By Angela Sun
First credit card, first bank account, first mortgage? Oh, it will come to you sooner than you think. In fact, if you disagree--I dare you to take a stab at Face Retirement (Warning: Not for the faint hearted. Plenty of wrinkles and inflation), and think again.
So if you're ready to start getting savvy about your finances, I introduce NerdWallet. I call it your one stop shop for financial information. It has verticals comparing financial products, giving tips on becoming financially independent from your folks, and even including a Prof Says column with advice from, you guessed it, professors. NerdWallet is only a few years old, yet there is a wealth of information on the site. Some Tufts students have already used NerdWallet's services.
Brionna Jimerson, a senior at Tufts, recently applied for her first credit card, "I was really trying to find a site that was objective. And NerdWallet had pros and cons about APRs, penalties, etc, all presented in a clear, and easy-to-understand graphics. I ended up basing my decision on the website's information."
NerdWallet Communications Associate and 2010 Tufts Alum Julia Baily says this is exactly the kind of service that NerdWallet seeks to provide, "We work very hard to make sure our information is objective and separate from our sponsorship. Our founders conceived of the site after they noted that there was a lot of good information on the Internet, but it was broken and fragmented."
Ms. Baily also had some tips on how students should use NerdWallet.
"Everyone should be actively managing their personal finances. Tufts can be a bit of a bubble with dining halls, the Joey, readily available, but how far can your budget really go once you become independent? When I graduated from Tufts, I moved home to Connecticut for a couple of years before coming to San Francisco to work at NerdWallet. A big adjustment for me in the process was seeing how much the cost of living varied from place to place. Our Cost of Living Calculator allows students to compare the cost of living in different cities, looking at indexes from the price of pizza to the walkability. Using these numbers, we tell you how much you need to make if you want to maintain your living standards in a new city.
This can be really helpful for making holistic decisions. For example, a lot of students are interested in going to NYC. However, the cost of living leaves NYC off our list of best cities for recent grads. In fact, I have many friends from college that are now shuffling their way out of NYC after they realize it's not that romantic when the numbers add up. Being able to save money is really important. So my advice would be to start having a holistic outlook."
In addition to the cost of living calculator, NerdWallet has more great verticals and services than I can list here, and the list is still growing. Peruse the site at www.nerdwallet.com.
