 |
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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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TrueEarnings® Card from Costco
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 3 months |
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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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Thanks! And A Question About FICO Scores |
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STATISTIC: Borrowing Boom |
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READER COMMENT: "Double my reward..." |
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Women Head of Households |
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Yard Sale Etiquette |
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"That saves me 7% on one account and 5% on
the other..." |
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Trusted Information |
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Card Issuers Tighten The Screws |
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Household Math™: Biweekly Payments |
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What's Your #1 Excuse? |
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Dealing With Debt That Refuses to Die |
Cool Quote
"I paid the bank note, the car note, an' yes, I paid the
'phone bill too. An' then I turned around an' I found that the house note's due.
Well, I'd love to take you out like I said I would, honey, But there's too much
month at the end of the money."
--Marty Stuart, Country Musician
More cool quotes from past issues
Hi, Scott.
First off, I want to thank you for your great book,
Talk Your Way Out Of Credit Card Debt. I ordered it along with your two free
books ($25.65 total) specifically because my credit card company had just
charged me a $40 annual fee, and I didn't want to pay it. With a single phone
call, they removed the annual fee PERMANENTLY. In one day you saved me $14.35,
counting the cost of the book. (So I got the book for free and $14.35 in
change!) If I keep this credit card for ANOTHER seven years, you will have saved
me an additional $280, and that's assuming they don't raise the fee over that
time. So, great job! Thanks for saving me my money. I told my wife about my
success, and she's eager to replicate it. She has a card with a FIFTY-dollar
annual fee!
Now for my question: FICO scores seem like the king of the
credit world, and the scoring system is so secret and counterintuitive that it's
frightening to me to make ANY changes with my credit card "portfolio." I'm eager
to pursue more of your advice but am terrified of damaging my credit score
(which is in the low-mid 700's). I know it hurts your score to close a
long-standing account. Does it hurt your FICO score to increase the credit
limits on your cards? Does it hurt your score to open new credit card accounts?
Any proven, tested advice you can give on managing my FICO score would be much
appreciated. Perhaps you have a special report on it? Also, what do you think of
the idea of borrowing money from a 0% APR card, investing it for a return, and
paying back the loan with no interest so you pocket the difference?
Thanks again! Love your stuff. I especially love your
story about buying a car with 0% APR credit cards. What a gem!
Judd
Finish reading this article
Between 2002 and 2006, household borrowing grew at an
average annual rate of 11%, far outpacing overall economic growth. Borrowing by
financial institutions grew by a 10% annualized rate.
More credit card and debt statistics
READER
COMMENT: "Double my reward..."
Scott,
I have been an email subscriber for years and purchased
your books early on. Although I do not always read every article like I used to
do--I do read every introductory paragraph that you write at the beginning.
Because of this practice--I immediately checked our
Costco American Express Account after reading your comments last month.
To my surprise (I consider myself to be VERY money savvy) the people at Costco
told me within seconds of looking at my account that it would double my reward
by changing from the Business level to the Executive level.
This email then, is just to let you know that on those
days when you think you aren't making a difference--you are!
Sincerely,
Elaine
Women Head of Households
New study shows that women often make more family
financial decisions than men.
See story here
Just call me the Miss Manners of garage sales.
You see, I believe there's a certain moral and ethical
code governing the sacred act of selling and buying secondhand stuff. Contrary
to popular belief, a yard sale is not an anything-goes, no-etiquette-needed
free-for-all. As in any social situation, there are certain things you do or
avoid doing in order to be polite.
Being avid yard sale shoppers, my husband, Michael and I
often run across examples of bad manners, both by shoppers and by sellers. Here
are a few of the faux pas we've seen that could have been easily avoided by the
simple practice of good yard sale etiquette.
Finish reading the article
Hi Scott,
This is my story for today, and I have you to thank for all
the good information in your book, Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt."
It is time again to call my banks to reduce credit card
APR.
I have had a credit card account with BofA for 45 years
(yes 45 years) and one would think that after all that time a bank might bend a
little for an old customer (old in actual years and old as a customer).
I have 2 cards--one with an APR of 9.98% and the other
7.79%.
