In Brief

By Anamaria Wilson

PAYBACK TIME Thinking of going belly up? Better hurry up. The Senate passed a bill last week that will make it harder to file for bankruptcy. Lenders have groused that current law allows consumers, even those with the means to pay, to wipe out debt too easily. In the new law, which is expected to be signed in some form by the President, getting a clean slate will be more difficult, and payback schedules will be more common.

EASY MONEY So your kids aren't football stars or rocket scientists? Well, maybe they're lucky. FreeScholarships, a new website, is giving away $10,000 a day to U.S. citizens over age 13. Winners are chosen at random. Checks are sent directly to schools or loan programs. All you have to do is provide a little marketing info. This is one of a number of new sites, like iWon.com that are trying to attract eyeballs and data using giveaways. The sponsors say the site won't give out individual info but will sell demographic profiles of its users to advertisers.

CHARGE IT? Even the IRS takes plastic now. They'll let you pay your tax bill with Master Card, American Express or Discover. The benefit: you can collect reward points on some cards. Then there's the psychological advantage of not owing Uncle Sam. But if you need some time to pay off your tax bill, Uncle Sam may have the better deal. He'll only charge you 8% interest. The average fixed-rate credit card is 15.38%, and there is an extra 2.5% (on average) fee on the amount borrowed for paying with a credit card.

--By Anamaria Wilson