Keeping Your Financial Footing at 22 -- So You Can Buy That House at 32
First, do no harm.
As soon as you graduate and land a job, you are supposed to move quickly to build up an emergency reserve, buy a house, fund your employer's 401(k) plan and open an individual retirement account. Worthy goals? Certainly. Realistic? I don't think so.
My advice: If you're just out of school, don't worry too much about saving for retirement and buying a house -- and instead strive mightily to stay out of debt.
? Piling up trouble. I am not saying all debt is bad, and I am not arguing that folks in their 20s, if they have the money, shouldn't purchase homes and fund 401(k)s.
But it strikes me that, for most of us, our initial working years are about learning to live within our means, pay the bills on time and stay out of financial trouble. How do you know you are succeeding? If you aren't piling up credit-card debt and taking on big auto loans, you're probably on the right track.
Make no mistake: Debt is a big issue for folks in their 20s. According to the College Board, an association of schools, colleges and universities, 73% of graduates from four-year nonprofit private colleges had student loans outstanding, with $19,400 typically owed.
Once kids get into the work force, this debt can cause a heap of financial stress. New York's AllianceBernstein Investments recently surveyed college graduates between ages 21 and 35. Among those who graduated with debt, 42% said they were now living paycheck to paycheck, versus 24% of those who graduated debt-free.
And the problem isn't just caused by student loans. Almost a quarter of undergraduates have credit-card balances of $3,000 or more, according to a study by Nellie Mae, the college lender in Braintree, Mass. After graduation, those credit-card balances can easily balloon, as kids struggle to get by on skimpy paychecks. Tack on a car loan or lease and you could be looking at big trouble.
To be sure, adults under age 35 are carrying less debt than folks in their 40s and 50s. But they also have smaller paychecks, so meeting their monthly obligations can be tough.
Consider some data from the Federal Reserve's 2004 Survey of Consumer Finances. The Fed asked families with debt whether they had been at least 60 days behind on any of their payments over the prior year. The answer was "yes" for 13.7% of households headed by someone under age 35, up from 8.7% in 1995. Older adults, by contrast, were less likely to report difficulty making their debt payments.
? Staying in shape. With any luck, your post-college financial struggles will ease as you approach age 30 and start getting some decent salary increases.
Indeed, this is when you should be looking to buy your first home and start seriously saving for retirement. And, no, you won't be late to the party.
The typical first-time home buyer is age 32, according to the National Association of Realtors, based in Chicago. Similarly, surveys by the Investment Company Institute in Washington suggest people typically start investing in mutual funds in their late 20s or early 30s, with their first investments often made through 401(k) or similar employer-sponsored retirement plans.
But if you're going to buy the house and start funding the 401(k) in your late 20s or early 30s, you've got to reach that age in reasonable financial shape. What does it take? Here are five tips.
? Don't expect to live like your parents. It took them 25 or 30 years in the work force to achieve their current standard of living. If you're eating out as often as they do or taking equally extravagant vacations, you're probably spending too much.
? By leasing or borrowing, you could likely drive a car that's almost as fancy as your parents'. Moreover, the tab might seem pretty manageable, with a 48-month $20,000 auto loan costing maybe $480 a month.
Problem is, you will be setting yourself up for big insurance bills and you will be lavishing all this money on a depreciating asset. A better strategy: Buy the clunker -- and put the $480 a month toward a house down payment.
? Handle credit cards with care. I aim to put everything on my debit card, partly because I get cash back on my purchases. Using a debit card also makes me a more careful spender, because I know the money is coming straight out of my checking account.
What if you prefer to use a credit card because you earn, say, frequent-flier miles? Try this trick: Every time you use your card, subtract the sum from your checking-account balance. That way, when the monthly credit-card bill arrives, you know you will have enough to pay off the entire bill.
? While carrying a credit-card balance is foolish, don't necessarily rush to pay off student loans. The interest rate may not be that steep, and the interest should be tax-deductible. Instead, if you have spare cash, put enough in your employer's retirement plan to get the full matching contribution and then earmark the rest for a house down payment.
? Mooch off Mom and Dad. Moving home for a few years after college may crimp your lifestyle, but it should also bolster your bank balance.
In fact, make sure your parents know just how thrifty you are. Maybe that will elicit some parental admiration -- and maybe also a little help with the down payment on your future abode.
