BEND, Ore. (CNN/Money) – As a whole, Americans in their early twenties have a reputation for doing more than their share of credit card spending and not a lot of saving or investing.
"We're in an era where a lot of young adults have the luxury of not focusing on reality immediately," said Lewis Mandell, a professor of finance and managerial economics at University of Buffalo School of Management.
Indeed, among college seniors, 31 percent have credit card balances of $3,000 to $7,000, according Nellie Mae. For many, this is only a prelude to more charging after graduation, when student loans kick in, living expenses go up and Mom and Dad are no longer helping out.
While going through our inbox recently, we at CNN/Money were struck by the number of emails from young adults who are aggressively saving and investing.
Their "debt-setting" peers might be living large off credit cards, but these young achievers are keeping close tabs on their spending, stashing money in Roth IRAs and even investing in real estate.
"When I was in high school my father told me that he really wished he had started earlier because he didn't have much saved," said Justin Christofel, a junior at Yale University.
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Like most of the achievers who've written us, Christofel started working and saving when he was young, and he doesn't rely on a limitless parental line of credit to pay the bills. (A hefty financial aid package of grants and student loans helps pay his Ivy League tuition.)
Though Christofel hasn't socked away vast sums of money yet, he's been studying up on his investment options. "I'd like to buy a duplex or triplex soon after I graduate," he said. "I've always thought that renting is like flushing money down the toilet."
Owning off campus
When 19-year-old Kevin Koelemeyer set out to buy a home, he was told it couldn't be done.
"Everyone I talked to said there is no way you can get a house when you're 19," said Koelemeyer, who works between 50 and 55 hours a week at two golf courses near Fort Myers, Fla., while studying finance and economics fulltime at Florida Gulf Coast University.
But in January, Koelemeyer proved it could be done. He bought a $95,500 townhouse about 10 miles from campus with $10,000 of his own money and no help or co-signature from his parents. (The house is actually Koelemeyer's second real estate investment. Last year he bought a vacant lot for $4,500 and sold it three months later for a $3,000 profit.)
Getting approved for a mortgage was a bit difficult. "Lenders say they don't discriminate against age, but I think age was an issue," said Koelemeyer. In fact, he was turned down by a number of lenders before getting approved for a two-year adjustable-rate mortgage with a 7.75 percent rate, about twice the average rate for this type of loan.
"The youngest buyers we see are usually 25 or 26," said Bob Moulton, president Americana Mortgage Group, Inc. "But that doesn't mean it's unthinkable to buy property at a young age."
For now, a roommate covers most of Koelemeyer's $612 monthly mortgage payment. That frees him up to pay an extra $600 toward principal each month.
Depending on his wages for the month, he also contributes to his investment portfolio, now at $8,000. Low-interest loans finance his in-state tuition costs, while $50 to $60 a week pays for food and entertainment expenses (not that he actually has much free time).
"Some day I don't want to have to work as hard as I do now," said Koelemeyer, who started working at a golf course when he was 13 and hopes to go into investment banking or commercial real estate after graduation. "I don't want to be in a situation where I want to retire and I'm not able to."
Generation landlord
Shortly after graduating from Virginia Tech in 2002, Greg Culver, 23, went to work as a sales representative for a homebuilder in Frederick, Md. Two months later, he bought a townhouse built by his company using a 10 percent employee discount as his down payment.
That first house -- which is now estimated to be worth about $100,000 more than Culver paid -- opened the door to buying rental property with no down payment. He has acquired two rental properties within the past six months, one with his dad and one with a coworker, and he plans to buy two more houses before the end of the year.
So far, said Culver, he's had no trouble finding renters to cover all of the properties' monthly costs.
At the same time he's putting money in real estate, Culver has built cash savings of $25,000 and been contributing the maximum allowed to his 401(k), now $10,000, and a Roth IRA, now $7,000.
His next big goal is to start an investment club. "In college we talked about doing an investment group," said Culver. "But we didn't have any money."
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