Carmen Wong Ulrich

Carmen Wong Ulrich gets money. As the host of CNBC's "On The Money," the Dominican-American personal finance expert gives Americans advice on everything from buying their first home to improving their credit score. We caught up with Carmen Wong Ulrich to talk about the recession, credit cards and letting your friends borrow cash.

Have you ever been scared while reading the news recently?

Not scared so much as surprised by the depth of this downturn. We’re surrounded by TVs on all different news channels during the day so when a couple of months ago I saw the market go down to 1987 levels, my stomach dropped for a second. A down economy is one thing but erasing the past 30 years from the market was crazy! But, my sensible side kicked in, and I told my producers, let’s sleep on it and see what happens tomorrow. I bet the market will come back up 400 points. And it did.

Are your ratings on TV better when you have bad news to deliver?

Not necessarily. Ratings tend to go up when something shifts in the economy, say, President Obama makes changes to tax credits. It’s more about when does the news make you feel you need to pay more attention to your money? Hopefully, it’s also because we’re an awesome show!

Can someone who makes minimum wage benefit from your advice?

Absolutely. In the end, the basic tenets of personal finance can help anybody. Save more. Live within your means.

"How do you build great credit?" "What’s a FICO score?" "What are the new tax rules?" "How can I manage this hospital bill?" "What are my rights as a borrower?" I answer these and a dozen more questions every single day. And I’ve found that the difference is more between the "knows" and the "know-nots" rather than the "haves" and "have-nots". We have teachers making $45,000 a year that are in far better financial shape and have a higher net worth than folks calling in making $200,000. It’s not only how much money you make, but what you do with it.

What advice would you give to someone getting ready for college or someone graduating from college?

Pay attention to your money! First of all, know how much you owe in student loans and who you owe. Find out how much you’re going to owe every month so you’re not surprised when the bill comes. If you’re unable to get a job right away or for a while and you can’t pay your loans, make sure to pick up the phone first—call your lenders and work out a plan. Be proactive and never fall behind!

Beware of the pitfall of using credit cards when you go from making very little, if any, money as a student and suddenly (hopefully!) having a regular paycheck. It can make you feel "flush" even though you are far from it.

Know how much money you have coming in each month and plan your spending based on that and that alone.

Don’t spend more than 40% of your take-home pay on rent or a mortgage – it leaves no room for all the other things you need to pay for!

How many credit cards should someone have?

There’s no magic number. You definitely should have at least one or two though. You need to build a credit history and even if you just use your card for convenience and pay it in full every month, you’re showing the credit bureaus (who keep track of your credit history and report to Fair Isaacs who then build your credit scores) that you’re responsible with credit. You’ll be rewarded with a good credit score and access to cheap credit when you need it, such as when you first go to buy a home.

However, as you get older you may get new cards and stop using old cards and that’s OK. Just don’t close any accounts – leave them open but unused so you can build and maintain a credit history, which is also good for your credit score.

Do you let friends borrow money?

Never! I don’t mix friends and money. If and when one of my friends is in a rough spot, say, out of work, I’ll help her with contacts and networking and freelance work to earn money and I’ll pay for dinner or drinks when we go out but it’s always a gift. When you lend money to a friend, you introduce a very dangerous element into your friendship because you’ve just changed it into a business relationship. I’d rather help out in other ways that mean more than money or give money as a gift, no strings attached. I want to preserve the friendship, not make it about what she or he owes me.