Money After Graduation

Fun With Renting

gillian — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:00:40 +0000

As a young person, there are many factors which may require leaving your parent’s place before you can afford a down payment and mortgage on a home for yourself. Most young people experience renting a place to call their own be it while in college or beyond. Although renting has many positive aspects like less commitment, there can be many bumps along the way. Here are a few major lessons that my friends and I learned the hard way:

A landlord once showed my roommate and me a model apartment instead of the one that was up for rent. As she explained it, she could not show us the actual apartment without giving the tenant 24 hours notice and she could not reach him while he was away on a vacation. It was beautiful, clean and although it wasn’t our apartment it was “identical” to the one we would be renting. We stupidly signed the lease and were very upset to see the absolute mess of a place we would be living in for the next year on our move-in date.

Rental Lesson #1: This is a landlord’s version of the bait-and-switch selling technique. Do NOT rent an apartment without seeing it first hand. Even legitimate sounding excuses are just that, an excuse.

The same landlord from above who would not break the tenant notice rule seemed to have gotten over that issue by the time our lease was up. I was rudely interrupted multiple times in the last few weeks of our lease by the landlord coming into our apartment without even waiting for her single knock to be answered. Once, I was fresh out of the shower in a robe. I’m not sure who was more uncomfortable, the prospective tenants or me. The landlord was the only one who seemed unphased by the situation.

Rental Lesson #2: Make your landlord stick to the lease agreement. I could have complained about the un-announced visits, but at that point I just wanted to get out of there and move on.

Falling out with friends is a very common occurrence in college or university. Most of the friends made in first year you have only known a few months before you are scrambling to get some roommates procured for your second year. Despite what you think at the time your “fun to party with” friend is NOT going to be fun to live with. That is unless you are also the sort of person who tries to vomit by drinking copious amounts of milk in order to miss final exams, has friends over 4x/week to party until 3 am, and doesn’t even know where the broom is kept, let alone make any attempt to clean up. Although it never happened to me personally I’ve witnessed multiple World War 3 epic battles between roommates who have had to move out before the end of the lease, called the police on each other, etc. It is not pretty.

Rental Lesson #3: Choose your roommates wisely. Do not pick the friend you think would be the most fun to live with. Instead, pick the one that has similar values and interests as you.

Although some of my rental experiences have been negative, I have also had a lot of positive ones. One house I rented with friends was absolutely beautiful, affordable, and the very nice landlord was very easy on the eyes. My last rental before buying a house with my boyfriend was a rented room in another beautiful home with a great landlord and roommate. At the very least, the bad experiences will be something you can laugh about in ten years time, and the good ones will be great memories made.

What are some of your bad and good experiences renting?

Is local the new luxury? Why handmade might be the new haute couture

Bridget — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:00:29 +0000

If you follow me on Goodreads (a fabulous site to keep track of every book you’ve read and want to read!) you might have seen I’m on a book reading frenzy these days. Last month I foolishly set the goal to read 100 books in 2013 — without taking a moment to consider the year is already nearly half over. Consequently, I’ve been visiting the public library so frequently the staff may think I’m stalking them. But more importantly, I’m reading a lot. My latest find:

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre

(that’s right, I changed “luster” to “lustre” because I’m Canadian. Sadly I cannot modify the book’s cover)

click to view on Amazon

This is a fabulously written book about the fall of haute couture and the rise of common luxury brands. After reading Brandwashed: Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy by Martin Lindstrom and Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by the same author a few years ago, Deluxe was a natural successor. And yes, I do find it somewhat ironic that I buy so many books about buying things, but at least they tell me there’s worse ways I could be spending my money!

I just love the psychology of consumption.

It’s just so interesting! My favorite non-fiction books are those about how and why we buy the things we do. I like seeing how branding and consumer culture has changed over the decades, particularly in the 20th century. Advertising is a unique, rabid beast and I can hardly tell if we’re really the consumers or if it’s consuming us.

Way back when, luxury was a privilege accessible only by the wealthy. Now luxury is a fluid term, and it exists on a spectrum, parts of it available on a gradient to all members of every class. I think we feel very romantic about luxury items. We consider their high prices indicators of high quality. Luxury items have an air of history, elegance, and durability that’s supposed to surpass their lower name or no name cheap counterparts. However, most of this is image based, as even now nearly all luxury products are produced cheaply in Chinese factories. Furthermore, the companies that boast well-established histories are now mere fractions of giant luxury brand conglomerates.

You might also enjoy my post on when to buy and when not to buy brand names. It includes a Macklemore video.

Turns out, all the brands striving for unique identities are really just different facets of the same glittering gem. Long histories in small family businesses have been eroded by time and globalization. Hand-crafted quality has been traded for Asian factories to minimize production costs. Perfumes have been diluted to increase profits. Quality has been sacrificed for quantity: the goal is not to clothe the elite, but to enchant the lower and middle classes.

In short, we’re all trying to buy pieces of a dream that’s already dead. Luxury is a thing of the past!

Or is it?

