As I get ready to go to my retreat for the rest of the week, I thought I would post some cartoons that are in my upcoming book, due for release in 2009.
Be well this holiday, keep your spending in check and remember that to live free on your terms you must be debt free.
This cartoon is, in my experience, what the credit card companies,
even now, want us to do to ourselves. Beware, they are out to get you any way they can.
And with all the bailout money going around (did you get any yet?) I just thought this was appropriate.
I am yours in success and I hope you have a great New Year, Randall
Here are some quick tips on how you can save money today.
Save Money By Knowing What Month Items Go On Sale You can save a lot of money by buying items in the month that sellers traditionally reduce prices on that item. Even with today's wacky sales environment the stores still stick to a certain schedule. Here's a general guideline, by type of item.
Appliances: Buy in the winter – new models come out in spring
Electronics: Buy in late December and January
Furniture: Buy after Labor Day
School clothes and supplies: Buy in Summer
Winter clothes: Buy after Christmas
Cars: Buy near year end, but also at the end of every month when the dealerships are trying to make their quotas
White sales: Save 15 to 50% on sheets, blankets, comforters, other bedding, towels, etc. after the holidays
Make a grocery list, stick to it. Make a list and keep it with you. When you have a list, you spend less money.
Don’t shop the salad bar - The grocery store salad bar is convenient, but items on it are typically costly and you can buy the same thing in the regular produce dept. Clip coupons or find stores that price match. This is a great way to save money and it works. I used my store discount card just last week and saved $29 on a $50 grocery bill. Amazing strategy if you use it.
Review store ads Look for the ads at the front of the store before shopping; you might see one or two items you need that are on sale. Also, check for reward offers while shopping (Instant Coupons, etc.) Shop high, shop low - Most major name brands are placed at eye level. Store brands are often (but not always) cheaper than popular brands and are placed high on the shelf, or low on the shelf. Most store brand do cost less than the national brands. Here’s a tip: Try changing one of your national brand grocery items to a store brand once and see how you like it. If you like it, keep the lower priced store brand. Do this at least every week and within a few weeks, you will be saving a lot of money.
Use coupons: Strategic use of coupons can save you big, especially if you have supermarkets that double them. In most cities one or more chains do the “double dance” to get you in the doors.
Check out the dollar stores: The 99 cent or dollar stores now carry food, and other merchandise that is of higher quality than the junk they used to be known for. Name brands, and fresh produce top the list.
Check out the closeout stores: These are the stores that sell the merchandise that did not make it to the major department stores and are at the end of the season, or are close outs. Some stores in this category are TJ Max, Marshalls, and Stein Mart. I bought a $4000 set of cookware from Marshall’s for $500. I’ve had the set for years and it’s been great. The deals are there if you look for them.
There you have a few ways to start saving money so you can dump your debt and live life on your tersm. I am yours in success, Randall
Earlier today I posted a blog and I cannot tell you how many responses I received asking me for a recommendation for a loan modification company. The only company I can recommend is Home Savers Pro. A good business associate of mine works with them and HSP meets or exceeds all of the standards I set for a loan modification company. Here's some stats on HSP, and as always, I am not an affiliate of HSP and have no agreement with HSP to recommend them.
KEY POINTS ABOUT HSP I THINK ARE IMPORTANT:
Non-owner occupied loans can be modified.
Being upside down on a home can be considered a hardship.
Having an ARM loan adjustment can be considered a hardship.
Very often, individuals who attempt to negotiate this on their own are turned down or get unfavorable offers.
The best part is that NATIONAL HOME SAVER PRO charges NO UP FRONT FEE. Also, you pay NO FEE if the modification is denied, so you have no downslide I can see.
NATIONAL HOME SAVER PRO negotiates with the lender/investor to try to add your fee onto the loan balance so that the fee is not out of pocket to you. HSP charges one month's mortgage payment as their fee only after they secure the loan modification and you can do everything via fax and email. NATIONAL HOME SAVER PRO has an 80%+ success rate with loan modification.
While you can modify your loan on your own, or get information from HUD (www.hud.org) I think that Home Savers Pro is a good way to get your loan modified as well. It takes about 45 days from the time you apply with HSP to the time you get a closed sales contract.
If you are in need of some loan modification assistance, here is my direct contact, whom I trust implicitly.
Tell Teresa that you came from Randall Blaum and she will make sure you get handled quickly, honestly, and efficiently.
