“Uncategorized” Archive
Dec
22
I apologize for disappearing the past few days. I have a bunch of family in town and trying to blog with a little one running around is proving very difficult, if not impossible. So, I’ll be honest with myself and say that I will be back to the blog on December 26th, once all the family visitors have departed.
In the meantime, I wish you and yours a very healthy, happy and safe Christmas holiday. 2008 is right around the corner!
Dec
10
I usually don’t pay much attention to my blog stats, particularly because my Page Views have been so low over recent months thanks to my lack of posting.
That said, there are two stats that I finally paid some attention to that have me very encouraged and excited to get back to delivering some good content to folks:
- Google Page Rank - 3/10
- 100+ Readers via Feedburner
I know these are small milestones, but having 100+ subscribers is a major milestone in my opinion, particularly given the lack of posting on my end. So, I am going to formally set two goals for the site in 2008:
- Have 750 or more subscribers via Feedburner
- Google Page Rank of 5/5
The plan to achieve this is quite simple….Content, Content, Content!
Aug
5
I know many of you have been waiting for the winner of the Vista giveaway to be announced. Well, wait no longer.
I am happy to announce that one of my more loyal readers, Lucy–who I think is from Wisconsin–is the lucky winner of the Vista Home Premium Edition, which was to celebrate my two-month anniversary of blogging.
Lucy, I will be contacting you via email to arrange for shipment of your prize.
I used a random number generator in Excel to generate the winning entry in case anyone was wondering. I don’t play favorites with the giveaways; I make them as fair as possible.
Look for another good giveaway when I reach the six month mark of blogging.
Thanks to everyone who entered and I hope you all are still loyal readers of this site.
Jun
13
Jun
7
So my intial attorney was indeed spot on, in that once AMEX decided to send my accounts to a collection agency (this was done 10 days ago), my ability to negotiate would increase dramatically. My new attorney (also covered via my group legal plan) suggested I start the negotiating at 25% of the original amount as a settlement. In addition, I would need to get the collection agency to agree to delete the reporting of a collection account and, if possible to have AMEX remove any reference to a charge-off, and report the account as ‘paid as agreed’. This is apparently more commonly referred to as a ‘pay for deletion’, whereby you pay the debt in a lump sum in exchange for the creditor and/or collection agency removing any negative reporting from your credit report. What amazes me about this situation is that AMEX could have gotten the entire balance from me and then some had they been willing to work directly with me. I guess this is yet another element of the credit card industry I don’t understand.
On the advice of my lawyer, I cannot reveal the specifics of where things stand but the dollar amount is currently under 50% of the original amount. I have now gotten my attorney involved to do the heavy negotiating involving the specific terms about the credit reporting, when and how payment will be made etc. For anyone who is currently in collections and will be making payments to satisfy a debt I have the following advice:
- Don’t EVER pay via a personal check or a check from your own bank. Get a money order or a certified check from another bank. You never want to reveal to a collection agency where you do your banking
- Don’t EVER reveal where you work to a collection agency
- Don’t EVER reveal how much money you have at your disposal or what the sources of that money are. Keep the discussion focused on how much you can pay not where it will come from etc.
- Get EVERYTHING in writing. Never rely on a verbal promise, even if the phone call is recorded. Get any settlement agreement in writing
I sign my retainer on Monday and at that point the lawyer will handle everything (no cost to me through my group legal) and I will have no further contact with the collection agencies.
One other amazing note was that the collection agency offered me the option of paying off the entire balance monthly and in exchange AMEX would give me an Optima Card with a $5,000 limit. AMAZING the lengths they will go to in order to keep people spending with them. I will NEVER use American Express again.
May
15
Discount Amount: $75 off a qualifying roundtrip flight
purchased at united.com
Maximum number of passengers per electronic certificate: 1
Validity period: Electronic Certificate is valid towards qualifying flight
purchase at united.com from 12:01 am CDT December 5, 2006 through 11:59PM CST
June 14, 2007 only, for travel December 5, 2006 through June 14, 2007. All
travel must be completed by June 14, 2007.
Blackout Dates: December 21 through December 31, 2006; January 1 through
January 3, 2007
Valid routing: Offer valid for qualifying travel purchased on united.com for
flights operated by United, United Express or TED within the 48 contiguous
United States (excluding Alaska & Hawaii).
Valid carrier: Discount may be applied to United, United Express(R) and Ted (SM)
operated flights, but not to flights operated by other airlines (such as
United-marketed code share and Star Alliance flights).
Qualifying Fares: This discount may be used on qualifying, published United
First(R) (F, A, P), United Business(R) (C, D, Z), or United Economy(R) class (Y, B,
M, E, U, H, Q, V, W, S, T or L) fares and web/internet-only fares available
on united.com for travel within the 48 contiguous United States.
Restricted Fares: This discount may not be used on the following fare types:
United Economy (K) class, companion, travel industry G class, contract, bulk,
convention, tour conductor, children, family plan, government, group,
military, senior citizen, student, youth, infant, tour basing, Round the
World, Circle the Pacific, Visit USA, or some non-published fares.
