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In This
Issue
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Cool Quote |
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Book Review: "How You Can Profit From Credit
Cards," by Curtis Arnold |
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STATISTIC: How Far Will Savings Go |
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Spreadsheet-List-Software Financial
Management |
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Secret Ways to Boost Your Social Security |
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Planning for Large Purchases |
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Bank Bullies |
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How to Save $400 a Month on Groceries |
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Household Math™: Dollars Saved Per Hour |
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How To Identify A Good Auto Loan |
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Sky-High Internet |
Cool Quote
"We cannot change the cards we are dealt; just how we play
the hand."
--Randy Pausch
More cool quotes from past issues
Curtis Arnold is not only a contributor to DebtSmart,
but also a contributor to consumer awareness. He's the founder of U.S. Citizens
for Fair Credit Card Terms, Inc. and CardRatings. Curtis has been helping people
save money by promoting financial education since 1998. His latest project
is his first book, How You Can Profit From Credit Cards: Using Credit to
Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line, and as you may guess, I
loved the book! The book has been available at Amazon since its release this
month.
Curtis knows firsthand the devastating effects of credit
card debt. By the time he was finished with his graduate studies at the
University of Texas at Dallas, his credit card debt reached $45,000. The stress
it created in his life was...
Finish reading this article
Our disparate savings habits are reflected in this
interesting parallel: roughly an equal number of Americans could live for a year
off of their savings (25 percent) as could only make it a month or less (22
percent).
Women are much more likely than men to say they can only
live one month or less off their savings (26 percent vs. 17 percent).
Roughly a third of men (29 percent) report they can
survive off their savings for a year or more if they were laid off, versus 20
percent of women.
Non-debtors are more likely to have the wherewithal to live
for a year or more off of savings (31 percent vs. 21 percent for debtors). More
importantly, close to half of current non-savers (45 percent) could only last for
a month or less on their accumulated savings.
More credit card and debt statistics
Hi,
I need your help again. As you know, I'm trying to develop
an easy and practical budget plan to help us all save money. The best way to
create anything is to ask you for your opinion so I can be sure it will work for
you. That said, last month I asked you about envelope budgeting. I learned that
the majority of people are using either a spreadsheet, written list, or
financial software to manage their finances. Because of this fact, I will create
a new kind of list-spreadsheet type budget. Let's call it the DebtSmart
Planner for now. And it will be in addition to my new spin on the envelope
system that I mentioned last month. The DebtSmart Planner will not
require any new software installation and will run on any platform: MAC, Linux,
Windows, etc. Please let me know what your thoughts about this project are by
completing the survey below--thanks!
Scott
Complete survey here
Secret Ways to Boost Your Social
Security
Four legal strategies for adding as much as $12,000 a year
to your retirement income.
Some retirement decisions are irreversible. But many
retirees will be happy to learn that choosing when to start collecting Social
Security benefits is not one of them.
When John Rothenhoefer, 70, found out that he could
increase his Social Security benefits by about $1,000 a month by taking
advantage of a do-over strategy, he thought he'd struck gold. As it turns out,
he might as well have won a mega lottery. Out of the 32 million retirees who
collect Social Security benefits, Rothenhoefer was one of just 71 people this
fiscal year to take advantage of an obscure option that lets you halt your
current benefits, pay back all you have collected interest-free, and restart
your benefits at a new, higher rate based on your current age.
See story here
One of the biggest challenges people face in their
struggles to avoid debt are large purchases. The easy availability of credit in
virtually every retail store makes it hard to resist. You don't need to save for
the things you want, you can simply finance the purchase with a new credit card
or store account. While this is true, and it does allow for faster
gratification, it comes with a hefty hidden cost.
Nobody will lend you money for free. With the exception of
some 0% offers, all financing costs you more than it would if you bought the
item outright. This is the compensation that financiers require for extending
you the privilege to buy things before you can actually afford them. Beyond this
tangible cost is another type of expense that people typically don't think
about. It is one that applies even if the financing rate is 0%.
Finish reading the article
Paying bills is not easy. Especially when credit card
banks are jacking up their fees. It's like being targeted by a school bully.
Banks know you are vulnerable when your time is limited and that's when they strike, when you have a pile of paperwork in front of you.
It's tough to fight them when you have so much more going on in your financial
life. And that's how Jill
King must have felt. Let me explain.
Jill was being assaulted by her credit card companies.
