Adelante Mujer Latina 2014

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Bigger Than Your Block

It’s official!

The most dynamic financial education speaker working today, Shay Olivarria, is slotted to speak at Adelante Mujer Latina 2014!

The conference will be held at Pasadena City College Saturday, May 17th.

Workshops presented by Latina professionals on education, careers, financial aid and personal development.

Keynote Speakers representing California’s influential Latinas

Representatives from colleges, universities, community organizations, corporate and government employers

Spanish language workshops designed for mothers

Registration fee — includes continental breakfast, lunch, and conference materials

Last year’s students loved Shay’s presentation:

Shay Olivarria is the most dynamic financial education speaker working today. She speaks at high schools, colleges, and companies across the country. She has written three books on personal finance, including Amazon Best Seller “Money Matters: The Get It Done in 1 Minute Workbook”. Shay has been quoted on Bankrate.com, FoxBusiness.com, NBC Latino and The Credit Union Times, among others. To schedule Shay to speak at your event visit www.BiggerThanYourBlock.com

Shay Visits Peru

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Bigger Than Your Block

Financial education speaker and author Shay Olivarria just returned from visiting her 10th country on her 4th continent: Peru. People always ask why her company is named Bigger Than Your Block and the answer is this trip.

The goal of Bigger Than Your Block is to show students, of all ages, that the world is massive and you can achieve any goal that you have as long as you work for it. Money has no intrinsic value. The only value money has is the value that we assign to it. Most people want more money, not to have more money but to do the things that we’d like to do. Money equals freedom. The place where some get confused is the idea that one needs more money instead of one needs to use the money that they have more efficiently.

Shay found a $300 round trip, including taxes, airfare on Avianca. The whole trip took 8 days, 7 cities and about $1,500. Not too shabby. She was able to spend a little time in:

Lima – Peru’s capital city.

Ollantaytambo – a beautiful, quiet town with lots of ruins.

Urubamba – a wonderful small town that’s close to the Moray ruins.

Pisac – know for it’s Sunday market and sun dial ruins.

Cusco – the major airport city to reach the Sacred Valley.

Puno – the city on the banks of Lake Titicaca.

Arequipa – the second (or third depending on what Trujillo is up to) major city in Peru.

It was a wonderful trip and Shay learned a lot about the different cultures that live there now and the cultures that lived there before the Inca. What countries have you been to? How did you learn that the world was Bigger Than Your Block?

Helping a Parent With Personal Finance

Posted on March 19, 2014 by Bigger Than Your Block

It’s inevitable that at some point your parents may need your help paying bills, managing real estate, monitoring insurance, creating a living trust or some other financial piece that you were not helping with before. In some cases a parent will ask for help. In other cases you may have to bring it up first.

Help or Coup?

If you notice that your loved one(s) are having trouble keeping up with their finances, don’t barge in and take over. Your parent(s) are adults with a host of experiences and education behind them. It’s understandable that they might see your involvement as an intrusion.

If you think that your parent(s) may require your help, talk with them about it. Do they think that they need help? If so, what kind of help would they like? The goal is to help your parent(s) in whatever way they might need, not to barge into their lives and make them feel like children.

Some helpful websites:

Medication Donut Hole – If you have Medicare Part D, you may be at risk of falling into the coverage gap, or “doughnut hole.” Follow this four-step tool and save money!

AARP Quicklink – Need financial help for a parent or grandparent, but not sure where to begin?

Social Security Estimator – Find out how much money your parent will be able get from Social Security with this easy calculator.

Medicare – Have questions about Medicare coverage?

National Foundation for Credit Counseling – Need help paying off a parent’s debt?

Federal Trade Commission – What to do when parent(s) are scammed.

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau – Report financial fraud. Get help!

AARP Tax Help – Tax preparation for low income seniors.

Tips for helping a parent with personal finances:

Make a list of everything that needs to be monitored (primary home, rental property, vehicles, checking and saving accounts, investment accounts, pensions, valuable personal property and any items in a safe deposit box.
Keep their assets separate from yours.
Keep clear records of everything that you’re doing.
Include all stakeholders in the information loop.
Consider hiring professionals to help. Ex: accountant, financial advisor, insurance agent, etc.

Remember, you’re there to help your parent(s) in whatever way that you can. Let them lead the conversation but pay attention to their behaviors.

Good luck!

Invest for Retirement NOW

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Bigger Than Your Block

“Twenty-one percent of those surveyed who have not retired have saved nothing for retirement and 44 percent have saved less than 10 percent of their salary.”

This quote is from Financial Advisor Magazine talking about a survey done by TIAA-CREF. How do people think that they are going to live in retirement? Do they plan on retiring?

