COOL QUOTE " Restless is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress"--Thomas A. Edison Quotes from all previous newsletters IN THIS ISSUE #138 Letter from the publisher Cool Quote DebtSmart® Recommended Products and Services David's "Talk Your Way Out" Results Scott Bilker's MySpace Page DebtSmart® MySpace Group DebtSmart® Amazon aStore More credit card and debt statistics "He dropped it down to 9.9% fixed..." Household Math™: LTV The Clock Doesn't Stop Stop Debt Collectors Cold! The Credit Repair Kit plus bonus CD! Credit Card Fee Increases More credit, more options! Free DebtSmart® Column for in-print publication, ezine, or web site Books, software, in-print and downloads Archive of Email Newsletters online Advertising Update-Subscribe-Unsubscribe-Disclaimer Information Publisher: Scott Bilker Editor: Larissa S. Bilker Assistant Editor: Denise Troy ISSN 1538-6740 You can add DebtSmart® News RSS feeds to your newsreader pages. Note: RSS feeds are not a replacement for the email newsletter but a fast method of finding out what's new here at DebtSmart.com. Married vs. Single Getting hitched does have financial benefits at first. A single person earning $90,000 a year, a childless couple earning $170,000 a year and a family of five whose annual income is just over $500,000. A peek at their actual household expenditures shows, not surprisingly, that a married couple pays substantially less proportionally toward basic living costs than a single person. For example, only 9.3% of the couples' $14,200 monthly gross income goes for rent, compared with 23% of the single person's $7,500 monthly pay. The couple also pays less for food (5.6% vs. 8.3%), cable television (1% vs. 1.8%) and the telephone bill (1.2% vs. 2.8%). And auto insurers place married people in a lower risk class, saving them money on car insurance. Read more credit card and debt statistics DebtSmart® Recommended Today's rates won't last! Don't wait! Get a loan for: Bad Credit, Cash-out, Interest Only, or Jumbo Loan. Blue Cash® for Business Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 6 Months, APR: 7.99% (for life on transferred balances). Discover® Business Card Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 5.99%. Blue from American Express® Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 15 Months, APR: 4.99% (for life on transferred balances). Discover® Platinum Wildlife Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 10.99%. Cheapest pre-paid phone rates 473 FREE minutes, 1.9 cents USA and Canada, 2.5 cents UK, no switching.

Hi,

I have many items to chat about in this issue. Let's start with...

BLACK FRIDAY
This was last Friday--the day after Thanksgiving. Everyone knows what it is, but do you know where the day got its name? One theory is that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season. When this would be recorded in the financial records, common accounting practices use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday is the beginning of the period where they would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year's profits (the black).

SAVE MONEY ON GAS
Even though prices have dropped slightly, it would still be nice to save more. One way is by using a carpool. But what if you don't know anybody headed your way? Well, here are three web sites that will help connect you to your ride match: (1) Carpool Connect; (2) Carpool World; and (3) e-Ride Share.

TALKING ABOUT MORTGAGES AND MORE
Take a listen to my last radio interview on WTDY, Madison, WI, on Your Home, Your Money w/Art Blanchet & Bill Quigley. These guy have a great show and provide a wealth of mortgage information at their website.

SHRED OR DREAD
My mother-in-law tipped me off about a story that the Early Show (NBC) was doing about credit cards. Great story! What they did was rip up credit card mail offers, tape them back together, fill them out, and send them in. In 3 out of 5 cases, the banks approved the credit card! In one case, they even sent the card to an address that was changed on the application. (Man, I can't believe that I didn't think of trying that one myself--good job NBC!)

That's unbelievable that credit card banks would invite fraud. And who pays for that? Us, of course! With increased rates as a group and for the individuals victimized by fraud, it's a long process to fix. Dear Banks, if you're reading this, HOW ABOUT FIXING THIS PROBLEM! If it obviously looks like fraud, then don't approve the application!