Fare Rules: The published fare you qualify for depends on what class of
service is available on the days you travel. You must travel roundtrip on
United, United Express, and/or Ted. Open jaw and circle trips are not
allowed. This discount may not be used when you travel one-way.
Discount Rules: This e-certificate is transferable. This discount may only
be applied to the purchase of one new ticket and may not be applied to
previously ticketed reservations.
Ticketing: E-Cert may be redeemed on united.com only. Discount only applies
when ticket is purchased on united.com using the certificate number and a
credit card that has a valid U.S. billing address. E-Certs cannot be redeemed
by calling United Airlines or a travel professional.
Fulfillment: Electronic certificates will only be delivered to a valid e-mail
address.
Eligibility: Offer valid for Mileage Plus members who reside in the United
States.
Upgrades: To determine if an upgrade certificate may be used together with
this discount, refer to the terms and conditions and booking class
restrictions associated with each upgrade.
Mileage Plus Accrual: Passenger may accrue Mileage Plus miles with this
discount.
Changes/Refunds: Mileage Plus miles will not be re-deposited into the
memberÂ’s account once redeemed for an electronic certificate. The rules of
the fare you purchase determine what changes or refunds are allowed. Any
refund due is based on the amount actually paid. The electronic certificate
discount may not be reapplied toward the purchase of another ticket when
exchanging or refunding your original ticket, except when the original ticket
qualifies for a reduced fare (guaranteed airfare rule applies). Check with
United Airlines.
Other Important Notes: Multiple electronic certificates may be redeemed
using miles, but may not be combined on a single reservation. Maximum number
of passengers per reservation booked using an electronic certificate: 1. Only
one discount certificate, discount voucher or promotional discount may be
used per ticket. When the discount certificate amount is greater than the
cost of the ticket, the difference will be forfeited. E-Certificate has no
cash value and may not be altered, duplicated, sold or bartered. Lost,
stolen, expired or destroyed certificates will not be replaced. Offer subject
to change without notice. Other restrictions may apply.
Promotion Code: MPDE66
May
15
Some of my readers have asked me why don’t I get into credit counseling (or bankruptcy) right away. Given my level of debt, these are both very valid questions so let me respond as to why I am not exploring these options in any capacity other than an ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT.
Consumer Credit Counseling, while able to provide lower payments and lower interest rates, does come at a price. Does it necessarily lower your FICO score? According to an article in Kiplinger’s, the answer is for the most part no. While the agency that you work with generally doesn’t report you as being in a debt management plan to the major credit reporting agencies, a creditor may report this to the credit bureaus:
Most of the counseling agencies don’t report when you sign up for a debt-management program, either. But the creditor may report if the debt is being repaid through a reduced payment/interest program — such as a debt management program — which could affect your credit score. “If the account is reported as some version of ‘not paid as agreed,’ the FICO score will interpret it as a derogatory trade line, which will almost certainly cause the score to be lower,” says Watts. “How much lower will depend on the recency, severity and frequency of the derogatory information on her credit report.”
One way to avoid this potentially negative situation is to have the agency include in part of the proposal that your account will be reported as “pays as agreed”. I have read that this is often the key to maintaining a decent credit score while participating in a Debt Management Plan (DMP). So, if my credit score wouldn’t tank as a result of using credit counseling, why am I resisting? One word: mortgage.
Apparently mortgage lenders have a little different take on being in a DMP than most other lenders. When you enter into a DMP, as mentioned above, the creditor is likely to note this to the credit bureaus. According to a variety of online sources I have read, mortgage lenders often see a DMP as the equivalent of a Chapter 13 filing. So during the 4-5 years I would be on a DMP, I would most likely be denied for a mortgage. Now, the question I need to investigate is what happens when you complete the program. I have read on some sites that once you complete the plan the DMP designation is removed from your credit reports. If that is the case, then my next question is does a mortgage lender then view you the way they would if you had paid your bills for that 4-5 year period as you usually would have. If so, perhaps a DMP isn’t such a bad idea after all. These are all questions I will be asking my attorney. Honestly, the likelihood of me trying to buy a home of some sort before being debt free is slim to none, so perhaps I’m penalizing myself for no reason. All this said, I will pursue the usual routes first. It might even be possible that my attorney can negotiate the same deals for me as a DMP would, all while keeping my credit in better shape as I make payments.
Has anyone out there gone through a DMP successfully? Were you able to obtain loans and/or a mortgage during or shortly after said program?
Apr
21
Subscribe to Dollar Buy Dollar
There are two ways to subscribe to Dollar Buy Dollar:
I’ve configured my feed to provide readers with a full feed. While I hope folks will continue to come directly to the site in order to provide comments and explore the other goodies I have to offer, I recognize that some folks will want to keep up with my site via a Feed Reader.
Apr
18
I’m about to have a completely new theme unveiled on the site that will work fine with IE, Firefox and all other browsers. Until then, I won’t be posting as the posts viewed in Firefox don’t look right. Things should be up and running by tomorrow (Friday) or possibly this evening (Thursday)
Apr
8
Feel free to contact me with topic ideas, comments, tips, suggestions, questions or for any other reason, as long as you aren’t asking me to loan you money as I don’t have any to loan at the moment 
You can also contact me with any travel requests you might have.
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