Low Interest Rate Credit Card

How did I get a Low Interest Rate Credit Card?

Easy... I didn't even have to switch cards but I turned my existing card which just yesterday was charging me over 19% into a 3.9% credit card!

How?

Here's what I did...

First, I always get my credit card company to send me an email update of my balances.

This spurs me to pay the suckers down.

I hate the thought that I have ANY credit cards... I don't just want a low interest rate credit card!

I'd rather have one I pay off monthyly.

I'm not there yet, but hopefully will be SOON.

Anyway, quite by accident I turned my high interest rate credit card into a low interest rate credit card!

How? When my account balance reminder came and I began to bemoan it, I remembered that I hadn't called to get the rate lowered in a while.

If you've had your card a while, paid regularly, etc. it pays to call every few months and ask what the lowest rate is that they can give you.

Just by taking this one step I was closer to having a low interest rate credit card!

I called and asked how low could they go, and the interest rate went instantly from over 19% to 15.4%...a 25% decrease!

While I was on the phone they told me about a cash advance special though... 3.9% with no other fees on all cash advances.

The ONLY hitch (I made sure) was that if you pay late, even once, they can jack the rate up to their "in default rates"... huge.

I CAN make the minimum payment monthly.

I specifically said, so I could get a check for my balance amount which is at 19.5%, pay you, and pay 3.9% until this amount is paid off?

"Yes..."

So I did it.

I paid off the balance of another card too... In 15 minutes I turned two high interest rate credit cards into ONE low interest rate credit card!

I went from 25% on one card... a sleazy Capital One card ... you know the ones with "low fixed rates"! Hah!

To one card with a 3.9% interest rate!

You might be able to do this too without even changing cards!

Try it yourself.

It's fast and completely free to ask!

What are you waiting for? Use these steps to get your own low interest rate credit card!


Posted by Chuck
Also visit CreditRepairDude.com

Sell My Own Home

If you're at the point you're saying "How do I sell my own home" this will help you prepare.

When I wanted to sell my own home, I first made sure I had an attorney who would process the transaction at a reasonable fee and who knew the in's and outs of real estate.

Alternatively, a closing company might be able to help you... be sure you know all your rights however.

The next key when I learned how to sell my own home was marketing... letting prospective buyers know that I was going to sell my own home and that it was worth thir attention.

Remember, the real estate agents don't work for you if you're selling your own home.

You need to work hard to build traffic for that house to be sold.

Selling Your Home is Easier if You Prepare First
by: Charles Essmeier

Selling a home is a complicated thing to do. It involves a lot of paperwork, a lot of meeting with people and most of all, a lot of time. That being the case, it helps to prepare ahead of time to sell your own home. There are a few things that anyone who wishes to sell their own home should do prior to putting the "for sale" sign in the front yard. The sooner these things are done, the easier the job of selling the home will be.

Here are a few suggestions for things that you should do prior to putting your home up for sale:

Do you plan to hire a realtor? If so, you should probably do some research to find one. You want to find someone with whom you are comfortable and who has experience selling homes. You don't want to be dealing with a realtor who is still "learning the ropes. If you want to sell it yourself, you should probably pick up a book on the topic or do some Internet research. Try looking up "FSBO", which is short for "For Sale By Owner."

Get your home ready to sell. Is it in tip-top shape? Does it need paint? Roof repair? Yard maintenance? These are things you want to have ready ahead of time. First impressions make a lot of difference; you want you home to look great when it's time to sell. That applies to the inside of the home, as well. Before you show it, you need to make sure that it's clean and tidy.

Get pre-approved for a loan. If you are going to need to buy another home after you sell this one, you should get pre-approved for a loan now. That will make it much easier for you to shop for your new home. An even better idea would be to apply now for a home equity line of credit on your existing property. That will insure that you have an adequate down payment for your next home should you find that one before your current home is sold.

Consider having the home appraised. While realtors have a good idea of how much a home should sell for, you may not if you are selling it yourself. Plus, both mortgage and appraisal fraud are quite common these days. It wouldn't hurt to have an appraisal that is independent of the realtor or lender.
Selling a home isn't particularly complicated; millions of them are sold every year. But the more prepared you are to sell yours, the easier it will be.

©Copyright 2005-06 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including http://www.homeequityhelp.net, a site devoted to information regarding home equity lending. Used by terms of ArticleCity.com
Posted by Chuck
Also visit CreditRepairDude.com

Home Mortgage News - Is There A Housing Bubble?

Is The Party Over???