The solution is to SHRED every unwanted credit card offer. It's worth it. That's what I do. Actually, I have a box of stuff to shred, and I shred it periodically. Additionally, you can opt out of receiving mail offers by calling 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. You can find sample letters, and more information about privacy, at Privacy Right Now.

Best,
Scott

David S. sent me a wonderful email. David wrote to me to tell me about how well he has been doing by negotiating with his banks. Nothing pleases me more than hearing about the financial successes of my readers! This article is about that success.

You'll notice how detailed and systematic David is with his notes. They're short, to the point, dated, and will provide him with a reference when following up in a few months.

I want everyone reading my books and articles to save money. I want you to save money. I want you to make more money! That's what it's all about. Being in control of your finances. Being in control of the banks. Creating your own financial destiny. That's what being DebtSmart is all about. The term may literally mean being smart with your debt. But being smart with all your financial decisions is how to be smart with your debt.

The most efficient use of your efforts is going to be negotiating better terms with your banks. They will negotiate. They have to! There is too much competition in the credit card market for banks to ignore their customers. And, if they do ignore us, we need to use another bank!

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"I just got your three books and was reading through Talk Your Way Out Of Credit Card Debt, when it dawned on me that I hadn't seen a statement from one of my banks for a while. I remember making a $5 charge at Baskin Robbins because I had ordered ice cream for the kids before I realized I didn't have my wallet. The account had a 0 balance at that point, and I knew I would pay it in full when the statement arrived.

I checked the account online and was floored to see the new balance at $102.38, because they charged me two months of late fees at $29 each plus a membership fee of $39. I just called to let them know that I had not received a statement from them, and asked if they would please waive the late fees and membership fee.

I got the standard 'we can't do that' but was told that they would make a $10 adjustment to one of the late fees. I then asked what the APR was at, and the rep told me to sit down before he gave me the figure. Because of the missed payments (because I got no statement), it had jumped from 14% to 27.74%.

He dropped it down to 9.9% fixed for two months then 9.9% variable after that. When I asked again about the membership fee being waived, he said he could waive it, but then would not be able to reduce the interest rate.

I went for the reduced interest rate and the $10 adjustment to one of the late fees. I will pay the balance in full on the 15th and not use the card for a while. The call took me 12 minutes and I was transferred once.

Thank you for all your information."

--Tracy Mundy

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A lender agreed to make a loan based on a purchase price of $250,000 with a 90% LTV. If the property appraises for $250,000, what is the mortgage amount?

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Gary,

This month on our two credit card statements are notices informing us that as of Oct. 1st we may be charged "more than two" late fees or over the limit fees" per month.

What's going on?

Gwen

It's estimated that Americans charged $1.8 trillion in 2005 on the 690 million credit cards outstanding. According to a Government Accountability Office study released in September, 2006, 13% of credit card users were assessed over-limit fees and 35% were assessed late fees in 2005. So Gwen has a lot of company.

Let's try to do three things. First, understand what these fees are. Next, see how fees are changing. And, finally, what Gwen can do to keep from being hurt.

Credit cards have always had fees. Some, like for a late payment, are understandable. Others came along as credit cards took on new capabilities. Think cash advance and balance transfer fees. Still others, like over-limit fees, seem like they shouldn't be possible. You would think that they wouldn't allow you to borrow more than your limit.

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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!

What do you think of when you hear the words "credit repair"? I think of scam! That's because many companies have made promises to "fix" people's credit but then simply stole their money. However, there are still reputable sources for people to learn how to straighten out their credit reports.

Your credit report is your financial résumé and everyone from lenders to insurance agents reviews it. It's vital that there are no mistakes shown, and if there are, that they're removed!

There are many books on the subject, but my personal favorite is The Credit Repair Kit. That's because Joe Sainz offers great practical advise for correcting errors. Plus, he includes a Credit Booster CD-ROM with the book!

If you're having trouble getting the rates you deserve because of your credit report, then you must read this book!

Read more about The Credit Repair Kit plus bonus CD...

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