Newlywed’s Guide To Finding An Affordable Apartment

For those of you who decided that buying a house isn’t right for you at this point in your life, your next step is finding an affordable apartment or rental house. In Florida, rent for apartments and houses has sky-rocketd, because the demand has increased so much. In metro areas of cities in Florida such as Orlando, Jacksonville, Tampa, and West Palm Beach, it’s tough to find a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment for less than $1,000.00. This is a lot of money for a new couple starting their life together. So, is it possible to find an affordable rental? Let’s walk through this together.

First, check websites like your local Craigslist in the “apts / housing” section. My wife and I always check this when we’re looking for rentals. We also check it for for-sale, buy-owner houses. You need to watch out for Craigslist, because there are a ton of scammers on there. Never send any deposit money via Western Union or any other crazy delivery method. Craigslist is great for finding individual landlords looking to rent their properties at a discount price and individuals renting out their home or condo that didn’t do well on the sales market.

Second, check with your network of friends and family to see if they know anyone with a property for rent. Landlords are more willing to negotiate a deal with tenants that they can trust. A direct referral from someone they know is a good way to get an apartment at a discount price.

Third, don’t forget your negotiating skills when renting an apartment. Some people don’t realize that they can negotiate rent price and lease terms. Just because someone posts $1,000 for the rent doesn’t mean you need to accept it. This is harder to do with large, corporate-owned rental properties, because their demand and marketing budget is high enough to dismiss those that are looking for a deal. But, you can definitely negotiate with the everyday landlord. Ask them to reduce the security deposit, reduce the lease term, or trade work for money off the rent. If you’re a good landscaper or a handy around the house, ask them to take $100 to $200 a month off the rent in return for you maintain the home. Just make sure the landlord is still paying for the materials and supplies.

Lastly, find an apartment or rental home off the beaten path. Never sacrifice your safety for a cheaper rental, but there are plenty of nice, underdeveloped areas with cheaper rent. Look five miles away from “the hot spots” in town, and there is where you’ll find the deals. Apartments above the garage of an older couple’s property are also rental gems at a discount price.

Are you ready for the challenge? Don’t settle for paying $1,200.00 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment just because it has a nice pool and an exercise facility. Some cities make it tough to find cheaper rent, but the majority of you live in suburban America, and the deals out there. You just need to do your research, ask friends and family, and scour the internet classifieds.

These tips for helping newly married couples on find an apartment are part of the Marriage Money Guide.

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How to Register For Wedding Gifts – A Guide to Maximizing Your Wedding Registry

Creating a wedding registry is one of the best parts about getting married. (Besides the fact that you’ve found the love of your life, and you’re about to embark on your happily-ever-after.) Here’s the quick and simple guide to get the most out of your wedding registry with the least amount of stress:

• Understand that not everyone is going to use your registry – No matter how well meaning she might be, your Aunt Fanny is going to go right ahead and buy those $30 faux crystal candlesticks. Love her, and let it go.




• Skip the fondue pot, pasta maker, and anything else that slices, dices and also makes julienne fries – Trust me, you are going to regret it later when you only get four place settings of china and have a brand new chocolate fountain. Don’t put this stuff on your registry at all, or people will buy it for you.




• Do keep your registry simple – Put only the things you really want on your registry, and you will not end up with assorted items that gather dust and take up space in your future garage. Many of us get giddy at the idea of all those gifts, and the result is that we go hog wild with the registry. Please don’t make that mistake! Better to register for fewer things that you really want than to have pages and pages of possible gifts for people to sift through when they print your registry.
  
  
  

• Do register at a store chain that is available to all of your friends, family, and guests – It’s important to understand that not everyone who will send you a gift will live close to you. I had friends of our family on the other side of the United States send me gifts. Please keep your far-flung relatives and friends in mind. Choose a store chain to register with that is big enough for them to get to locally, or has an easy to use online registry search.




• Consider creating at least two registries, one high dollar, one low dollar – We registered at Dillard’s, and Target – While neither one of them is particularly high dollar, Target was a definite value option for those friends and family who did not have a lot of money, but still wanted to give us a gift.




• Do register for your basic household appliances if you do not already have them, or need new ones – A vacuum, a microwave, a good set of knives, even a carpet steamer, or an iron and ironing board would not be out of place here. I mean really. would you rather spend your hard earned money on a carpet steamer, or be grateful that your family loved you enough to buy you one and spare you the expense? You might even end up with a nicer one than you would buy for yourself.