Christopher Thornberg, senior economist with the espected UCLA Anderson Forecast, told a business group that he believes a drastic deceleration in home sales is coming. "You are starting to see a slowdown in housing market activity, and that says loud and clear that things are starting to break." He believes house prices are about 30 percent to 40 percent overvalued.

"If you have a big decline in unit sales, you'll have mortgage brokers and real estate agents and construction workers all losing jobs. And what's driving the California job market right now? Construction, finance and real estate jobs.
Those will go away...all that wonderful money is going to disappear. Suddenly, the house isn't going to be able to pay for the kids' education, it's not going to pay for your retirement in Bermuda and it's not going to pay for that face-lift at age 74."

Thornberg adds, "...we have peaked. And beyond that is a downhill run."

Consider:

* 42% of all first-time buyers put down nothing. More than two-thirds put down almost nothing.

* They don't pay back a dime of principal. One-third of all mortgages are now interest only. In California, about half of all mortgages are interest-only. In the Bay Area, make that two-thirds.

* Thanks to easy terms, the payments on the new place are lower than on the buyer's previous home...for the time being.

* Lots of buyers are skipping occasional monthly payment and adding the difference to their debt.

* More than 1/3 of all home sales involve second homes, usually speculations. Florida is packed with condos that no one lives in - up to 40% of "home" sales in some markets!

What's happening is that home buyers and sellers are trading pieces of paper that say some house is worth, let's say, $450,000. But nobody's bank account or paycheck is taking a hit to pay those prices. No one is working longer hours to repay the vast new debts. It's a fool's paradise - until interest rates go up, principal payments come due, and prices start to tum ble.

We're talking about borrowers who spend every dime and live from paycheck to paycheck. They never save a penny. In 2005 Americans' personal savings rate dipped into negative territory, minus 0.5 percent, something that has not happened since the Great Depression. This means that Americans not only spent all of their after-tax income last year but had to increase borrowing (unless they had savings to wipe out).

The savings rate has been negative for an entire year only twice before, in 1932 and 1933, two years when the country was struggling to cope with the Great Depression, a time of massive business failures and job layoffs.

Worse yet, they've loaded up on credit card debt as well as mortgage debt. Their adjustable house payment will go up like crazy at the very same time their house loses value.

Do you think they're going to tough it out and continue to make those payments? Don't count on it. Most of them couldn't do it if they tried. In fact, millions will lose their jobs as the economy turns down.

40 percent of the new jobs in this country in the last few years have been housing related. Those jobs will disappear.

Look for a huge, huge wave of defaults. Desperate homeowners will load up the furniture, hand the keys to the lender and drive away. What's more, they'll do it by the millions, bringing down the world's biggest financial institutions and crashing the stock market while they're at it.

The Wall Street Journal says, "In recent years, the housing industry has bent over backward to allow people...to buy houses they couldn't previously afford. Now the bill is coming due."

Money Magazine reports that home prices are going up five times as fast as personal income. "In fact, the market could not have run this far if not for the proliferation of interest-only mortgages, which make it possible for people to purchase more home than they could otherwise afford."

Forbes warns, "Get out now, because house prices on the urban coasts have peaked. That's the consensus of experts, based on ratios such as house prices to local incomes...Rising interest rates have started to put the brakes on house appreciation. The number of 'for sale' signs in California is exploding like spring pollen."

And The Daily Reckoning (www.dailyreckoning.com) says, "Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the lenders behind $4 trillion of housing loans. These institutions are guilty of manipulations that make the folks at Enron look like a bunch of Boy Scouts. They've cooked their books, concealed huge losses, paid off politicians, and lied to investors every which way from Sunday.

"These giant lenders are in no position to weather even a small downturn. But the downturn has already started, and it's NOT going to be small. When these big companies fail, it will rock financial markets. Interest rates will soar.

"The main difference between these scandals and Enron is SIZE. The wealth that will go down the tubes this time is thousands of times greater. Every singleinvestor, homeowner, and government in the world will feel the shock. Home buying could dry up because borrowers can't get financing. And anyway, who wants to buy a house that's losing value? Wait six months and you can get it cheaper,
people will figure."

Those of us who were in the real estate and mortgage market in the Jimmy Carter years know what that's like. Those of you who weren't around then have a big surprise in store. And this one will make those years look like a picnic.

"The downward spiral won't stop once people stop believing that real estate always goes up.

"Americans owe $7 trillion on their homes - twice as much as 10 years ago. But our incomes - our ability to pay - have gone up by a fraction of that amount.

