THE Y&FB BLOG

Last Chance for Great Student Loan Deal...

Hey there, just a friendly reminder:

If you haven't consolidated your student loans do it ASAP. Accent on the S: you need to do this before July 1 if you want to avoid getting slammed with a higher payment.

As you probably know, the interest rate you pay on your loans is reset each July 1. And this year the rate is going to adjust up. Way up. Probably close to 2 percentage points more because the Treasury bill rate that is used to set student loan rates has had a big spike over the past 12 months.

So someone in repayment today paying about 3.37 percent could see their rate climb to 5.25 percent. Ouch.

But if you consolidate you can lock in your CURRENT rate for the rest of your repayment period. Yes, forever. With current rates at historic lows it is absolutely a no-brainer to consolidate before July 1.

How to Get an "F" in Home Economics

I never knew listening to the radio could be so harmful to my health. I had the dial tuned to a call -in show while in my car, and had to pull over I got so angry with what I heard.

Two absolute bozos hosting a show on mortgages--surprise, they just happen to own a huge mortgage lending company!-were giving out the most god-awful advice. As far as I am concerned this is the sort of crap the FTC should be concerned about: bad advice that causes folks to make absolutely terrible financial decisions that can screw them over big time.

Here's the gist of the horrendous advice:

Caller: I have a mortgage for $200,000 and my payments are $1,200 a month. My home is now worth $400,000.  I want to put the equity in my home to work for me so I can make more money.

Host: Here is what you can do.  You can take out ALL of the equity in your home with an interest only loan with a 1 percent interest rate. Rather than your payments being $1,200 a month- you will have to pay less than a $1,000 and you will still have $200,000 in your pocket to buy another piece of property.

Here's what Suze has to say: Are you all insane?? That is the most awful move anyone can make. The idiot hosts make it sound so easy, when what they are recommending creates huge risk for the homeowner. Here's what the hosts were leaving out of their advice: The going rate on a mortgage these days is about 6 percent. If someone is offering you 1 percent there's a catch. You don't really expect them to eat the five percentage point difference do you? And guess what, it's the homeowner who is eventually going to pay. At some point the 1 percent interest only loan is going to covert to a regular mortgage and that phantom 5 percent difference that seemed to magically disappear will essentially be added back into the remaining cost of the mortgage. Basically all you are doing is delaying having to pay the going rate...and that means you better be able to deal with the sticker shock when your mortgage converts and you get stuck with the much higher payments.

And please, don't try and fool yourself that it's okay to take out an interest-only loan today, because you will be able to refinance into a regular mortgage before your interest-only mortgage gets ugly. How can you be sure you will be able to refinance? What if interest rates rise over the next few years--a very real possibility by the way-so when you go to refinance you are going to have to pay a hell of a lot more than you would today if you had the sense to lock in a great 6 percent fixed rate loan. 

Listen to me: Do not listen to anyone who tells you an interest only loan is a good idea. It is insanity. As far as I am concerned, anyone who goes for an interest-only loan, whether it be for a primary mortgage or a refinance to tap equity, is about as smart as someone who blindly piled into tech stocks just before the internet bubble burst. And you are going to get just as burned.

Be smart: stay away from interest-only loans, and any so-called "expert" hawking them. They are financially toxic.

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The Un American (Airlines) Way

Is it just me, or does American Airlines suck? I know business is tough these days, but AA seems to be trying to screw themselves over with just horrid customer service. Here's my story: I was flying from Fla. to NYC today when I got a call at my Fla. home telling me my 3pm flight was not going to leave until 6:30. While I was not thrilling to the delay, I was at least glad AA had its act together and gave me a ring.

That was the last time I will ever think kindly of American Airlines.

A few hours later as I am finally on the way to the airport for my delayed flight, I decide to give AA a call just to make sure we're still on sked to leave at 6:30. You can imagine how happy I was to find out the flight was now cancelled. Here I am, with a first-class ticket no less, and the knuckleheads had no sense to call me a second time to tell me of the latest change. I only found out because I called. Seems one courtesy call is all you get with AA.  I tried to remain calm and ask them what other flights I could catch. And this is where I nearly went ballistic; the customer service rep told me there was no flight tonight, or tomorrow, or any time. Seems that because they had decided to cancel the flight (mechanical problems, not the weather mind you) I was now simply on my own to figure things out.

AA had no interest in helping me. Look, I know problems happen, but what kills me is that they were so absolutely unhelpful. Deserting their customers when they have to cancel a flight seems like the perfect way to LOSE THEIR CUSTOMERS FOR GOOD.

Which is what has happened with this customer. I guess my mistake was giving AA a chance, when my gut told me to stick with Jet Blue. I love Jet Blue. Talk about great customer service! So from now on, I am no longer a flag-flying American Airlines customer. I will never fly with AA again.

College Daze

I walk out in front of a room of future MBAs, accountants and business types the other day and ask them if they know what a FICO score is, what THEIR FICO score and where the hell to get it.

I get a room of blank stares. Oh sure, they know all about GDP, the Fed Funds rate and the U.S. trade deficit, but they don't know a damn thing about their personal financial life.

If you ask me, every college and university that is not teaching basic personal finance -and making it a requirement for graduation-is doing a crappy job of preparing its students for the real world. And isn't that a big part of what college is all about?