• Do include a shipping address on your registry – Not everyone will want to bring your gift to the wedding, and you need to have a secure shipping address listed so that they can have your gifts sent directly to you.




• If possible, allow your guests to choose gift cards as a registry option – Target offered this when I registered, and many more stores are now starting to. This will help you fill in the gaps between what people bought you, and what you still need for your new life together.




• Do register for china, silverware, and enough place settings for at least 8 people – You in-laws will come for Christmas eventually, whether you want them to or not. The best you can hope for is to at least have matching place settings!




• Encourage your guests to pool their money – If you have several expensive items on your registry, then it makes sense to ask people to pool their money. You only need so many salad spinners, bathroom towels, and kitchen gadgets.




• Do not be afraid to ask for money, but DO tell your guests what you plan to use it for! – Many of your guests may buy you a gift for your bridal shower, but give you money for your wedding. A polite thank you note explaining what you intend to do with the money is a beautiful thing to do to repay their kindness.




• Do not register for duplicate items – We made this mistake and ended up with a couple of duplicate items. If you register at more than one place, make sure you print the list from your first registry and have it handy when you do the second one. Also, do not assume that you can remove items from your registry. We found things that we liked at both Dillard’s than Target, but Dillard’s was slow to remove the registered items when we tried to fix them online.




• Stay on the lookout for freebies, warranties, and rebates on the items your guests give you – Save any gift receipts, and get money back where you can.




• Be prepared to return duplicate or unwanted gifts – You will probably get them, there is no way around it. Make sure you schedule a day to go around and return things for cash, or store credit whenever possible. If possible, keep the gift giver in the dark about it, they gave the gift out of their love for you, and it’s better not to embarrass them or make them angry over returning a gift.




• Do get everything you can for free before you register – Before you register as a couple, talk frankly to your parents and family on both sides. Find out if they have used items like vacuums, etc. before you register for them. If you can get some things for free, or very cheaply from your family members, you can register for other things that you need instead.

Above all, please remember that registering for practical items will serve you best. The intent behind wedding gifts is that in a way, they help give the new couple the foundation of their future home together. If you register for things that will not help you build your new home into a happy place, then both you and your guests will miss out on this opportunity.

Be sure to check out ways to save money planning your wedding and how to save money on a destination wedding.

This checklist of tips on how to get the most for your money when you register for wedding presents is part of the Marriage Money Guide.

Photo credit: Zimbio.com

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College Student Money Tips – Managing Your Money on Campus

One of the biggest challenges of getting a college degree is coming up with the money to pay for your education.  Everyone’s biggest concern is typically how to pay for tution but the money issues definitely don’t end there.

Once you’ve figured out how to afford the college bill you’re still faced with room and board, books, and insurance expenses. Not to mention entertainment costs, finding furniture for your dorm room or apartment, and how to manage your money.

Since there’s so much to consider financially when making an investment in your education, The Money Writers put together together some financial tips for college students that are preparing to head off to school.

• Going Back to School
• College Money Myths
• College Student Finance Tips
• How to Be a Frugal College Student
• Financial Tips for College Students
• College Student Money Guide

One easy tip is to stop by the College Money Network, they’re holding a back to school giveaway with prizes like an iPod nano and cash!

I’ll wrap it up with some of tips from my college money guide. Read a review of student health insurance options, compare the best student credit cards, find the best spot to keep your hard earned money in our review of the best bank accounts for college students, and read the list of ways you can make extra money in college!

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Planning a Wedding Without Breaking the Bank

Chances are, the first thing you will want to do when you find out you are going to be married is to start planning!

Whether you’re dreaming of having a large traditional wedding, or an intimate gathering of close family and friends, it can be easy to go overboard in the planning stages.

There are so many things to consider; the location, the dress and tuxedos, the reception – all the way down to the favors you will give your guests and the time of day you want to get married. With that in mind, here are some realistic strategies for planning your wedding without breaking the bank!

Do It Yourself:

Planning everything yourself can be time consuming, strenuous, and more than a little intimidating – but it doesn’t have to be. There are some excellent tools available to help you organize your wedding plans, and help you bring everything together seamlessly so that you can have the wedding you’ve always dreamed about.