I am yours in success,
Randall
As with all things, you must do your own research and based on your own
needs and expectations, you must make the choice to use HSO, HUD, or
any other agency. I am here to help you but I am not a lawyer nor a
financial professional. The information I provide you is for research
your purposes only.
With the newest numbers coming out about home foreclosures (about 1 in every 488 homes in the country) there are loan modification companies popping up all over and some of them are good and many are not.
First, if you are in the foreclosure process, you can get help for FREE from HUD. They have a free website with some great information. Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/yf6ntq.
There are other not-for-profits that do this work for you as well, so you do not have to pay anything to anyone for the loan modification service. If you want a professional to handle the loan mod for you, check out the company you want to work with before you sign anything. Here is an example of what is happening to thousands of people nationwide. http://tinyurl.com/7fw9hg
If you do work with a loan modification company only work with one that does NOT charge you an upfront fee. Only work with one that charges you a fee AFTER they get the loan modified and you agree to the modification. Several firms charge one month's mortgage payment as a fee after they have the deal in writing for you from the bank. That is not a bad deal and the loan mod firm that takes a fee AFTER they get the modification has "skin in the game." In other words they will most likely not take you on as a customer if they don't think they can help you. If someone takes a fee up front they have no real incentive to do anything else for you.
When you decide to have your home loan modified my best advice is to take action sooner rather than later... And do not trust your bank to work on your behalf. Remember in most cases your bank is simply the servicer of your debt, they do not actually own the loan, other investors do. I have heard of two cases of major banks pressuring people to agree to loan modifications in one day, which is unethical, and in some cases outright illegal. DO NOT agree to anything you bank proposes if they presure you to make a quick decision. You have up until 7 days prior to the actual foreclosure sale to make a loan modifcation. Use the time.
You will need to have records for your locan modifcation team, so gather the following: Banking statements for 90 days P/L for last 1 to 2 months (if you are a business) Budget with all expenditures Harship letter (how this happened to you and why you need a loan modification) If you are using a loan modification company you will also need to sign several documents they provide such as: Agreement to work for you and contact the bank Payment agreement after they compete the modification
No matter you decide to do, act sooner rather than later. The longer you wait the less time there is to get the modification fro you.
I am yours in success, and let me know if you have any questions,
On this shopping day after Christmas, here are a few things to remember when you go after new credit. There are many thing a creditor can and cannot do. In this wacko credit world we live in there are many things some creditors will try and don't let them.
When
You Apply For Credit, A Creditor May Not...
Discourage
you from applying because of your sex, marital status, age, race, national
origin, or because you receive public assistance income.
Ask
you to reveal your sex, race, national origin, or religion. A creditor may ask
you to voluntarily disclose this information (except for religion) if you’re
applying for a real estate loan. This information helps federal agencies
enforce anti-discrimination laws. You may be asked about your residence or
immigration status.
Ask
if you’re widowed or divorced. When permitted to ask marital status, a creditor
may only use the terms: married, unmarried, or separated.
Ask
about your marital status if you’re applying for a separate, unsecured account.
A creditor may ask you to provide this information if you live in
"community property" states:
Arizona
California
Idaho
Louisiana
Nevada
New Mexico
Texas
Washington
A creditor in any state may ask
for this information if you apply for a joint account or one secured by
property.
Request
information about your spouse, except when your spouse is applying with you;
your spouse will be allowed to use the account; you are relying on your
spouse’s income or on alimony or child support income from a former spouse; or
if you reside in a community property state.
Inquire
about your plans for having or raising children.
Ask
if you receive alimony, child support, or separate maintenance payments, unless
you’re first told that you don’t have to provide this information if you won’t
rely on these payments to get credit. A creditor may ask if you have to pay
alimony, child support, or separate maintenance payments.
When
Deciding To Give You Credit, A Creditor May Not...
Consider
your sex, marital status, race, national origin, or religion.
Consider
whether you have a telephone listing in your name. A creditor may consider
whether you have a phone.
Consider
the race of people in the neighborhood where you want to buy, refinance or
improve a house with borrowed money.
Consider
your age, unless:
you’re
too young to sign contracts, generally younger than 18 years of age;
you’re
62 or older, and the creditor will favor you because of your age;
it’s
used to determine the meaning of other factors important to creditworthiness.
For example, a creditor could use your age to determine if your income might
drop because you’re about to retire;
it’s
used in a valid scoring system that favors applicants age 62 and older. A
credit-scoring system assigns points to answers you provide to credit
application questions. For example, your length of employment might be scored
differently depending on your age.