Month after month they were charging her fees and high interest rates. She felt
at their mercy. Jill decided that she had to do something. She wanted to handle
the situation herself.
Jill found my book, Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card
Debt. I don't know exactly how she found it. Maybe she read about it in the
Wall Street Journal or Newsweek or saw me interviewed on CNN. But,
for $19.95, she figured she had nothing to lose, so she ordered the book.
She sent me the below email, and I must say that I'm very
proud of Jill's success!
"I had to write and thank you so much for the book. I just
got it yesterday afternoon and started reading it. This morning I decided to try
it out on one of my cards that has a very high interest rate. This card had been
only about 9.99%, but the interest rate skyrocketed last May. I didn't know
why, and I really didn't know what to do about it. I called the company this
morning, and in less then 5 minutes, I found out why (I'd had trouble with another
card issued by the same company) and got the interest rate lowered from 23.99%
to 8.99%. One point lower than it had been before! This one call paid for the
book and way more. I figured out how much I saved. It's a good thing I was
sitting, because I'm sure I would have fallen on the floor when I realized I
saved $10,706.50."
In fact, this story caught the attention of Money
magazine. Money magazine put their top reporter, Jean Chatzky, on the
story and devoted a full page to Jill's success in August 2004. (If you watch
the Today Show on NBC, then you've seen Jean Chatzky.)
For me, nothing beats hearing about the success of those
that read my books. That's why I guarantee that you'll save money. That's how
much I want you to give it a try.
Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt is a
best-selling book so it's available everywhere. Amazon, Barnes & Noble Online,
Borders Online, etc. But you can get it directly from me. And when you do, you
will receive my two other best-selling books, Credit Card and Debt
Management and How to be More Credit Card and Debt Smart as gifts.
Here's the deal, all three books for only $19.95 plus
shipping. And, if you don't save as much money as you expect now or at anytime in
the future--even 20 years down the road, then you can return Talk Your Way
Out of Credit Card Debt, keep the two other books as gifts, and receive a
full refund. You have nothing to lose and thousands of dollars to save!
And, of course, don't forget to send me your success
stories because I know you will have many.
Scott
PS: You can get all my books right now for only $19.95 plus shipping by clicking
here.
How to Save $400 a Month on
Groceries
Last week I won, saving $25 by planning ahead and using
coupons. Other weeks, the house wins -- I forget my list, miss the store
circular, find out my coupons have expired -- and the register drawer devours my
cash with a malevolent snap. Gotcha!
Saving Takes Time
Herb Sorensen, head of the Oregon-based consulting firm,
Sorensen Associates, has spent four decades tracking the grocery business. He
says that there are two approaches to pricing: Everyday low prices à la
Wal-Mart, and high-low prices featuring capricious weekly specials.
See story here
Jack read Scott Bilker's book, Talk Your Way Out of
Credit Card Debt and put the call strategies to use. He called his
Citibank card and got a $49 annual fee waived! The call took 17 minutes. If Jack
could get that result from all his calls, then how much could he save, on
average, per hour from calling his credit card banks?
Answer this math problem
When you plan to buy a car, you will first, of course, go in
search for a specific model. Later on you may think about whether you can afford
it. In such times, you have to compromise on the model that you like and go for
one that you can afford.
If you are planning to get an auto loan, then it's not that
difficult. You just have to look around, and you will find a number of lenders
who will be happy to lend you money.
Finish reading this article
Sky-High Internet
Question: Last month, my son signed me up for the WildBlue
Internet service from DirecTV. The telephone agent assured him that it would be
very fast, but neglected to say we'd have to pay over $500 for installation, a
fee-per-foot to bury a line, a monthly protection plan fee, plus a Tennessee
Satellite Privilege Tax.
Installation was a nightmare. My son had to help the
technician install the Internet dish. Then, I spent an entire day configuring my
computer for the new service. After all that, we found that the satellite was
only marginally better than our previous dial-up connection. After numerous
calls to customer service failed to make things any better, I decided to cancel
but was told I would have to pay an early termination fee of $30 per month for
the remaining term of the contract, totaling $660!
At this point, it appears that my only choices are to pay
the outrageous fees or be stuck with a service that doesn't work and costs about
$70 per month. I live on Social Security and can't afford that. It's doubly sad
because my son was on leave from Iraq and thought he was doing something nice
for me. Can you help?--Jeanne Henry, Hilham, Tenn
See story here
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