Wedding Planning Software:

You can use inexpensive wedding planning software to automate many of the time consuming tasks that planning a wedding involves:

• Keep track of your wedding budget
• Maintain a calendar of appointments for fittings, food tastings, meetings and photography
• Have an accurate and up to date guest list
• Design the perfect seating arrangement for your reception guests
• Track bridal shower and wedding gifts
• Keep an address list for thank you notes

There are dozens of software programs out there for you to use when you plan your wedding, but a few stand head and shoulders above the rest.

• Smart Wedding – for $34.99 you get all of the necessary planning functions, as well as the ability to print both the inner and outer envelopes for your wedding invitations.
• EZ Wedding Planner – This is a free planner that also comes with several guides including music and registry suggestions, and a quick guide for the bride and groom. It also features checklists for your photographer, and an etiquette guide that explains who is supposed to pay for what.
• My Wedding Companion – This software has a free 30 day trial and uses a “fill in the blanks” budget option that takes most of the guesswork out of planning your wedding. You can simply eliminate expenses that you don’t want, and add in anything that is not featured.

If you choose not to use software to plan your wedding, you will want to make sure that you are very organized. Otherwise, you might find some of the smaller details slipping through the cracks. After all, the last thing you want to do is to forget your rings on the big day, or forget to tell your photographer that certain family members need to be photographed.

In addition to using software, and keeping a folder designed specifically to keep track of your details, you will probably want to enlist the aid of a close friend or parent. Have this person help you run errands, oversee the seating arrangements, check to see that the cake is delivered and set up correctly, and anything else you think they might be willing to do to help out.

In fact, if you can get three or four volunteers, it will reduce your stress considerably. This is your big day! Do whatever you can to spend it thinking about walking down that aisle (or seeing your bride walk down that aisle!) instead of worrying about whether or not Aunt Mae was seated next to her ex-husband, or if you contracted the caterer to serve enough food. Plan beforehand, get help, and then let it go and relax. Weddings rarely come off without a hitch or two, so if you have covered the details well enough, then no matter what happens, you will still have the wedding you dreamed of.

But what if that’s not enough? Hiring a professional:

Sometimes there is just no way around it – you need help, and you want someone else to handle the small details so that you can focus on the best parts. That is where a professional wedding planner comes in. The truth is, no matter how diligent you are, how many hours you spent planning, or how much money you spent, things will go wrong. You can’t be expected to handle every issue that comes up on your wedding day – You’ll be busy! That is where either a very good friend, or a wedding planner steps in.

What does a wedding planner do?

Hiring a wedding planner offers you several unique benefits:

• They’ve done all this before – what is new to you is old hat to them. They expect the emergencies, and the good ones are there with bobby pens, duct tape, face powder and even a sewing kit to take care of whatever you need on your big day.
• They have a Rolodex full of connections – They already know the best florists, photographers and bakeries in the area, and they know where to go to get you exactly what you want.
• An experienced wedding planner can help you stick to your budget. They will know where you can cut corners, and they will work with the staff at your wedding and reception sites to clear up any problems before you even notice them.
• No matter how well you plan, you can’t be everywhere at once. Having someone there on your wedding day, someone that you are paying to be there and take care of things, can give you enormous peace of mind. If something needs to be done, re-done or dealt with, they will do it, not you, and most likely, you will never know that your wedding was anything but perfect.

You might be thinking “Well, sure, that sounds great, but I can’t afford to hire a wedding planner!”

Remember that you can always negotiate the fee with your wedding coordinator. Ask if they can lower their rates if you take on some of the responsibility yourself, or have family members agree to oversee those parts instead. Shop around, and don’t automatically accept the first reasonably priced person who comes along. Check their references, talk to their past clients, and evaluate them well first.

Be sure that you are hiring a wedding planner that you can trust. If you do, then their fee will seem well worth it in the end because you will wake up the morning of you wedding excited, happy, and a whole lot less worried about what will happen if something goes wrong.

There are a few other ways to outsource parts of your wedding to help you focus on the main event:

As you plan your wedding, you are probably going to consider hiring a photographer, a videographer, a florist, a caterer, possibly a band, or entertainment of some sort to play at your reception.

Draw up a list of every professional you may need to hire, and work them into your wedding budget so that you know what you can afford before you sit down with them. Otherwise, you could end up spending way, way more than you planned to!

You should also make up a list of questions that you want to ask each professional. Do not forget to ask for discounts either! Most places offer them, but it’s just like anything else – they aren’t going to lower that bill for you unless you specifically ask them to!