I have news for you, an intimate understand of GDP is not going to help you out in life one iota. Trust me. Same with most all economic terms, trends and data points. Nice info if you want to bore everyone at a cocktail party, but absolutely useless when it comes to living your life.

I would love to know if any of you had any course, or seminar, in college that taught you anything about financial info that has a huge impact on your future. Did anyone teach you about your FICO score, how to deal with credit cards, and god forbid, how to handle your student loans once you are out of school? (Did anyone tell you that consolidation is damn smart, especially the past few years when interest rates have been so low?)

And while you're at it, let me know the three financial lessons you wish someone at school had taken the time to teach you. Something that you had to figure out on your own much later, or something you are still clueless about. I want to know exactly what you think you could have learned in college that would have made your YF&B years easier. I promise that I will make sure your questions get adressed here, or at my website .

You Can't Afford to Not Have Health Insurance

I know it's tempting when you are YF&B to not pay for health insurance if you aren't covered by your boss, or are currently looking for work. You figure you're young and fabulous so you'll take your chances on staying healthy.

Come on, that's way too dangerous a game to play, and with the insane cost of medical care, if you even come down with the most basic malady you could be up a financial creek. So please make sure you have health insurance. If you are still in school and on a school plan, check to see what sort of coverage is available after you graduate. Or if you are covered by Mom & Dad see how long you're eligible to stay on that policy. And then head on over to ehealthinsurance.com and do some easy shopping on your own. If you anticipate you will get coverage through a job within the next 6 months to a year, check out the short-term plans that are available.

I think you'll be surprised to see that for just $50 or so a month you can get a solid health insurance plan to cover you in the event of some serious medical bills. One important tip: always ask what the "financial strength rating" is for an insurer. You want to do business with a company that is rated at least A, AA or even best: AAA. That means the company is on solid financial ground and will be in good shape to handle the claims of those it insures.

Career Networking on the Net

Look, if you are thinking about making a career move, or are about to graduate and are looking for that first foot in the door, you need to do some serious networking to find the most information on what jobs are out there for you, and who might be able to help with an intro or informational interview. So don't be shy about asking friends and family, and friends of family and people you barely even know for tips/insight/guidance. You can't afford to be shy in this tough job market. And you should also check out linkedin.com; I think it's a neat way to network.

Don't Miss out on the Student Loan Tax Break

With less than a month to go until the April 15 tax filing deadline I want to make sure all YF&Bers with student loans know about a great tax break: If you are single and your income is below $50,000 you can deduct up to  $2,500 in interest payments you made on your student loans. If your income is between $50,000 and $65,000 you're eligible for a partial deduction. Married couples filing a joint return with income below $100,000 are also eligible for the full deduction; from $100K-$130 you can claim a partial deduction. For more details, check out the IRS riff. It's super easy to get this break; you don't even need to itemize your deductions. All you need to do is file form 1040 or 1040A, rather than Form 1040EZ.

This is Your Blog YF&Bers...

I am absolutely loving my first few weeks of blogging; it's no secret I've always got plenty on my mind that I want to share!

But what would be absolutely great is if you would tell me more about what would make this blog work for you. Feel free to be blunt. I want to know exactly what you are interested in-and what you could care less about-so I can make this blog fun, interesting, and useful for everyone who is Young, Fabulous and wants to get past Broke ASAP.

So come on, click on the comments link below, and let 'er rip. Tell me what you want to see in this blog.

Betting on the House

Caught the news the other day that 23 percent of homes bought last year were for investment, not to live in. Oh my...here we go. After a few years of incredibly strong appreciation rates, everyone figures that buying a home as an investment is a great move.

Not so fast.

Look, real estate is indeed a terrific investment, but only over the long-term and only if you really know what you are doing and can weather any temporary soft spots. But I know that a lot of people jumping into real estate as an investment are an accident waiting to happen. They are using interest-only loans and adjustables to get the mortgage cost down, on the theory they will flip the home in a few years at a fat profit. Well, there are plenty of smart housing experts warning that the next few years are going to be a "cool down" period for home prices in a lot of regions. That means anyone banking on 20 percent or 30 percent appreciation over the next few years  could be rudely surprised, and in a financial bind.

I am also already hearing from folks who bought property they intended to rent, but are now having trouble getting tenants, or tenants willing to pay enough to cover the mortgage. And they don't have the savings to cover their costs. People, if you ever intend to own real estate as an investment, my eight-month emergency fund rule is non-negotiable. You MUST have substantial savings in place so you can handle any short-term cash flow problems.

Five Years After the Music Stopped...

Tomorrow marks the five-year anniversary of the peak of the Internet Bubble. And the hangover is far from done. From the NASDAQ peak on March 10, 2000 through its bottoming out in 2003 the index of growth stocks--with a heavy tech flavor-fell 78 percent. Even after a strong rebound since then, the index is still nearly 59 percent its 2000 high.

That means to merely make it back to the March 2000 level the index would need to post an average gain of 19.5 percent over the next five years. And that ain't gonna happen my friends. Even the most optimistic market watchers would tell you we would be lucky to get half that return on an annualized basis. At that pace the index breaks even in another 10 years.

I don't mean to depress you, but merely to impress a crucial point of successful investing: It may not be super sexy, but diversification is what works. If you had everything riding on the NASDAQ back in 2000, or a few of its highest-flying stocks-you got seriously slammed. But if you had spread your investments over a wide array of stocks you would be sitting a lot prettier right now. That's why I say a broad market index fund or ETF is the way to go.