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DebtSmart    

ISSUE #200

Email Newsletter  

  April 15, 2009  


Scott Bilker
Signature
Scott Bilker, founder of DebtSmart
  

Hi,

Happy Tax Day! (Just kidding.)

That's just a friendly reminder that today is the last day to file your taxes or file for an extension. I'm sure that you have everything squared away by now. If not, I do suggest filing electronically because it's easy, and computer software will reduce the probability of math errors.

Best,
Scott


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In This Issue

Cool Quote
11 Easy Ways to Cut Your Spending Without Feeling It
STATISTIC: ID Theft Tops FTC 2008 Consumer Complaint List
Credit Card Rewards Points: Use 'em Soon, or Lose 'em?
Debt Trap
"Down From $35,000 in Credit Card Debt"
US House Bill Would Ease Credit Card Timeframe
Household Math™: How Much Spending
The Top 10 Destructive Money Beliefs
Suze Orman and the New Rules of Credit Card Debt
 

Cool Quote

"The credit card companies have put the loan sharks out of business."

--Elizabeth Warren, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School

More cool quotes from past issues


11 Easy Ways to Cut Your Spending Without Feeling It
by Scott Bilker

It's clear from the DebtSmart Survey Results: Cutting Spending vs. More Income that most people believe that cutting spending is the faster way to reduce debt. Of course, this is certainly true to some extent. My position is that there are three main points to be addressed when reducing debt, specifically: (1) Getting organized financially; (2) Becoming more efficient with your current debt and spending; (3) Generating more income.

Here are some suggestions to expand on number (2), specifically as it applies to spending....

Finish reading the article


STATISTIC: ID Theft Tops FTC 2008 Consumer Complaint List
 
Rank Category Complaints %
1 Identity Theft 313,982 26
2 Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection 104,642 9
3 Shop-at-Home and Catalog Sales 52,615 4
4 Internet Services 52,102 4
5 Foreign Money Offers and Counterfeit Check Scams 38,505 3
6 Credit Bureaus, Information Furnishers and Report Users 34,940 3
7 Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries 33,340 3
8 Television and Electronic Media 25,930 2
9 Banks and Lenders 22,890 2
10 Telecom Equipment and Mobile Services 22,387 2

More credit card and debt statistics


Credit Card Rewards Points: Use 'em Soon, or Lose 'em?

Are some credit card companies taking away consumers' hard earned rewards points? Are you one of those people who charges almost everything on your credit card, even a cup of coffee at Starbucks, just so you can accumulate reward points to get free trips or gifts?

It seems that some credit card companies are rewarding your loyalty by canceling your card and taking back all those accumulated points. We're talking about big companies, like American Express and Discover card.

That's what happened to longtime American Express cardholder, Jillian Ivey, a southern California attorney who says she always pays her Amex bill on time. In January, Amex canceled her card and wouldn't give her an exact reason. When she called to complain, Amex told her she not only lost her credit card, but she also lost the 105,000 membership rewards points she'd saved to take a big trip abroad.

In fact, the Terms and Conditions for...

See story here


Debt Trap
by MSNBC

Debt: The next big American crisis? Instead of accumulating wealth, many are falling further behind on payments. Dateline looks into a fundamental economic problem: the debt epidemic.

Chriss Snyder has $25,000 dollars in credit card debt that she's trying to get under control. She describes a potential trap that could cost you big money. The economy is in freefall, and no one's sure where rock bottom is. And as the mortgage crisis and mounting job losses melt away the American dream, another fundamental economic problem is being exposed: America's debt epidemic.

Finish reading the article


"Down from $35,000 in credit card debt"

Excellent! Why I've been there and done that. Scott, I purchased your books and used them to great advantage. I've not had to pay any interest on credit cards for two years now. I'm down from $35,000 in credit card debt to $10,000 in 24 months. Thanks a bunch!

Rich Garay

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


US House bill would ease credit card timeframe

*Bill would give issuers at least 1 year to make changes

*Maloney optimistic president will get bill this year

*Full committee could vote soon after April break (Adds committee vote, payment provision, Ackerman comment)

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. House lawmakers agreed on Thursday to give credit card companies at least one year to rein in unfair practices, dropping an original proposal for a three-month timeframe.

In a voice vote, a House Financial Services subcommittee approved a bill, called the "Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights." The chief sponsor of the bill is U.S. Rep Carolyn Maloney, a New York Democrat who was seeking to force credit card companies to change their ways within three months.

See story here


Household Math (TM): How Much Spending
by Scott Bilker

Jackie wanted to figure out how much money she actually spent in this current month. She looked at all the checks she wrote and her credit card spending. Jackie noted that she hadn't used her credit card for purchases, however, she did write checks for: (1) $50 for cable TV; (2) $125 for groceries; (3) electric bill for $200; and (4) a minimum payment on her credit card of $80. How much did Jackie spend this month?

Answer this math problem


The top 10 destructive money beliefs
by Dan Klatt

If you're not making as much money as you'd like, then you're holding onto some negative beliefs about yourself and how much money you're capable of handling.

In this article, we'll go through 10 of the most common (and most limiting) examples of how people hold themselves back financially.

Subscribers to my ezine, "The Abundant Mind," get a Money Beliefs Quiz. From their results, I've compiled these Top 10 Destructive Money Beliefs. How many can you relate to?

Finish reading this article


Suze Orman and the New Rules of Credit Card Debt

Personal finance gurus usually treat credit card debt as the plague and urge consumers to pay it off--ASAP. But this week, Queen of Personal Finance, Suze Orman, announced on The Oprah Winfrey Show that the old advice is wrong. The recession has made job loss so prevalent, she says, that consumers now need to make creating an emergency fund with eight months worth of expenses their top priority.

"If you have an unpaid credit card balance [and] not much saved up in emergency savings, I need you to listen up. My advice has changed. I want you to only pay the minimum due on your credit card balance, and instead, make it your top priority to build as much of an emergency cash fund as you can," Orman said on the program.

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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