COOL QUOTE " The greatest discovery is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes of mind." --William James Quotes from all previous newsletters IN THIS ISSUE #166 Letter from the Publisher Cool Quote Every penny counts DebtSmart® Recommended Products and Services Making frugality a family affair STATISTICS: Past Payment Performance "A Ray of Sunshine" Household Math(tm): A Penny Paid Is More Than a Penny Earned Smokin' Van: Options for that expensive car repair DebtSmart® Column for your use in-print, ezine, or website DebtSmart® books and software, and other products Update Your Email Address, Subscribe, Unsubscribe, and Disclaimer Information Publisher: Scott Bilker Editor: Larissa S. Bilker Assistant Editor: Denise Troy ISSN 1538-6740 Advertising Information 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. Past Payment Performance On average, today's consumers are paying their bills on time. Less than half of all consumers have ever been reported as 30 or more days late on a payment. Only 3 out of 10 have ever been 60 or more days overdue on any credit obligation. 77% of all consumers have never had a loan or account that was 90+ days overdue, and less than 20% have ever had a loan or account closed by the lender due to default. Read more credit card and debt statistics DebtSmart® Recommended Discover® More Wildlife Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 10.99%. Advanta Platinum BusinessCard with Unlimited Rewards Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 16 Months, APR: 7.99%. 37 Days to Clean Credit How I Deleted 9 Inquiries, 5 Negative Accounts, 4 Major Default Accounts, 1 Judgment, and Boosted My Credit Score 135 Points In Only 37 Days! Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: Up to 12 Months, APR: As low as 8.49%. Blue from American Express® Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 15 Months, APR: 4.99% (for life on transferred balances). Stop Debt Collectors Cold! Stop Debt Collectors Cold! Plus, for a limited time, 4 bonus reports: (1) How to Get Collection Accounts Off Your Credit Report; (2) How to Avoid Losing Your Home In A Foreclosure; (3) What to Do if You Are Behind on Your Car Payments; and (4) Confidential Interview With A Former Debt Collector Advanta Life of Balance Platinum Card Intro Rate: 2.99%, Time Period: Until Paid Chase Platinum Visa® Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 14.24%. Discover® More Card Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 10.99%. Credit Secrets Bible The Credit Secrets Bible contains more step-by-step, easy-to-learn, easy-to-use insider consumer credit secrets than any other home study course on the market.

Hi,

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas yesterday! I'm out in Minnesota right now enjoying a week with family. Oh how I love the holidays, but not the holiday bills.

It won't be long now before the bills are rolling in--mounting on your desk--popping up in your email. So what's the plan? The best plan is going to be to pay them off in full. (Okay, stop laughing at me.)

Yes, in full. Even if you don't have the cash, you need a plan to pay off those cards with the highest rates. And that plan is to use low-rate cards to transfer balances. Call any credit cards you have with a zero balance, and ask them for a low rate for transferring your holiday debt to that card. If you cannot find low rates with your current cards, then go to my recommended card list and find a new card to do the transfer.

There are only a few more days to go until the New Year--2008--MMVIII. So do you think the banks will give us any breaks in the coming year? I don't think so. They are holding firm on penalizing consumers for changes in credit scores even if there is no change in how you handle your accounts. That's why it's important to make banks compete for your business. Our best defense now, next year, and beyond is having credit options. You need more than one card. The only catch is that you use any new credit lines only to transfer balances between banks and not to go on a spending spree. (Now, I know that you won't go on a spending spree. I just threw that in there for completeness.)

READER COMMENTS
"I love the newsletter. It really has some good advice."--Rebecca Newton

"Great Newsletter! The info is always timely and relevant to my credit situation, and I look forward to each issue. As to number of credit cards, in my count I've learned we have a total of 10, but most have not even been activated. Lately, I've been an 'intro-hopper,' taking advantage of much-lower APRs, to get rid of CC debt (in 9/98 owed 29k, now owe 6.1k, so it won't be much longer). Lowering APRs, transferring as credit score improves, all are working, and your advice always helps. Thanks!"--Dan E.

Best,
Scott

It sure does--especially when you're paying back debt.

How many times have you walked out into the parking lot of a supermarket and spotted a penny on the ground? Plenty of times no doubt. You might bend over to pick one up if you see Lincoln staring at you, but for the most part you just keep walking by.

I mean, after all, with the cost of inflation over the years, what is a penny worth? It really isn't worth that much as far as buying something tangible like a television, is it? What's a penny going to add toward that purchase (besides one cent)?

Finish Reading Article

Advertisement 37 Days to Clean Credit "You're About To Discover How I Deleted 9 Inquiries, 5 Negative Accounts, 4 Major Default Accounts, 1 Judgment, and Boosted My Credit Score 135 Points In Only 37 Days!" Here's Chris Brisson's True Story of Exactly How I Did It, How This Step-by-Step Guide Works, and How You Can Put It to Work For You. Package include bonus interviews with Scott Bilker (creator of DebtSmart.com), Donna Fox (author of Credit Repair to Credit Millionaire), and James Cunningham (The funny money man).

Does it ever seem that no matter how hard you try to save for the future, all your kids want to do is spend, spend, spend?

Shopping at the malls, dinners at McDonald's, birthday parties at the arcade. None of these expenditures seem very large, but put them all together and the dollars add up fast. Before you know it, the month is gone, and so is the money you intended to save.

Does this sound familiar? If living and spending more frugally is on your list of things you'd like to accomplish, the time to enlist the support of your kids is now.

Finish Reading Article

"A ray of sunshine: your books arrived! They are exactly what I hoped they'd be, and they tempt me to ignore all else, as I devour them. I'm starting with Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt, and, although I ordered it to learn how to help my sister and brother-in-law, I'm finding information that I can use to help myself, too. You were right to 'guarantee' that your 'books will help.' To paraphrase you, I've gotten mad, I'm getting smart--thanks to you--and I'll soon pick up that phone! My only regret is that I didn't think to ask you to autograph the books before you shipped them. Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to meet you someday, and I'll remedy that omission. Now, back to your phone calls..."

Enthusiastically,
Anne

Read about special offer for all three of Scott Bilker's best-selling books

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?

Answer this problem

Have you ever been in the tough position of owning a vehicle that is not worth too much money but that needs an expensive repair? Maybe you have recently even dumped some pretty good change into the vehicle for items like new tires, a battery, a muffler, etc. And now it needs a major repair!

You realize that you cannot sell the vehicle for much without getting it repaired, and you know that you can't afford to trade it in on another vehicle.

Given today's soft economy, what a time to face an expensive vehicle repair. What can you do? What are some possible options?

Finish Reading Article

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 website. 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 website 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.

Copyright ©2007 Press One Publishing. All rights reserved. Please do not reprint, or host on your web site, without explicit permission. However, if you found this newsletter helpful, we grant you permission, and strongly encourage you, to e-mail it to a business associate or a friend. Thank you.