• Farnoosh Torabi: Get a credit card, but use it responsibly!

    Today Money financial expert Farnoosh Torabi joined us for a live Web chat Wednesday to answer your questions.

    Here’s one of her answers to questions from the live chat. (See below for the full Q&A and video of Farnoosh’s TV appearance this morning.)

    Raven asked:

    “I’m a single mother of two, making minimum wage at one job. I usually don’t have extra money for anything like school clothes or anything or for emergencies if I were to get a flat tire or anything. I’ve been thinking about getting a credit card for these kinds of things. I also have zero credit so I thought getting a credit card might help for that too. Should i get one? If so what kind should I get? Or should I stay far away since I don’t make that much money?”

    Farnoosh replied:

    “I do think it's important to open a credit card to begin establishing credit. However, carrying a balance on a credit card is NOT good for your credit score. You want to get in the habit of paying off that credit card in full each month. Just promise you'll be responsible with the card ... yes, stick to a low interest card. Start by shopping at your local credit union or at bankrate.com.”

    Here’s the full chat archive and Farnoosh’s TV appearance:

     

     

     

    If you have a question for our TODAY Money experts, submit it here. 

    To sign up for an e-mail reminder for our next chat, click here.

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  • More students getting a load of debt along with degree

    AP file

    By Allison Linn, NBC News

    A higher education is leaving graduates weighed down by more debt than a decade ago, according to a new report. And those who attend private, for-profit universities are most likely to borrow the money they need for higher education.

    A new report from Pew Research Center finds that 60 percent of all college graduates took on loans in 2008, compared with 52 percent in 1996.

    The students also took on more debt than in years past. College students who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 2008 owed $15,425 on average. That’s a more than 50 percent jump from 1996, when graduates had an average of $10,138 in debt.

    The amount of debt students are piling on for associate’s degrees and certificates rose at an even faster pace, jumping to $6,649 on average in 2008, from $3,318 in 1996.

    To adjust for inflation, all figures are in 2008 dollars. The averages also include those graduates who did not borrow any money.

    The biggest jump in people borrowing money for education was among those who earned degrees or certificates from private, for-profit schools such as University of Phoenix and DeVry University. The researchers found that 95 percent of people who graduated from those programs in 2008 borrowed money for their education, compared with 77 percent in 1996.

    By comparison, only 50 percent of those who graduated from a public university in 2008 borrowed money, up from 42 percent in 1996.

    It’s no secret that a higher education can lead to better jobs, more job security and a higher salary. Still, tuition costs have risen sharply over the past decade, and experts caution that an education investment can backfire if you end up choked with debt, or with a degree or certificate that won’t give you a leg up.

    Related stories:

    Is it worth it to go to college?

    College presidents getting fatter paychecks

    Is going to college still a good investment?

  • The rich not feeling (most of) your pain

    Wealthy Americans are feeling a little more upbeat lately.

    In a recent survey of 1,000 affluent Americans done for Merrill Lynch, 41 percent said they are feeling much better, thank you, financially than they were a year ago. Seventy-eight percent of them also believe their financial situation will improve in the coming year.

    Suprisingly, 61 percent of those surveyed said they expect to be working longer than they had planned before they retire. That's up from 29 percent in January of this year.

    "The last couple of years have been a rollercoaster for many investors as they navigated through the recession and markets. While they believe the future may be getting brighter, many still struggle with the financial tug of war between near-term demands and future goals," said Sallie Krawcheck, president of Bank of America Global Wealth and Investment Management. Bank of America owns Merrill Lynch.

    The quarterly survey of Americans with investable assets in excess of $250,000 also showed that one in five affluent people have dipped into their savings and investments to make ends meet.

    Maybe the rich aren't that different from the rest of us, after all; they just have fatter cushions.