Called them in an effort to get a reduction, and the answer
was a flat NO!
Step back to 1999--I had opened a credit card with Chase
and never used the card or lost it--whatever.
About nine months ago, I received in the mail a coupon for
$100 that they would deposit in an account if I opened a Chase checking account.
Free money is always a good thing (of course it's not really free--it's advance
interest on which income tax will be due). At about the same time, I was having
problems with "what's in your wallet" so now was a good time to leave them, and I
opened the Chase account.
Along with the checking account came their check (debit)
card; a Freedom Card (a low rate rewards--cash back card) and a regular credit
card. All well and good.
Then one day I to go to Chase online to look at my bank
statement on line, and lo and behold, there is another credit card listed with a
credit line of $15,000. I said to myself this must be a mistake and went over to
the branch to inquire. It seems that Chase found this old credit card (last
transaction in 1999) in their files and added it to my on line account. OK. No
problem there.
I open the file and here's what I find--Chase will let me
do a balance transfer for the life of the loan at the FIXED RATE of 2.99%. Today
I am going down to the branch and transferring almost everything from the BofA
accounts (I want to keep the credit cards open because one has a credit limit of
$27,000 and the other $24,000) to Chase. Hey--that saves me 7% on one account
and 5% on the other. Oh, yes there is a transfer fee of 3% not to exceed $190.
The total of the transfers will be $8,000..
Later
Leon
Learn how to "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt"
Trusted Information
Here is a list of some of my favorite newsletters. Each
one of these newsletters is published by an expert in the field of Personal
Finance. You should consider subscribing to their newsletters because they
provide excellent insight into managing your money:
(1)
Mommysavers; (2)
SavingAdvice; (3)
Budget Stretcher; (4)
Counting the Cost; (4)
All Things Frugal; (5)
Emerson Publications; (6)
MomsMenu News
Card Issuers Tighten The Screws
Debra Tanner was thrilled earlier this year when her
longtime credit-card issuer cut her interest rate nearly in half, from 16% to
9%. But a few months later, the thrill was gone. In August, Tanner discovered
that the card issuer, HSBC Bank, had jacked up her rate to 30%. In fact, the
rate hike had gone into effect several billing cycles earlier without Tanner
noticing.
When she called to protest, a customer-service
representative told Tanner that her rate was being raised because she had been
two days late with a payment. The bank refused even to consider restoring her
lower rate until at least November.
See story here
You borrow $25,000 at 8% for 5 years to remodel your
kitchen and bathroom. Your loan requires 60 monthly payments to completely pay
off the loan. After you get the loan, one of your friends tells you that you can
save money by making payments more frequently. They tell you that this happens
because you pay off some of the principal earlier and are not charged interest
on that principal afterwards. Sounds good. Here's the question. If you convert
that 5-year (60-month) loan into a loan that requires 130 biweekly payments
(still 5 years) how much money will you save in overall bank payments?
Answer this math problem
My book, The Attractor Factor, became a #1 bestseller at
Barnes and Noble online when it was released and people told me I was nuts to
try to promote a book when Harry Potter was already in the top spot.
"You don't stand a chance," one author wrote. "Why don't
you wait until Potter is off the list?"
After my book hit the streets, made all the lists, beat
Trump, Da Vinci, and even Harry Potter, some people said, "Well, okay, but that
only happened because the new Harry Potter book isn't in print yet."
Finish reading this article
Court Ruling Requires Credit Bureaus To Wipe Away Bills
Incurred Before Bankruptcy
A recent court order requires the three major
credit-reporting bureaus -- Experian Group Ltd., Equifax Inc. and TransUnion LLC
-- to clean up the credit files of millions of consumers who have filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The problem: Old debts, which are typically forgiven by
the courts in a bankruptcy filing, are still being reported as active on many
consumers' credit reports.
The judge for the case, David O. Carter of the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of California, has given the bureaus
until Oct. 1 to revamp their systems. Experian and TransUnion say they have
already updated their credit files to be compliant with the court order, while
Equifax declined to comment. TransUnion also sent notices to some customers
saying they "may experience a slight change" to their credit scores if any of
their accounts are updated because of a bankruptcy.
See story here
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