The thing I love about blogging is instant feedback. Write something and people tell you exactly what more they need to know, which is a lot when it comes to African-Americans and managing our money. Many of us, apparently, just haven’t had financial advisers, parents or other relatives to talk to about the ins and outs of what to do with our cash.

So today’s post comes from Samedra, who emailed me this question after having read an earlier post I wrote on another BET.com blog a few months ago:

“I am a college student. I want to be wealthy one day. I want to have my own talk show.I am trying to go places my parents didn’t. I would like to know how can you save a little money when that is all you make?”

First, thanks for reading, Samedra. Since you’re already in school and thinking about what you want to do with your career, it sounds like you’re already well on your way to reaching a new level of achievement in your family. As for how you can save a little money when that’s all you make, two simple rules that you’ll hear repeated often: 1) Live within your means and 2) Pay yourself first.

The first rule is simply about knowing what you make and not spending more than that. Try this: then next time you get paid, start walking around with a pen and pad. Every time you spend even a dime out of that paycheck, write it down, and then add it all up before you get paid again. Did you spend more than you really had or blow too much on junk food and entertainment? Most of the time, even people who make only a little have cash to save if they just don’t waste it on stuff they don’t need.

Which brings me to rule two. Once you know how much you’re spending, separate the amount you needed to spend on bills, tuition, etc., from what you spent on clothes, eating out, movies or whatever. The latter category is where your savings come from. Then, whether it’s $10 or $200 every month, take a percentage of that money and set it up so that it goes directly into a savings account (try a high-interest online savings at ING Direct or HSBC Direct), every paycheck. If the money comes straight out of your check, you never see it and never have a chance to spend it. If you don’t touch it, after a year’s time, you’ll have a lil’ sum’n stashed to start investing in that talk show career of yours.

Allow me to introduce myself — I’m Keith Reed; I’ve been writing, going on TV and radio and blogging about business and personal finance for nearly 10 years. I’m here to write about what we all want in piles but so many of us can’t handle in any amount: money, cash, paper, cream. Or as the title suggests, how to make a dollar out of fifteen cents (and keep most of it in your pocket).
Let’s get straight to it. People are talking about the housing market these days. Interest rates are up, foreclosures are skyrocketing and people — especially black folks — are losing cribs at an alarming rate. The W administration has a proposal that might save tens of thousands of homeowners…problem millions are still at risk (Gratuitous self-promotion: here’s me on NPR talking about it).

But folks who took out subprime mortgages aren’t the only ones struggling — even if you can afford your payments, trying to sell right about now is a problem since so many others are having a problem getting a mortgage. A friend of mine has that problem, but found an alternative: a guaranteed sale. Let’s say you need to sell your house but aren’t getting any bids. In a guaranteed sale, your agent would promise you a set amount for your house should it not sell in, say, six months.

Keep in mind: it only works if you agree beforehand to buy another house, and you can’t be behind on your mortgage already. Your broker won’t offer you as much for the house as you could get on the open market, so it might be better to wait for the market to turn around if you can afford to. And as always, be sure to read the fine print or get your own lawyer to look over any paperwork you don’t understand.

If you’ve been involved in a guaranteed sale or have any other money issues you want to see addressed here, hit me up.

-kr