Tools for
financial success! A Free Email
Newsletter from DebtSmart Online and
Press One Publishing.
Letter from the Publisher by Scott Bilker
Hi,
Being
motivated to work on your finances is
much of the battle. I know firsthand
that the job of writing checks, paying
bills, tracking spending, and so forth,
can be tedious, time
consuming, and even boring. But it pays
so well!
Taking
the time to analyze the details of your
financial life is time well spent. If
you save $1,000 on your debt from
working on it for 10 hours, then you're
saving $100 per hour! Nice!
For me,
money is the motivator--not giving
away that money. I don't want to fund
the credit card company's next office party
by paying exorbitant amounts in fees and
interest.
When you
think about it, money is the most
important priority. Uh, oh, I can hear
it now. "No way Scott. What about your
health and family." Well, yes, of
course. Nothing rivals the importance of your health,
family, and those you care about.
However, if you don't pay attention to
the money, you could be putting your health and
family in danger.
That's
because money is used to make everything
happen. Money is needed to pay the
medical bills. Money is needed to send
the kids to college. Money is needed
secure a place to live and provide
healthy foods. To ignore the
importance of money is to be
irresponsible to yourself and family.
It's okay
to care about the money. Caring about
your finances is caring about your
health and caring about your family.
Best,
Scott PS: I'm
now available for
speaking engagements. Until recently,
I've only done media interviews (print,
radio, TV), but a few people have
encouraged me to start speaking about credit card and debt management in
live seminars. So, if you are interested
in hearing me speak at your association,
library, school, group, etc., then please complete this form so
we can talk about the details.
I have a
30-year home mortgage and $14,000 in
credit card debt. My mortgage has 28
years to go to pay off and is at 5.875
percent. My credit cards are at 3.99
percent for the lifetime of balance to
10.9 percent--all fixed rates. Should I
refinance my home with cash-out to pay
the credit cards off then freeze them?
I'm 57 years old and earn approximately
$26,000 per year salary. Any advice for
me?
Thank
you! We are finally getting a better
handle on our credit cards thanks to you
and your books. For instance, I had a
balance of $18,000 on a Capital One MC
and was late by one day, and they raised
my interest from 9.9% to 26.2%. That
happened while I wasn't paying
attention, unfortunately for 2-3 months.
When I
called Capital One, they told me they
could not reduce my rate, so I told them
I could not afford to remain their
customer and took your advice and
transferred the balance to a 0% for the
first six months offer.
Now, 6
weeks later, Capital One has sent an
offer every week and recently offered a
2.99% for the life of the balance
transfer offer. So I did transfer
another credit card balance back to
Capital One (a $17,900 balance!). A
savings from the 11.7% it was at
Citibank. The total savings for one year
of interest (11.7% to 2.99%) is over
$1500! And that's just one year.
Slowly,
but surely, I'm learning that it's
paying to pay attention and spend time
required to take care of our large debt
(my husband and I are self-employed).
Now it's actually fun to be doing the
books and I have a much better feeling
about myself.
How much
is a penny really worth? When it comes
to repaying debt, it is certainly true
that every penny counts! Say you have a
$100,000 mortgage at 7% for 30 years.
The monthly payment is $665.30. How much
money would you save by adding just one
cent to your monthly payment?
Have you
ever wanted anything so much that you
were willing to put off your bills to
get it? A lot of people have and some do
it month after month. The worst part of
this is that these same people wonder
why they are having money problems.
I'm not
talking about putting off the bills to
buy groceries or pay for necessities.
I'm referring to those little things
that you just have to have but really
don't need.
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 check out certain companies personally so I can recommend the
ones that are worth considering!
If you would like to speak with a representative from a...
Jordan
Goodman's latest book, Master Your
Money Type, will help you do just
that. First, of course, you need to know
your money type. He talks about many
like, The Strivers, The Ostriches, The
Debt Desperadoes (my personal favorite
type), The Coaster, The High Rollers,
and The Squirrels.
In the world
today, it is not at all unusual to find
yourself short of the cash you need to
pay your bills, feed your family and
maintain a reasonable lifestyle. For
every working stiff who runs out of
money before they run out of week, there
are unfortunately a number of shady
characters willing to loan you all the
money you need at an exorbitant interest
rate. You will have to be careful to
avoid these loan sharks when you find
yourself in need of quick cash.
Action is the
foundational key to all success. Knowing is not
enough! Lots of people know what to do, but few
people actually do what they know." --Tony Robbins
Quotes from all previous
newsletters
Gen P (Generation
“Plastic”--ages 18 to 24) uses debit cards to pay for
28.2 percent of their purchases compared to just 7.1
percent among those older than 45.
More credit, more options
Credit options are your weapon against the banks! The key to
success is using your credit lines to save money--not to go
crazy spending!
Blue from American Express®
Intro Rate: 0.00%,
Time Period: 15 Months,
APR: 3.99% (for life on transferred balances)
Free PDF
calculator allows you to compare your current mortgage to other mortgage
options! No need to install new software! Calculator runs completely in
the free Adobe Acrobat Reader!
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DISCLAIMER
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.
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"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