The luxury you’re looking for might be right in your backyard. Local is the new haute couture. How so? Well, locally made items are often handcrafted by an artisan. Because they’re made individually by hand, they’re unique and one of a kind items. Pondering this made me look twice at the shirts and dresses made by some of the local designers in my city. A few have their own shops, more sell to local stores, and nearly all of them can be found in the middle of big events like festivals and farmer’s markets hawking their wares. Jewelry, dresses, shirts, and scarves are everywhere, and they’re beautiful, well-made quality products. If you want something custom, all you need to do is ask. That’s how I came to the conclusion that local is the new luxury.

But what if I still like luxury brand items?

I feel you. There’s some things that I don’t really care if they’re faking family history or the thread-count is 100 when it used to be 400. I’m wholly unbothered that Unilever manufactures both my $2.99 shampoo and my $80 perfume. There are some luxury brands that I just like! I just do! Does this mean I’ve been brainwashed by clever marketing tactics? Or do I genuinely just appreciate certain designs even if they’re mass produced? Does it even matter?

I do know that I haven’t found local a shoemaker yet, and I don’t have anyone to make me a sturdy leather purse, so there are some things I might always turn to my favorite faux-luxury brands for. However, if I’m itching for some special and unique, I might be better off spending my money at the local farmer’s market than a high-end department store.

Millions of American Homeowners Could Refinance and Save with HARP

Bridget — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 23:05:21 +0000

This post brought to you by Quicken Loans. All opinions are 100% mine.

by Clayton Closson

You read that title correctly.

An estimated 2.7 million American households could refinance to today’s mortgage rates (which are near historic lows, in case you haven’t been paying attention) through the gov’s HARP program. And they can do it even if they owe more money than their home is worth. Up to 200%. But they aren’t. And we don’t know why.

Why don’t they want to lower their mortgage payment?

Why don’t they want to shorten the term of their loan?

Why don’t they want to save thousands in mortgage interest?

We wish we knew, because then we could reach out to them and explain why they absolutely should take advantage of HARP while it’s still around. Which brings up some good news for American homeowners. HARP has been extended through 2015. That’s a good thing. The bad thing is that mortgage rates most likely won’t stay as low as they are for very long. At some point, once rates rise, the ability to save money with HARP may be diminished.

Jordan Fylonenko recently met with Quicken Loans Chief Economist Bob Walters to discuss HARP and what’s going on with the millions of folks who haven’t taken advantage of it.

Before we show you the video, here’s some info on HARP from our Press Room:

The FHFA’s announcement to extend the HARP deadline to 2015 is much needed for the estimated 2.7 million underwater homeowners who are eligible and still able to benefit by refinancing. Unfortunately, a toogoodtobetrue perception coupled with long lines to refinance and repeated “no’s” from lenders who are not utilizing HARP to its fullest extent have left many disgruntled to enter another arduous loan process. But for those homeowners needing a personal stimulus, picking up the phone again is well worth it.

The average savings from a HARP refinance is around $200 a month with an average rate reduction of 1.75%, resulting in $2,400 savings per closed loan per year and $74,000 per lifetime (assuming a 30year mortgage). The potential stimulus for the economy is even more

significant, reaching up to $6.5 billion ($2,400 in savings a year per consumer x 2.7 million consumers).

These savings are more than just numbers on a spreadsheet. A Quicken Loans client and active duty Air Force recruiter from Sacramento, CA, was able to cut $763 off his monthly payment for his investment property and lowered his rate down by more than a point through HARP. This was after his original lender told him they couldn’t help.

Another Quicken Loans HARP client from North Brunswick, NJ, was able to save $387 on his monthly payment and lower his rate by more than a point to 3.85%.

In a monthly video series, Markets and Musings, Quicken Loans Chief Economist sat down to discuss some of the recent changes that have opened up HARP to more underwater homeowners.

Saturday Personal Finance GIFs: My Dating Life Part 7

Bridget — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 12:00:48 +0000

A number of PF bloggers wrote thoughtful posts about dating over the past few weeks. Not my style. Back by popular demand, I bring you my dating life in GIFs — because this is a more accurate representation than a thoughtful post, I assure you. For more GIF posts, click here.

When a date is going really bad but I decide to stay on board just to live-tweet it:

Whenever I see my ex or run into one of his friends and hear about how he’s doing:

When I get jealous of my friend talking to a cute guy and make a passive-aggressive attempt to sabotage her:

When I explain to someone why I’m not upset about a breakup:

When a boy with an iPhone doesn’t turn read receipts on:

When someone invites me to an event or party where all the other guests are couples:

When I evaluate all my dating options:

Keep your head up, daters!

Staying On A Budget When Buying Gifts For Dad

Guest — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:48:55 +0000

A message that new students typically learn the hard way each year is how important it is to stick to a monthly budget. However, when it comes to birthdays or holidays, such as Father’s Day this weekend, the lessons of financial planning are put aside in favour of expensive gifts.
According to industry data, Canadians will spend on average up to $200 on gifts for their fathers, which is more than most households spend in a month for life insurance coverage. Life insurance and other personal financial responsibilities are taught to students as important and necessary expenses for security later in life. Yet responsible lessons about money are pushed aside when holidays and gift-giving are brought to light, and students especially struggle to pay for their spending in the weeks or months following the dates.
Managing money responsibly is a hard enough lesson for many students to learn – there’s no need to make the message more difficult to hear.

Love Your Father, Love Your Family by LowestRates.ca