One last word of advice: Study any contracts you sign very carefully. My husband and I needed to change the date of our wedding twice before we finally got a date that worked for us as well as our guests. Unfortunately, we lost money on our first reception booking because we did not give them enough notice. You need to understand exactly what the limitations of those contracts are, when the payments are due, and what, if anything you will get back if you need to cancel with them, or change your dates.

This is one of the most special, amazing days of your whole life. Don’t let the planning of it stress you out. Set your wedding date far enough in advance that you have room to make any necessary changes. Accept all the help you can get – whether it’s professional, or family.

As you plan, please try to remember that this day is all about you and your sweetheart. In ten years, the fact that your ring-bearer sneezed all over the altar, or that your cake was slightly lopsided – well, none of that will matter. Only the emotions and memories of that day will matter, as will the life and love that you will share together from that day on.

If you’re going to be planning a destination wedding, check out the article on how to save money on a destination wedding.

These tips for planning a wedding on a budget are part of the Marriage Money Guide.

Photo Credit: Flickr.com

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Secured Credit Cards & Secured Loans Can Help Build Your Credit History

Secured credit cards and secured loans are an alternative to signing up for a regular credit card in order to build your credit history.  I recently received the email below from a reader who is a recent college graduate and is looking to build up her credit history so she can buy a home in the future.

I’ve recently graduated from college with two degrees, no loans, no debt, but no credit. I didn’t take out a credit card in college. You posted about cards for college kids and I saw an old post about cards for grads and young professionals (who’ve already established credit in college).

I’m single with no dependents. I’m working full time and bringing in a steady income. I’m used to living simply and paying with cash-so I’m not swipe-happy. I realize that this helped me to learn how to budget, live with less, and stay debt free, but I want to buy a home someday.

Are there any cards out there for people who are just trying to establish credit as young professionals? I’ve been looking on bank rate, but I’m overwhelmed. What kind of card should I be looking for? I think that I fall in the gap between your two posts. I have an income, but no credit history.

The point of establishing a credit history is to prove that when you borrow money you’ll pay it back.  One popular way to borrow money is to sign up for a credit card where you’re pre-approved to spend a certain amount of money.  You agree to pay that money back within a certain amount of time or the credit card company will charge you interest on the balance you owe.

Managing Risk
The credit card company is taking on risk by lending to you using a typical credit card and will require some form of proof that you’re likely to pay back the money you borrow.  If you don’t have a prior credit history, a credit card company probably won’t want to give you a typical card but there are ways you can reduce the risk to the lender to the point where they’re willing to lend you money.

Secured Credit Cards
When you signup for a secured credit card you place a deposit with the credit card company and they give you a card with a spending limit based on the amount of your deposit.  You’re reducing the risk of lending to you by providing collateral for the money you borrow.

The credit card company will report the card details to the credit reporting agencies so make sure you pay your bills in full and on time to build up your credit profile.  Here are some of the secured credit cards you can sign up for to help build your credit history:

The Bank of America Secured Visa Card has a little lower annual fee than the Orchard Bank Mastercard Secured, $29, but a higher APR. This card doesn’t have an application  fee and also offers online banking.  The Secured Visa Card requires a minimum deposit of $300 into a Bank of America security deposit account.

Secured Card Tips
Some things to consider when looking for a secured card are the annual fee, the minimum deposit, the APR, and whether the company you’re working with reports your payment history to Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion.  If they don’t let the credit bureaus know you’ve been paying on time then the secured card payments won’t do anything to help your credit rating. 

One other thing to think about is whether the credit card company offers other non-secured cards you can convert to once your credit rating improves. 

Secured Loans
The second method I’ll cover has nothing to do with credit cards, it involves a trip to your local bank.  My wife actually used this approach after we got married since she had never opened a credit card or taken out a loan and so had no credit history.

What we did was to put $1000 in a certificate of deposit (CD) at our local bank.  My wife then turned around and used that CD as collateral on a 12 month secured loan. The bank was willing to lend her $1000 since it was backed by a $1000 CD.  The loan went on her credit history so as long as she made her payments on time, it created a posititive track record for borrowing.

This method worked out pretty well for us. We wanted to make sure each loan payment was timely to help build her credit so we setup the loan payments to come right out of our checking account.  At the end of the year we cashed out the CD and put that money back into our checking account; the interest she earned on the CD ended up covered over half of the interest cost of the loan. 

