Adelante Mujer Latina 2014

Financial education speaker Shay Olivarria taking a break from speaking during the Adelante Mujer Latina Conference at Pasadena City College.

This is the second year that I have volunteered at the Adelante Mujer Latina Conference at Pasadena City College. I enjoy it a little more each time.

Can you tell that Shay LOVES her work! #FinancialEducation #Conference #Goodtimes

I can’t wait to see what next year brings!

 

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

Helping a Parent With Personal Finance

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!

 

Promote Financial Literacy Through Teachable Moments

I’m often asked how old kids should be when you begin teaching them about financial literacy or what book children should read or what skills should be focused on. I think sometimes it seems like trying to teach kids about financial literacy is a huge task that some parents don’t want to do. Let’s make this simple: use everyday situations called “teachable moments” to instruct on what good habits are, encourage critical thinking conversations, and model those habits.

Let’s start at the beginning.

Teachable moments are those opportunities that children provide by way of questions. You know, “Daddy, how does money get in the ATM” or, “Auntie, let’s stay in the hotel with the gold toilets, we’re rich, right”. We’ve all been there. Sometimes we’re too busy to sit down and have an intelligent conversation about these topics, but many times we have the opportunity to provide a valuable life lesson with just a few minutes worth of your time.

During the conversation encourage the child/youth to think critically about what you’re saying, ask questions, and even challenge your wisdom. Only through a clear understanding, through their own process, can children begin to create their experiences with money. Have no doubt, that children are watching what you’re doing and viewing the habits of others to start deciding how they feel about money and money habits.

Which leads me to the last, crucial, part of using teachable moments to help children understand financial literacy. After you’ve shared the correct habits/behaviors and encouraged the child to think critically about the topic, you must make an effort to model those habits. All the talking in the world won’t blind your child to what’s going on in the home.

You don’t need to have a huge discussion with your child when they turn 16 or schedule weekly meetings to discuss the current state of events, unless you want to. Taking a few moments when you’re child provides and opportunity for a teachable moment will allay the stress surrounding money for both you and your child.

Be well.

Summer Learning

It’s been said that students forget up to 30% of what they learned over the summer. Here are some tips to help you kid stay focused this summer.

Junior Achievement Creates Free Money-Management Teaching Tools for Parents

Junior Achievement USA announced today that it has created a new series of free, downloadable teaching tools to help parents talk to their children about smart money management. The lessons, called Junior Achievement $ave, USA, are posted at www.ja.org, and cover such topics as budgeting, the importance of saving, understanding the cost of credit and how to use it, and planning how to pay for college.

The lessons are sponsored by The Allstate Foundation and all crucial for children’s financial literacy education.

3 Things Parents MUST Teach Their Children About Money

 While there are many things that children should learn, there are some things that all children need to learn. We have put together the 3 most important things that we believe children need to know about money.

Enjoy!

 

#1 Teach About Marketing

Kids are being marketed to from the day they are born. How many times have we seen commercials directed towards toddlers? We have to teach our kids that the commercials are trying to manipulate them. It’s not the commercials are lying, however they are trying to get them to buy things that they may not need or want. The four most common appeals are:

 

·  Appeal to emotion— “You’ll feel more powerful in these jeans. Be the woman you were born to be.”

· Appeal to popularity— “T-Pain eats this cereal. If you eat this cereal you’ll be more like him!”

· Appeal to frugality— “You can buy two of our product for the cost of one of our competitor’s item.”

 

#2 Teach About Critical Thinking

It is important that children learn to critically interpret the world around them. Everything from commercials to people they come in contact with are trying to pull the wool over their eyes. Teach your children to think about things before they do anything. Always consider:

 

· Who is asking something of me?

· What do they want?

· Why do they want it?

· What is the outcome of each action?

 

As it applied to money, this concept cannot be understated. As the saying goes, “everyone in life is buying or selling”. Helping your child evaluate a free offer from the sausage salesperson in the grocery store to the commercials online will change the way they look at the world.

 

#3 Teach About Respect

Respect for oneself, one’s family, and one’s community will save them a lot of grief in the long run. Respect for oneself will stop them from wanting to “buy” or “rent” friends. Respect for family will motivate them to want positive things. Respect for one’s community will give them the ability to go out and conquer the world. Having a solid foundation will allow them to go into any situation and be confident, patient, and able to make and manage their funds effectively.

 

See the bigger picture