Are you broke? Have you been broke in the last year? If so, here’s a simple tip anybody can do to start building financial security. Do this and, at the very least, you won’t be broke again. It can also psych you up to save more, spend less, and get rich. This tip is so simple you will probably laugh, but it works. Trust me! [...]
Jeff writes: I’m about $5500 in credit card debt that I want to get out of before I go back to school in August. I’m thinking of taking up these offers for low interest rates on balance transfers I get in the mail from new cards. Is it worth the hassle? Will it adversely affect my credit rating? Can I know my credit limit before I apply so that I can see whether or not I can transfer a substantial amount?
Hi Jeff,
Thanks for reading, and thanks for your question. Congrats on deciding to get out of that debt so soon…I wish you all the best in getting it done.
I don’t know the interest rates you’re currently paying, but I’m going to guess the average is around 14.9% — maybe more. Since you have 6 months before school, that means it will take six monthly payments of $958. That’s a big chunk of cash each month, but if you can do it, getting debt-free is the best way you can possibly use that money. Now onto your question: Will a 0% balance transfer offer or two help? [...]
Creditors have a secret they will do anything to protect. This secret — kept in Manhattan penthouses by old cigar-smoking white men — makes banks filthy, filthy rich. This secret allows the rich to rob from the poor. Despite its limitless power, the secret is hidden in plain sight. You may know the secret already; though you may not know just how rich it is making your creditors (and how poor it is making you).
It is also easy to forget the secret, or to dismiss it. You may have learned it along time ago, vowed to take action and then, months later, forgotten all about your resolve to stop your creditors from using the secret against you. So what is the secret? [...]
Next time you want to buy something and you can’t pay cash, ask yourself: “Can I pay for this in full within three years?” I call it the three year rule, and if follow it, you will never find yourself overburdened by debt. [...]
It has been just over one year since I applied for an took a debt consolidation loan from peer-to-peer lender Prosper. One year in, I’m just as happy with Prosper as when I started. [...]
How does someone lose $15,000? [...]
You may have heard that carrying a balance on your credit cards – especially being near your credit limit – hurts your credit score. What I never realized is how much of an impact paying down that balance has on your credit. [...]
Often, suicides are inexplicable. The reason for some suicides, however, is black and white…and red. How does debt get so bad that death is the only escape? [...]
I can hear you all yelling at me now. “Don’t go into debt!” “Don’t go into debt”. But what if you have a good reason to get a loan? [...]
