Hoover HS 2011

Shay shares a tip about saving early and often at Hoover HS in San Diego.

Financial education speaker Shay Olivarria had a wonderful time at Hoover High School in the City Heights part of San Diego! It was really special because Shay graduated from Hoover 15 years ago. She delivered two seminars entitled “Money Tips for Seniors” to the graduating class. Students really got a lot from the seminar. Don’t believe it? Students said they learned:

“It’s important to use your money the right way. I’m going to spend less money on junk food and start saving up all my coins”

“A lot about credit and how to smart choices ’cause you don’t want to have bad credit”

“To keep trying”

“Everything is propaganda, the 5 things that keep your credit score high, don’t get store cards”

“I learned that it’s better to put my money in a credit union”

“Think and use the available resources for our future career”

“The more money I have in the bank, the more money I get; called interest”

“That it’s better to have a money market account than a savings account. I am planning on opening an account at a credit union”

“Money is power”

“Make sure not to be fooled by commercials that promote free money”

Shay talks about how amazing credit unions are at Hoover HS.

Students love talking about credit unions! Who knew? One of the central tips Shay talks about is knowing the difference between a bank and a credit union. Many of the student mentioned that they learned more about what credit unions are and how they can use them.

If you’re considering a credit union, check out “Are You a Good Fit for a Credit Union?” on FoxBusiness.com.

Two students from each seminar won books from Shay Olivarria.

At each seminar, two students won copies of “10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money“. You should have seen them scrambling to find the winning ticket under their chairs. It’s really great to see students excited about learning personal finance tips.

Talk about a complete speaker! Shay is amazing!

Want to know more about Shay? Visit www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com.

“It was fun and interesting. =) Shay was real open about her experiences!”

Book Shay to speak at your event today (323) 596-1843.

Fox Business

The most dynamic financial education speaker working today, Shay Olivarria, was quoted on Fox Business in “Are You a Good Fit for a Credit Union?”. As usual, Shay is a strong advocate of credit unions. Her quotes are centered around the benefits of using a credit union for college students.

While a handful of large, well-known banks appear to dominate the banking landscape, and smaller community banks are often touted as the only alternative, the truth is that there’s a third option used by more than 91 million Americans.

Credit unions are becoming increasingly popular, and with more than 7,000 of them across the U.S., consumers have a lot of choices. But is a credit union right for you?

Consider these five types of consumers who routinely join credit unions.

College Students Learn About Finances

Even if they had a checking account or savings account as kids, most college students are still relatively new to managing their finances. Oftentimes, that means they don’t get the best deal from banks, says John Iglesias, CEO of Salal Credit Union in Seattle.

“College students often don’t have much of an income or an extensive credit history, so larger financial institutions may characterize them as risky, and that likely means higher fees on products,” Iglesias says.

According to Iglesias, some credit unions are specifically set up by schools for students, and their business model is geared toward working with younger customers who might not keep a very high balance in their checking account.

But Shay Olivarria, author of “10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money,” says credit unions also offer a real advantage to college students because they can be more forgiving if you make a mistake.

“There’s a focus on financial education with credit unions, and college students have more of a support system in terms of learning about money,” says Olivarria.

Click here to read more

Hoover HS

Financial education speaker and author Shay Olivarria at Hoover High School 2010.

I’m thrilled to be presenting “Money Tips for Seniors” at Hoover High School in San Diego, CA this Friday! I love, love, love helping prepare seniors for the “real world”, but this school is extra special because I graduated from Hoover waaaaaaay back in the day.

This will be my second year speaking at Hoover.

If you’d like to book Shay to speak to your group take a look at her one sheet and contact Bigger Than Your Block, LLC at (323) 596-1843.

Black Teen Empowerment Radio

I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to be a guest on Black Teen Empowerment Radio with Scotty Reid and R. Lee Gordon. We talked about community economics, recycling the Black dollar, the difference between traditional banks and credit unions, types of accounts, and a few tips from my book 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money.

Listen to Black Teen Empowerment Radio

Authors in Focus

Yesterday, I had the wonderful opportunity to be interviewed by Chandra Adams and Charles Chatmon on Authors in Focus. We talked about my financial education work speaking to students across the country, 3 things every college student needs to know about money, why credit unions are so awesome, my trip Cross Country in a Ford last year and my new book All My Mistakes: Money tips for kids in care.

My segmented included an interview with mystery novelist Gary Phillips who has written more than 12 novels. Everyone was really nice. I loved meeting the other authors and learning a bit more about the Hosanna Broadcasting Network where the show will air.

Authors N Focus will now been seen on the Hosanna Broadcasting Network (Channel 20 on the Disk network and Direct TV channel 20). Check it out when you get a chance.

HEART Talk Interview

Shay talks about her time in foster care.

I just had a wonderful interview with Evelyn Polk of For a Child’s H.E.A.R.T. We talked about my experience in foster care, the things that Bigger Than Your Block, LLC is doing to educate youth about personal finance, my new book “All My Mistakes: Money tips for kids in care”, and the no-cost webinar this Saturday, “Money Tips for Foster Youth“, to celebrate Financial Education Month.

In case you missed it, click here and you’ll hear the whole thing.

TTFN

Free books

I’m so excited about Financial Education Month that I’ve decided to give away 25 copies of 10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money. I’ll provide the link to order your free copy tomorrow, but my email list will get the link an hour earlier.

Sign up for the Bigger Than Your Block, LLC mailing list so you don’t miss valuable promotions like this.

Purple Project

I’m really excited about speaking at The Second Annual Youth & Adult Foster Care Conference from The Purple Project. As you know, I was in foster care from 13 years old to 17 years old. That time in my life shaped many of my core values so I’ve decided to write a book about it. “All My Mistakes: Money tips for kids in care” will be published June 2011.

I’ll be delivering the keynote lunch address on Friday, two personal finance seminars on Saturday, and signing copies of my books:

Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook
10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money
All My Mistakes: Money tips for kids in care

Register for the Second Annual Youth & Adult Foster Care Conference now!

Other notables include hip hop icon Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Judge Michael Ryan, country music star Jimmy Wayne, and foster care advocate Cherish Thomas.

MYDC Board

I’m thrilled to have been asked to sit on the Board of Misunderstood Youth Development Center.

The Misunderstood Youth Development Center, Corporation (MYDC) is a youth prevention and intervention 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 2005 by Terryl De Mendonca.

They say, “it takes a village to raise a child.” The Misunderstood Youth Development Center strives to be the village that our community so desperately seeks.

MYDC’s mission is to create various individual, peer and family oriented programs that will allow self-expression while Helping to Understand, Develop and Stimulate the Minds of our Youth.

MYDC organizationally has two (2) divisions, Empowering Youth Program (EYP) and Fresh Start.

Check MYDC out.

Help Humans Save

My company, Bigger Than Your Block, has partnered with Financial Footprint to sponsor a Financial Education Month contest we call “Help Humans Save”. Basically, you submit your best 2 min money tip (hint: we like funny, edutainment videos) via video for a chance to win a $250 Grand Prize and a $150 Fan Favorite Prize.

Submissions will be accepted until Friday, April 15th. Visit http://www.HelpHumansSave.com for all the details. Please share, FB, Tweet, email everyone you know. It’s everyone’s responsibility to help humans save! =)

http://twitter.com/HelpHumansSave

BTW … check out my bio. I rock! LOL