Free Will & Trust Kit From Suze Orman (online version)
June 30, 2008
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Suze Orman is making her online Will and Trust Kit available to all at no charge. I don’t know how long it will last! Here’s how to get it:
- Go to SuzeOrman.com.
- Click on Will & Trust Kit link on upper left menu.
- Click the orange Gift Code button.
- Type “people first“.
You can create a will, a revocable trust, Financial Power of Attorney, and an Advanced Directive / Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. No more excuse and it’s f-r-e-e!
This is a pretty basic package so if you have a large estate or other issues, you’ll want to consult an estate attorney. You can still go ahead and do the Healthcare Power of Attorney, though and save your family the heartache of having to make end-of-life decisons for you.
Working on Special Report
June 25, 2008
This is a busy week for me. I have several new clients who are struggling with retirement issues so I’m working on a special report that I’ll share with you when it’s completed. And it’s Newsletter week, too, so keep your eyes open for that.
In the meantime, if you have any Retirement questions, worries, success, mistakes, tips, traps, etc. that you’d like to see in the special report, I’d love to hear them. You can send them to me here. Would you also include your gender, age and income? Of course, everything will be confidential.
Hope it’s sunny where you are!
Debt Reduction Program
June 25, 2008
This is part of our Pay Debt Quickly series sponsored by PDQ Pay Debt Quickly kit.
Question: Should I consider a Debt Program that would pay off all my high interest debt ($25,000) but leave me with no credit cards for the next three years? I am considering this because I am only able to pay the minimum monthly payments, on these five different accounts. ~ Judy
Answer
Hi Judy, one of the most important questions to ask is “will this really pay off the $25,000 in 3 years?” I used the calculator at http://www.bankrate.com/brm/calc/creditcardpay.asp to play with your numbers. You didn’t mention what interest rates you would be paying or your monthly payment.
So, I made some assumptions.
If you put in $25,000 as the balance and .01% (which is almost 0% — it doesn’t take 0%) for 36 months, your payment will be $694.55 every month. At 12%, the monthly payments are $830.36 every month.
If you can’t pay the monthly payment, you won’t be able to pay off $25,000 in 3 years.
My concern with these kind of high balance/long term plans is:
1. Are you still so strapped that the first emergency will cause the whole plan to collapse?
2. What happens if you lose your job or get sick?
I generally recommend that people also check out bankruptcy with a qualified attorney if they can’t reasonably expect to get out from under the debt in 4-6 years because if you can’t do it in that amount of time, the chances of something like #1 or #2 happening is pretty high. That would mean that you had been paying a lot of money for a lot of years and still end up in the same going through a bankruptcy.
The most important thing, Judy, is that you examine what caused the situation you are in and how it has served (or not served you). What will you do differently to make sure that you don’t slip back into the situation again?
Best wishes, Judy.
Free Summer Stress Package for Mom
June 25, 2008
Free Summer Stress Package for Mom
The ladies at Menu Planning Central have put together a little care package for stressed out moms! And they’re letting me pass them on to you!
Get special reports on “Kids Summer Activities”, “Family Friendly Summer Recipes” and “Summer Exercise for Mom”.
Warmly, Cindy
How Much Credit can you Afford?
June 19, 2008
This is part of our Pay Debt Quickly series sponsored by PDQ Pay Debt Quickly kit.
Before making the decision to add more debt, you need to make sure that you:
* Allocate sufficient money for your essentials.
* Borrow only for items that you need and can afford.
* Borrow only if you’re spending less each month than you take home.
1. Start with your monthly take-home pay.
This is the amount you have left after taxes and other deductions have been made.
2. Subtract the amount you need for necessities and fixed expenses.
This includes savings, your mortgage or rent payment, utilities, food, transportation, child care, medical care, clothing, and recreation. Include payments made on a quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis, such insurance and taxes.
3. Subtract monthly payments for existing loans and credit cards.
4. The balance is the amount you can safely apply to debt repayment.
Avoid thinking you can spend all this amount, since emergencies do occur, and you may not wish to use your regular savings account to cover small, unexpected expenses.
Monthly Take Home $ _______________
Fixed Expenses $ _______________
Loans/Credit Cards $ _______________
Amount Available For Additional Debt $ _______________
Moral of the Story: If you’re planning to buy a new house or car, pretend you have already done so and start “making the payment” but to yourself. Within a few months, you’ll know whether or not you can really afford it and you’ll have some money set aside for repairs, etc. when you actually do make the purchase. If you can’t make the pretend payment, you certainly won’t be able to make the real one consistently. Time to go back to the drawing board and figure out what else you’re willing to give up in order to have the new debt.
I welcome your comments, ideas and tips that have worked for you.
Warmly, Cindy
