By Sheiresa McRae, Black Enterprise

If you're working to improve your credit, listen up. Fair Isaac Corp., creators of the FICO credit score, announced a new scoring model expected to take effect this spring. The model, named FICO '08, provides a more precise way for lenders to determine a borrower's creditworthiness.

One major change is that FICO scores will now exclude authorized user accounts, also known as "piggyback credit," from the scoring formula, says Craig Watts, public relations manager at Fair Isaac. This is partly a response to the rise in credit-repair companies charging consumers fees as high as $2,000 to be added to the account of someone with good credit who is in turn paid by the company for the use of their account.

By Marcia A. Reed-Woodard

Just months after graduating with a degree in accounting, Nigel Franklyn dove back into the books and began the long process of becoming certified.

"Pursuing the certified public accountant designation helped me master necessary fundamental skills," says Franklyn, a New-York based manager in the financial services practice of KPMG, a global network of firms providing audit, tax, and advisory services.

There are, in fact, a growing number of professionals seeking certification in a variety of areas, says Pete Woods, manager of certification for WorldatWork, an international association focused on training and certifying human resources professionals. He asserts that certification, a process of accreditation that verifies an individual's specific knowledge, skills, and ability to perform a particular job, has become a trend-especially in emerging and rapidly changing specialty areas.

By Brent Leary

Now is the time to take your one-person show to the world

You've been thinking about it for a while now. Yeah, I'm talking to you, the aspiring event planner. You too, would-be financial consultant. And that goes double for you public relations "wanna be." In fact this message is for anyone who has a dream of becoming their own boss while doing what they love. Now is the time to consider taking a shot at becoming a solopreneur, one of the fastest growing segments of the small business community. Better yet, shoot for becoming a world-renowned, international solopreneur.

I say become an international solopreneur because everything's in place for determined, driven, serious folks to compete on a global scale. Here is why 2008 will be "the year" for you.

By Brenda Porter

A new government report says that small-business owners are continuing to drive the U.S. economy, but some are taking exception to the findings.

The study, The Small Business Economy: A Report to the President for 2007, issued by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration, suggests a number of reasons for the success of the nearly 27 million U.S. small businesses.

Reasons range from business owners' "pre-venture" planning and completing higher levels of education, to a streamlining of government legislation aimed at small-business compliance and greater participation from minorities and veterans.

By Alfred Edmond, Black Enterprise Magazine

Here are gifts you can buy for your kids that will help them to become more financially savvy and, in the long-run, better-positioned to build wealth.

Newborns to Toddlers - Let the rest of the family buy the clothes your young children will outgrow before they get to wear them, and the toys they will ignore, lose, break, or forget in less than a month. You should be the one who sets up the 529 College Savings Plan-for minimum deposit starting from as little as $25 to as much as $1,000 (but many plans waive the minimum deposit if you enroll in a weekly automatic deposit program). Then, remind the rest of the family to contribute to the college fund whenever the child has a birthday, Christmas, or other special event. To learn more about 529 plans, pick up the November 2007 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE. Also, check out the Websites for SavingforCollege.com and the College Savings Plans Network.

Kids to 'Tweens - Take children to the bank and open a savings account. Your gift can be the seed capital to open the account. You can also agree to match any deposits they make into the account dollar-for-dollar, as long as they make no withdrawals for at least a year-kind of like a kiddie 401(k). Better yet, consider setting up the account online. They'll get a higher interest rate (as much as 5%) and will be able to check their accounts on the home computer.

Teenagers - Take as little as $25 and buy your teen stock in his or her favorite companies using an online dividend reinvestment programs such as ShareBuilder. Open a custodial account for your child and help him or her follow the performance of the stock each day. Keep track of news about the company and discuss how it makes the price of the stock go up or down. Even if he or she doesn't become a stock broker, they'll gain an understanding of how the financial markets work.

High School Grads - This one is easy and obvious: get them a subscription to BLACK ENTERPRISE. The financial, small business and career information they'll get each month will help them to take avoid the mistakes we made in early adulthood while taking advantage of opportunities we may have never dreamed of.

College Grads - Instead of buying your grad a car or sending him or her on a trip to Europe, commit to putting that money toward the down payment on a first home. Set the money aside until they are gainfully employed and can handle the monthly mortgage payments. And start with a small, modest home, with a traditional fixed-rate mortgage-they can trade up later, as their income increases.

Kids of all ages - Buy Monopoly, The Game of Life, Easy Money, and other board games that involve spending, saving, investing, and managing money. The key here is that you can't just buy the games; you have to play them, and use them as a way to get your entire family to consider the pros and cons of different financial decisions and strategies.

These are gifts that will keep on giving, with the potential to enrich and increase the financial literacy of the entire family. Remember, at least one of your kids could end up wealthy enough to care for you in your old age-and grateful enough to be happy to do it.

Alfred Edmond Jr.'s column on Money Sense appears weekly at BlackEnterprise.com as well as on the Doug Banks Morning Show every Wednesday. » Recent Headlines

By Naeemah Khabir for blackenterprise.com


Perhaps the biggest fear any homeowner can have is foreclosure. A foreclosure occurs after a homeowner is late 45 days or more with a mortgage payment. To collect the remaining debt, the lender posts a foreclosure sale notice on the house and it is put up for public sale.

While the Mortgage Bankers Association reported in its most recent National Delinquency Survey that the number of loans in foreclosure was at 1.16% -- its lowest level since 2000 -- that percentage could increase substantially as the thousands of adjustable-rate mortgages that were made during the last refinancing boom begin charging higher interest rates.

Claudia Ray, regional housing supervisor for ACORN Housing Corp. in Baltimore, says a loss of income and other unforeseen circumstances are often reasons homeowners fail to make mortgage payments. But whether you lose your job, become ill, or experience some other hardship, experts say you don't have to lose your home if you follow these important tips:

Get counseling. Ingrid Beckles, vice president of default asset management for Freddie Mac, says counseling agencies can help potential homeowners understand property taxes and homeowner's insurance before they buy. Ray says counseling after the purchase can also help. ACORN provides post-purchase counseling to homeowners three to six months after they buy a home.

Save for emergencies. Replacing or repairing things in the home can leave homeowners with insufficient funds to make their monthly mortgage payment. Ray suggests establishing a repair fund before you go house hunting, and continuing to save even after the home is purchased.

Maintain your home. Perform quarterly or annual home checkups to make sure everything is in working order. For example, make sure all fire detectors work and that all gutters are clean. This can reduce the number of big repairs you'll have to make. "When the furnace blows and you don't have the money to replace it, what are you going to do? That's where preventive maintenance comes in," says Beckles.

Reach out for help. If you receive a foreclosure notice, contact your local housing agency immediately and meet with a counselor to review your budget and discuss mediation options. "The problem is that people are afraid to call," says Beckles. "They don't realize there is so much we can do to help them." She says homeowners should contact their lender before their loan becomes delinquent. They may be able to suspend mortgage payments and still maintain good credit.

Know your options. In cases where homeowners can prove a loss of income due to sickness or layoff, they may be able to receive a special forbearance from their lender where the debt is refinanced to lower payments or a repayment plan is established based on income. Beckles says homeowners should inquire about forbearance and then fully cooperate with counseling agencies and lenders. "The lenders don't necessarily want the house back, they're just looking for solutions."

Websites that can help: www.acornhousing.org, www.freddiemac.com, www.hud.gov