COOL QUOTE " You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it." --Unknown Quotes from all previous newsletters IN THIS ISSUE #152 Letter from the Publisher Cool Quote DebtSmart® Recommended Products and Services Good credit rating but too much debt for low rates DebtSmart® Amazon aStore Statistics: Senior Debt "Happy to reverse the charges" Household Math(tm): Timing is Everything Stop Debt Collectors Cold! Credit Secrets Bible Painful Grocery Bill 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. Senior Debt One-third of retirees described their current personal debt levels as a problem, and 7 percent called it a "major" problem. The number of seniors age 65 and older who filed for bankruptcy jumped 213 percent between 1992 and 2001, outpacing all other age groups, one study found. Health care costs are driving the trend. Debt levels for households headed by someone 75 and older averaged $20,234 in 2004, a 160 percent jump from 1992. Read more credit card and debt statistics DebtSmart® Recommended Discover® Platinum Wildlife Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 10.99%. Advanta Platinum BusinessCard with Unlimited Rewards Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 15 Months, APR: 7.99%. 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). 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® Platinum Card Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR: 10.99%.

Hi,

I found myself observing in court a couple weeks ago. I should stop in more often just to watch. Most, and I mean 90%, of the Special Civil cases were banks vs. people. What I witnessed was quite interesting. Nearly all the cases were settled and never went before the judge. The typical settlement was for 50%, or less, of the original amount! And the payment terms were kind of reasonable. The only catch is that if one payment is missed, a judgment is entered in the full amount.

This means that if your creditors take you to court, you still may have a great opportunity to reduce your debt! Keep that in mind. I guess I can call it "debt negotiation's last stand."

Here's an idea for summer vacations to keep the kids in budget. Use a Mad Money Jar and/or Good Deed Banks to help them save for vacations. You can match their savings or pay for good deeds. No matter what, you want to make sure that they have a set amount of money that they can spend on whatever they want (within reason). Instead of saying, "you can each get one thing in here," which opens you up to purchasing that $50 stuffed bear, you tell them, "you have $30 to spend in all the shops, you decide what you want, but that's the limit." With a budget that they're in control of, they can pick what they want. They will be more inclined to spend carefully when they're in charge of their own money.

Best,
Scott

Scott,

I just found your website in a book I am reading from the Rich Dad Series. I am in business for myself for 8 years now. I have high CC debt all for the most part business debt. We always pay our bills on time. Recently though, the CC companies started raising their interest rates on us and lowering our limits dramatically. Some to the tune of 35%! I am at a loss of what to do.

My business is doing well to the point that, if I were able to pay off these cards, I would be able to do my business on a month-to-month basis without accruing any cc debt. Herein lies the problem of being able to pay off the credit card debt especially at these rates. Even at these rates, we still are not making any late payments. Our credit rating is excellent, but we are carrying too much debt to acquire lower rate cc to lower our monthly payments. What can we do?

I am going to try and call all of my credit card holders and see about lowering my monthly interest as you talked about in one of your articles. I am also ordering your books as soon as I finish with his email. Your help is appreciated.

Bob

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"Scott--Thank you for all your great articles and advice. Something happened to me recently in that the bank put a major hold on a money market deposit and then - six days after the fact - charged $90 for three over-limit fees that were withdrawn from the account. The online bank statement was showing the money was available at the time the transactions were entered. (They have a screen that shows what is in your account: Total and what is Available. Because I had read your newsletter previously, I went to the bank, said there seemed to be a problem and that I needed some insight so that it didn't happen again. Said I had several other banks that were eager for my account and paid interest on my deposits, but because I was already set up with a direct deposit to this account, I was coming to them for clarification. After investigating the fact, they were very happy to reverse the charges, made it clear to me that they didn't approve of the way the situation appeared, commiserated about how they handled some of their own banking (credit card) accounts - and - on the way out of the bank - the branch manager came out of her office and apologized - saying they try to catch that kind of thing. Wow--that never happened before. In the past, the entire situation would have stressed me out and put me on the defensive. Thank you again for helping me find a way to be open to taking on the challenge and winning."

CJ Knight

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Out-of-pocket cost versus payment timing; what is the effect? Here are three $2,000 loans that are paid off in exactly one year: (1) payments of $180 per month for 12 months; (2) eleven monthly payments of $100 and a final payment of $1,060; (3) monthly payments one through five are $100, the 6th payment is $1,060, and the remaining monthly payments are $100. Which loan is best (i.e. has the lowest interest rate)?

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Gary,

My husband and I live alone. My mom comes over for dinner and breakfast 3 days a week, and I send her lunches for work 2 nights a week. We are spending over $400 a week for groceries. I am not buying extravagant things, and I really don't buy a lot of "junk" food. Where on earth are we going wrong? I see in the Tips section this week, a girl from Oklahoma says that she spent around $130 a month on groceries for herself and her husband?!?! How?! What is she eating? If someone could explain this for me. I feel like we are beyond help. What are we doing wrong? Is she adding everything into that bill??

Diane O.

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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 web site. 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 web site 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.