When
Evaluating Your Income, A Creditor May Not...
Refuse
to consider public assistance income the same way as other income.
Discount
income because of your sex or marital status. For example, a creditor cannot
count a man’s salary at 100 percent and a woman’s at 75 percent. A creditor may
not assume a woman of childbearing age will stop working to raise children.
Discount
or refuse to consider income because it comes from part-time employment or
pension, annuity, or retirement benefits programs.
Refuse
to consider regular alimony, child support, or separate maintenance payments. A
creditor may ask you to prove you have received this income consistently.
You
Also Have The Right To...
Have
credit in your birth name (Mary Smith), your first and your spouse’s last name
(Mary Jones), or your first name and a combined last name (Mary Smith-Jones).
Get
credit without a cosigner, if you meet the creditor’s standards.
Have
a cosigner other than your husband or wife, if one is necessary.
Keep
your own accounts after you change your name, marital status, reach a certain
age, or retire, unless the creditor has evidence that you’re not willing or
able to pay.
Know
whether your application was accepted or rejected within 30 days of filing a
complete application.
Know
why your application was rejected. The creditor must give you a notice that
tells you either the specific reasons for your rejection or your right to learn
the reasons if you ask within 60 days.
Acceptable
reasons include: "Your income was low," or "You haven’t been
employed long enough." Unacceptable reasons are: "You didn’t meet our
minimum standards," or "You didn’t receive enough points on our
credit-scoring system." Indefinite and vague reasons are illegal, so ask
the creditor to be specific.
Find
out why you were offered less favorable terms than you applied for—unless you
accept the terms. Ask for details. Examples of less favorable terms include
higher finance charges or less money than you requested.
Find
out why your account was closed or why the terms of the account were made less
favorable unless the account was inactive or delinquent.
So many people are asking me about resources to help them control their credit card debt I thought it would be a good idea to repose some of the most asked for resources and topics. I am not an affiliate of any of these resources, have no ownership in any of the companies listed, and receive no benefit from anyone for providing this information to you. Here they are:
To get Your FICO Score: www.MyFICO.com
To Opt Out of Receiving Credit Card Offers in the Mail: www.OPtOutPreScreen.com
To get a Free Copy of Your Credit Report from all 3 Reporting Agencies: www.FreeAnnualCreditReport.com
A Good Place to Learn About Savings: Chose to Save - www.ChoosetoSave.org
A Good Place to Learn About Investing: Morningstar – www.Morningstar.com
Good Places to Check Out Which Credit Card is Best for You: BankRate.com – BankRate.com (They also have a great interest calculator you can use for free) CreditCards.com – www.CreditCards.com
Have a wonderful holiday and I am yours in success, Randall
With the massive ups and downs in the economy today, it is important to know where your money's going and how much of it you use for what purpose.
Without knowing how much you spend at the grocery store, you won’t know if there are better bargains available, what the prices should be for your groceries and other products, and how you can trim money from your shopping budget.
One strategy I recommend is to always have a shopping list with you at the store. This single strategy does many things to help you understand where your money is going and how to keep more of it in our bank. A shopping list allows you to plan better for what you are going to cook. Conversely, it prevents you from going back to the store for the forgotten ingredient saving you time, gas, frustration, and money.
A shopping list can also help you to eat healthier because you'll be less likely to reach for something on impulse. (Do you ever wonder why so much garbage and bad food is always available at the check stand as you are waiting line? It's because people without lists, tend to buy a lot more on impulse rather than on need.
One of the most important reasons for having a list especially those of you that shop at Costco, Sam’s, Wal-Mart, or other “big box” grocery stores is that the list t can save you money. I call it Cosctoitis... This is the condition, or sickness you get when you walk into Costco or Sam's Club for, "just one thing" and come ways with several hundred dollars in your cart. No list = no money in your bank account. With a well though out list you will not be so tempted to grab stuff that is not on the list. Admit it, how many of you have bought something you didn’t need, or really want at those big stores???
Something you can do right at home to save money is to take The Quick Start Kitchen Audit.
Every kitchen in the world has hidden food assets in them. No, not cash, or gold (unless you keep you cash in the freezer, but rather food, staples, and supplies are the assets I speak of. Before you make your list and go shopping, you need to do a kitchen audit. Literally look for everything edible in your kitchen and then using a note pad or spreadsheet literally track what food you have in the pantry and on your shelves.