"It's painfully clear a lot of that $7 trillion will never be paid back. And the biggest lenders on the planet are going down. "

As for me, I'm dusting off my books on making money in financial panics.

My advice: Get out of the stock market, sell your real estate and convert at least 25% of your cash to non-numismatic gold coins (see http://www.the-moneychanger.com). Also, get to know every bank REO officer in your town. REO means "Real Estate Owned." These are the folks who dispose of properties the banks get in foreclosures. Let them know you are an investor interested in buying property at the right price. But don't buy any now. Wait until the banks are awash in foreclosed property. Just make sure all the REO officers know how to reach you then.

From PaperSourceOnline.com

Posted by Chuck
Also visit CreditRepairDude.com and the Debt Solution Blog

Consumer Credit: Service Contracts Can Be A Disservice

Do service contracts make good Consumer Credit Sense? Many times, the service contracts or extended warranties are pure profit for the store or manufacturer. They prey on our fears at a vulnerable time but don't ever pay off.

Sometimes the items are so cheap it just pays to buy a new one... anyone seen a TV repair man lately? That's a prime example. We're a disposable society so why have service plans except on high ticket items?

For the most part, they're a rip off, but here's how to know for sure.



From TheEagle.com...

To many, a relatively inexpensive service contract seems like a good way to protect their investment. According to the FTC, an estimated 50 percent of all new car buyers, and many used car and major appliance buyers, purchase service contracts.

Typically, the contract costs a few dollars extra, depending on the original purchase price, and involves an extension on the existing warranty. In other words, if you buy a $50 answering machine with a 30-day warranty, you may have the option of spending an additional $5 on a service contract for an extension.

Unfortunately, the costs of service contracts can add up quickly, and many experts believe that they are not worth the extra money. The experts at Consumer Credit Counseling Services, a division of Money Management International, offer the following advice.

• Consider how the item will be used. If you purchase an appliance and only expect it to see average use, the service contract may only benefit the manufacturer.

• Compare warranties. Read the original warranty to determine if additional coverage is necessary. Look for duplicate coverage to be sure that you are not paying for the coverage twice.

• Read the fine print. Not all repairs are covered by service contracts. For example, coverage may only apply for certain parts of the item. Most contracts will not cover repairs if the item has not been properly maintained.

• Figure out the total cost. Some warranties also have deductibles, making the warranty more costly. Other services charge a fee each time the warranty is used. Also, be sure to determine if there is a fee to cancel the contract.

• Shop around. Warranties are offered by manufacturers, as well as by third-party providers. It pays to compare costs and services.

In many cases, you can purchase a warranty at a later date. The bottom line is that the cost of your warranty shouldn't outweigh the value of the item it is protecting.

Posted by Chuck
Also visit CreditRepairDude.com and the Debt Solution Blog

PayDay Loan Crackdown

In rural TN, we've seen loan agreements that create effective rates of 300% on pay day loan agreements.

Many former pawnshops, tired of dusting the merchandise, simply morphed into pay day loan operations "overnight".

The return on investment his HUGE with relatively no overhead.

Like any addiction the first hit is free or very low cost.

But the charges and interest quickly build up and some people never seem to escape.

One church member suggested we start an interest free non profit pay day loan operation but that would probably... leave the non profit ripped off... or burned down (literally) by the competition.

Check out what North Carolina is doing about Pay Day loan operations.

We serve EX pay day loan clients in We serve clients in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming!

Call 931-762-9904 if we can help you break the PayDay Loan habit!
From the Robesonian Online

In an agreement with the state, Check into Cash, one of the last payday lenders in the county, Check ‘n Go and First American Cash Advance all agreed to stop loaning money. Payday lending giant Advance America, which also had an office in Lumberton, stopped offering loans in September.

Officials at Check into Cash did not return phone calls. But most payday lending companies argue that they provide a safe, reasonable way to avoid bounced checks, overdraft fees, maxed-out credit cards and illegal loan sharks. They are attractive to people with poor credit who can't qualify for more traditional loans.

Attorney General Roy Copper strongly disagrees, and has been trying to put a stop to payday lenders since 2001.

“We've fought payday lending at every turn and now we're putting the industry out of business here in North Carolina,” Cooper said.

Check into Cash, Check ‘n Go and First American Cash Advance will have up to 120 days to collect the principal balance on any outstanding loans. The companies will also be required to pay $700,000 to nonprofits that provide credit counseling to state residents who fell into debt. Consumer Credit Counseling Services in Fayetteville, which serves Lumberton, will receive $65,000.

An estimated 170,000 North Carolinians have taken out a payday loans since they began operating in the state in 1997, according to the Durham-based Center for Responsible Lending.

