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Why You Should Walk Away From Your Mortgage and Credit Card Debts

Dotcom Note — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:22:09 +0000

Yes, I know lots of people will frown upon the idea of walking away from your mortgage and credit card debts because as a society we have been taught by the self appointed ethic police, who constantly try to instill the value of obligation in our self consciousness, that it is morally and ethically bad to do so. These people earn millions by talking crap on the TV, doing useless prediction, helping banks gamble your money and when they see the possibility of millions of people pointing their middle fingers to their lenders and credit card debtors, they’re alarmed.

: Image by Mel B. via Flickr

The idea of walking away from your mortgage was in circulation from early 2009 but when columnist Roger Lowenstein suggested that the beleaguered home owners to do the same in his The New Your Times column, a firestorm ensued. The ethic police attacked him for teaching a wrong lesson to the children of those helpless home owners who are on their way to financial ruins.

I recent online poll by Baltimore Sun suggests that at least most online users (86%) will walk away from their so called “obligation” to cut their losses. This is a good news. At least online users are better able to strike a balance between their obligation and personal finance. But ethic loving people with poor financial knowledge will continue to suffer to make a few people rich.

There is no obligation to stay in your home when you know that your personal finance will be ruined for the rest of your life by doing so. When you signed the promissory note for your mortgage, you’re obligated to either make a monthly payment or leave the home for the lenders to possess. And you’re doing exactly that by walking away from your mortgage payment.

If you’re drowned in credit card debts with more than 20% interest rate, you’re giving your money to some fat cats to enjoy all the luxury of life at your expense. You and the banks who issued you those credit cards are both at fault.

We’re constantly bombarded with advertisement and commercials that make us believe that we must have items that we really don’t need. Adult peer pressure and keeping up with Joneses make us blind to our financial health. Banks keep on sending unsolicited credit cards with teaser interest rates. After all, we’re human beings. We’re not saints. We’re not enlightened and in most cases we’re simply stupid and we easily fall for the prey.

Have you ever wondered how many businesses declare bankruptcy every year, how much money banks write off as bad loans to businesses, how many businesses are walking away from their obligation to pay bond holders, lenders, and pension funds? And whose money are they playing with? They’re playing with your money folks. They’re using your money from pension finds, mutual funds, IRAs, savings, money market funds, etc. to play their game in the name of business. If they succeed, you get a pittance and they make big bucks. If they fail, they simply walk away from their obligations, sometime with big bonuses.

I did not see ethic police all over the TV when Morgan Stanely stopped making payments for some of their buildings.

Before you take any action you should assess your financial situation and long-term financial effects of your action, including having a bad credits score and defaults in your credit report. However, you should never listen to the ethic police and anybody who makes it a moral issue. If your advisor is uttering moral and ethical issues, run from him.

PS. I am not a lawyer. Consult a lawyer about your state laws for such an action.

“Credit Card Compare” Shopping Tips

Dotcom Note — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:24:56 +0000

Getting a new credit card deserves some comparison shopping no matter how good your credit may or may not be. “Credit card compare” enables you to find the best available deal and that is what you really want.

: Image by Toban Black via Flickr

Interest rates and credit card terms will vary from card to card. These variations make a considerable difference to your financing budget. You should always shop for a card with the best terms and interest rates. Now it is extremely easy to compare credit cards using the web. This article describes some factors you should consider while comparing credit cards for the best deal.

When comparison shopping for a credit card here are some tips to help you find the best credit card for your use.

Avoid the high interest rates.

Although credit card companies reveal their interest rate in various ways, you want to look at their APR or Annual Percentage Rate. The APR best indicates the actual interest you pay for interest, transaction fees and other charges, per year.

Avoid low introductory rates.

For some cards this is simply a teaser rate, since after several months the rate of interest will drastically increase. Sometimes these advertised rates target certain individuals with a high earning income. This can mean an unpleasant surprise for you as the first bill arrives, since the card company may charge a higher rate to those who may not qualify as their target customers.

Learn and understand interest calculations.

Generally, a bank charges interest on an average daily balance. For instance, let us say you charge $1,500 to your credit card, while only paying $1,200 on its due date. When you get the bill, you will find that the bank, using the average daily balance charges you interest on the total amount as an average daily balance from last month, rather than only on the $300 still owing.

Evaluate the grace period.

This is the time between the date of purchase and the due date for billing and is an interest free period. Generally, it is available only to customers who do not carry a balance. When you pay in full monthly, you should make sure you do have a grace period. If you do not, you pay interest from the purchase date. When you carry a balance, having a grace period is no longer important.

Avoid high annual fees.

Some credit card companies may charge you a flat fee as well as interest and other charges when you use their cards. Some companies do not. When you pay off a monthly balance, you need a card with no annual fee. When you carry a balance from one month to the next, having a card with an annual fee and a low interest rate is better than having a card with no annual fee and high rates of interest.

If you’re wondering if credit card compare is a web site then you’re wrong. Credit card compare is the phrase I coined to denote comparing credit cards for the best available deal based on certain factors. And now that you know those factors, you can shop for your credit card for the best deal just like you shop for any other item that you purchase.

Maria Andros Social Media Traffic Blueprint Revealed

Dotcom Note — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:00:11 +0000

For close to $1000, the Social Media Guru Maria Andros will teach you how to make millions using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. I bet Jack Dorsey, the creator of Twitter, did not dream that his service will open up untold riches for the hoipolloi. The program is Social Media Traffic Blueprint.

: Image via Wikipedia

And now Maria Andros has opened the door for everybody to untold riches using social media sites. She is going to tell her secrets to a chosen few who can afford close to $1000 to learn the mastery of social media sites for unimaginable profits. I can bet you that you can’t find the secrets she is going to reveal in hundreds of Twitter, Facebook and other social media related books at Amazon. I can’t.

I don’t know about her secrets. But some Guru says that his twitter followers jumped to more than 30 thousands after he implemented some of the techniques she suggested to him. So, I have to go by the Guru’s words.

According to the Guru, she has a blueprint. And he goes on explaining what a blueprint is in the email I received. That a blue print is a detailed plan. You don’t have to know anything. You just follow and magically every thing happens. Money flows from other people’s bank accounts to yours.

Wow, I did not really know how powerful the blueprint is. If I can get a blueprint for a house, I can just follow it and magically the house will be built. Wish I had known this before I purchased my house. Oh well, it is too late.

I headed over to Maria Andros social media traffic blueprint site. As expected, there was a video. I said to myself, “oh man, I have to watch this video now!” But I was lucky. The video is short and I can fast forward it. Good.

She is quick. Did not show me her fancy car or dream vacation. She started with the story of a guy who took a laep of faith and enrolled in her program by borrowing money from his credit card (the borrowing part I made it up). This guy did not have anything – no website, no product, and no list. I don’t know what kind of online business he was engaged in. I thought every internet marketer had at least one of the three.

The guy in the story joined the program hoping that some thing will magically happen to him. Lo and behold, within 30 days he made $75K in his business. Again, what was the business? Ok, may be he just made a “cute cat video” business to rake in the cash.

The four modules she is going to teach you are: 1. Youtube Channel and Branding, 2. Twitter Traffic, 3. Hypnotic Video Formulas, and 4. Competitive keyword Research and Analytics. Sorry, no Facebook. I was wrong. It is all videos.

Now you know Maria Andros Social Media Traffic Blueprint. Sign up with a leap of faith. You don’t need anything except close to $1,000. You will get it back as soon as you create your first “cute guinea pig video”.