This morning I was in bed listening to chilly October rain pound my roof. Naturally, I wanted to stay in bed for another few minutes. And that’s when I realized it. Snoozing for five or ten minutes is usually a bad idea. Like, a terrible idea. It seems so innocuous at the time—five more minutes under your warm covers, cat purring by your feet. And yet even five extra minutes in bed can cause your morning routines to be rushed, make you late for work, and generally fuck up your entire day.

Somehow, I then thought of this old picture of me in college wearing a paper bag over my head and holding a can of Coors Light (or is it spelled “Lite”?) That picture is like “bad decision” illustrated. There’s the fact that I’ve obviously had a few too many, that I left somebody photograph me with a bag on my head, and the fact I’m drinking Coors Light. Ick. Read more…

Posted on Oct 8th, 2009 by David Weliver in Personal Finance
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Ready to take the leap and buy your first home? Searching for your dream house can be an exciting—and trying—experience. Here are a few suggestions to make house hunting easier and help you get into your new home sooner!

1. Make a plan. What do you want and need from your first home? Take a moment to write it down. This is especially important if you’re shopping with a partner or spouse. You’ll save a time and aggravation if you agree on what’s most important in your house before you hit the streets shopping. Is it all about the location? Do you want an impeccably-kept modern home or would you consider a fixer-upper? The more factors you identify as important early-on, the faster you’ll be able to hone in on properties that meet your needs.

2. Set a budget. This goes hand in hand with tip number one. How much house can you afford? If you’re not sure, I’ve written on this subject in How Much House Can You Afford and What Percentage of Your Income can You Afford on Mortgage Payments? Do you want to stretch and buy more home than you need so you can grow into it, or do you hope to pay off your mortgage quickly by buying a home you can afford with a 15-year fixed mortgage?

Ultimately, your income, savings, and local real estate market will determine your viable housing budget. Once you set it, commit to it. Your real estate agent will inevitably show you properties that exceed your budget “just for comparison”. You need to prepare to be firm and stick with a house you can afford. Read more…

Posted on Oct 6th, 2009 by David Weliver in Real Estate
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I’m pleased to introduce a new section on Money Under 30 called Ask Money Under 30.

A “blog within a blog”, Ask Money Under 30 provides brief answers to readers’ specific money questions. Once answered, readers are free to weigh in on the question through comments.

Check out the first few questions and answers now:

• Deployed solider: How should I use my $78k re-enlistment bonus?
• Can I transfer a balance off a credit card and then back onto the original card?
• How do I deal with debt that is much more than earn?
• Can I do “W2″ work as a single-person LLC?
• Will changing our Citi credit card from Elite level to Bronze affect our credit score?

Have a personal finance question for Ask Money Under 30? Ask it now here!

Posted on Oct 5th, 2009 by David Weliver in Uncategorized
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Young people are the least likely to be insured, the least likely to need healthcare, and the least talked-about group in the healthcare debate. Yet we may end up paying dearly for healthcare reform. If you’re young and healthy like me, you don’t spend a lot of time thinking about healthcare. And that’s probably alright—you’re young and healthy. But there are just a few things that every young adult really does need to know about healthcare:

Over 47 million Americans lack health insurance; 39 percent of the uninsured are between the ages of 18 and 34, according to Qvisory.

It makes sense that young people are the least insured. We’re more likely to be in school or working part-time and not have access to employer-sponsored health insurance. We don’t qualify for government programs like Medicaid. Our incomes are low, so we can’t afford even the least expensive policies. Finally, because we’re young and healthy, many of us simply feel invincible and like we don’t need insurance. Read more…

Posted on Oct 5th, 2009 by David Weliver in Healthcare, Insurance
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Did you hear this one? Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus Eight fame is claiming to be broke. The reality TV mom told Meredith Vieira on the Today show this morning that her estranged husband Jon Gosselin basically emptied their joint bank account. Read more…

Posted on Oct 5th, 2009 by David Weliver in Personal Finance
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The CARD Act could go into effect as soon as December. Although legislators passed the CARD Act with Americans’ best interests in mind, the act also means credit card users may see higher interest rates and fewer rewards. And for anyone under 21, the CARD Act will make it much more difficult to get a credit card.