Obviously the biggest obstacle to this method is how much cash you have on hand.  Although it didn’t cost us much in interest, we tied up $2000 in cash flow over the course of a year, $1000 in the CD and another $1000 in loan payments.

Establishing Your Credit History
The first step in establishing your credit history is to get a free credit report and see where you currently stand.  If you have bad credit or no credit then getting a secured credit card or secured loan and making your payments on time can help you get where you need to be.  It’s best to start with one line of credit and monitor your credit rating over time. 

If you’re building up your credit so you can apply for a loan, don’t apply too early.  Make sure you’ve raised your rating up high enough so that you feel confident you’ll be approved.  A loan application will create a hard pull on your credit report, something you want to minimize when you’re just starting to build or repair your credit history.

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Personal Finance Review – Lost Camera Edition

What’s your favorite digital camera?  Ours walked away while my wife and son were at the State Fair last week. 

We don’t know if someone snatched it or if it just fell out of the stroller, either way we no longer have a camera.

The worst part was we had pictures from both a visit to my parents place and a friend’s wedding reception on the memory card so those are gone forever. 

We had an Canon Powershot SD500 and really liked it so we’re considering just getting a newer model, like the SD1000; but we’re also looking around at other options.  What camera do you recommend?  We definitely need one with “burst mode”, our son moves quickly and sometimes its hard to catch all the cute things he does. I’ll have to do some camera research over the weekend.

It’s been a little while since I pointed out some of the money articles I enjoyed, here are a few for weekend reading.

The Money Writers

If you’re looking for ways to save money check out Lazy Man’s tips on saving money at restaraunts and remember not to go broke being frugal.

The Digerati Life talked about the best companies to work for and My Dollar Plan is quitting her job and is wondering what’s next.

The Sun’s Financial Diary covers Freddie Mac’s ongoing troubles, Million Dollar Journey talks about the psychology of money, and Brip Blap discusses learning to let go of stuff..

Gen X Finance reminds us that two thirds of corporations don’t pay taxes, sounds like I should look into starting a corporation : )

I’d also like to welcome Jason of Frugal Dad to our little collection of sites known as The Money Writers.  I’ve definitely learned a thing or two from Jason’s site about saving money and parenting, learn more about Frugal Dad.

Money Blog Network

I’ve written a lot recently on money for ollege graduates and college student finances so Consumerism Commentary’s financial tips for college students caught my eye.  Flexo shares some tips based on his personal experiences on student credit cards, managing student expenses, and work for college students.

Speaking of working for money, Free Money Finance has some ways to earn more money and Five Cent Nickel shares how to avoid being ripped off by finding a good auto mechanic.

No Credit Needed is running a series on staying debt free and Mighty Bargain Hunter advises us not to be scared of our portfolio!

Work / Life Balance

As I look for a new job, one of the things I spend a lot of time considering is how many hours I’m willing to work in order to work in a job/field that I enjoy.  There are two really good posts this week on maintaining a work-life balance.  The Simple Dollar has 14 techniques for improving work-life balance and Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has a few engaing articles on the topic:

• Stay Focused, Stay Balanced, Stay Healthy: Part Two 
• Stay Focused, Stay Balanced, Stay Healthy: Part One
• Stay Focused, Stay Balanced, Stay Healthy: My Thoughts

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How to Save Money on a Destination Wedding

Jetting off to an exotic location surrounded by your closest friends and family may not sound like a cheap way to tie the knot, but the truth is it can actually cost far less than a traditional wedding.

If you are interested in planning a destination wedding, then here are eight tips to save you even more money on the happiest day of your life.

1. Give yourself as much time to plan as possible – Booking your flights and hotels as far in advance as possible will save a considerable amount of money for you and your guests. Keep in mind that when you plan a destination wedding, the polite thing to do is to pay the hotel and some meal expenses for your guests. Guests at a destination wedding are typically expected to pay for their own flights, but not much else.




2. Consider hiring a travel agency instead of a wedding planner – Travel agents can often get you, and your wedding party an excellent deal on almost everything. Many of them are also familiar with the marriage laws in foreign destinations. Hiring someone to take care of these things for you will save you time, stress, and money in the long run.




3. Consider getting married in the off-season – Flights, hotels and nearly everything you can imagine will be cheaper this way. Now, I am not telling you to get married on a beach in the middle of winter! If you can time your wedding just before, or just after the area’s peak season, then all of the associated discounts are yours for the taking.




