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Discover® More Wildlife
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
10.99%. |
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Advanta Platinum BusinessCard with Unlimited Rewards
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 16 Months, APR:
7.99%. |
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Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: Up to 12 Months,
APR: As low as 8.49%. |
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Blue from American Express®
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 15 Months, APR:
4.99% (for life on transferred balances). |
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Advanta Life of Balance Platinum Card
Intro Rate: 2.99%, Time Period: Until Paid |
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Chase Platinum Visa®
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
11.99%. |
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Discover® More Card
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
10.99%. |
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In This
Issue
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Cool Quote |
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What is Better? Fewer Cards with
Higher Balances, or Many Cards with Smaller Balances? |
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Debtors Save More |
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Cameron Johnson |
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TIP: Labeling Your Credit Cards
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Motivational Comments |
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Feeding a Family for $300 a month?
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"Outraged and discouraged, I came
across your website..." |
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10 Great Careers You've Probably
Never Heard Of |
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Household Math(tm): Cash Flow
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Get Stuff for Free |
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What to Know Before You File For
Bankruptcy |
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Negotiate Your Hospital Bill
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Top 10 Least Expensive Vehicles to
Own |
Cool Quote
"If medical science continues to prolong life, some of us
may eventually pay off the mortgage."
--Jonathan Pond
More cool quotes from past issues
Scott,
My husband and I are preparing to buy a new home. We want
to clean up our credit card accounts to better our chances for a mortgage. We
were considering paying off our credit cards with smaller balances using other
credit cards.
What is better when your credit is being considered for a home
loan--fewer credit cards with higher balances or more credit cards with smaller
balances? The cards we are planning to pay off we are going to have closed so
there are fewer credit accounts opened. Is that a smart move?
Christina
Finish reading this article
Debtors outpace nondebtors in saving zero to 20 percent of
income. But at the 20 percent-plus savings level, nondebtors leap ahead, with 18
percent saving at that level versus 11 percent for debtors.
More credit card and debt statistics
Cameron Johnson
I saw this young entrepreneur interviewed on TV, and then I
checked out his website. What a great personal story of business success. Maybe
the easiest way of debt is simply to earn "more money." Check out his background and
book.
Read more about Cameron
TIP:
Labeling Your Credit Cards
"When I sign up for a 0% APR credit card, I make sure that
upon receiving the card and activating it, I speak with a customer
representative. I have the representative tell me the month when the card comes
off of the 0% introductory offer. As soon as I know the month, I place a label on
the back of the actual credit card so that I do not lose track of the date. This
allows me to plan out my finances accordingly, so that any balance left as the
month nears is either transferred to a new 0% credit card or paid off. I also
always make sure that any transfer of money is taken care of at least one month
before the credit card due date. This practice takes the guessing out of whether
or not a billing cycle that ends halfway through the month will be covered under
the 0% offer."
--Adam Angelozzi
Motivational Comments
"My husband and I have been using your methods for the
past two months and have managed to reduce our credit-card debt by over $20,000
thus reducing our minimum monthly payments by nearly $700.00! THANK YOU!"
--Kelli W., Clinton Township, MI
"I was frightened by a number at a very early age, so I've
grown up hating math. I somehow managed to pass all the math courses necessary
to obtain my BS/BA, but math and finance still remained a mystery to me. Nothing
I studied seemed to pertain to mathematical reality for me. You have made it
easy to understand, useful and fun! Thank you!!!"
--Nancy Oakes
More readers comments
I do something that most people think they can't do today.
I feed my family of 5 for $300 a month. Most people say that's an impossible
feat, but what boggles minds even more is that I do it without using coupons.
How do I do it? First, I use what I have. If I don't have
milk in the house, I don't make a special trip to the store for it. The kids
won't die from malnutrition if they miss drinking milk for a day or two. If I'm
out of bread, I'll make some cornbread or muffins. If I'm out of fresh veggies,
I will use canned or frozen instead. Stop going to the store for one or two
things. I shop for food 2-3 times a month and that's it. You'd be amazed how
much this saves on the cost of gas.
Finish reading the article
"Outraged and discouraged, I came across your
website..."
Dear Scott,
I lost my promotional rate of 4.99% for the life of credit
(American Express) over a month ago. (It changed to 18.99% in a split
second). I was late with my payment, I admit. This happened for first time in my
credit history. I did mark the bill as "PAID," but I didn't post the actual
payment online. Life is complex, and sometimes things just don't work our way.
Anyway, I called customer service and requested to have my
promotional rate reinstated. My request had been denied within 48 hours (I
learned this today from CSR!!!! 4 weeks later); however, nobody from AE took the
time to inform me about it!!! It seems that American Express deliberately kept
this for themselves in order to charge high finance charges. I was charged twice
in a row some $120 (I owe them about $7,000) in finance charges.
Outraged and discouraged, I came across your website and
decided to try your books. I got them in the mail yesterday and educated
myself overnight. Empowered and knowledgeable about my actual customer rights, I
called customer service today AGAIN. I did recite them a couple to-the-point
sentences of yours and stated clearly--in plain English--what I wanted. And, guess
what: They apologized for not informing me about the denial of my request in a
timely manner and were very "happy" to help in any way. note: As an ESL
(English-second-language student) I appreciate ready-to-use sentences/examples.
Results of a single call: (1) Late fees of $38 waived
without any further questioning; (2) Promotional rate 4.99% reinstated within 10
minutes while I was on hold; (3) The difference in the two interest rates
credited back to my account
Call time: about 15 minutes. Total credited to account:
$206.15 (but with my rate reinstated, I'll be saving much more). I had no
difficulty dealing with CSR and lady on the phone was actually very helpful and
understanding. I also called my other credit cards regarding the lower interest
rate, and I was 100% successful.
I just want to say thank you for writing this money and
life saving book. Money is extremely emotional. I never knew that; I'm in
credit card debt for the first time in my life. I hold two bachelors in Finance and
Management but had no idea that I have so much bargaining power as a customer of
theirs! I will recommend your powerful stuff to everyone I know. Please Scott,
continue the good work and if you can, advertise more.
Lenka
Learn how to
"Talk Your Way Out of
Credit Card Debt"
10 Great Careers You've Probably Never Heard Of
I'm a big fan of embarking down new roads to financial
freedom and career satisfaction. There are many great-paying jobs that you may
not have considered or even heard about. Some you can do from home.
Read article here
Kim is trying to save $800 for tuition. She brings home
$60 per week. Kim also has a total of $160 out-of-pocket expenses each month.
How many months will it take her to save the money needed for tuition?
Answer this math problem
Get Stuff for Free
It may be used, but it's good and it works. You can trade
stuff with people in your area. Recycle, save the planet, save money!
Find free stuff
You may feel you don't have any other options. Maybe you
owe several people money, your credit is maxed out, and you are falling deeper
into debt, so you start to explore filing for bankruptcy. You thought you never
would, but you've heard about it, maybe even someone you know has done it and
the question you want to know is when should you? All types of bankruptcies
exist: chapters for businesses, individuals, even a chapter for farmers and
fishermen.
Finish reading this article
Negotiate Your Hospital Bill
You may be able to negotiate as much as 60% off you
hospital bill if you're uninsured. Contact the patient account office or
financial assistance office and make a deal. Hospitals want to settle and
get something. If that fails, contact
Bill Advocates to find an advocate in your area.
Top 10 Least Expensive Vehicles to Own
You will be surprised to find out how many cars are
actually quite affordable to buy and maintain. Great article from Forbes.
Read about cars
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