Free Money for Houses, College or Small Businesses!

The free money comes from an under- used program in Utah called the Individual Development Account (IDA). The accounts are funded by a combination of private and governmental contributions and administered by the non-profit AAA Fair Credit foundation (877-787-0727 or email info@uidan.org). UIDAN stands for Utah Individual Development Account Network.

Here's who qualifies:

- Utah resident

- Minimum 18 years of age

- Currently employed

- Less than $10,000 in net assets (one house and one car do not count towards that $10,000)

- Income Limits:

Household Income

1 Person $20,800
2 Persons $28,000
3 Persons $35,200
4 Persons $42,400
5 Persons $49,600
6 Persons $56,800
7 Persons $64,000
8 Persons $71,000

Here's how they work:

You commit to a program that includes classroom instruction on money management. You open a savings account at a local bank and agree that for one to three years you will make regular, monthly deposits that are monitored by case manager. Your deposits are matched 3-to-1 up to $1,500. So, assuming you deposit the maximum $1,500, at the end of the program you will have $6,000 - plus interest.

That money can be spent on...

- 1st Time Home Purchase

- Tuition at a College or Vocational School

- Starting a Small Business

Martha Wunlerli, the statewide program coordinator for the IDA program said, "Individual development accounts allow low income people to build wealth and gain the financial skills to move into the financial mainstream and stay there. It's all about getting out of poverty and staying out of poverty or preventing poverty. A lot of savers are young people just starting their career. They may not think about being poor, but we know that if they don't watch their money carefully when they're young, and those students loans accumulate, that they could be the next generation of poor people."