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Discover® More Wildlife
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
10.99%. |
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Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: Up to 12 Months,
APR: As low as 6.74%. |
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Blue from American Express®
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: Up to 12 Months on
purchases, APR: 2.99% for 12 months on transfers. |
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TrueEarnings® Card from Costco
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 3 months on
purchases, APR: 1.99% for 6 months on transfers. |
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IberiaBank Visa® Classic Card
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 6 Months, APR:
7.00%. |
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Discover® More Card
Intro Rate: 0.00%, Time Period: 12 Months, APR:
0% for 12 months on transfers. |
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In This
Issue
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Cool Quote |
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Dental Surgery Funding |
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STATISTIC: Record credit card delinquencies
in January 2009 |
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Think FICO is fair? |
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There is only one truly free report site |
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"Home Depot card raises rates for ALL
customers" |
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Extreme cheapskates: Tightwads revel in
frugality |
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Household Math™: Cutting the budget |
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Unavailable Credit |
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Quiz: How savvy a consumer are you? |
Cool Quote
"Banks made mistakes in lending, which got the economy in
this whole mess. Their latest ingenious decision is to get rid of their best
customers and their most profitable accounts."
--Scott Bilker
More cool quotes from past issues
Hi Scott,
I need some very expensive dental surgery and work. Here's
how the numbers look:
In May, I will have two dental implants installed for a
total cost of about $5,130 (that's $5400 minus a 5% "discount" for paying in
full at the time of surgery; alternatively you can pay for the surgery over 90
days). This will be done by a specialist. I might get a few hundred dollars from
insurance for this, but let's assume not (implants are not covered, but bone
grafting is).
Next January, I will have a bridge installed for about
$3,500 (after insurance). It is possible that for tax reasons, I may have this
work done in this tax year.
Though I can raise the cash, I am concerned that if I were
to become unemployed over the next few years, my cash reserves would be
dangerously low. This is also a scary percentage of my annual take-home pay (I'm
on a moderate income).
I was wondering if you could suggest a strategy/strategies
to fund this $8,500 expenditure over a two-year period interest free. I have an
excellent credit score (800+). I know that during the process, I can shop for
balance transfer offers; however, I'd prefer to find a card with 0% on purchases
for 24 months or do a series of transactions to perform the equivalent.
My dental surgeon's office has an arrangement with "Care
Credit" whereby (if approved), I pay no interest for 6 months (not much help).
After that, it goes to market (I'm not interested in paying more than 4%
interest). My primary dentist (the one doing the bridge) has no arrangements
with Care Credit or similar cards.
Bob R.
Finish reading the article
Charge-off rates in January 2009 were 40% higher than a
year ago at 7.5% and were expected to approach 9% during the second half of
2009. As one would expect, late payments on credit card bills are closely link
to unemployment levels. Non-farm employment fell 524,000 in December 2008,
contributing to the biggest decline in payrolls on a three-month moving average
since 1945. The unemployment rate jumped to a 15-year high of 7.2%, from 6.8% in
November 2008. Many analysts are predicting financial conditions to worsen in
the coming months.
More credit card and debt statistics
Think FICO is fair?
As a former banker, business owner Rob Hurst knows how
credit card companies think. So he's diligent about paying off his statements
each month. He keeps his balances low. He does whatever it takes to avoid the
kind of painful surprises other card customers are getting these days.
"I have no intention of letting the banks take advantage
of me like that. Because I know they will," said Hurst, who runs a Wild Bird
Center.
For many others, that lesson is only now becoming clear.
As struggling card banks rush to...
See story here
Anyone can dance a jig, but only the FTC provides you with
a truly free credit report. It's the only authorized source to get your free
credit report under federal law.
Anyone can write a catchy jingle, but only the FTC
provides you with a truly free credit report. It's the only authorized source to
get your free credit report under federal law.
Finish reading the article
Hi Scott,
Here is some info that you may want to use somehow in your
next newsletter, which, by the way, I love. I just received a new "change to
terms" notice with my January 15th Home Depot card statement which is
administered by Citibank. The normal rate (for everyone) is 21.99% APR - yes,
totally ridiculous which is why I pay my balance off within a month or two
whenever I have one. Now, effective the next billing cycle, the rate is going to
25.99% !!!! Can you believe that? 4% increase for ALL customers!
I called Citibank to inquire why, when I've never paid
late, pay my balance in full, etc., I was being penalized - they said all
customers received the hike. I asked why, when the prime rate has gone DOWN.
