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Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas recently announced that Capital One Financial Corporation provided the organization with a permanent Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park™ valued at over $300,000 for middle grades and high school students participating in Junior Achievement programs.

The facility, a mobile interactive classroom where local students learn basic money management skills, will be designated specifically for metropolitan Houston, Beaumont and other communities served by Junior Achievement of Southeast Texas. Because it is mobile, the unit can travel to different parts of the region year-round, enabling it to be stationed close to the schools it will serve.

The Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park™ program begins with four weeks of intensive in-classroom financial education lessons developed by Junior Achievement. Students then have the opportunity to put their newly learned money management skills to the test. This innovative learning environment, called Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park™, houses a mock city where students can experience the challenges of making real-life decisions about their finances.

While at Capital One/Junior Achievement Finance Park™, the students are assigned fictional jobs, incomes, families and expenses. They are then expected to develop and to manage their own individual budgets. Students are faced with choices about housing, transportation, savings, furnishings, investments, food, entertainment, phone, cable, and charitable contributions — all of the decisions they will ultimately make upon entering adulthood.

For more information, visit Houston.ja.org.

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The National Fair Housing Alliance applauds the U. S. Senate for passing long awaited financial reform legislation. The Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 will go far in bringing back soundness, structure, fairness and transparency to our financial markets.

It will take decades for many Americans, neighborhoods and small businesses to recover from this devastating foreclosure and financial crisis. The crisis has gravely impacted all Americans, particularly communities of color and families with children.

Unfortunately, the call made by the civil rights community in April 2007 to place a moratorium on foreclosures in an effort to help stem the impact of the impending crisis was ignored. For over a decade, NFHA and its member organizations have worked to help borrowers who had fallen prey to abusive, discriminatory and predatory financial schemes. For over a decade, we have called upon regulators to reign in predatory lenders and make it harder to originate toxic mortgages. For over a decade, we have fought hard for meaningful and effective reform of the mortgage market.

Today, we are grateful that our call for financial reform was not ignored and that it included key civil rights safeguards. This critical piece of legislation brings us one step closer to improving the financial landscape for millions of Americans. While not perfect, the legislation does provide major changes that the civil rights community has long championed. Chief among these is the establishment of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which includes an Office of Fair Lending, tasked with the primary focus of developing and implementing fair rules for the road so that consumers will not be taken advantage of when they try to purchase a home, buy a car, or obtain a credit.

For more information, visit nationalfairhousing.org.

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BBVA Compass today released a new survey on First Time Home Buyers indicating that, prior to purchase, a vast majority of First Time Home Buyers (88%) believe that they have accounted for all expenses related to owning a home. Seemingly contradicting that notion, amongst those who had purchased a home in the past 12 months, just over half indicate that the expenses were more than they had calculated, causing a change in lifestyle. These results came from the BBVA Compass First Time Home Buyers Online Survey which polled American consumers about the thoughts, emotions and hurdles related to owning and enjoying a first home.

Regarding potential First Time Home Buyers, key findings included:

• Nearly one third have anxiety over the affordability of owning a home.

• 7 in 10 indicate that the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit has not truly factored into the timing of when they decide to purchase a home.

• Ninety-two percent of respondents indicate that having additional time before their first payment due date would be helpful.

Regarding First Time Home Buyers who have purchased a home in the previous 12 months, key findings included:

• Fifty-one percent indicated that the monthly expense of owning a home was more than they calculated.

• Although 7 in 10 respondents said that the unexpected expenditures leveled out over time, another eighty-seven percent said that they changed their lifestyle as a result of the additional expenses.

• Nearly one third indicated that they paid for these unexpected expenditures with a mixture of cash and credit, perhaps indicating a lack of liquid funds.

Also among the findings of the BBVA Compass First Time Home Buyers Online Survey was information related to the actual process of purchasing a home. Potential First Time Home Buyers indicated that when looking for financing on their new home purchase, the item that will be most important to them, but likely also the most confusing aspect, is understanding the process. Ultimately, the First Time Home Buyer is seeking someone who will provide clarity through each step of the process, from loan options to factors that might affect the rate obtained.

Both segments of First Time Home Buyers were also overwhelmingly in favor of mortgages that allow breathing room between closing and the due date of the first payment. With this financial cushion, the First Time Home Buyer indicated that they would be in a better position to pay off credit cards and other bills, as well as make some of those unexpected purchases (household items and improvements) that come along with owning a home.

The BBVA Compass First Time Home Buyer Mortgage

The BBVA Compass First Time Home Buyer Mortgage is a product designed with the First Time Home Buyer’s needs, both pre- and post-purchase, in mind. The product features a host of online resources that guide the buyer through the purchase process, a required financial literacy course to help them understand the financial commitment being made and a mortgage with terms that allow some early financial breathing room so that the buyer can truly make their new house a home.

Features of the First Time Home Buyer Mortgage include:

• One posted rate
• First payment is not due for three months
• No lender fees (Includes PMI, Origination, Processing, etc.)
• As low as 5% down payment
• BBVA Compass Online Education Center (Includes educational videos, calculators, etc.)
• FDIC Money Smart Home Buyer Education Course

Each participant in the First Time Home Buyer Mortgage program will also receive a BBVA Compass “What To Expect”. This communication is a simple document which concisely outlines each step of the mortgage process, from application to closing, along with helpful tips and documents needed along the way.

For more information, visit bbvacompass.com.

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GreenPath Debt Solutions recently released statistics and consumer feedback concerning some of the Credit Card Act changes that went into effect three months ago on February 22.

When statement holders saw how long it would take to pay off their balance by making the minimum payments, many were inclined to reach out to learn more about effective debt management.

Since the phone number and grid started to appear on credit card statements in February, GreenPath Debt Solutions has received more than 14,000 calls from consumers who said they called the number on their statement.

Following is some feedback from credit counselors

* Callers say that credit card statements are now much easier to read. They are finally getting the nudge that they need to seek education on personal finances and debt issues.

• Callers are often feeling lost and even embarrassed over their situation.

• Often it is the first time they have spoke with anyone about their situation.

• What’s really impressing card holders is the table that indicates how long before the debt is paid off if they only make the minimum payment.

• Some callers are just shopping around and comparing their interest rates to what GreenPath can offer on a debt management program.

• Callers are showing a newfound awareness and preoccupation with interest rates. All of a sudden, clients are aware of the APR and how just making the minimum payments is not an adequate action plan to managing the debt.

• More people seem more motivated to get out of debt. The payoff box on their credit card statement has really been shocking clients into doing something about their debt. Especially for those who see it will take them 20 years or more to pay off their card at the minimum payment.

• Most callers are ready to take action and want to focus on reducing their interest rates.

• The convenience of having a phone number documented on credit card statements is a big help because many consumers are always on the go and don’t have the time to complete their own research.

For more information, visit greenpath.com.

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