Debt Payoff Calculator
Who would like to use the same debt calculator used by our Men and Women in uniform?
Well now you can 
President Obama has declared the Month of April as National Financial Literacy Month.The President blames those on Wall Street for running rampant over Americans on Main Street.
To help American Consumers make wise financial decisions, the United States Government is offering a virtual library full of financial tools and information, to help Debtors (Consumers) make better and more informed financial decisions.
One of the tools you might find impressive is the Debt Payoff Calculator.
The good thing about this debt calculator is that it is super easy to use. All you have to do is enter your amount of debt. Next simply use the slider bars to indicate your loan interest rate and minimum monthly payment.
The bad thing about the debt calculator is that it only goes up to 20% interest. I’ll bet you already know that interest rates for loans can far exceed 20%.
Another negative is that you can not save any of the information entered into the calculator. If you want to update your payoff information, you’ll have to start all over (each and every time). With that said, it is still a fun calculator to play around with.
Don't Be A Fool After April First
Every Year on the first of April, American’s play a fascinating game called “April Fool’s.”
On April Fool’s Day, the only rule is to fool someone. During the rest of the year, millions of other Americans unknowingly act like fool’s financially.
There are 4 foolish ways to that people loose their money.
1. Failing To Check The Contract’s Fine Print
A while ago, I was looking for a part-time job. I interviewed at a place that sold products over the internet. I was being interviewed by a Man named Jason. He told me that they sold health products. His company was searching for people to help start-up the company.
After accepting the Job, I went to training. Then what I learned at training triggered a suspicious response in me. What I heard my trainer say to me was, “We offer free trials of health products…and the contract states, if the person does not cancel before the trial period, their card will be charged. He said it was a well established business model based on the following:
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80% of people who accept free try-out’s don’t read the Contract’s terms and conditions
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50% of people don’t cancel before the trial period ends
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Up to 25% of those extend their purchase for at least 3 months
The problem was that the average price after the trial was up to $70 per month! The average customer would be charged for a three month supply before they would cancel. That adds up to $210. Imagine what you could do with that $210?
To make the problem worse, the company knew they would make $140 per average customer 
.That’s because the majority of people charged would wait to long to stop the first and second payments.
” I said to myself, “whoa…what they were trying to do was unethical.”
So I quit that Job at the next break and I never returned. I could not allow myself to be involved contracted scheme to snip a minimum of $140 from anyone.
2. Credit Card Defaults
When the Credit Card ACT of 2009 was signed, some frightening fact’s were left largely unspoken. The most shocking fact is that when a Credit Card Holder misses a payment, they can legally be punished. A Default Credit Card has higher rates. These rates can double and even triple your monthly payment.
Some Credit Cards have Default Clauses that claim that the Credit Card Company can increase your rates to astounding amounts. Look at it this way…if someone is paying $100 per month in minimum monthly payments, they are loosing $1,200 per year.
The Credit Card ACT of 2009 does protect against ‘Retroactive Rate Increases’ but sadly not on rates due to Credit Card Default in the future. Millions of people loose money every month because they are not aware of Credit Card Default Provisions.
3. Bad Budgeting Skills
For many people, budgeting is like planning their own funeral. Nobody likes to pay for anything that they don’t want. But every one has to pay for the thing’s they need. Budgeting is essential to living a better life. More people are finding that budgeting can be fun with the right budgeting tools.
Sadly, many people don’t know that having higher level budgeting skills can put money back into their pocket. Budgeting is about more than just paying bills. Budgeting also includes finding ways to save more money every month.
Last summer my electric bill was about $250 per month or $3,000 over the year. I had a goal to get the bill down by $50 which would save me an extra $600 over a year. So, replaced all high watt bulbs with energy saving ones, I kept the air conditioner low while at work and turned off lights when not in use.
