Meet Eric Przybylinski, our new expert on all things financial. While Kate is trying to get you laid, he’ll do his best to get you paid. Eric has his B.S. in Economics from the University of Florida.  He has previously held the series 7&63 licenses and worked as stockbroker; and after a brief detour to play basketball in Germany, he is on his way to obtaining a Chartered Financial Analyst designation.  Got money questions?  Eric wants to answer them!  Ask away at money@collegemagazine.com.

Let’s start off with a quick way to save money.  How about never paying ATM fees?  Banks charge you $3 if you don’t have the right card, and that convenient cash machine in the 7-11 next to the bar will charge at least that much.  Instead, go online to open a brokerage account linked to a debit card.  Major discount brokers such as Fidelity, E-trade, and Schwab all offer accounts with debit cards.  They rebate ATM fees, give you some free checks, and offer a better return on your account than a bank, while still being FDIC-insured.

What else can you do with a brokerage account?  If you’ve got extra cash left over after groceries and beer, start a Roth IRA.  An IRA, or Individual Retirement Arrangement, is a tax-advantaged account that can be opened by anyone with an income in a few minutes online, and can hold most traditional investments, like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.  Growth on your investments is not taxed, and withdrawals after age 59½ are tax-free.

In addition to the tax benefits, another big benefit of a Roth is its flexibility.  You should try to avoid taking money out of an IRA, but if you need to, you can always withdraw up to the amount you contributed with no tax penalty.  (You can put in as much as $5,000 a year or your total income, whichever is less.)  Other perks: When you are in the market for your first home, you can withdraw up to $10,000 tax-free for the purchase, and you can also use withdrawals from a Roth to pay qualified higher education expenses.

Image Source: JCheights.com

Tags: ATM fees, Brokerage Account, Roth IRA, Saving Money

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