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Archive for January, 2009

0% Credit Card Transfer Story

January 29th, 2009 at 08:49 pm

A person who recently attended a

Text is Financial Learning Experience and Link is http://www.josephsangl.com/FLE Details.htm
Financial Learning Experience e-mailed me the following question:

I had the privilege of hearing you speak both during the message and the class that followed. My wife and I are committed to eliminating our debt. With that in mind, I have a question. I have three credit cards one for 6,000.00, one for 1956.00 and one for 5775.00 I am paying high interest rates 27.98, 24.00 and 20.4% respectively.

I tried to reduce my rates, but they were unwilling and the reality is that I don't get [0%] offers in the mail anymore.


I responded with the following question: Have you applied for one of the cards on my "Next Steps" site [
Text is HERE and Link is http://nextsteps.iwasbrokenowimnot.com/eliminate-debt/0-credit-card-balance-transfers/
HERE]?

His response FIRED ME UP!

Here is his response.
I just applied for the discover card and I put two of the cards to be transferred totaling 11,500.00 and I was accepted! After talking to Bank of America earlier today I felt as if I were a heathen slug that had delinquent deadbeat written on my forehead and the reality was that I had always paid them!

Thank you. You will get my phone call with a loud yahoo! You have an awesome ministry keep up the good work.


So let's look at the math. $6,000 was moved from 27.98% and $5,500 was moved from 20.4%. That one move saved $205/month in INTEREST!!! That is over $2,400 per year in INTEREST that was eliminated.

If you are paying interest on a credit card, why?

Text is Read recent posts and Link is http://iwasbroke.savingadvice.com
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Official Marathon Time: 3:55:40

January 20th, 2009 at 08:57 pm

I was able to achieve my goal of completing the marathon in under four hours!

I am PUMPED! More to follow in the next week on the similarities between finances and marathons.

Text is Read recent posts and Link is http://iwasbroke.savingadvice.com
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SERIES: Helpful Real Estate Sites - CNNMoney.com

January 12th, 2009 at 07:47 pm

Welcome to the latest series - "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!
It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part Three - CNNMoney.com's Real Estate Section

CNN has partnered with Money Magazine to provide helpful and very timely information about real estate - both on the macro level and the personal level.

Some specific reasons I like this site are:
* Timely Articles - Helps me keep up with national trends in real estate
* Calculators - I love all of CNNMoney's calculators - not just the real estate section. In the real estate section, you can find calculators for renovations, refinancing, cost of living comparisons, and shop for a mortgage. You can check out their calculators

Text is HERE and Link is http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/index.html
HERE.
* Real Estate Tips - Whenever you learn something new regarding real estate, it has the potential to save you thousands of dollars! I like saving money!

Those are some of the reasons that I love CNNMoney's Real Estate Section. Have you used this resource before?

Visit
Text is CNNMoney's Real Estate Section and Link is http://money.cnn.com/real_estate/index.html
CNNMoney's Real Estate Section


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SERIES: Helpful Real Estate Sites - Zillow.com

January 7th, 2009 at 03:12 pm

Welcome to the latest series - "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part Two - Zillow.com

This is another way to research homes that are for sale in your area.

I like the clean feel of Zillow.com, and its of use. Here are some additional reasons I like Zillow.com:

* Market Dynamics Just below the search bar, Zillow provides an up-to-date number of homes that are on the market in the entire US. I like seeing the macroeconomic view of the housing market.
* Days on Zillow A key measure in real estate is "Days on Market" or DOM. Zillow has created a similar measurement called "Days on Zillow". This information can be utilized to construct a better offer.
* Make Me Move Feature Zillow has a feature where you can list your house without actually listing it. Basically, you provide a price that you would be willing to sell your house for and if someone decides to purchase your home, the "make me move" happens. Interesting concept!
* Recently Sold Feature This feature allows you to see the houses in your search area that have sold most recently and the price at which they sold.
* Home Values Index You can see what homes are selling for you in your area by a number of measures - including $/SF, Selling Price, and flips.

Those are some of the reasons that I love Realtor.com. Have you used this resource before?

Visit

Text is Zillow.com and Link is http://www.zillow.com
Zillow.com

Text is Read recent posts and Link is http://iwasbroke.savingadvice.com
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SERIES: Helpful Real Estate Sites - Realtor.com

January 6th, 2009 at 03:37 pm

Welcome to the latest series - "Helpful Real Estate Sites".

It is my hope that this series will equip you with new information that helps you make excellent real estate decisions!

Part One - Realtor.com

I have used Realtor.com to find each of the four houses that I have purchased.

This web site is an excellent way to understand market prices and to understand market availability.

Here are some specific reasons I love Realtor.com:

* Easy to search You are able to select the specific items you are interested in. For example, if you are interested in a three bedroom, two bathroom house with a garage, you can search for that. If you want to search for listings that include land, then you can select that also. Another key search criteria is square footage.
* Price range specific You can search for specific price ranges of houses within your set criteria. This really helps one understand what is available within that price range.
* Listings are mapped You can see all of the listings on a map. This is a great feature that allows you to understand the inventory available within the location you have selected.
* Pictures Many of the listings have photos of the exterior and interior. Instead of setting up a walkthrough, you can do so from your computer!
* Seamlessness Once you find some homes that you are interested in, you can select "Request a showing" from the actual listing. Awesome!

Those are some of the reasons that I love Realtor.com. Have you used this resource before?

Visit

Text is Realtor.com and Link is http://www.realtor.com
Realtor.com

Text is Read recent posts and Link is http://iwasbroke.savingadvice.com
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