Celebrate the Children 2011 - Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida

Friday, April 15th was the "Celebrate the Children 2011" Dinner and Auction.  The evening was amazing and Andson was proud to be a part of it.  The silent auction was as fun as the live auction during the meal.  The event took place at the Orlando World Center Marriott - most of the banquet floor was used for various parts of the event.

One of the best parts of the evening was the interaction with so many of the kids.  From the greeters (the younger kids), to the Youth of the Year,  whom sat with each table during the dinner and auction, the entire night truly did "Celebrate the Children."

Congratulations to each Branch Youth of the Year - you all give us a glimpse of what the Boys & Girls Clubs can accomplish.

We want to give a special congratulations to Kesha Dennis of the West Sanford Branch for her achievement as their Youth of the Year.  We have had the opportunity to work with Kesha in our workshops previously, and there is no doubt in our minds that she deserved this honor.

Ahkeem Hollimon was the Tupperware Branch Youth of the Year, and was nominated as Youth of the Year for 2011 for Central Florida Boys & Girls Clubs.  Congratulations to him and the amazing work he will continue to do through the Boys & Girls Clubs.

Truly a special night, and it couldn't have been more fun!  Thanks to everyone that made the event such a wonderful time.

Andson Workshops in Central Florida - Altamonte Christian Schools

Friday, April 15th we had the opportunity to go give a workshop at Altamonte Christian School, in Altamonte Springs, FL.  We had a great time with the Senior Class, and were able to spend the entire day with them - we may have even got them out a little early (you're all welcome).  It was nice to see that this group is headed in the right direction - they had a good understanding of personal finance, most were even good savers!

As always, we really stressed Investing as well as the Credit Cards lessons.  Time Value of Money is definitely an area that gets young people thinking about interest rates and returns.

We also got some feedback on the presentations, which was definitely helpful and greatly appreciated - hopefully we can just keep making them better and better for future workshops.

Thanks to all the students and faculty for making the day a success!

Andson Workshops in Central Florida - Sanford and Tupperware Clubs.

We recently finished up 2 workshops in Central Florida for March 2011.  These took place at the Sanford and Tupperware Boys and Girls Clubs.  Overall, they went very well.  It was fun to be able to use Prezi for the first time in the workshops - they seem to keep the students more interested, and add a little something to what can be "just another class" for teens.  Next up is Altamonte Christian School, in Altamonte Springs, FL - that is coming up April 15th.  Hope you enjoy the photos, and feel free to work through all our Prezis yourself at prezi.com

Managing Your Credit (and Credit Score)

So we've touched on how to check your Credit Report before, but the site Lifehacker.com recently posted an article entitled "How to Effectively Manage Your Credit Reputation," which goes into further detail of making sense of the mess of Credit History that we deal with as adults.

We really liked their idea of the difference between your Credit Report and your Credit Score:

The Difference Between Your Credit Report and Your Credit Score.

Your credit report includes all the gory details about your personal financial history. Your credit score is a 3 digit number in the 300 - 850 range (depending on the bureau) that is normalized and used to predict the likelihood you will default on a loan within 12 months. Because each bureau has different data, you actually have 3 credit scores. In addition to the credit bureaus differences, there are also different credit scoring algorithms in use. FICO is the most popular, but there are dozens of different credit scores in use.

Credit scores fall in these general categories:

Excellent: 750 - 850 Good: 700- 750 Fair: 620-700 Subprime: 550 - 620 High risk: 300 - 550

They also say that the best way to get your report is to use AnnualCreditReport.com.

Another really awesome idea that Lifehacker points out that wasn't mentioned in our last article is the dispute process:

There are two things you can do to resolve negative items. First, you should immediately call the credit reporting agency in question and dispute the issue directly (Transunion: 1-800-916-8800, Experian: 1-800-493-1058, Equifax has an online dispute process). Second, if you think you may be the victim of identity theft, you should enable fraud alert protection with all of the credit bureaus. This is a free service - distinctly different from credit monitoring or fraud protection that companies charge monthly fees for.

Check out the whole article over at Lifehacker.com

Financial Aid FAFSA- What you need to know

What are two ways that students can develop debt before they ever even graduate college?  Student Loans and Credit Cards!  Andson could not provide Financial Education without talking about Student Loans - that is, how to avoid them.  There is a lot of information for students regarding Grants, Scholarships, and Financial Aid.  The problem is, like most other information found on the Internet provided by Government offices, it's a real pain to find, and even harder to apply for.

With that, we decided that a main part of our site will be dedicated to collecting information on Grants, Scholarships, and Financial Aid.