They said "Increased defaults, the bad economy, etc has made them need to recoup
their losses." So they're going to try and do it on the backs of their good
customers? I'd encourage everyone to pay their balance off ASAP if they have a
Home Depot card. For anyone who didn't read the new terms attachment with their
recent bill, be sure to let your readers know. I'd even encourage them to switch
to a Lowe's credit card instead. No fee, lower rate than Home Depot. Bye Bye
Home Depot.
Keep up the good work, Scott.
Toni F.
Learn how to "Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt"
Extreme cheapskates: Tightwads revel in frugality
NEW YORK--Amy VanDeventer has always been a cheapskate.
The recession is taking her to new extremes.
Before the economy tanked, she was still wearing maternity
clothes from her last pregnancy, clipping coupons and using hand-me-downs to
dress her daughters, ages 2 and 3. Now, she's salvaging bagel scraps left on
their plates for pizza toppings and cutting lotion bottles in half so she can
scrape out the last drops.
"I was already cheap," said VanDeventer, a 36-year-old
mortgage loan underwriter from Broomfield, Colo. "Now I am neurotic about it."
If you thought those cheapskate friends and relatives
couldn't pinch pennies any tighter, think again. The recession is making
tightwads...
See story here
Susan spends 30% of her income on housing expenses, 30%
repaying her credit card debts, 20% on all taxes, 10% on groceries, 5% on
clothing, and saves what's left over. She decides that she wants to pay back her
debt more quickly, and to do that, she needs to make a few budget cuts. Susan cuts
the grocery bill by 25%, the clothing spending in half, and dedicates all the
money she used to save toward the credit card debts. How much, by percentage, of
her income is now being used for repaying credit card debt?
Answer this math problem
READER
NOTE: Closed Credit Card Accounts
Howdy Scott:
I remember a short time ago you mentioned in one of your
newsletters about getting ticked off about Citibank closing your business
account. You stated you went ahead and closed ALL of your personal accounts with
Citi. I was curious if it had any effect on your credit score. I know Citi
pulled the same thing on me with a VISA account that they have in partnership
with Associated Bank based in Wisconsin. I transferred around $10,000 about 2
1/2 years ago at 2.99% APR for the life of the balance, with no balance transfer
fee. So far I have whittled it down to $4800. I made positively sure that no new
purchases were added to the account, since my payments would only go towards the
2.9% balance. (until that changes in July 2010.)
Well, to make a long story short, I received one of those
nice "we're increasing your APR from 10.24% to 16.99" letters from Citi. I
contacted the toll-free number listed on the letter and reached one of their
customer service reps. I told the rep I could not honestly accept their
wonderful offer of increasing my interest rate and I was opting-out. I informed
him that I would not deal with a bank that lies to their credit card customers.
The rep disputed that. I told him that the head of Citicard had previously
testified before Congress many months ago and promised that their company was
not going to be increasing interest rates arbitrarily. Well, you & I both know
what happened...they broke their promise! I also made mention it was particularly
galling that Citigroup had to be bailed out to the tune of around $45 billion
dollars and probably may need more. He got very quiet!
In an interesting note, not one of the credit cards that I
have with credit unions have indicated that they were in the process of
increasing my interest rate. I contacted one of them, Pentagon Federal Credit
Union, and I asked them if they were pulling the same sort of stunts that some
of the big banks were doing. The rep I spoke with said no! She said Pentagon
Federal is not a bank and does not operate their lending policies like a bank.
My credit line with Pentagon Federal is $50,000. So, Scott...pass along the
word that if consumers want a good deal with a credit card, check out credit
unions!
John
When I was young, one of the things that was most likely
to cause a fight was when someone changed the rules in the middle of the game.
Generally someone else was a victim of the new rule and wasn't too happy about
it. Fortunately, it was just childish stuff. Even if there was a fight, everyone
would make up the next day.
But, it does remind us of an interesting point that's
relevant today. We make plans based on how we understand the rules of the game.
A change in those rules could work against us. And, as adults, unlike kids,
we're playing for keeps.
Finish reading this article
Quiz: How savvy a consumer are you?
ConsumerMan challenge will show if you know your rights
We live in a world that grows ever more complicated.
Simple transactions are no longer simple. It's not easy to be a savvy consumer.
To celebrate National Consumer Protection Week, I, ConsumerMan Herb Weisbaum,
have put together a little quiz to test your consumer smarts.
See story here
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