For a text version of this article click here TIME TO REGROUP? THINK CHECKS NOT CHARGES by Theresa Cahill Copyright 2006 - All Rights Reserved DOES THIS SOUND LIKE YOU? If your family is anything like mine, you've probably been in a similar situation. You get all your "time to pay" bills together and think, "Holy Cow!" Actually, you might not be thinking that exactly - that is not until you get out your handy calculator and add up the outstanding totals on your credit cards. Then, it's entirely possible words of a much stronger flavor come flying out of your mouth! This was our situation at the beginning of 2006. I won't go into details here, but I can tell you I was utterly flabbergasted. Looking at each bill one at a time every month (and noting a balance that went no where fast) was alarming enough. To actually total up those puppies was a huge shock! So, we went shopping for a refinance. Our problem was both my husband and myself are self employed. I've been working at home for about 15 years now. My husband (with over 25 years in construction) has been self-employed only since the beginning of 2005. Longevity in our professions we have, but his short self-employment record was insufficient for several of the mortgage companies I checked into... that was until I CALLED QuickenLoans.com [see footnote]. Quicken offers a QuickSmart loan. Having good to excellent credit helps. Having equity in your home is a requirement. With excellent credit and equity, you don't have to send them a single thing. Your good name and appraisal does it all. The result? Even with a higher loan amount, our mortgage payment increased by less than $100 a month. Consider carefully that an average $2000 credit card, making only minimum payments each month, will take a person approximately 30 years to get rid of... 30 years! And we are living proof that making even MORE than the minimum payment still doesn't give you a snowball's chance in h___ of eliminating those balances. Yes, it is totally frustrating! However, after getting up off our duffs and making the decision to refinance and incorporate our credit card bills, the benefits are truly outstanding. They include: 1. Obviously no more credit card bills each month! 2. For us, saving over $1600 a month (we made more than the minimum payment and we were still getting no where fast...) 3. Applying a SENSIBLE WAY to make use of our cards! THINK CHECKS NOT CHARGE IT! This is the exciting section. It's not just the joy of not supporting the billion dollar a day credit card industry, but it's also about using your card(s) WISELY! For our family, everyone carrying a debit card or a check book would be a huge mistake. So, what we do now is use our cards AS IF we were carrying checks. AS SOON AS a charge is put on any card, I receive a phone call from hubby and immediately log into our online banking. From there, I "cover the check." This way NO balance is ever built up - we do NOT wait until the end of their billing cycle (thereby allowing them to include their outrageous finance charges). Several times a month, and I don't care how many times, the "check is most definitely in the mail" to cover gas charges and other purchases. Obviously, to make this work and avoid going back into debt, you MUST APPLY this protocol! You must garner self-discipline. If you don't have the cash in your checking account, do NOT charge anything until you do! Almost every analyst out there is recommending, urging actually, the consumer to refinance - especially if your home mortgage is an ARM. Find the mortgage company that is right for you, include your cards into the loan, and then BE SMART ... now and always! The credit card companies are rich enough. It's your turn! * * * * * * * [footnote] While we will definitely use QuickenLoans for any future transactions, shop around for the best company for your needs. However, QuickenLoans was remarkable. By speaking directly with a mortgage banker we were was able to find the perfect loan for us. They took ALL the information they would need for the Smart Loan in under 20 minutes, and within the hour we'd digitally signed everything online. It took less than 25 days to close this loan without a hitch. March 7, 2006 Extra Footnote If you decide on Quicken, ask for this rep and she will give you $200 off your closing costs! Mention Theresa Cahill & this article to get your savings (I don't make a dime): Rachel Gerloff Senior Mortgage Banker Quicken Loans 1-800-226-6308 ext. 54828 fax: 734-805-6037 rachelgerloff@quickenloans.com ====================================== ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Theresa Cahill is the owner of My Wizard Ads. Her job is to make your online advertising experience as effective and effortless as possible! http://www.mywizardads.com