The CARD Act’s Under-21 Restrictions

The CARD Act stipulates that creditors are prohibited from extending credit to consumers individuals (I hate the word consumer) unless:

• the consumer individual has submitted a written application that meets specified requirements and
• the application is signed by a cosigner, including the parent, legal guardian, spouse, or any other individual who has attained the age of 21 having a means to repay debts incurred by the consumer borrower in connection with the account.

What I Think

When I first heard about the under 21 provision in the CARD Act, I said “that’s a great idea”. That’s because I started getting into hot water with credit cards way before my 21st birthday. But as I’ve had some time to chew on the idea, I’m starting to think it stinks. Read more…

Posted on Oct 1st, 2009 by David Weliver in Consumer Protection, Credit
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Today, only four out of ten mortgage applications close. That means 60 percent of prospective home buyers walk away disappointed. For first-time home buyers, that statistic may be even higher. But if your mortgage application is declined, don’t despair. Getting mortgage approval isn’t easy and—like many things worth doing—it may take several tries to get right. After your mortgage application is declined, the first step is to find out why. Once you do, it’s fairly easy to take the steps you need to ready your finances for another go.

There are only so many reasons your mortgage application may be declined. The most common are:

• Your credit score is too low.
• Your monthly debt payments are too high compared to your income.
• You’re applying for “too much house” for your income and assets.

Lenders and brokers want to approve your mortgage (after all, approving mortgages is how they get paid). So if you don’t qualify initially, they should be happy to explain to you why your application was declined. If they don’t offer this information immediately, ask them. Let’s take a closer look at what each reason means and what you can do about it. Read more…

Posted on Oct 1st, 2009 by David Weliver in Credit, Real Estate
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I’m blogging live today from Finovate in New York, a one-day conference featuring the best new financial and banking technology innovations from leading established companies and the hottest young startups. I just finished listening to 31—that’s right, 31—presentations. Let me assure you, there’s a lot of exciting stuff happening behind-the-scenes of your bank account. There are also a lot of finovations that you can (or will soon be able to) interact with directly. Here are some of my “first impression” favorites. Enjoy! Read more…

Posted on Sep 29th, 2009 by David Weliver in Financial Technology
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In this post, I’m going to ask you to slow down, look inward, and do some reflection.

Most often, I write about straightforward topics like debt repayment, credit scoring, and budgeting. Don’t get me wrong—it’s important stuff. But on a deeper level, something I struggle with as a personal finance blogger is that I don’t want my life to become about money.

And yet, sometimes I feel that’s exactly what happened. Read more…

Posted on Sep 29th, 2009 by David Weliver in Personal Finance
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A lot of people enjoyed this week’s article How to Ask Your Boss to Work from Home. Staying on-theme, here are some weekly links all about working.

Squawkfox (@Squawkfox) is running an extremely helpful series on writing cover leters. Don’t miss the first installment: Anatomy of a Killer Cover Letter. Squawkfox’s Kerry Taylor also wrote a guest post for Get Rich Slowly (@jdroth): Five Ways to Rescue a Rotten Resume.

Along the same lines, Jim Wang over at Bargaineering (@bargainr) published another group of resume pointers: 10 Tips to a Kick Ass Resume. (Between the two, your resume should have no excuses!

And, if you’re wondering if all that Facebook and Twitter time could be cutting into your career, check out the article on Queercents (@queercents): Is the Way You Use Social Media Hurting Your Career?

Finally, thanks to the following carnivals for including Money Under 30 posts this week!

• The Best of Money Carnival at Steadfast Finances (@Matt_SF).
• The Carnival of Debt Reduction at Christian Personal Finance (@christianpf).
• The Carnival of Personal Finance at Taking Charge (@TakingCharge).

That wraps it up for this week! As always, thanks for reading!

David @MoneyUnder30

Posted on Sep 26th, 2009 by David Weliver in Roundups and Carnivals
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