The first time I did a kitchen audit several years ago, I found I had food that had expired (a waste of money) and I had more food and ingredients than I knew I had. A Kitchen Audit will help you to stretch your food dollar further, because you’ll know what you have and what you need.
Since doing my first Kitchen Audit my household has switched from spend-till-you drop shopping to “just in time” shopping. This allows us to buy fresher foods that are higher in nutrients and flavor. For those of you that have a large family, the same theory applies. Buy what you need for the time that you need it and don’t over buy.
If you follow this strategy, no matter if you shop every day, or once a month, it can help you save a lot of money and eat better, too. So this holiday take the time to do the kitchen audit, see what food assets you have and use them, donate them, or throw them out.
Take this time to get out of being a storehouse of food supplies you never use. Look at it this way, if you have $200 in food just lying around in cans and boxes, you could have used that money to reduce your debt.
It's just a couple of days before Christmas and all through the house, the credit cards were stirring for you and your spouse...
It seems like every year people go further into debt just to "buy Christmas." I don't get it. Where’s the love, the relationships and the helpful neighbors we all used to have? Now instead of "On Donner, on Blitzen," we have On "Xbox, on Hi-Def TV."
Don't get me wrong here, I love the newest gadgets and gizmos, but it seems like we all like buying our way into happiness and never really achieving it. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It's like this; whenever you chase after something, you are already admitting that you don't have it, that you come from loss. And once you come from the mind set of loss and "don't have" you tend to set yourself up for exactly that... Not having.
This holiday season no matter what your beliefs, take a moment and really think about what you DO have and don't waste time on anything else. This includes spending yourself silly on credit cards. When it comes to managing your credit during the holidays here are a couple of ways to keep track of your credit and make sure that you really do have a happy holiday.
What ever you buy on credit this holiday season; you might be paying for the next 5 years (or 10, or 50...). The fact is that for every $100 you spend in cash you'll wind up spending $132 on credit. Does that make sense?
There are people who never pay off their credit cards and that ladies and gentlemen in a total waste of resources, makes you poor and makes the credit card companies rich.
Here's what you need to know about credit. First, he American lifestyle evolves around credit scores. Therefore, how well you manage your credit card debt directly affects how lenders view you. Too low of a score and you must endure higher interest rates and insurance rates. The higher your credit score the better your interest rates are and the more power you have over your credit and not the other way around.
WARNING: During the holidays it’s important that you don’t get carried away with credit card spending. Some financial establishments will actually eliminate the interest rate for the holiday month to encourage you to spend. Even retail stores will offer an incentive if you use the store credit card at purchase. If they allow you to pay off the charge after ringing it up on the register, take advantage of the incentive. But if not, don’t fall for it! You know, as well as I do, they’ll get their money some way. (There's no such thing as a free lunch, or free credit...)
For all practical reasons it’s best to pay off your credit cards every month. If you can’t, you can still apply a few simple tactics to keep control of your debt. • Use only one credit card for the holiday • Pay MORE than the minimum payment plus the interest charges • Use a low interest credit card
Don’t become stressed out over your debt. Remember, you’re not alone. If you happen to get into trouble seek out a credit counselor to help you get back on track. You can also call your credit card companies and negotiate lower rates or negotiate a new payment plan. There are several other options for keeping control of your credit and keeping a level head is a key factor in managing your debt.
SECURITY TIP: Be very wary of any credit "repair" company. While some of them can help, you are the only one that can "repair" your credit. Also be very wary of any credit counseling firm that asks for large sums of money up front. The new bankruptcy law from 2005 created the what I call the "Wild West Gold Rush" when it comes to credit counselors Just about anyone can say they can counsel you, but many are simply not qualified. Do a little research and do NOT pay money in advance. See if they have accreditation or are certified. Be smart with your money, no matter how much you have. Check with www.nfcc.org to find a certified counselor in your area.
Remember what the holidays are really about (love happiness, family, and friends) and know that no amount of gifts can ever replace the people that are important to us.
I truly wish you and yours the very best,
Randall
p.s. For older blogs on credit card debt go to www.randallblaum.blogs.com
As I travel the world I take digital photos and then tear them apart digitally and reassemble them into a new (and I think more creative) reality. I call it Digital Artography. I have over 500 DA images that are for sale and for viewing. If you would like more information on Digital Artography or would like to order prints send an email to info@marketingexpertsintl.com.
