It’s back-to-school for most kids this week. I
always enjoyed going back in the beginning of the year as well as the fall
season. It’s especially good for our kids here in my town of Barnegat, NJ.
How are things going in your town with education?
You may want to think about getting involved. Contact your board of education
and see how you can help your district in making it a great place to educate the
children of your community.
Here
are a few interesting items in no particular order:
1)
If you’re in the
military, or have family in the military, you should be familiar with the Service
Members
Civil Relief Act, which will help reduce the costs of your debts.
2)
Update on Nancy. I
spoke with her last week and she sounds great and is working on handling
her debt!
3)
First ever
DebtSmart Presidential Survey is in this issue. I’d really like to see
everyone take this so we can all learn who DebtSmart thinks should lead
the nation!
4)
Google has started
scanning entire catalogs. You can check out these in-print scans here.
It’s almost time to cast your vote on who
is going to lead our country for the next four years. The stakes are high,
as always, and I wonder what you’re thinking. I see the polls reported
each day but still, I keep thinking, "Who do DebtSmart readers want
in the oval office?" Who do you think will do a better a job for you
with your money?
This survey will compare your views on
candidate Kerry and incumbent Bush.
I’d really like to see everyone take this
so we can all learn who DebtSmart thinks should lead the nation!
I can relate to Nancy's feelings that debt
is deadly! I do not know what to do or where to turn. I only know that
debt has ruined my self-esteem and caused my family great hardship.
I come from a very dysfunctional family (my
mother is schizophrenic, my father alcoholic). The only thing I was ever
taught about finances is (1) there is never enough and (2) no one in the
family can handle money. If my mother did not have a case-manager that
handled her finances she would have nothing. I am going down the same path
and it scares me to death.
You see Scott my husband makes $75,000 a
year and I have managed to keep us so far in debt we cannot even refinance
our home (we did that twice hoping I would learn how to responsibly handle
a credit card). The worse part about it is I have nothing to show for the
thousands of dollars of debt.
Currently we are two truck payments behind
and two mortgage payments. My husband suffered a back injury and is
currently looking at surgery. He has no feeling in his leg. Although he is
somehow managing to work 30 hours a week, it tears me apart knowing that
he has to keep going because of my irresponsibility.
If one is an alcoholic there are so many
places to turn for help. If there were a hospital for debtors I would
check myself in immediately. I tried going to Spenders and Debtors support
groups. However, I was very discouraged by the fact that many people who
were there had multiple addictions (mainly drug and alcohol). It didn't
seem like an environment that would benefit me. Please help!
In case you don’t know already, I’m
offering all my books for only $19.95. That’s, Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt, Credit Card and Debt
Management, and How to be more Credit Card and Debt Smart for the
cost of one book!
I also guaranteed that you will save money and be
completely happy with what you learn or your money back. And I mean your money
back any time in the future. If ten years from now you think, "Gee, I’m
not getting my monies worth out of these books," then just send Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card
Debt back and keep the other two as gifts.
I want you to start saving money today! I want
people to call their banks! If everyone would do this then banks will have to
listen more carefully to consumers.
Take part in this movement by getting my books
today--risk free!
Household Math™: Fast Mortgage Payoff by Scott Bilker
Dear Scott,
My question is, I want to pay my $138,000, 5.125%
APR, 15-year mortgage, off early. We just refinanced. My first payment is July 7th.
We plan on making one extra mortgage payment a year, but I would like to add an
extra $100.00 monthly to principal only. By doing these two extras, how early
will I pay my mortgage off?
Low-rate money for life--what do I do?
by Scott Bilker
Dear Scott,
I constantly call my credit card companies to
find out about special deals.
Any credit card debt I have is at either 3.9% or
4.9%, I have about $1,500.00 at 5.9%. All are for the life of the loan.
I called Citibank and they are offering 3.9% for
the life of the loan, I called AT&T (which is owned by Citibank) and they
are offering a comparable rate for the life of the loan.
I do not need the money now so I am waiting until
the offer expires.
When I ask when the offer expires, sometimes both
companies say 9/17. Other times they tell me they do not know, and they try to
encourage me to make to make a transfer immediately.
In neither case have either company mailed me an
offer, it has all been over the phone.
My question is with interest rates going up, is
it safe to wait until September, or should I make the transfer right away?
Helping you with your debt is very important to
me personally! If you've been reading my articles, you know that I always
encourage self-help as a first step. However, being buried in debt can be very
overwhelming, which is why you may want to explore other options.
One of those options is professional, ongoing
help with credit counselors. I've started to personally check out certain
companies so I can recommend the ones that are worth considering!
If you would like to speak with a representative
from a...
By using the Alexa Toolbar you help promote and
support DebtSmart.com plus much more...
It's a GREAT tool for knocking out pop-up ads. It
installs in seconds and becomes part of your browser window. It’s also easy to
turn off, just go to "view, toolbars" and unclick Alexa.
Alexa is an Amazon company. They track, and rank,
all web sites based on activity of toolbar users. That’s fine with me because
Amazon is a trusted online company, and I’m tired of the pop-up ads.
This toolbar really did the trick of eliminating
those annoying pop-ups, which is especially great if you have kids so they don’t
tricked into clicking on something you wouldn’t want them to see. You can
decide which sites you want to block the pop-up from and those whose you need.
For example, you don’t want to block pop-ups from DebtSmart.com.
Please support DebtSmart.com by installing
this custom Alexa Toolbar right now--thanks!
How I Made an $1,800 Profit with My Credit Cards
by Scott Bilker
Hi Scott,
I recently heard you on NPR radio 90.9 FM WBUR
from Boston.
I was interested in how you borrowed from your
credit card at a low interest rate and then invested it in a CD and earned about
$1,800.
Which of your books covers that interesting topic
I’d like to know more!
Thanks,
Leo
Answer:
Leo,
Thanks for listening!
Actually, I didn’t put the money into a CD, it
was a Money Market Account. Also, I don’t cover that in any of my books but I
will cover it here.
First off, I want to be clear that I’m not
recommending that you do this. I present it here for your pure entertainment.
"Kids, don’t try this at home." I don’t want to hear that someone
cash advanced money and got into more debt, because you do get into more debt.
Okay, so now that I’m disclaimed and all (I
hope), here goes...
The author(s), Press One Publishing, and
DebtSmart.com shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or
entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused,
directly or indirectly by the information contained in this email newsletter
and/or at the DebtSmart.com web site. The information, methods and techniques
described may not work for you and no recommendation is made to follow the same
course of action. Every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of all
content contained herein. However, there may be mistakes; typographical,
mathematical, or in content. This email newsletter and the DebtSmart.com web
site have been created for your entertainment only. You must always seek the
proper professional advice before taking any financial or legal action. You have
been warned.
Subscribe FREE and start
finding new ways to save
money and pay off your debt.
"The DebtSmart Email
Newsletter is packed with
cutting-edge strategies for
solving credit problems. I
highly recommend it."--Gerri
Detweiler, radio host and
author of The
Ultimate Credit Handbook