4. Keep your guest list small – Having a destination wedding gives you the perfect excuse to pare down your guest list. After all, not everyone is going to be able to take off work and travel to your wedding – no matter how much they might want to. By keeping your guest list to the bare minimum (i.e. the wedding party, close family, and best friends) you will have the people there that really matter to you and your future spouse, and you will get to spend a lot more time with them before and after the ceremony.




5. Always ask for a group discount – Both hotels and airlines offer excellent group discount rates when you have parties of ten or more. The best way to maximize your money is to combine group rates with early bookings and off-season specials. If you can manage to do all of those things, then you could save as much as 40% off of your total travel costs.




6. Consider getting married at a resort, or on a cruise – Destination resorts and even some cruise ships often keep a wedding planner on staff. The planner they provide to you will already be familiar with the local caterers, bakeries and florists, and they can usually help you save money on every aspect of your dream wedding.




7. Buy a “package deal” – Destination resorts also usually offer pre-planned wedding packages where all you have to do is make a few decisions, and then show up for the big day. The wedding packages range from simple and elegant, to the truly extravagant. If you take some time to research online, and call around, then you should not have any trouble finding a package that fits your needs, and your budget.




8. Give simple favors to your guests – Suntan lotion, local chocolates and specialties, or even a group scuba trip are all nice ways to treat your guests to the local culture and encourage them to have fun – without spending a ton of money.

Don’t be fooled:

Paying for your wedding guest’s food and lodging might seem outrageously expensive, but if you put it in perspective, it’s really not. Consider this:

If you stayed at home, rented a church, and had a large traditional wedding with a sit down reception you could end up paying upwards of $50 – $100 per guest. Getting married locally would encourage everyone you knew to attend, so that $50 to $100 per person could easily turn into $5,000 – $10,000 dollars if you have close to 100 guests.

A destination wedding on the other hand, requires only that you pay for the hotel rooms and several of your guest’s meals. Some resorts will even offer you a free wedding package in exchange for booking your group into their hotel!

If you took ten people to your destination wedding, and paid an average of $500 each, you would still only be out $5,000 on your guests. And you would have a more intimate, romantic setting for everyone involved.

Where ever you choose to have your destination wedding please be sure that you give yourself and your guests enough time to get passports, book flights and take off of work. This will be one of the most special days of your entire life. Careful planning will not only make things run smoother, but will save you a lot of money in the end.

Check back for the next article in the series where we look at how to save money when planning a wedding yourself or hiring a wedding planner

These tips on saving money on a destination wedding are part of the Marriage Money Guide.

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Marriage and Money – A Couples Guide to Managing Money & Finding Financial Bliss

Money is one of the leading causes for martial problems and ultimately for divorce.  Although money can’t make you happy, it can certainly make you miserable, especially when you have to manage it along with your spouse.

Couples that can learn how to manage their money together have a much better chance for a successful and enjoyable marriage.  There’s a lot that goes into the finances of a married couple; over the coming days we’re going to take a look at some of the key elements that can contribute to financial bliss.  We’ll start off by looking at ways to save money on the first step of marriage, the expensive wedding ritual.  Then we’ll move on to managing finances as a couple.  Below are some of the topics we’ll cover:

• frugal wedding planning
• how to register for wedding gifts
• saving money on your wedding dress
• saving money on your honeymoon
• saving money on your wedding pictures
• affordable destination weddings
• saving money on your wedding reception
• debt in marriage
• budgeting for newlyweds
• insurance for couples
• affordable housing for married couples
• renting an affordable apartment after marriage
• joint checking accounts in marriage

Stay tuned for the marriage money tips!  Click here to subscribe for daily updates.

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Best Credit Cards for College Students – Charge Wisely & Build Your Credit History

A review of the best credit cards for college students can have two very different outcomes depending on whether the student is responsible enough with money to pay off the bill when they sign up for a credit card.

Who Should Have a Student Card?
For students that will carry a balance, the best credit card is no card at all; too many students leave college with enormous debt due to an inability to pay off the things they charge on their cards.

On the other hand, if you’re good enough with money to only buy the necessary items and pay off your balance each month then a student credit card can be a good way to build your credit history.

Reasons Not to Open a Credit Card
Let’s start off by looking at the reasons why you shouldn’t apply for a student credit card. 

You shouldn’t open a line of credit if you’re doing so on a whim.  You’ve all probably seen booths on campus where you can get free food, T-shirts, or other items in exchange for filling out a credit card application.  Trust the thousands of students deep in debt across the country who would tell you emphatically that the free stuff isn’t worth the card.

