CHRISTINE ROMANS is CNN'S Chief Business Correspondent and anchor of Early Start with John Berman and Christine Romans weekdays 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. ET. She won an Emmy award for her work on the series "Exporting America" about globalization and outsourcing American jobs overseas. She is the author of Smart is the New Rich: If You Can't Afford It– Put It Down and How to Speak Money.

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xvChapter 1 How to Think About Money: Budgeting Basics 1Pay Yourself First 6How Much Should You Save? 8The Rainy-Day Fund 12Roadblocks to Money Success 15The Holiday Red Flag 15Your Money Quiz 16Chapter 2 College Investment 19The Million-Dollar Payoff 21It’s Cheaper to SaveThan Borrow 23Four Ways to Keep College Costs Down 24WhatDo YouWant to Be When You Grow Up? 27Not All Degrees Are Equal 31Chapter 3 Managing Debt 37Paying Off the Debt 39Interest Rate Triage 42A Safety Net for Low-Income Grads 43Public Service Loan Forgiveness 45Live Like a Student 45Chapter 4 Job Market Fundamentals 49The Long Healing Process 51Fastest-Growing States 52The College Degree Advantage 54Chapter 5 Millennials at Work 59Resume #Fail 64You’ve Got Two Minutes 66The Hidden Jobs Market 67Don’t Call Them Soft Skills 70Keep Your Eye on the Ball 72Lean In or Lean Back 72Online Tools to Help Set You Apart 77Chapter 6 House Money 81Missing the Real Estate Rebound…So Far 84Generation Renter 86Get Ready to Buy 89Mortgage Rates 91Location, Location, Location 92Affordability 93Living at Home 93Chapter 7 Family Money 97Dating and Money 99The “Talk” 102What Kind of Debt? 104Piggy Bank Parents 107Friends and Finances 108Crowdfund Our Wedding 109Chapter 8 Understanding Investments 111Getting Started: Tax-Advantaged Retirement Accounts 115Time Is a Four-Letter Word 116No 401(K)? Invest Anyway 120Building Blocks 123Chapter 9 Credit Karma 129Debit Cards 130Overdraft Protection 131So You Want a Credit Card? 131What Is the Credit Score? 133Expensive Credit Monitoring 135What Is the Fed? 137Time to Buy a Car 138Appendix A Web Resources 141Appendix B Cover Letters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 145Appendix C PayScale 2014–2015 College Salary Report 153Notes 193About the Author 199Index 201

CHRISTINE ROMANS is CNN'S Chief Business Correspondent and anchor of Early Start with John Berman and Christine Romans weekdays 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. ET. She won an Emmy award for her work on the series "Exporting America" about globalization and outsourcing American jobs overseas. She is the author of Smart is the New Rich: If You Can't Afford It– Put It Down and How to Speak Money.

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xvChapter 1 How to Think About Money: Budgeting Basics 1Pay Yourself First 6How Much Should You Save? 8The Rainy-Day Fund 12Roadblocks to Money Success 15The Holiday Red Flag 15Your Money Quiz 16Chapter 2 College Investment 19The Million-Dollar Payoff 21It’s Cheaper to SaveThan Borrow 23Four Ways to Keep College Costs Down 24WhatDo YouWant to Be When You Grow Up? 27Not All Degrees Are Equal 31Chapter 3 Managing Debt 37Paying Off the Debt 39Interest Rate Triage 42A Safety Net for Low-Income Grads 43Public Service Loan Forgiveness 45Live Like a Student 45Chapter 4 Job Market Fundamentals 49The Long Healing Process 51Fastest-Growing States 52The College Degree Advantage 54Chapter 5 Millennials at Work 59Resume #Fail 64You’ve Got Two Minutes 66The Hidden Jobs Market 67Don’t Call Them Soft Skills 70Keep Your Eye on the Ball 72Lean In or Lean Back 72Online Tools to Help Set You Apart 77Chapter 6 House Money 81Missing the Real Estate Rebound…So Far 84Generation Renter 86Get Ready to Buy 89Mortgage Rates 91Location, Location, Location 92Affordability 93Living at Home 93Chapter 7 Family Money 97Dating and Money 99The “Talk” 102What Kind of Debt? 104Piggy Bank Parents 107Friends and Finances 108Crowdfund Our Wedding 109Chapter 8 Understanding Investments 111Getting Started: Tax-Advantaged Retirement Accounts 115Time Is a Four-Letter Word 116No 401(K)? Invest Anyway 120Building Blocks 123Chapter 9 Credit Karma 129Debit Cards 130Overdraft Protection 131So You Want a Credit Card? 131What Is the Credit Score? 133Expensive Credit Monitoring 135What Is the Fed? 137Time to Buy a Car 138Appendix A Web Resources 141Appendix B Cover Letters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 145Appendix C PayScale 2014–2015 College Salary Report 153Notes 193About the Author 199Index 201

CHRISTINE ROMANS is CNN'S Chief Business Correspondent and anchor of Early Start with John Berman and Christine Romans weekdays 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. ET. She won an Emmy award for her work on the series "Exporting America" about globalization and outsourcing American jobs overseas. She is the author of Smart is the New Rich: If You Can't Afford It– Put It Down and How to Speak Money.

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xvChapter 1 How to Think About Money: Budgeting Basics 1Pay Yourself First 6How Much Should You Save? 8The Rainy-Day Fund 12Roadblocks to Money Success 15The Holiday Red Flag 15Your Money Quiz 16Chapter 2 College Investment 19The Million-Dollar Payoff 21It’s Cheaper to SaveThan Borrow 23Four Ways to Keep College Costs Down 24WhatDo YouWant to Be When You Grow Up? 27Not All Degrees Are Equal 31Chapter 3 Managing Debt 37Paying Off the Debt 39Interest Rate Triage 42A Safety Net for Low-Income Grads 43Public Service Loan Forgiveness 45Live Like a Student 45Chapter 4 Job Market Fundamentals 49The Long Healing Process 51Fastest-Growing States 52The College Degree Advantage 54Chapter 5 Millennials at Work 59Resume #Fail 64You’ve Got Two Minutes 66The Hidden Jobs Market 67Don’t Call Them Soft Skills 70Keep Your Eye on the Ball 72Lean In or Lean Back 72Online Tools to Help Set You Apart 77Chapter 6 House Money 81Missing the Real Estate Rebound…So Far 84Generation Renter 86Get Ready to Buy 89Mortgage Rates 91Location, Location, Location 92Affordability 93Living at Home 93Chapter 7 Family Money 97Dating and Money 99The “Talk” 102What Kind of Debt? 104Piggy Bank Parents 107Friends and Finances 108Crowdfund Our Wedding 109Chapter 8 Understanding Investments 111Getting Started: Tax-Advantaged Retirement Accounts 115Time Is a Four-Letter Word 116No 401(K)? Invest Anyway 120Building Blocks 123Chapter 9 Credit Karma 129Debit Cards 130Overdraft Protection 131So You Want a Credit Card? 131What Is the Credit Score? 133Expensive Credit Monitoring 135What Is the Fed? 137Time to Buy a Car 138Appendix A Web Resources 141Appendix B Cover Letters: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 145Appendix C PayScale 2014–2015 College Salary Report 153Notes 193About the Author 199Index 201