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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: 15 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: Up to 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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Helping a friend with debt |
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STATISTIC: Annual Fees 2008 |
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Seven Extreme Ways to Save |
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Chase Bank Tries to Pull a Fast One |
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"Not sure where we would be..." |
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Get A Free Ride From Credit Companies |
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Household Math™: Average rate of return |
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Canceling A Credit Card |
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Debt collectors on the rampage |
Cool Quote
"Wisest is he who knows he knows not."
--Socrates
More cool quotes from past issues
Hi Scott:
First, thank you so much for what you do--it has already
helped tremendously in the situation I'm writing about. I first found your name
and website from Consumer Reports, which is why I trusted you from the
outset--they're one of the few consumer sources I trust to steer me well.
My best friend (yes, really, a friend, not me) is having
severe credit card debt problems after a period where he had to use the cards
after being laid off and having difficulty finding work and also unexpected
medical bills that accumulated during his time off work. He has a balance
hovering around $33,000.00. Using your suggestions I have helped him get reduced
(temporary) finance charge percentages and have transferred some of the debt to
lower interest cards (by calling his credit card companies and applying for zero
percent cards), so his payments are paying down the debt better than they were.
He's paying MUCH less in finance charges at this point (thanks to you!).
The problem is, while he is currently able to make the
monthly payments (and, ironically, he has a spectacularly positive payment
record--he has NO late payment history at all) he is BARELY able to do so--his
new job pays just enough for rent, food, basic supplies, and his credit card
payments (he lives and works in an urban area and does not have/need a car), but
the fact that he has no margin for saving money or paying down the balances
(beyond the minimum payments) is setting him up for even more problems down the
road.
Should he seek credit counseling or debt reduction? He
doesn't really qualify, from what I've read at your site, for debt reduction
because he's not delinquent with his payments at this point.
The pressure from all this is really dragging him down,
and he keeps plugging away at his new job (he's been there almost a year now,
and he's well-loved there) but really does feel as though he's just treading
water, not really advancing. Plus he literally has no "spending money" beyond
the basics, which also wears on him.
Any suggestions you can offer would be GREATLY appreciated
by me as well, as it's tough to watch a good friend (or anyone, for that matter)
go through this.
He has very solid values and wants to do the right thing
and pay this off, but he fears he never will be able to (he's 46, by the way).
Thanks Scott,
John G.
Finish reading this article
In 2008, 85% (35) of surveyed cards had no annual fees.
(Last year, 75% of surveyed cards did not have annual fees.) Among the cards
with annual fees, fees range from $18 (Navy Federal Credit Union goRewards Card)
to $79 (HSBC Platinum), with an average annual fee of $43.50. (In 2007, the
average annual fee was $44.74, with the same range as this year.)
More credit card and debt statistics
Seven Extreme Ways to Save
To save money, it's sometimes necessary to resort to extreme measures.
While you should be able to get your finances in order by strictly following
basic debt-reduction steps, the time may come when you'll need to radically
reduce your monetary outlays to get your finances in order. Times like these
include when you get laid off from work or have debt that continues to mount.
Drastic spending reduction steps are something most people would only
consider as a last resort. But they are a way to take a large expense out of
play. Most people won't do them because of the inconvenience, but when hard
times hit and you need to slash your expenses, here are some steps:
Ditch the car: No matter how much you think you need your car, chances are
that you can live without it. It will be a lot more inconvenient, but it will
also save you a lot of money.
See story here
This article is an oldie but a goody and one of my
personal favorites...
I knew it would happen! I read all the fine print. I
reviewed every detail! I followed the instructions from Chase Bank exactly as
they described in their low-rate-offer letter, and they still penalized me!
How did Chase Bank attempt to trick me and maybe you? I
strongly recommend that you read this entire article if you have ever done a
balance transfer or you're thinking about doing a balance transfer! This article
contains some details about my phone call to Chase Bank, copies of their
letters, copies of my bank statement, and a response form so you can let me, and
the world, know if this has ever happened to you!
Finish reading the article
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I don't know how to say
it any clearer than that!! Thanks to your website and books I have been able to
reduce my overall credit card debt from $35K plus to just over $15K. My
highest interest rate is at 2.99% and that balance is only $6200. The remainder
is at .99% or 0%.
I am now able to put money into a savings account, two
IRA's, and my 401(k) plan while still paying all the bills.
We are a single income family of four, paying a mortgage,
with all the household bills that come with that as well as all the credit card
payments made each and every month with extra payments sent as well all on only
$80K a year.
Not sure where we would be if I hadn't found your
website and your wonderful books with words of wisdom.
It wasn't easy for my family to do what we did, but we
have done it, and learned some very valuable lessons. The most important of
which is, don't purchase what you can't afford to pay for!
Again thank you for all you do to help others deal with
the credit mess their lives are in, often times at their own doing.
Keep up the good work. It is helping others!
Tracy Mundy
Learn how to "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt"
Get A Free Ride From Credit
Companies
To all you angry credit card customers out there, don't
get mad - get smart.
Learn a few tricks of the trade to avoid paying extra fees
and make the credit companies work for you. Do this and credit card big shots
will hate you and call you a free-loader, but also grudgingly salute you in
private, hoping that few people imitate your sage actions.
1. You Ride the Train, But Never Pay. Here's the secret.
This is a strategy constantly advocated by financial advisers: Pay off credit
cards expeditiously and entirely each month. Never go beyond the interest-free
30-day grace period. Then you will be taking what the card company executives
sneeringly refer to as a "free ride" - you get to use their money without paying
them anything for the privilege.
Do this one little thing and you will save thousands...
See story here
You haven't touched the money in your investment account
for the past three years. The effective annual rate of return (how much the
amount has changed over the entire year) has varied from year to year. The
returns were: 7 percent gain in the first year, one percent gain in the second,
and a 7.47 percent loss in the third. What is your average effective annual rate
of return over that three-year period?
Answer this math problem
Gary,
Both my husband and I are recent college grads who are in
over our heads in debt. My credit card is the worst, and I was curious as to
whether I need to cancel it or not.
We never use it, so is it really necessary to cancel it?
What exactly happens when you close an account?
Is it a strike on your credit history to cancel a credit
card? Is the only benefit of canceling a card the certainty of not using it?
Thank you.
Cynthia
Finish reading this article
Debt collectors on the rampage
More consumers are finding themselves the target of
aggressive agents who don't always play by the rules. Here's what you need to
know:
Six months after Rob Hruskoci closed his business, a debt
collector called and demanded payment that day for the $5,000 balance on his
business credit card.
"They want me to wire them $1,900 in 5 hours," Hruskoci
said. "It was all about intimidation and harassment."
With the economy in a tailspin, more consumers like
Hruskoci are falling behind in their loan repayments and finding themselves the
target of aggressive debt collectors.
See story here
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