Avoid a credit card if you don’t have a plan for how to use it or an income to pay it off.  This goes along with not opening a credit card on a whim; you should know what expenses you’ll put on the card and where the money will come from to pay off the balance each month.

If you’re an impulse shopper, don’t get a credit card. The temptation to buy something in the heat of the moment and figure out later how to pay for it will be too great.  Save yourself hassle and a lot of interest payments and don’t sign up for a student card.

Lastly, here’s a list of common credit card mistakes that college students should avoid.

Benefits of a Credit Card
When I was in college I used a credit card to pay for certain miscellaneous expenses.  I didn’t have a big bill every month so I made enough from my campus job to pay off the balance and after four years I had established a flawless credit history.

Build a Good Credit History
When I went to rent an apartment right out of school the building manager was very pleased when he ran my credit report and commented at how very few college grads have a positive credit history.  With more and more businesses using your credit report to gauge risk, having a positive history once you leave school can be very helpful.

Buying a House – For example, when my wife and I went to buy a house a few years out of school, I was eligible for a great interest rate based on my credit history.  My wife on the other hand never had a credit card or any type of loan payment so she had zero credit history. 

Putting her name on the loan would have required us to pay a higher rate on the money we were borrowing so we left her off entirely. She was kind of upset, she had avoided opening a credit card in college to be financially safe but down the road her lack of a credit report worked against her.

No Late Payments or Balances – A key point to remember here is that this approach only works if you make your payments on time each month and don’t leave school with a pile of credit card debt.  A history of missed payments or a big balance will hurt, rather than help, your credit score.

Choosing a Credit Card
The criteria for finding the right credit card for college students should be:

• No annual fee
• Low annual percentage rate (APR)
• Free online account access and management

The emphasis here is on keeping any fees to a minimum and making it easy to manage and pay your credit card bill.  Even though you don’t want to carry a balance, you should still look for the lowest APR in the event there’s a month where you’re charged interest. Most of the student cards offer an introductory period where you pay 0% interest but remember it’s only for a short time period, typically 3 – 6 months, and then the APR goes up.

One other thing to look for in a student credit card is a free rewards program.  If you’re not going to be putting a lot of expenses on your card then it’s not as important but if you plan on charging larger amounts then a rewards program can pay off.

Best Student Credit Cards

In terms of APR, the Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students has the lowest rate available today for students.  Since it has the best interest rate along with no annual fee and free online account management it would be a good choice.  The one thing it doesn’t offer is a rewards program, which leads us to the next student card.

Charge Wisely
If you’re smart about how you use credit in school you can graduate and enter the “real world” with a good credit history.  If it sounds like too much work to manage a credit card or too much temptation to overspend then you’re better off just paying by cash or check in your college years.

This review of the best student credit cards and how to build/protect your credit history in school is part of the College Student Money Guide.

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Your Company Thinks You’re Overpaid

Do you think it’s time for your boss to give you a promotion, pay raise, or bonus check?  Are you working like mad and feeling like your company’s not compensating you for your efforts? Join the Club!

Raise Your Hand if You’re Underpaid!
We’ve all probably felt that way at one point or another, an annual performance increase of 2.5% seems like a small reward for all the hard work we’ve put in.  Have you ever wondered how in the world your boss comes up with your salary and raises?

How Are Raises Determined?
I’ve been curious about it for over 8 years and I finally got the scoop last week. As a manager I’m required to take certain training courses and one of them is a compensation class.  The course covered the legal aspects of compensation in addition to how the company determines the salaries and raises for employees.

Managing Compensation
What I discovered is that the company has a team of compensation analysts whose job is to determine market prices for each position in the company.  Basically, their role is to figure out how much the company needs to pay to be competitive as well as how little they can pay, in order to maximize profitability.

The whole purpose of the course was to inform managers how big an expense salaries are to the company and to convince us to manage them appropriately.  What I got out of the course is that while you’re fighting tooth and nail to squeeze a 2% raise out of your boss, there may be a team of compensation analysts somewhere working equally hard to “manage” your salary expenses.

Be Aware of Your Earnings Potential
I’m not saying what the corporation is doing is wrong from a business perspective, their goal as an enterprise is to maximize profits.  However, as an employee it is good to know how your salary is determined and what the limitation are on what you can earn and to what extent you you can be rewarded for your efforts.

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