won’t find any greeting cards celebrating that fact, but don’t let that stop you from taking a closer look at your personal economic situation.

It’s always fun to see how we stack up against our peers, and the NFCC’s hot-off-the-press 2013 Financial Literacy Survey is a great way to do that.

This year’s survey results provided somewhat of a mixed message. More than one in four respondents indicated they are spending more than last year, yet 77 percent admitted to having financial worries, listing insufficient savings as their top financial concern. Yes, you read that correctly. Americans (that means you) are spending more, but at the same time are worried about a lack of savings.

Taking a closer look at consumers’ top financial concerns, check out the following. (Respondents were allowed multiple responses, so don’t worry about the percentages not adding up to 100.)

1. Not enough savings – Overall, 57 percent of Americans indicated they are worried over a lack of savings, including 43 percent who are concerned about not having enough “rainy day” savings for an emergency, and 38 percent concerned about retiring without having enough money set aside. Although fairly evenly divided, the data suggest that having enough money to resolve daily emergencies takes precedence over the longer term retirement planning.
2. Not being able to pay financial obligations – A total of 26 percent of those responding, or roughly 61 million people, were worried about servicing their debt commitments, including concerns around paying credit card debt (13 percent), repaying student loan debt (8 percent), an inability to make monthly vehicle payments (7 percent), and not being able to pay off existing medical debt (6 percent).
3. Health insurance – One in four (25 percent) are worried about health insurance – either not being able to afford it (19 percent) and/or not having any (17 percent).
4. Credit – While 19 percent were worried about their credit score and/or lack of access of credit overall, 16 percent were anxious about their score, with 9 percent concerned over their lack of access to credit, suggesting that consumers continue to realize the importance of credit in their lives. However, most adults have neglected to review their credit report (65 percent) or score (60 percent) in the past year.
5. Job loss – Eighteen percent, or more than 42 million Americans indicated fear of job loss as a major concern, a number that is disturbingly high.
6. Foreclosure – As the least of consumers’ concerns (among those listed), a comparatively small 4 percent of Americans are worried over losing their home to foreclosure, undoubtedly a positive signal for the housing industry and the economy as a whole.

The good news is that 20 percent of U.S. adults indicated they do not have any financial worries, a strong sign of consumer confidence.

Remaining stubbornly consistent over the past three years, 40 percent of adults gave themselves a grade of C, D, or F on their knowledge of personal finance. How would you grade yourself? Should you put yourself in financial time-out?

Based on this poor report card, it is not surprising that nearly four in five (78 percent) agree that they could benefit from additional advice and answers to everyday financial questions from a professional.

Know that there is ample opportunity for you to improve your level of financial literacy and take steps to resolve any financial problems. Not surprisingly, most adults indicated that if they were having financial problems related to debt, they would first turn to their friends and family for assistance (28 percent). A similar number (27 percent) also said they would reach out to a professional nonprofit credit counseling agency for help, demonstrating a high level of confidence in the value of credit counseling.

So, how did you fare? If any of this data hits too close to home, take action. Ignoring a financial problem rarely solves it, and looking the other way only makes the problem harder to solve. To get started, consider renaming April My Financial Capability Month and resolve to make positive changes that will move you into a more stable financial future. Then start planning your Financial Capability Month 2014 party!

By the National Retirement Planning Coalition

Day in and day out, we go to work, pay the bills, take care of the kids, and manage all of the other demands of daily living. Considering all these responsibilities and that the average American works 91,520 hours in their lifetime, it’s understandable that a comfortable retirement remains the American dream.

With emerging challenges and obstacles making a secure retirement seem more difficult to attain, it’s more important than ever to take the time to think about long-term financial needs so that our retirement dreams can become a reality.

Understandably, the process may seem complex and time consuming. Fortunately help is here.

National Retirement Planning Week, a nationwide effort to remind Americans of the necessity to consider their financial needs in retirement, takes place this week. Let National Retirement Planning Week be the motivation you need to set aside the time, roll up your sleeves and create a comprehensive retirement plan.

Why plan?

Let’s consider the facts. The retirement boom is underway. Approximately 79 million Baby Boomers will reach retirement age by 2030, with approximately 10,000 Boomers turning 65 every single day. For many, the challenges during retirement will be more complex than those facing prior generations.

During the last two decades many employers stopped providing traditional pensions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 19 percent of workers in 2012 had access to a defined benefit. Instead, most employers now offer defined contribution plans, such as 401(k) plans. In the process of shifting to these plans, greater risk has been transferred to individual workers.

At the same time, we have seen vast growth in the cost of health care. In fact, the latest research from the Insured Retirement Institute shows that a healthy 65-year-old female will spend on average at least $417,000 on cumulative health care expenses including premiums during her retirement years.

Her male counterpart will pay in excess of $369,000. Life spans also continue to increase, and so future retirees will need to have additional retirement assets to pay for basic expenses—for a longer period of time—in retirement.

The Unknowns

And then there are the unknowns. One potent unknown is the future rate of inflation. A period of high inflation has the potential to increase the cost of expenses in retirement and erode the purchasing power of savings.

And there’s investment risk. Without access to a fortuneteller’s crystal ball, it’s virtually impossible to predict the performance of financial markets.

Creating a Retirement Plan

Intimidated yet? The challenges may seem vast, but they can be manageable so long as you are prepared. A solid retirement plan will help protect against foreseeable risks and hedge against the unknown variables.

If you are having trouble getting started, assistance from a financial professional is only a phone call away. There also are a number of resources available on the Internet to help as you think about your retirement needs.

The National Retirement Planning Coalition, organizer of National Retirement Planning Week, maintains an educational website— www.retireonyourterms.org— offering resources to help Americans stay focused on long-term financial goals.

One last thought—new research shows that Americans who have the highest levels of confidence in attaining a financially secure retirement are working with a financial advisor and have developed a targeted savings goal. So don’t delay and start planning today.

Use the resources available, set a goal, make a plan, save, and seek help from financial professionals when you need it. Now is the time to think about your retirement needs.

Use National Retirement Planning Week as the nudge needed to make the commitment to set aside time from your hectic day-to-day routine and put together a plan for a financially secure retirement. With a solid plan in place, your secure retirement dream could be on the horizon.