Smart Is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials (Hardcover)

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Chapter 1 How to Think About Money: Budgeting Basics 1

Pay Yourself First 6

How Much Should You Save? 8

The Rainy-Day Fund 12

Roadblocks to Money Success 15

The Holiday Red Flag 15

Your Money Quiz 16

Chapter 2 College Investment 19

The Million-Dollar Payoff 21

It’s Cheaper to SaveThan Borrow 23

Four Ways to Keep College Costs Down 24

WhatDo YouWant to Be When You Grow Up? 27

Not All Degrees Are Equal 31

Chapter 3 Managing Debt 37

Paying Off the Debt 39

Interest Rate Triage 42

A Safety Net for Low-Income Grads 43

Public Service Loan Forgiveness 45

Live Like a Student 45

Chapter 4 Job Market Fundamentals 49

The Long Healing Process 51

Fastest-Growing States 52

The College Degree Advantage 54

Chapter 5 Millennials at Work 59

Resume #Fail 64

You’ve Got Two Minutes 66

The Hidden Jobs Market 67

Don’t Call Them Soft Skills 70

Keep Your Eye on the Ball 72

Lean In or Lean Back 72

Online Tools to Help Set You Apart 77

Chapter 6 House Money 81

Missing the Real Estate Rebound…So Far 84

Generation Renter 86

Get Ready to Buy 89

Mortgage Rates 91

Location, Location, Location 92

Affordability 93

Living at Home 93

Chapter 7 Family Money 97

Dating and Money 99

The “Talk” 102

What Kind of Debt? 104

Piggy Bank Parents 107

Friends and Finances 108

Crowdfund Our Wedding 109

Chapter 8 Understanding Investments 111

Getting Started: Tax-Advantaged Retirement Accounts 115

Time Is a Four-Letter Word 116

No 401(K)? Invest Anyway 120

Building Blocks 123

Chapter 9 Credit Karma 129

Debit Cards 130

Overdraft Protection 131

So You Want a Credit Card? 131

What Is the Credit Score? 133

Expensive Credit Monitoring 135

What Is the Fed? 137

Time to Buy a Car 138

Appendix A Web Resources 141

Appendix B Cover Letters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 145

Appendix C PayScale 2014–2015 College Salary Report 153

Notes 193

About the Author 199

Index 201