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ISSUE #194

Email Newsletter  

  January 21, 2009  


Scott Bilker
Signature
Scott Bilker, founder of DebtSmart
  

Hi,

The credit crisis is picking up speed. Banks are slashing credit limits, raising rates, and making it harder for people to borrow. Every time I turn on the news, I hear another doom-and-gloom story. I even find myself writing that same stuff. I'm sure that I'm not the only person wondering when all this will end. What will our new President do to solve this problem? When will people have confidence in the economy again? Can the stock market survive given all the scandals? Will the real estate market recover? How many more jobs will be lost?

I don't have the answers to any of those questions--nobody does--however, I am optimistic. I really believe that everything will start to turn around during 2009. People still need stuff, places to live, services, medicine, etc. It seems that all the extrinsic value of stocks and real estate has been deflated, and maybe we're at the bottom. If so, there's only one way to go from here--UP!

One last item...the next email newsletter will arrive one day early on 2/3/09.

Best,
Scott


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In This Issue

Cool Quote
Capital One, and other, banks' tactics that might shock you
STATISTIC: Borrowing Down
Virtual Assistant
The Cost of Clutter
"Needless to say, I was pleased."
How Real People Grow Their Wealth
Household Math™: Compounded Daily vs. Monthly
Is your credit score costing you a fortune?
A dozen ways to save after wage cuts or job loss
 

Cool Quote

"When written in Chinese, the word 'crisis' is composed of two characters. One represents danger and the other represents opportunity."

--John F. Kennedy

More cool quotes from past issues


Capital One, and other, banks' tactics that might shock you
by Scott Bilker

This article is aimed at Capital One because I have a great inside source who has been working as a customer representative for a while now. He recently sent me an email outlining many tactics that Capital One is using when you call in. However, this has come to the forefront because many banks have been closing accounts and reducing credit limits of even their best customers. I've had maybe a dozen accounts closed so far myself including a Capital One account. I called the bank to try and keep the account open and, for the most part, the banks are not agreeing. They tell me that, "these decisions are in response to the current credit crisis." Gee, I'm thinking that, "huh, the banks blew it to the tune of $300 billion because of bad decision making and now, they're next move is to close the accounts of their profitable, and potentially profitable customers." Yeah, that's a good move--duh! What are they thinking! Talk about cutting your nose off.

Finish reading the article


STATISTIC: Borrowing Down

Consumer borrowing dropped by a record $7.9 billion in November as Americans scrambled to boost savings in face of the deepening recession and amid an investor exodus from securities backed by credit-card and other loans. The slump brought consumer credit down to $2.57 trillion, and capped the first back-to-back monthly decline since 1992.

More credit card and debt statistics


Virtual Assistant

Definition: A Virtual Assistant (VA) is, in most cases, an entrepreneur who works from their home office. A virtual assistant usually has had experience working in the real business world as an administrative assistant, office manager, paralegal, etc. Virtual assistants provide administrative, secretarial, and clerical support, as well as creative and/or technical services for a client.

There are online associations which provide educational opportunities for virtual assistants, lists of virtual assistant...

See story here


The Cost of Clutter
by Jill Cooper

We live in a society of extremes. People seem to be extremely in debt, extremely overweight and extremely disorganized. People everywhere are trying to come up with new and better solutions to solve these problems but not many of their ideas are working.

It's because they are focusing on the wrong problem. For example, if your child comes to you and says "I have a drug problem," you don't sit them down and say, "Well let's work on a way to get your grades up, and then we'll work on your drug problem." How foolish that would be. The real problem is not the grades but the drugs. You take care of the drugs and the chances are pretty good that the grades will come up.

For some of us, instead of focusing on getting out of debt or losing weight, we need to first give more serious thought to becoming organized. Does that sound crazy, almost laughable? Before you start laughing too hard, look at these examples and see if you can relate.

How often do you go out to eat because your kitchen is a mess? If your kitchen is clean, chances are you would not only be more willing to fix dinner at home but in the morning you would fix breakfast and pack yourself a lunch too.

Finish reading the article


"Needless to say, I was pleased."

"I wanted to pass along a positive experience with the Discover card people. Recently I missed a payment and only discovered it upon opening my next statement the day after Christmas. Interest rate went from 4.99 to 23.99% $30 worth of finance charges staring me in the face!! I called the customer service number and was surprised and pleased to find out that April, the first person I talked with, was more than willing to review my file. She immediately offered to take off the $30 finance charge. When I explained that the 23.99% interest rate scared me worse than the finance charge, she offered to reset my rate based on my payment history and length of time as a card holder. Needless to say, I was pleased. Wanted to share a good experience with you and your readers. Maybe Discover is starting to get it."

--Jean Donley

Learn how to "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt"


How Real People Grow Their Wealth

For most people, wealth does not come in a windfall but instead gathers gradually as a result of years of hard work and diligence.

Bankrate readers offer their tips for growing wealth. You'll find no winning lottery numbers or surefire stock recommendations among them, but all are sensible suggestions for savings.

See story here


Household Math (TM): Compounded Daily vs. Monthly
by Scott Bilker

You have $10,000 that you want to deposit into a money market account. You have a choice between two accounts. Both accounts pay 5% APR (Annual Percentage Rate). One account is compounded daily, meaning that interest is paid daily to the account. The other is compounded monthly, meaning that interest is paid monthly. After one year, how much more is earned by depositing the money in the account that is compounded daily?

Answer this math problem


Is your credit score costing you a fortune?
by Jay Peters

While some surveys show that 9 out of 10 consumers are unaware what their credit score is, I'd like to quickly share with you how your credit score could be costing you a fortune…in more ways than you can imagine.

We all know that a low credit score will make everything in the world of finance more expensive because of higher interest rates from lenders due to being considered a greater credit risk (i.e. higher interest rates on car, homes and credit cards). While this may be considered common knowledge by some, its truly devastating effects are understood by few.

For example. If you purchase a $200,000 home on a 30-year fixed mortgage at 8% interest instead of 6% (because of your credit score); that 2% is going to end up costing you a total of $96,934.11 over the term of the loan. Now, think about how many "extra" years you'll have to work to pay off $96,934.11 because of an extra 2% in interest?

Finish reading this article


A dozen ways to save after wage cuts or job loss

Money-saving tips after a decrease in income, including when to 'fess up to creditors and when to keep quiet.

If you lost your job, which expense would you cut first? Many victims of job loss are too paralyzed to know where and how to cut the fat, said Sara Croymans, who teaches personal finance classes such as "Getting Through Tough Times" at the University of Minnesota Extension Service Regional Center in Morris.

See story here



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 website. 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 website 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 ©2009 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.

The DebtSmart Email Newsletter, ISSN 1538-6740, is written and published by Scott Bilker and edited by Larissa Bilker and Denise Troy. Please contact comments@debtsmart.com with any comments, problems, or concerns. (See the very bottom of the email to make changes to your subscription.)

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