Regardless of how old you are, it’s better to have something rather than nothing. Take a look at how much the Social Security Administration will pay you in retirement and you tell me if you can afford NOT to invest an extra $50 per month in your 401k, 403b or IRA.

Let’s take a look at the numbers, shall we?

Start Investing Per Month % Return Value at 67

18 $50 9% $536,841.50

21 $50 9% $408,642.74

30 $50 9% $178,618.62

40 $50 9% $68,888.51

50 $50 9% $24,125.50

It’s pretty simple:

If you have a 401k or 403b at your job you probably have a match. Investing a few dollars every pay period lowers your tax base (instead of paying Uncle Sam you invest in yourself) and your company will contribute a few coins to every dollar you invest. Start early. Invest often. Check and see how much contributing $50 or $100 each pay period will change your take home pay. There won’t be much change in how your check looks every two weeks, but it could change how your retirement looks.
If you don’t have access to a 401k or 403b then open an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) at a brokerage house that you trust. You have to fill out a two page application and send over a voided out check. You can open many accounts by promising to contribute at least $50 per month. That $600 per year could grow into 5 or 6 figures using compound interest. Start early. Invest often.

If you are thinking about investing and you’re not sure where to start:

If you are a member of a credit union: contact Balance for FREE help.
If you have an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at your job: contact the EAP for FREE help.
If you do not have access to these: find a fee-only financial advisor for help.

You can create the life you want.

You are powerful.

Go get it.

PEACE,

Shay

Order Money Matters on Amazon.com

ReasonCode.org

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Bigger Than Your Block

This Sunday I read about ReasonCode.org in the LA Times. Reason Code is a website powered by the new Vantage Score that aims to help people understand their credit reports a bit better. The name Vantage Score might ring a bell because I wrote about the new Vantage scoring system over at Black Voice News a few years ago.

When you visit the website, you can enter the code that was given to you by a lender that refused to give you a loan and you’ll be provided with an explanation of what the code means. From what I understand, the codes don’t always align with the codes from the FICO scoring system that Equifax, TransUnion and Experian use however if you type in a word or two with the code you’ll more than likely be able to get a reason.

This is a new service so I can’t say how well it works, but when I put in a few codes to test it they all came back correct. Give it a whirl yourself and let me know what you think of it.

Ujima Awards

Posted on March 2, 2014 by Bigger Than Your Block

Nominations are open for the Ujima Awards!

If you don’t know what they are, the website says:

Titled after the third principle of Kwanzaa, Ujima, meaning collective work and responsibility, this ceremony is a celebration of individuals as well as organizations for their relentless and selfless service to build and maintain communities throughout New Jersey. We set aside this time to honor the loyalty and dedication of change agent in our community. In addition, we want to recognize their commitment to personifying and resolving the tribulations of the individuals.The evening will consist of community performances along with award recognition of four individuals/organizations.

There are four categories that people can be nominated in:

Award for Professional Development – Awarded to professionals who throughout their careers have served as a role model for others and consistently used their expertise to educate and promote stability among communities.

Award for Community Excellence – Awarded to an individual, group, or organization who has made significant contributions above and beyond to the empowering and advancement of our community.

Award for Political Activism – Awarded to recognize and acknowledge the special efforts of an individual whose augmentation in elective office, community service or advocacy serve as a model for modern public service.

Award for Youth Involvement – Awarded to an organization, which through their activities, programs, and projects, has had a significant positive impact on the youth in the communities.

Nominate someone now.

Start Small Think Big Conference

Posted on March 1, 2014 by Bigger Than Your Block

Shay at the Start Small Think Big Conference in Los Angeles.

Guess what I did yesterday? I presented at the Start Small Think Big Conference in Los Angeles! I was fortunate to work with South LA Saves and a host of other wonderful non-profits, businesses and organizations to provide financial education to the south Los Angeles community.

Speakers included:

Dawnneisha Smith from the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs

Shay Olivarria of Bigger Than Your Block

Deborah Perez of New York Life

Martha Maldonado of California Credit Union

Deborah Der of Edward Jones

Wilson Lee, a certified financial planner

The event was hosted by Zaneta Smith.

Besides speakers there were informational tables and the winners from the poster contest were announced!

Students were instructed to draw a photo about being a super saver.

Each winner received a recognition award, a monetary prize and a piggy bank (provided by Bigger Than Your Block) with separate compartments for saving, investing, spending and charity.

The winners of the poster contest at the Start Small Think Big Conference from South LA Saves.

Disclosure: Bigger Than Your Block is a South LA Saves partner.

Bigger Than Your Block

Financial education for all.

Monthly Archives: March 2014