About Money Under 30

Money Under 30 provides simple, honest financial advice for starting out.

Specifically, as you go from being a broke student to an independent adult with a decent job and some money in the bank, maybe you’re wondering “what now?” Or, simply: “How do I not screw this up?” Perhaps you want to get out of debt, get married, buy a home, or even have kids. Maybe you want time to have fun or travel before settling down. Or maybe you just want some furniture that’s not from IKEA.

Whatever your goal, we want to help you get there. By the way, it is fine if you’re over 30, too. It’s never to late to get right with your money!

If you’re new to Money Under 30, this is what we believe:

  • Personal finance is personal. Guidelines are useful, rules don’t work for everybody. Becoming truly rich means having enough money to live the life you want, not the life popular culture suggests you should have.
  • Being “good with money” is about psychology, not math. We learn financial habits as children and teenagers from our parents and environments. By the time we’re adults and have to manage money on our own, it can be extremely difficult to unlearn bad habits, but it’s not impossible…with the right tools.
  • It’s never too late to learn. The site is called “Money Under 30″ because I started it when I was 25 for people my age. But money savior faire knows no age — stay and grow with us.

Love it? Sign up to get our new content by email once each week. (You’ll also get MoneySchool, our free 7-day email bootcamp.)






Some actionable posts to get you started

Stories for inspiration and motivation

Earning more

Investing

Your home

Tools and resources

My Story

David E. Weliver, publisher of Money Under 30, and family.I’m David. (That’s me, my wife Lauren and daughter, Molly.) I live outside Portland, Maine, and I’m a blogger, husband, new dad, and a recovered debtaholic.

After graduating from college in 2003, I moved to New York City to take a job as an editorial assistant at SmartMoney magazine. Even as I worked at a personal finance magazine, I let my own finances get worse and worse.

By 26, I had no savings, no financial plan, not even a dollar of available credit. I was maxed out, stressed out, and fed up. I was earning $32,000 a year and lived in an 8×10 room in a rented house with three roommates. I was also $80,000 in debt.

How did I get there? I wish I had a good story. Like I had spent two years travelling the globe, paid for a loved-one’s lifesaving operation, or lost it all in a card game. Alas, I had simply spent my way through early adulthood, ignoring the cardinal rule of personal finance: Don’t spend what you don’t have.

And so I started Money Under 30 as an outlet to write about money: my mistakes with it, but also how I eventually learned to manage it well. I wrote, but I also worked furiously to pay off my debt. I got a second job at Starbucks. I found a higher-paying “day job”. Months later, I accepted a job back at my old employer for yet another raise. Meanwhile, this site grew from a hobby to a part-time business.

Today, publishing Money Under 30 is my vocation and my passion. It’s my sincere hope that I can help you learn to manage money well, too.

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David E. Weliver
Founder, Money Under 30

Contributors

Lou Carlozo Lou Carlozo
Based in Chicago, Lou Carlozo is a personal finance contributor for Reuters Money, a columnist with DealNews.com, and a former managing editor at AOL’s WalletPop.com. Contact him with story ideas for Money Under 30 at [email protected], or follow him via LinkedIn and Twitter (@LouCarlozo63).

Sarah Davis Sarah Davis
Sarah writes about the ups and downs of becoming a homeowner for the first time. Sarah is a licensed Realtor in San Diego, California where she works with a team of real estate attorney/brokers specializing in short sales and foreclosures. Sarah and her husband Cole are also real estate investors focusing on fix and flips and buying seller-financed notes. Sarah been writing about real estate since 2006 and also has her own Website: RealtorSD.com.

Amber Gilstrap Amber Gilstrap
Amber is a twentysomething CPA from Kansas City, Missouri who loves writing, working out, and — of course — finding fresh ideas for saving money. Amber’s posts include frugality tips on everything from tailgating to eating healthy to getting married, as well as expert tax advice. You can follow her personal Twitter account @ambergilstrap

Maria LaMagna Maria LaMagna
Maria is a senior at Northwestern University where she served as editor-in-chief of the university’s award-winning daily newspaper and studied for five months in Argentina. Most recently, Maria worked as a reporter for CNN. Maria grew up in Carmel, Indiana with four siblings and a golden retriever, DiMaggio. In her downtime, she loves watching too much reality TV and episodes of Mad Men. Maria looks forward to sharing her own experiences with money as a student abroad and a soon-to-be graduate juggling student loans and life in the “real world”.

Tom Niejadlik
Tom Niejadlik has over 15 years of experience in the auto sales industry and is eager to help us understand his industry and save money on one of our biggest expenses: our cars. He lives in Portland, Maine with his wife, sons, and golden retriever, Barkley.

Lisen Stromberg Lisen Stromberg
Lisen wishes she had money under 30, but she didn’t. She had credit card debt, a husband with nearly $200k in school loans, and a job that barely covered the rent. Today at 50, she’s made some, lost some, and learned a lot along the way. She had a successful business career, started and ran a non-profit, opted out and then opted back in. Now, she’s an award-winning writer who focuses on issues important to women, men, and families. Read her personal blog, follow her @LisenStromberg or become her friend. Email her at lisen (at) prismwork. com with your ♥ & $ questions and concerns.

Phil Villarreal Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal writes Funny Money weekly for Money Under 30. He lives in Tucson and works for the Arizona Daily Star. He’s also an author, blogger and Twitterer.

Press

Money Under 30 has appeared in major media outlets including:

NPR, The Washington Post, US News & World Report, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Here’s a list of links to selected quotes and radio/podcast interviews. I welcome interview requests and opportunities to speak to groups about personal finance or blogging.

In readers’ words

Here’s what some readers say about Money Under 30 in their own words:

Adam: “[T]hank you guys for all you do. As an undergraduate racking up tons of student loan debt, and someone who doesn’t have a great pedigree in money management, I’ve found the advice on this site a lifeline.”

Kelcie: “I’ve just subscribed, and I could not be more impressed…Thank you for making the subject of finances bearable!”

Bishnu “I love your blog. I have been reading for a few months now and your posts help me out tremendously. I managed to save up a little over $20k so far. I plan to continue saving… Keep blogging bro!”

Tom: “Your articles are awesome. I just used the LendingClub site I found on your blog to consolidate my credit cards. And I’m hoping to buy a house as well in 4-5 years and it’s SO expensive here in the northeast. I know your site will help with that goal. Thanks again.”

Contact

Comments? Questions? Media inquiries? Send ‘em in! Contact me now.

Photos by Brian Fitzgerald/Maine Headshot Photography (headshot) and Jenny Gironda Photography (family).