22岁量入为出，32岁不用发愁
首先，不要负债。
你一从学校毕业、找到工作，就应该很快行动起来，建立应急储备金、购置房产、向雇主401(k)计划中投钱，并且开设个人退休帐户。都是些有价值的目标？当然。现实吗？我可不这么认为。
我的建议是：如果你是初涉社会，那就别太担心为退休和买房存钱──相反，你要竭尽所能避免负债。
债台高筑，麻烦多多。我不是说只要有负债就不好，我也不是说，20多岁的年轻人，即使有钱也不应该买房、不应该向401(k)计划缴存资金。
不过，我认为，对于我们大多数人来说，步入社会之初的那几年，我们应该学习如何量入为出地生活，按时支付帐单，避免陷入财务困境。你怎么知道自己是不是成功了？如果你没有债台高筑：没有成堆的信用卡债务、也没有大量的汽车贷款，那你很可能就是步入正轨了。
别犯错误：债务对于20多岁的年轻人是一个大问题。根据美国大学理事会(College Board)的数据，在四年制非赢利性私立学院的毕业生当中，有73%的学生背负著学生贷款，平均所欠贷款额达19,400美元。
一旦孩子们进入劳动力大军，这些债务可能会导致大量财务压力。纽约的AllianceBernstein Investments近来对年龄在21岁至35岁的大学毕业生进行了一次调查。在背负债务的毕业生当中，有42%的学生表示他们的工资仅够勉强维持生活，而在没有债务的毕业生当中，这个比例仅为24%。
而问题不仅仅是由学生贷款引起的。根据麻塞诸塞州Braintree的大学贷款机构Nellie Mae的一份研究，将近四分之一的大学生背负著3,000美元以上的信用卡债务。毕业后，这些信用卡债务很容易就会大幅增长，因为孩子们靠著那么可怜的一点工资，本就度日艰难。再背上一大笔汽车贷款或房租，他们可能真要有大麻烦了。
诚然，35岁以下的成年人比起四五十岁的成年人而言，其债务较少。但他们的工资也较低，因此支付每月的还款一样很艰难。
以美国联邦储备委员会(Federal Reserve) 2004年度消费者财务状况调查的一些资料为证。负债家庭在被问及他们是否在过去一年中有过拖欠还款至少60天的经历时，在户主年龄为35岁以下的家庭当中，回答“是”的比例达13.7%，高于1995年时的8.7%。相比之下，年纪大一些的成年人在偿付债务方面遇到困难的情况较少。
保持财务稳健。运气好的话，刚毕业后的财务窘境将随著你步入而立之年、开始得到相当可观的加薪而有所缓解。
确实，这正是你应该考虑购买第一套房产、开始认真为退休存钱的时候了。而且，这并不晚。
美国全国地产经纪商协会(National Association of Realtors)的数据显示，人们首次置业的年龄通常是在32岁。同样地，美国投资公司学会(Investment Company Institute)的调查显示，人们通常在将近30岁或30岁之初的时候开始投资共同基金，最初的投资经常是通过401(k)计划或由雇主支持的类似退休计划进行的。
不过，如果你打算在将近30岁或30岁之初的时候购置房产、开始按比例缴纳退休金，你必须在此之前保持合理的财务状况。要做到这一点，需要采取哪些措施呢？这里有五个小窍门。
--别指望像你父母那样生活。他们奋斗了25年甚至30年才达到了今天的生活水平。如果你像他们那样经常出去吃饭，或者一样奢侈地度假，你可能就花得太多了。
--靠著租赁或者借款，你或许也能开上一辆像你父母那样新潮的轿车。而且，帐单可能看起来相当容易应付，一笔期限48个月、价值2万美元的汽车贷款，月还款可能只需480美元。
问题是，你将会陷入大额保险帐单，而且你是在把钱浪费在一项不断折旧的资产上。更好的策略是：买辆旧车，省下480美元的月还款用作房子的首付。
--谨慎使用信用卡。我总是尽量用借记卡买东西，部分原因在于我买东西能够得到现金返还。使用借记卡也让我花钱更加谨慎，因为我知道这笔钱直接来自我的支票帐户。
如果你因为可以挣得累计飞行里程而青睐使用信用卡，那怎么办？试试这个窍门：每次使用信用卡的时候，将这笔金额从支票帐户余额中扣除。这样一来，在收到信用卡月度帐单的时候，你对能否偿还全部帐单就心里有数了。
--尽管信用卡留有余额是件很愚蠢的事情，但也不一定要急于偿付学生贷款。学生贷款利率可能没那么高，而且利息应该是可免税的。相反，如果你有余钱，那就存进雇主退休计划，按最高的比例缴纳，然后把剩下的钱用来支付买房的首付款。
--从父母那里讨便宜。大学离家数年后搬回家住可能会束缚你的生活方式，但这样也能增加你的银行存款。
实际上，要确保让你的父母知道你有多节俭。也许这会得到父母的一些夸奖──在你买房的时候，父母也许还会赞助一点儿。
Jonathan Clements