First, you MUST get started with the FAFSA form https://fafsa.ed.gov.  This is required for many schools, and for any chance of qualifying for government financial aid, and many private programs require a FAFSA filing as well.  FAFSA is the US Dept of Education's Federal Student Aid program.  This form should be your starting point.  In other words, fill this out first!  Assuming your parents are helping you with the filing process (and you're under 18) you will need the following from your parents:

Collect the documents needed to apply, including

• Income tax returns and W-2 forms (and other records of income) Tax return not completed at the time you apply?  Estimate the tax information, apply, and finalize information later. The important thing is to meet the earliest deadline.

• Your Social Security number and your parents’ Social Security numbers if you are providing parent information.

• Your Alien Registration Number if you are not a U.S. citizen.

• Federal tax information or tax returns, including W-2 information, for yourself, for your spouse if you are married, and for your parents if you are providing parent information, using income records for the year prior to the academic year for which you are applying.

• Information on savings, investments, and business assets for yourself (and parents if you're providing parent information).

Here is the complete Dept. of Education's Checklist for students http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/attachments/siteresources/Coll_Prep_Checklist_3MB.pdf.

Filling this out won't take long, but it doesn't mean you're done either...Andson will be gathering more information on Grants, Scholarships, and Financial Aid for students in the next few days.  The deadlines are coming up quickly, so expect to see a lot of information from us and a new category for Financial Aid on our site.

ATTENTION!  View Deadlines FAFSA filings at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/fotw1112/pdf/Deadlines.pdf

Obama Administration Releases ‘Educator Toolkit’ for the 2011 National Financial Capability Challenge

The US Treasury just released the 2011 "toolkit" which is publicly available to educators to use in their classrooms.

Per the release notes,

Empowering students with the knowledge they need to make smart financial choices about saving, budgeting, and investing for the future is good for the long-term strength of our economy,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “It will help ensure that young people have the skills they need to achieve financial security, and that will help us continue to build this recovery on a strong and sustainable foundation.

Our students need to graduate high school ready for college and career if they’re going to compete in a global economy,” said U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  “Incorporating financial literacy, through Treasury’s online educator toolkit or other significant learning materials, will encourage students to make smart long-term investments, such as preparing to pay for college.

The toolkit will cover the five core competencies the US Treasury believes to be crucial to financial ed.

• earning
• spending
• borrowing
• saving
• protecting against risk

The online exam will be available to high school students beginning March 7th.  Of course, we'll be taking the exam here, and will report back as to what we think of the program overall.

This is a great resource for all of us dedicated to the financial education and independence that our students deserve.

Source- challenge.treas.gov/toolkit/

CashCourse by NeFe - brush up, or get an idea of what the program is about.

NeFe is the premier financial education resource out there, and what Andson chooses to use for our workshops.  We just discovered this amazing resource by NeFe called CashCourse.  Basically, it takes the key ideas from their materials and puts them into an interactive web format that may be more accessible to Internet savvy teens.

We didn't want to just post it in the "Helpful Resources," section of our site, but it will be there for easy access as well.

If you've taken the course via Andson or otherwise, this is a great way to brush up on your financial skills.  If you haven't, this is a great way to see what it's all about.  Keep in mind, the course gives some great insight and some one-on-one time with instructors, so this isn't a complete replacement by any means.

www.CashCourse.org/prep

Completing the NeFe program could score you $5000 toward college!

Attention Students!

If you ever doubted what the Andson's financial education could get you, doubt no more! We use the materials supplied by NeFe (The National Endowment for Financial Education), and they just announced that just by completing the HSFPP (High School Financial Planning Program) students may be eligible for up to $5000 in college scholarships.

This is an amazing opportunity for many teens, and we hope that some of the students completing the program with Andson over Spring Break will apply.

Contact Andson for more details - info@andson.org

via NeFe's Facebook

Khan Academy is changing the way we learn.

A friend just recently introduced me to www.khanacademy.org - in a nutshell, Sal Khan is on a mission to educate the world through his short lessons.  There is a tier structure that he uses - you need to complete A before proceeding to B.  His current goal is to complete basic to advanced mathematics.  I have already contacted Khan Academy, and hope that in the future we may be able to assist with a Personal Finance section on the site.

What really gets me excited about this methodology and concept is that there is a huge barrier to teachers reaching students through traditional methods. Parents and Teachers alike often complain of teens' attention spans - which may be in part to the bombarding of media and instant gratification. Sal Khan doesn't worry about this - instead he decided to approach teaching from a method that DOES work. The truth is, attention spans of adults and students alike are getting shorter; this means methodologies must change. We've seen this in everything from coffee to advertising to shopping, even banking - but education as a model remains wholly unchanged for the better half of a century.

