DebtSmart.com News

Letter from the Publisher

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Hi,

The laws are changing to be in our favor over the banks. However, the battle is far from over. Banks are simply going to adapt and find new charges to levy against the consumer. As always, credit options are your best weapon against charges. When you have options, you control which banks get paid and how much you pay.

Best,
Scott

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Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

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Cool Quote

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

"It's God's will for you to live in prosperity instead of poverty. It's God's will for you to pay your bills and not be in debt."
-Joel Osteen

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Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

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"Q and A with the authors of "Complete Idiot's Guide to Peer to Peer Lending," Curtis Arnold and Beverly Blair Harzog," by Curtis Arnold

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

1. What do you feel is the reason behind the Social Lending phenomenon? (For example, ability to receive cash faster than if applying for a bank loan, etc.)

Peer to peer lending's has really taking off in the past 12 months or so due to several factors. The credit crunch has really restricted the availability of traditional bank loans and other forms of traditional credit, such as credit cards. As a result, consumers are increasingly turning to other sources for credit and peer to peer lending has emerged as a viable source of credit.

Cutting the banks out of the picture and putting a more human element (borrowers can post pics and tell their story) back into the lending process has been a breath of fresh air for both borrowers and lenders. On a related note, lenders and borrowers can target affinity groups that they are interested in, such as alumni groups. This feature has proven to be popular and is pretty unique.

Also, the fact that many consumers are able to get lower rates and many lenders are able to get rates of return that they can in money market accounts or CDs has propelled interest in P2P lending.

STATISTIC: Late Pay at New High

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Consumer outrage about credit cards is at an all-time high. So are delinquencies, which hit 5.56 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008. That's a 60 percent jump since 2005.

"Someone to Pay My Credit Card Bills?," by Gary Foreman

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

It doesn't take a genius to notice that our financial circumstances have changed in the last few years. But, it does take some thought to recognize which strategies are still sound and which ones need to be changed. Today we're going to talk about one that may need to be changed depending on your circumstances.

For years credit card holders have had the option of buying 'credit card insurance' on their accounts. There are a number of different forms. Some pay your account if you die. Others pay if you're disabled. The one that we're going to consider pays if you lose your job.

Before we begin, let's take a moment to discuss why we buy insurance. In it's purest sense, we buy insurance to pay for losses that we cannot afford to absorb ourselves. Often these losses are sudden, unexpected or out of our control. Think car accidents or a home fire or burglary.

Typically, it's foolish to buy insurance for things that we can afford to cover. You wouldn't buy insurance to pay for your next tank of gas. Presumably you can afford it and the paperwork plus the insurance company profit would just add to the cost.

"DebtSmart.com is a great site."

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

I'm following it since some time ago, when I discovered the 0% credit card offers and the possitive implications of accepting them, which was against the general knowledge that having credit card debt is bad.

I searched the web in order to find what's the catch, what was I missing. That's when I found your site, that corroborated my conclusions, and provided more tips. I even bought your books.

Great site, keep going!

Hugo

"Why Having a Budget Is the First Step to Getting Out of Debt," by Harrine Freeman

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Many people constantly complain about being in debt but when you ask do you have a budget, do you know how much you owe, or when you suggest they cut back on expenses they look at you as if you are speaking a foreign language, or they just plain out refuse. I am always amazed at this, how can you ever get out of debt if you don't change your mindset, if you aren't willing to work hard and make sacrifices. There is no quick fix or cure all to get out of debt. It takes a long time to get in debt and you will not get out of debt overnight.

Many people do not know how to create a budget for themselves and many don't even know where to start. Luckily I was taught at an early age how to create a budget for myself. I knew how much money I spent and how much I had left. This skill helped me when I became an adult and got into debt. How did that happen you say? Well, although I knew how to budget my money I didn't have a clue about how credit cards worked. I thought it was free money but that is another article. Anyway, the first step to getting out of debt is creating a budget for yourself. The basic premise for creating a budget is to know what you have coming in and what you have going out, in other words, how much money you bring home and how many expenses you have (creditors, loans, utilities, cell phone, day care, dry cleaners, etc.). Make the budget flexible so you have room for unexpected expenses such as house repairs or car repairs. If you don't have an emergency fund or savings to cover these xpenses you can readily see in your budget what areas you can reduce expenses to get money to pay for those unexpected expenses.

"Defense Of Credit Card Lawsuits," by Stefano Grossi

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Whether or not you are believe the news media about a declining US economy, one thing is for sure, debt collectors are actively filing suits to collect debts. One large collection firm based out of Atlanta has indicated that they file an average of 279 collection lawsuits per day. A lawsuit is often the final effort in the creditor's attempt to collect a debt. If the harassing and often illegal collection calls were not enough, once a person is sued the reality of the situation is realized. However, for the defendant, not all hope is lost.

DebtSmart Products

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Complete list of DebtSmart products that you can order online.

ADVERTISMENT: Direct Lending Solutions

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Guide to online lending choices.

ADVERTISMENT: Bad Credit Loans

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Fast and easy personal loans for people with bad credit.

ADVERTISMENT: Eliminate Credit Card Debt

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Settle credit card debt- 50% or less. Reduce payments. $10K minimum.

More credit, more options

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

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! (I know you won't go crazy spending because you're DebtSmart, but I had to mention that anyway.)

I've found a few more good credit deals that I want to bring to your attention. If you have high-rate debt, then you should apply online now and transfer your balances to some of these cards. (Or search through the entire list.)

DOWNLOADS: Free 5-Year Loan Amortization and Analysis Worksheet

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

by Scott Bilker

If you're looking for a quick solution to finding all the costs of a loan, download this software now! All you have to do is enter how much you're borrowing, the interest rate, and the length of the loan and the worksheet automatically creates the Amortization--which you can print! This FREE spreadsheet calculates results for loans ranging from 0 to 5 years.

You can cut and paste the results into other applications, send text answers by e-mail, integrate with other documents and more!

Also calculated are the dates of the payments, the total amount needed to pay off the loan, the total interest paid back, the principal and interest amounts of each payment, and number of payments needed. .

DOWNLOADS: 37 Days to Clean Credit

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

How I Boosted My Credit Score 135 Points In Only 37 Days!

DOWNLOADS: Debt Collection Answers

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights and Stop Debt Collectors.

DOWNLOADS: Credit Secrets Bible

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Step-by-step, easy-to-learn, easy-to-use insider consumer credit secrets.

DOWNLOADS: 425 Ways to Stretch Your $$$$

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 11:40:19 -0500

Strategies that are guaranteed to help you improve your standard of living while drastically cutting costs.

DOWNLOADS: Get of of Debt E-Book Package

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Strategies for getting out of debt and true methods for frugal living.

FICO Score

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Your credit score is your financial resumé! You must know what's in this file at all times!

CREDIT CARD: Discover More Wildlife

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 10.99%.

CREDIT CARD: Citi Platinum Select® MasterCard

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Intro Rate: 0.00%, Up to 12 Months, APR: As low as 8.74%.

CREDIT CARD: TrueEarnings® Card from Costco

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 3 months on purchases, APR: 1.99% for 6 months on transfers.

CREDIT CARD: IberiaBank Classic Card

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 6 Months, APR: 6.25%.

CREDIT CARD: Discover More Card

Wed, 13 May 2009 07:00:00 -0500

Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 6 Months, APR: 0% for 12 months on transfers.