The last two months my electric bill dropped to an average of $180…about a 60% savings from the months before
4. Failing To Inform Family About Finances
Too many people fail to inform their family about their financial situation. This fault is one of the most foolish ways to lose money. Couples rarely discuss money unless they are arguing about it. Rarely do couples sit down and build a budget together. This is a shame. When it comes to budgeting two heads are better than one.
The good news is it is easy to avoid the financial failures that come with the lack of providing family members with information. Try the exercise below?
- Go to your husband, wife or significant other
- Declare that you are broke
- Check for their reaction
What you are hoping is that they are understanding and willing to discuss finances. If they get angry about it tell them that you were testing their “Financial Communication” skills. But whatever happens at least you’ll know you have broken the ice on talking about money issues.
One Uncommon Trick Keeps Money From Getting Away
If you’re like me… you don’t want your hard earned money to get way
I bet if you’re reading this you’re the type of person who is not shy about using money saving tip’s and methods if they keep more money in your pocket
If you are a saver like me, we don’t settle for a dictated price handed down from some corporate executive in some big-city.
No…We are not the ones willing to allow our hard-earned dollars to be led like lambs to the slaughter. We do our research, we compare prices and only make a purchase if it makes sense.
Are you a proud Money Saver?
Are you one of those people who wears your frugal ways with pride? If so, I’m going to share with you an uncommon money saving tip. This tip is uncommon because many people do not use it… although it works more often than it fails.
I’ve used this one tip mostly for large purchases of $100 or more…Using this tip, I’ve saved about 20% on large purchases on average.
One Uncommon Money Saving Tip Revealed
Are you ready? the uncommon but useful money saving tip is….drum roll….Negotiating.
Yes, Negotiating, haggling, bargaining…whatever you want to call it. You can negotiate almost anything. Negotiation works for large or small purchases but I usually only use it for the big stuff.
Too many people take the price offered for big purchases…As a proud money saver, I would feel ashamed if I didn’t at least try to negotiate for a better price.
Or example, last year I purchased a car. It’s a nice luxury model in excellent shape and runs like a dream. The seller wanted a reasonable price for it. As an expert, I knew that could save more…so I struck a bargain on the price.
I saved about $700 off the price – because I negotiated.
The Secret Key To Negotiation
Negotiation is more than about asking or demanding a better price. It’s more about using the secret key that can turn the lock to the door that… leads to a great deal.
They key to negotiating is giving a “reason” why you need a better price or a reason why the seller will benefit from giving you a better deal. For example, when I negotiated for my car I asked questions to find out why the seller was trying to unload the car. What I found was she had two other cars and a truck. All vehicles in my State have to have insurance on them…even if they are parked in the driveway or backyard.
So, she was paying for a beautiful luxury car that was parked…She wanted to lower her insurance payments. Based on that, I offered to take the car that day if the seller would take $700 off of the asking price.
Negotiation done right can lead to a better price which equals more savings in your pocket.
Below is your time to brag…Have you negotiated anything recently? Leave a comment and share (but no spam!) below.
If you are like me, you find that traditional personal budgeting methods are boring.
Budgeting does not have to be boring anymore!
If we are anything alike, you don’t like to be restricted by your finances. You value freedom. This includes more free time to share with your loved ones, financial freedom to do some of the things on your life-list (travel, movies, vacations etc.).
If you are anything like me, you like to have fun, enjoy exciting activities and avoid the boring ones.
Budgeting has been a Boring Tradition
For most people, doing their budget is like doing their taxes…boring.
People don’t like doing activities. No one likes to be reminded of how restricted their lives are. So many people hate to do their budget because they don’t want to be reminded of how limited their finances are.
If you’re like most people, you don’t like to feel stuck with more money coming out of your paycheck than going into your pocket.
Most personal finance and budgeting software is boring
Most budgeting software fails to make budgeting a fun challenge. Instead, most personal finance software only reminds you of how much money you don’t have. Nobody wants to use anything that reminds them that they are financially stuck.
I understand how they feel. That’s why we created a system that makes budgeting fun
What if you could make budgeting your personal finances fun?