Check out what he is about in this video - it's absolutely a revolution in thinking about the way people will be educated in the future.

I'll be working through the banking sections. Since it's Open Source information - Khan Academy has no problem with me linking to their videos and resources, so plan to see more from them here in the future.

Source: Khan Academy

Christmas shopping is over and 2011 is coming! What does my Credit Report look like!?

There are at least a dozen different "Free Credit Report," sites out there to choose from. The one that I've always recommended for a guaranteed, no hassle credit report is www.annualcreditreport.com.

This site is not only sponsored by the 3 major credit reporting agencies: TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian; but it's also the only one that really is completely free. Of course, there are some "extras," they may offer you (like the actual score) - but no harassment afterwards, and no worry about 3rd parties accessing to your personal info.

Remember, having a clean report (as in payment histories on revolving credit) dictates your score, and these can be checked for free through www.annualcreditreport.com.

Also, pulling your credit report is more than just your score - it's your first line of defense in keeping up with identity theft or fraud.

College students should be checking their credit reports at least once a year, maybe more if your especially "liberal" in your credit lines.

Working adults should be checking just as often.  You can even check each report individually at different times of the year, to get throughout-the-year updates.

Happy New Year!

Financial Aid Anyone?

I really like the publication put out by Charles Schwab called, On Investing. The Fall 2010 edition had a great resource for parents and students alike – regarding Financial Aid. Although there is quite a bit of detail in the article regarding specific strategies available to parents, the highlight of the article is Mark Kantrowitz and his project. Kantrowitz founded a Financial Aid information website called FinAid.org. This site is an awesome resource for anyone – teacher, parent, or student – looking for information and direction with the various processes when applying for Financial Aid. I’ve checked it out, and it seems like the site is straightforward and organized, something helpful to everyone, I’m sure. Hopefully Andson will be able to provide more information and resources regarding relevant Financial Aid information in the future thanks to individuals and ideas like this. I’m still looking for a link to Schwab’s, On Investing publication, but it doesn’t look like it appears online- I’m checking on this. Check it out at www.FinAid.org. Source: Charles Schwab On Investing publication (Fall 2010)

PASS by American Express – A new way to give teens their allowance…

It is a wonderful feeling to be able to give your kids an allowance or spending money. It’s a little less wonderful trying to figure out how they spend your hard earned cash. PASS by American Express is trying to help both parents and teens by providing a reloadable credit card/atm card that you can give to your teens.

This card is a wonderful idea!  One, it allows both parents and teens to track spending habits, and gets them into an adult mentality of handling their money: balancing their account, being more aware of their spending, amongst others.  For parents, it provides all the safety that an American Express credit card gives, such as fraud prevention and 24 hour a day customer service; better than that- kids cannot overspend.  No more worries about sending a teen away to college with the family credit card- now you can give them a limit that cannot be exceeded.  Parents can fund the card by linking their bank account, and only they can authorize more funds to be added.

The card is also hip.  It may seem silly, but kids like a tailored experience when they go online – it keeps them engaged.  American Express has done an awesome job of trying to keep the site and the card very much about teens.  Teens will have their own login, and can monitor spending and balances- much like the typical online banking experience.  The card comes in a variety of colors and you can even add your own images to the card for free.

Now for some of the Cons.  The card, like most other credit card products, does come with fees.  It costs $3.95 per month to use the card (though those fees are waived for a year if you sign up now) as well as $1.50 per atm transaction (the bank may also charge a fee for using their atm).  Now although the costs are minimal in comparison to ever having an over-the-limit fee on a credit card, they still are monthly fees amounting to nearly $50 per year- similar to the annual cost of a credit card.  It seems like the card is also better suited for an emergency atm card, or the occasional withdrawal, versus using it as many use bank-issued atm cards – those fees can add up!

There are also a few states that the card cannot be issued in:

The PASS Card is not available for sale in Arkansas, New Hampshire and Vermont. The PASS Card is also not available in California at this time. Cards purchased by residents in other states cannot be shipped to these four states. In addition, American Express does not sell or ship the Card outside the United States.

More information is supplied in the PASS FAQ section of the site

Overall, I feel that if parents can afford the fees, the PASS by American Express could be a great learning tool to get kids to care about their finances in a more responsible manner rather than simply giving them cash each week.

Source: PASS by American Express PASS by American Express FAQ