Open Book: How to Be 'So Money'

In 2004 I became a first-time homeowner, buying a condo apartment on a quiet, tree-lined street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I was 24 years old and the envy of all my friends.

Thanks to Mom and Dad.

So yes, truth be told, my parents played a large role in enabling me to join the homeownership ranks. They pulled out the equity in their five-bedroom house in New England and gave me the cash to buy a zero-bedroom studio in New York City -- no mortgage, no fuss. After all, I was only 24. Who was going to give me a 30-year mortgage, when I was making $46,000 a year (in a city where consumer prices have soared about 20% faster than national costs, according to the Fiscal Policy Institute)? Add to that, I had no collateral. I guess I could have gotten one of those subprime loans...

Cramer: You're So Money, Farnoosh

To pay back my parents, I applied and got approved for an adjustable-rate home equity line of credit (or HELOC) from Washington Mutual (WM) about a week after moving into my place. With that HELOC, I was able to repay my parents about 80% of their loan to me. The other 20% they invested in the apartment, which has appreciated almost 100% since 2004.

When I began paying off the HELOC, at first, it cost $850 a month -- less than half of what a studio in my neighborhood was going for in the rental market. But as interest rates were climbing, my monthly payments started to creep up. I wanted more payment stability so I refinanced to a 30-year fixed mortgage in 2005. Meanwhile, had I chosen to rent in my building, I'd have to muster up an additional $1,000 a month!

Now that's pretty money.

In my book, You're So Money: Live Rich Even When You're Not, I share stories from my life and from those of my friends and colleagues to bring young adults a candid, practical and often self-deprecating guide to living beyond your means while spending within them. I know the challenges, and I've got the solutions -- from shopping for a new car to choosing a credit card, paying off your loans, getting appropriate health care and dealing with friends who ask for money. I also address how to make more money while pulling down a 9-to-5 job. After all, as I explain in the final chapter of the book, money is everywhere.

Beyond the financial obligations to pay for basic needs like food, shelter and transportation, I realize you want stuff! You want what you want when you want it. In my book, I offer you a license to spend (smart), splurge and invest. That's right. Invest. TheStreet.com co-founder Jim Cramer, along with blessing this book with a foreword, lends priceless investing advice for young adults, urging them to take risks while they're young, even while the market seems unfavorable.

There's an awful lot of literature out there that suggests young adults are stupid, gluttonous and idiotically walking around with a false sense of entitlement, which justifies charging a $1,200 Marc Jacobs bag or financing a $50,000 Hummer.

Besides sheer insanity, what could be the cause for our piles and piles of debt?

What about a lack of advice that resonates, that gets us to pause in our fast-paced lives and think seriously about money and how it can help us get ahead?

How about some advice from someone who's in the "target demo" -- someone who understands the temptations?

In my book, I don't underestimate so-called "generation debt." After all, young adults these days are far savvier than past generations, thanks to the plethora of resources and information at their fingertips.

My friends are super-smart, and they know how to get what they want -- when they care, when they have a purpose and when they feel like they're investing in themselves. With this book, I want to help my peers care about money and realize it can be a means to a brighter future. As a young adult, you just need to first accept that you do have options, you can make sound decisions, you can live your personalized version of the "good life," and that above all, you are so money.

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