Cooper and anti-predatory lending groups said that cases like Marie's, where the borrower pays off the loan, are rare. Most borrowers get trapped in cycle of debt with the loans, which have interest rates well above the 36 percent legal limit.

A payday loan is a short-term cash loan, usually for less than $500. The borrower writes the company a post-dated check for the amount, plus a fee. Often borrowers get trapped in cycle of debt with the loans, struggling just to pay the interest.



Posted by Chuck
Also visit CreditRepairDude.com and the Debt Solution Blog

Debt Management and Keeping a Check on Your Finances...

By Rick Russell,

Money is available at an all time low interest rates in market. Easy credit is luring people to take money from creditors these days. In some cases people are unable to make repayments. For people who are having difficulties in paying their debts back; debt management can provide an ideal solution. Debt management is a process, whereby people slowly reduce and eventually eliminate all the outstanding debts that they have accrued. This involves careful management of people's assets and dealing with the creditors.

Debt management has emerged as a very important tool in understanding debt problems and erasing outstanding dues without much stress. Here are a few ways by which we can reduce our debts with the tool of debt management.

Debt consolidation loans

This is the case when the borrower has taken loans from different creditors at different interest rates. This technique allows the borrower to take a loan which will consolidate all his previous loans into a single loan. Debt consolidations further provide the borrower with many benefits as well such as:

Borrowers do not have to pay the inflated interest rates; they just need to pay easy and fitting rates

By applying on line the borrowers can get their loans approved quickly.

Borrowers can get negotiated deals which provide further help to their repayment schemes.

The repayment plan that is offered that is also designed to suite the requirements of the borrowers, with easy repayment schedule ranging between 10 - 30 years.

Borrowers with even bad credit such as arrears, defaults and bankruptcy in the past their requirements are also catered to.

Steps to follow while working on debt management:

*Working within the budget: make a budget for yourselves and strictly adhere to that. Try to follow the full budget until you have made all your payments to your creditors.

*Consciously reducing the expenditures: make sure that you are spending on your needs only. Do not make any expenditure until it is an absolute necessity. Make as much savings as you can.

*Focus on clearing the debts first: your main focus should be on clearing your debts. Make efforts to reduce the debts in a manner that is most convenient to you. Without sacrificing too much of the regular expenditures.

Posted by Chuck
Also visit CreditRepairDude.com and the Debt Solution Blog

Free Debt Consolidation?

"Free Debt Consolidation" the ad said.

Could it be true?

I started to do some checking.

That's how I became involved in helping people solve their debt problems. See my Debt Solution blog
for more on that though.

How can ANYONE do ANYTHING for free?

Even a NON PROFIT AGENCY has to pay the light bill!

Not to mention, toll free phone lines, websites, and for these pay per click ads that can cost over $1 to $5 PER CLICK.... just to get 2 eyeballs on your site!

Anything paying thousands per month in Pay Per Click advertising has to be getting money from SOMEWHERE.

Remember, THERE's NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH!

And there's no such thing as FREE DEBT CONSOLIDATION in the sense that these organizations don't get paid.

Here's what I mean by that.

Non profit credit counseling and debt consolidation agencies (the one I represent too) generate revenue in 4 ways...

1) Set up fees
2) Monthly administration fees
3) "Fair Share" donations from banks
4) Voluntary Contributions

All such agencies are regulated by state law and that determines what you can be charged.

Usually it's 1, 2, or 3 but in some states, set up fees and monthly fees aren't allowed.

But no state keeps non profit agencies from collecting fair share donations from creditors for whom we facilitate repayment. The fee varies per creditor from zero to 8% with the average about 4%.

But all these states allow non profits to collect VOLUNTARY contributions.

So even FREE debt consolidation companies are getting revenue... or they couldn't survive long enough to advertise.

Hey, if they don't charge a fee today to lure your business, will they be around in the future to service your account?

If you pay $530 to a non profit charging fees versus putting $530 on your debt monthly you WILL save a few months worth of payment.

But BOTH plans save you gobs of interest. But the non profit retaining monthly fees will be able to serve you better and offer OTHER FREE SERVICES and personal hand holding the other one can't afford to.

And if you give a "voluntary contribution" because they're "non profit" you may be paying as much or MORE than you would where the non profit operates on a state mandated fee schedule.

Know the facts, there's no such thing as a free lunch and there's no such thing as FREE DEBT CONSOLIDATION!



Posted by Chuck
Also visit CreditRepairDude.com and the Debt Solution Blog