A lot of times all you have to do is go down to your local community college (if you want to go back to school) talk with the financial advisor about going back to school. The financial advisor will give you a whole packet of forms to fill out, asking for your last years tax return, paycheck stubs, etc... (this should be easy if you worked last year, take your last paycheck stub and that is your yearly wages (assuming you worked only one job). You can apply for minority scholarship, pell grants, disability grants and on and on. There are some colleges you can work on campus to pay for your college. You trade hours for credits. There is also different programs at colleges. Check to see if your local trade school have programs where they pay for your college and you work a certain time usually broken up into 2-4 years to re-pay the cost of education.
If you are looking into homes and down payments.....
I am currently in that same boat.... I am thinking the best bet is a hud house. Some of the locations of some of these houses are not in that bad of an area. If you are even given the slighest oppertunity to own a house, live in it a few to five years and then move. All you are really needing to show is that you are consistantly paying on time every time. Yes there will be trouble times, but be up front and honest with your mortgage people. THey are willing to work with you, but you have to let them know if you run into problems.
