Money Under 30

Good news for prospective home-buyers: It looks like Congress will extend the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit that was slated to end this month and add a $6,500 tax credit for those that have already owned a home.

The Senate voted 98-0 Wednesday to extend and expand the tax credit and the House could vote on the bill as early as today. If passed, the $8,000 tax credit would remain in effect for first-time home buyers — or anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years. Read more…

Posted on Nov 5th, 2009 by David Weliver in Real Estate, Taxes
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“I’m 25 and only make $30k a year. I’ve got student loans. I’m broke! Why should I care about investing?”

I hear this all the time. When it comes to money, many of my peers (at least the ones not completely afraid of their finances) are concerned with upgrading their cars and homes, developing their career, and finding a partner or getting married. These are all good things to do, but something’s missing. We often hear about the same few financial steps for twentysomethings: Read more…

Posted on Nov 3rd, 2009 by David Weliver in Personal Finance
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It always amazes me the number of great financial blogs that I stumble across every week. When there are a million new blog posts every day, it’s hard for one guy to keep up. This week I’m honing my recommended reading in on blogs that also focus on money in your twenties. If you enjoy this site, you’ll want to make these blogs part of your regular reading, too! Read more…

Posted on Oct 30th, 2009 by David Weliver in Roundups and Carnivals
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Do you talk to your partner about finances? If not, have “the talk”. It may very well save you frustration, save you money, and save your relationship.

I recently read an article on The New York Times, four money talks to have before marriage, and a response at Get Rich Slowly. I agree that this is critical, but not just for couples considering marriage. A lot of us youngins shack up long before we marry, if we marry at all. So I think these articles need to be re-framed as money talks to have before living together. Read more…

Posted on Oct 29th, 2009 by David Weliver in Budgeting, Personal Finance
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Whether you’re just starting your first “real job” or have been in the workplace for a few years but haven’t gotten around to saving for retirement yet, listen up: it’s never too early to start building a nest egg. Statistically, young workers are the least likely to contribute to a 401(k) or IRA. But the sooner you start saving for retirement, the more compounding interest will help you grow wealthy with time. Read more…

Posted on Oct 27th, 2009 by David Weliver in Investing
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When it comes time to buy a new home, you need to know whom you can trust. Real estate is a cutthroat business, and as a prospective home buyer, you should recognize that the real estate agents who list properties are working for sellers—they’re salespeople, and they’ll push hard to sell their clients’ homes. Not to say there aren’t agents out there that tell it like is, even while working for a seller. But you’ll want to be prepared for the ones that don’t.

That’s where enlisting a buyer’s agent can be a wise move. Read more…

Posted on Oct 26th, 2009 by David Weliver in Real Estate
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Buying your first home is a huge financial milestone. Whether you’re just starting to consider home ownership or are already entrenched in the search for your first home, there’s an important step I recommend you take before making an offer or even starting to shop around: Get a pre-qualification or pre-approval letter from a mortgage lender.

Having this letter from a mortgage lender in advance can save you from major disappointment if you find your perfect home, make an offer, and then find you the bank has denied your mortgage application.

Pre-qualification and pre-approval is simply when a lender takes a fast look at your credit and decides, preliminarily, that you’re eligible for a mortgage. Although this does not guarantee your ability to get any mortgage, it does give you an upper hand when negotiating with sellers.

So, what’s the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval? Read more…

Posted on Oct 26th, 2009 by David Weliver in Real Estate
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Ah, debt. Either you’re trying to get out of it or you’re working fastidiously to make sure you’ll never be in it. Whichever camp you’re in, debt is a constant focus of personal finance blogs. Although I like to focus on other topics from time to time, providing solid advice on dealing with and avoiding debt has its place. So this week, I give you a few stellar recent articles on debt. Read more…

Posted on Oct 24th, 2009 by David Weliver in Roundups and Carnivals
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I received an e-mail from a 28-year old budget-conscious reader with a common conundrum. She’s watching her wallet. Her friends? Not so much. How do you deal with friends that perennially spend, splurge, and squander?

Unfortunately, “keeping up with the Jones’” plays a big role in the psychology of spending. We spend to keep up because we envy things other people have. We spend more with friends to win and maintain their acceptance. And when we do it, we usually spend more than we have.

When we assert our frugality before our desire to fit in, however, a new problem emerges: We risk offending our friends, standing out as a cheapskate, or—worse—becoming alienated from them. Read more…

Posted on Oct 22nd, 2009 by David Weliver in Personal Finance
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Yesterday, I recommended a new way to pare down your credit cards. I don’t want you to cancel them all or use them like crazy to earn rewards. I just recommend keeping two credit cards—the card you’ve had the longest and the card with the highest credit limit. For simplicity (and to protect yourself from going on a spending binge and landing in debt), cancel the rest.

But as one person already commented—banks will cancel your credit cards if you don’t use them. Because you want to keep at least two credit cards open to continue building credit, you want to make sure the two cards you keep stay open. So you should use them from time to time. Read more…

Posted on Oct 21st, 2009 by David Weliver in Credit
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