What do a personal finance guru, an acclaimed music journalist and the founders of an indie record label have in common? They’re not only exceptional authors of ours, but they’re also joining the massive gathering of music and tech-junkies also known as South by Southwest (SXSW).

Held in Austin every spring, SXSW is a festival that merges the arts (namely film and music) with the latest in interactive technology (think Twitter on steroids). Bloggers, artists, musicians, and journalists meet to share ideas with their cohorts, submerge themselves in new music and be surrounded by the most tech-savvy of our generation.

Here’s what Ramit Sethi, Jessica Hopper, Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance have planned:

Ramit Sethi, author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich will be presenting at the interactive panel Building A Bulletproof Personal-Finance System on Saturday, March 13 at 11am, at The Hilton G by the Austin Convention Center. Click here for more details.
Following will be a book signing at 1:50pm at the South By BookStore, top floor of the Austin Convention Center.

Jessica Hopper, author of The Girls Guide to Rocking will be reading from and signing copies of her book on Saturday, March 20, 3pm, at Domy Books (913 E. Cesar Chavez). Click here for more details.

Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, authors of Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small will be reading from their book, performing covers of songs from selected bands mentioned in the book, and will do a book signing afterwards. Reading is set to begin at 6pm on Wednesday, March 17, at Book People (603 N. Lamar Blvd). Click here for more details.

Credit card companies can seem like these scary, all-powerful, monolithic entities.  Maybe you’ve been burned by a late payment and seen your APR skyrocket. Or impulsively purchased an exorbitantly overpriced plane fare to Europe when you were in college…and you’re still paying for it. Whether you have that nagging debt or a spotless credit record, Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich, offers the “Six Commandments of Credit Cards” to help you take control—and advantage—of your finances.

1. Pay off your credit card regularly. The single most important thing you can do to improve your credit is to pay your bills on time.

2. Get all fees waived on your card. Call your credit card company using the phone number on the back of your card and ask if you are paying any fees, including annual fees or service charges.

3. Negotiate a lower APR. The average APR is 14 percent, which makes it extremely expensive if you carry a balance on your card. Call your credit card and ask them to lower your APR.

4. Keep your cards for a long time and keep them active. Lenders like to see a long history of credit, which means that the longer you hold an account, the more valuable it is for your credit score. Don’t get suckered in by introductory offers and low APRs. If you’re happy with your card, keep it.

5. Get more credit. (Warning! Do this only if you have no debt.) By getting more credit you can improve your credit utilization rate (how much you owe divided by your available credit), which represents 30 percent of your credit score. This tip is ONLY for people who have no credit card debt and pay their bills in full each month.

6. Use your rewards! Many credit cards offer rewards programs that give you cash back, airline tickets, and other benefits, but most people don’t take advantage of all the free stuff they can get.  Call your credit cards and lenders and ask them what advantages you are eligible for.

Follow blogger Ramit Sethi’s six week plan for financial independence. Built off the ideas of his website, iwillteachyoutoberich.com, Ramit’s practical approach and non-judgmental style is the perfect personal finance guide for 20-to-35-year-olds starting out in an unusually tough economic climate.

Click here to read an excerpt