$100 for Teen Drivers With AAA

If you have a teen driver between 15 and 19 that is covered by your AAA auto policy, then that teen could earn a $100 gift card by taking 8 to 10 hours of online auto training.

Your teen will need to complete three training exercises online (no download required). Here’s a brief overview of the exercises:

• Andromedus X: Keep track of moving objects in the center of your vision while staying alert to potential hazards on the periphery
• Hazard Highway: Make rapid decisions as an object approaches at various speeds, while staying alert to common road hazards
• Hey Rube!: Rapidly move your eyes around a scene while challenging your visual memory

 

To find out more about AAA’s InGear brain training program, click here.

$5,000 Scholarship for Black Farmers

I read this from Soul Fire Farm this morning:

Help spread the word: These scholarships are open to any applicants who self-identify as Black farmers or aspiring growers at any scale, or their dependents. No need to have land to apply, and there are many eligible fields of study.

Application deadline is April 28 for scholarships of up to $5,000 through the National Black Farmers Association for students/aspiring students who “plan to enroll or are enrolled in agriculture-related study at an accredited two-year or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school.” Any field related to agriculture could be supported (including business, engineering, animal science, marketing, mechanics, environmental science, agribusiness, food sciences, biology, holistic nutrition, urban farming, veterinary science, and many others!)

More details and application here: https://www.scholarsapply.org/blackfarmersassociation/

 

Credit Scores Could Rise This Fall

This fall credit scores across the country may rise. There are four new changes to the VantageScore  (a new thing created by the big 3 credit bureaus) that may increase credit scores for those that need it most. Unfortunately for those looking to buy a home the FICO scoring model will not be effected.

KETV says, “The new method is being implemented later this year by VantageScore, a company created by the credit bureaus Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. It’s not as well-known as Fair Isaac Corp., whose FICO score is used for the vast majority of mortgages. But VantageScore handled 8 billion account applications last year, so if you applied for a credit card, that score was likely used to approve or deny you.”

The changes include:

Trended data – CNBC says, “Using what’s known as trended data is the biggest change. The phrase means credit scores will take into account the trajectory of a borrower’s debts on a month-to-month basis. So a person who is paying down debt is now likely to be scored better than a person who is making minimum monthly payments but has been slowly accumulating credit card debt.”

Legal data – Civil judgments, medical debt and tax liens will no longer affect your score. Mortgages are still primarily using FICO scores so don’t get too excited but for other types of loans (credit cards, auto loans, etc.) this could really help some folks out.

High Limits – the debt ratio portion of scoring for VantageScore is about to be turned on it’s head. Instead of the lower the debt ration, the better people with “excessive” credit card limits could be hurt. the rational is that those with higher limits could rack up more debt, faster.

Less Robust History – According to the Motley Fool those that have fewer items on their credit histories may also see an increase in their score due to, “The model will examine thousands of various consumer behaviors in an effort to identify those who have a propensity to pay their bills on time, because these are the people that lenders want to attract.”

Some changes may help and some may hurt depending on what’s going on with your credit scores right now. Motley Fool gives the easiest explanation of the biggest changes. Read more here.

 

Shay Olivarria is the most dynamic financial education speaker working today. Previous clients include: the Yorba Linda Water District, Verizon, and Friends of Allensworth, among others. 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.The 2nd edition of “10 Things College Students Need to Know About Money” is available now.