I am very happy that our son is pursuing his education, but recently one assignment had me stumped – the need to check one’s credit score.

Why This Particular Assignment?

It’s not that it’s a bad thing for a college course to teach its students the value of knowing where one stands in the financial world. The odd thing was he had already been asked to do this same task in a prior semesters’ class (which had much more to do with credit scores and real-life scenarios then the current one). That particular course was a broad-based class to “prepare the student for the real world.”

But, the current course was either web design or something to do with Linux systems. My brain had a hard time wrapping around the need for a teacher in either of those classes to expound upon the value of investigating his credit score. Maybe there was an ulterior motive, or maybe my son just didn’t fill me in on the details? But it’s days, nay weeks later, and I still cannot comprehend that particular need to check his credit score for that particular class – does it make sense to you?

On the Plus Side of Credit Score Checking

Luckily though, getting your own free credit score is very easy online. In fact, use either link in this post, and you’re more than halfway there already

Having already done the assignment once, of course it was simple for him to accomplish the second time around. Actually it was highly beneficial. The first time a teacher asked, he didn’t have any credit; however, semesters later and sure enough, he’s “in the system.”

Of course he was thrilled to find out there were no problems. In fact, he’s quite proud of his credit score and, with luck, he’ll keep it that way for years to come!

The paper today is filled to the brim with controversial tales of GOP politics, religion court decisions, and education. The more I read, the sicker I feel.

As if it were not bad enough that it is so darn hot here in Las Vegas, the news also seems to be feeling the effects. With high unemployment, foreclosures at an unbelievable level, and now political races you want to run from, Nevada is having a really tough time.

I’ll be covering more about all of these over at WorldNewsVine this evening. So keep in touch with current, factual news – and our soon to be he said/she said (alias Dems versus GOP) section.

Time to turn up the air conditioning!

First, I actually need to create a subtitle for this post, and I’m calling it:

“How to Earn Accreditation With Surprisingly Low Out of Pocket Expenses Using A Platform Trusted by Fortune 500 Companies to Live Your Dream or Boost Your Employment Standing”

Okay, NOW I can get started telling you about Learn.com.

Elearning has never been easier (or less expensive). Learn.com (personal version) offers a vast array of online Accredited courses in:

o Healthcare
o Finance
o Legal
o Insurance
o Ethics
o Compliance
o OSHA
o and more!

They also have a search-able catalog of more than 5,000 additional courses from IT topics to personal development… and more!

You’ll see below that I’m looking around the IT section, but the next one I’ll be investigating will be their courses on health care. Health care and teaching are two valuable employment opportunities no matter where you live or plan to move to… they are just “in demand” fields (so I’ve got to keep that in mind as I look around).

Another amazing feature to using Learn.com online is you can create your own “job profile.” This means you choose your career path and they help you develop the necessary skills to achieve your own dream!

Going yet another step further, if you’re the inventive type and have a course you’ve created, Learn.com will help you sell it. Of course, with such high standards, they do review and qualify you to become a “course author” beforehand which only makes sense.

I just registered – for free - and there are 10 courses immediately available for me – again for free (easy enough to find, after registering and logging in click on Free Courses).

The problem is choosing which one?! Actually you can pick class by class or bundle the whole thing together. For instance, I just clicked on the IT program.

I have 15 choices, and each of them is broken into subcategories. The IT Technology Cisco Certified Network Administrator (CCNA) is further broken down into 13 sub-sections.

I can choose to:

o Take one course at a time at just (hold onto your hats!) $3.99/month or

o Opt for 6 months (giving myself more time for studying the course for just $6.99/month OR

o Select all the sub-courses, take a year to complete them, and pay just $9.99/month.

Now keep in mind, I’ve over here investigating IT because that is my passion. However, there are numerous “passions” to choose from. You can search by:

o Free Courses
o Sub Category
o All Courses by Category
o Or, Create a Course.

What is intriguing to me is THIS just may be the stepping stone your newly graduated son or daughter needs if they are “in between” what to “do next.”

And be selfish! Heck, brush up and/or add more skills to your own personal resume to hang onto your job or find a new one!

Oh, and while I personally am roaming around the “personal account” (again created for free), they also have a “business” signup, too.

Decisions, decisions….

Okay, I think I’ve written enough because, frankly, I want to spend several hours going over my choices and picking the perfect course that applies to me (while keeping my eyes open for our son).

To read their current press release, just click here.

With our son just graduating high school, and many hundreds of thousands of kids across the country doing the same, I’m sure that money is on the minds of many and the question, “How are we going to pay for further education?”

Of course you want to do right by your child, which actually (hopefully) starts from the moment he or she was even conceived. While many of us have children too old to qualify, right now there is a huge event going on to help you plan for your little tike’s future.

Conforts for Baby (Comforts, not my misspelling) is holding a contest so you can put $10,000 in the bank for your child’s future!

Nutrition makes a huge difference, and while that may be a common sense thing to say, it is amazing to me that so few people, parents in particular, have a complete understanding of what (and how much) nutritional supplements are vital to your child’s growth. I know this because many moon’s ago, the prenatal vitamins recommended to me during development did not have nearly enough – just as an example – folic acid (vital for brain development). I took it upon myself to ensure the proper balance of vitamins and minerals my child would need to “come out” whole and healthy. And, he really is brilliant (fact not just parental pride) and a nice “kid” (adult yikes now) to boot.

Luckily, nowadays, I believe the manufacturers of baby formula are much more in tune and in touch with the nutritional requirements babies need. For instance, the Comforts brand baby formula ensures your newborn receives all the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals (including just the right touch of iron), for a healthy start to his or her first year on the planet.

They’ve taken into consideration the need for lipids DHA and ARA for visual and mental development. Comforts for Baby actually has gone so far as to ensure that choline, lactose, and other naturally occurring nutrients are part of their nutritious formula – all based on research around mother’s milk btw.

One scare you will not have to worry about is, “Is it safe?” Their formula manufacturing facility is located in the United States (no worries about imports from, say, China, thank goodness!). In fact they follow the FDA ISO 9001:2000-certified standards (how’s that for facts).

So getting back to the money part – the scholarship contest is available to new parents right now, for your child’s future when he or she graduates. Just think, with caution and prudence, how much that $10,000 will mean when your child steps up and is handed that high school diploma! I know the money would mean the world to us right now!

Kroger-owned grocery stores are sponsoring this scholarship contest to help fund your child’s upcoming college education. All you need to do is enter to win, and help them name their Firefly mascot – how easy is that?

Just be sure to visit the link above, fill out all the information required on the entry form, and (be creative!), include a name for their mascot (25 characters or less please).

You’ve got time to enter, but I’d encourage you to do it now – the contest closes July 31, 2009. The winner will be announced online after September 21, 2009.

For a complete set of eligibility rules, just click here. (For instance, your child must be under the age of 2, etc.)

Trust me, you want to go for these opportunities! We’ve waited way too long and we will be scrambling come Autumn to get our son into just a community college.

Don’t be stupid (like we were). Start by entering to win this $10,000 Scholarship today!