What if you could make budgeting a game or a worthy challenge? I bet if you could make budgeting a challenge, you’d enjoy doing it more. That’s why we’ve created the Magic Budget Builder.
Good News! Now Budgeting does not have to be boring anymore!
The Magic Budget Builder System is software and a video course that takes the boring out of personal budgeting. This system makes budgeting faster, and easier. The Magic Budget Builder System is also accurate and reliable.
The best part about the Magic Budget Builder System is how much fun you can have making your monthly budget.
Imagine how much fun you can have once your monthly budgeting becomes a game that you CAN win? Imagine how exciting it could be to not only build a budget but see your savings instantly? With the Magic Budget Builder now you can.
Try the Magic Budget Builder System out for yourself?
It comes with a 30 day money back guarantee. If this systems is not as easy or fun as I claim it is, I will refund every penny that you paid to order it.
I’ve produced a free video to explain how the Magic Budget Builder works. I’m also offering it at a special price to the first 500 people who download it. So, go ahead, take the boring out of your budgeting.
The Magic Budget Builder System is easy, fast, safe, accurate, reliable and makes building a budget super fun!
You can watch a detailed video about the Magic Budget Builder System if you click here.
Debt Collectors are usually paid to collect on past-due bills.
Debt Collectors often have to show results in return for a paycheck. Every time a Debtor promises to pay – even a small amount of money leaves the Debt Collector drooling….because they are dreaming of the money. To get paid a Debt Collector will say or do anything to collect on a past due debt.
Fox Business, in a recent report published on January 31, 2011 sited the following:
- Debt collectors do a lot of things when trying to recoup money owed
- They call you relentlessly
- Send strongly worded letters
- Threaten lawsuits
I’ve heard clients tell me horror stories and honestly I have a few to share myself. Professionally, I’ve argued with Debt Collectors over harassing my clients.
I’ve had the pleasure of getting a Debt Collector fired. I know it sounds mean but I have no regrets for getting this person canned.
When it comes to Debt Collector be clear, it’s you against them. The Debt Collector has no problem with destroying your life. Most of them have no conscious and I speculate that many of them are criminal sociopaths.
Debt Buyer, Debt Collector, Process Server Accused of “Sewer Service”
Eight Debtors filed a lawsuit against three companies for allegedly violating two Federal Laws; the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO).
They are accused of a ‘massive scheme’ to fraudulently obtain default judgments. They are accused of buying Junk Debt, filing lawsuits, never serving the clients and obtaining default Judgments.
The companies accused of wrongdoing include debt buyer Leucadia National Corp., debt collections law firm Mel Harris, and process server Samserv.
Debt Collectors are not afraid to play dirty
I use the case above to illustrate that Debt Collectors are not a nice bunch of people. They will manipulate, lie and try to cheat Debtors out of a fair trail. Debt Collectors must be battled as if your livelihood depends on it.
Sure, you could complain all the way up to the President of the United States about Debt Collector Harassment. I bet you won’t get very far with that approach. Instead, I suggest you arm yourself and prepare to defend yourself.
I say, if you are being harassed by a Debt Collector, you do like I did and try to get the Debt Collector fired.
Here’s how to damage or destroy a Debt Collectors Career
When you receive another nasty call from a Debt Collector:
- Get their first and last name, employee ID and their Supervisors name. Often the collector will lie and say “I’m the manager”. If they say that request the name of the General Manager. Just get a name
- Ask to speak to a Supervisor. Tell the Supervisor that you feel that “so-in-so” may have violated your Rights and you want to file a complaint before you ‘escalate’ the matter legally
- Follow up your complaint on the phone with a letter in writing restating what you said on the phone
- Inform them on the letter that you have the option of filing the letter with the relevant State and or local authorities
- Send that letter by certified mail with a return receipt
Using this method myself, I’ve not only stopped Debt Collector Harassment, I’ve been able to get a Debt Collector fired using the methods above.
