APPENDIX
Resources
There are an abundance of good sources of information on debt management and mastery. Here are some of my favorites:
General Resources
The organizations, web sites, and books in this category are good all-around resources for financial information. They tend to cover everything from credit card rates to reverse mortgages.
• Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580
(202) 326-2222
www.ftc.govThe FTC has reams of information on its web site about identity theft, credit card practices, and more.
• Bankrate
A great first click for questions about credit. In addition to current interest rates for all sorts of loans, this site includes many terrific calculators and worksheets.
• Nolo Press
950 Parker Street
Berkeley, CA 94710-2524
(800) 728-3555
www.nolo.comNolo Press is a self-help law publishing firm, staffed by smart and compassionate lawyers. It is excellent. It offers thorough guides through debt relief, bankruptcy, and everything else from writing a will to starting a business. It also offers online help, form letters, and software so you can be your own lawyer.
• Kiplinger Washington Editors
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance is perhaps the best real-life personal finance magazine. The
Kiplinger.com web site boasts lots of up-to-date advice and many good calculators and worksheets.
• MSN Money
A thorough, comprehensive web site about all matters financial.
• CNN Money
Another comprehensive web site; includes content from Money magazine.
•
Credit.com
A credit education and monitoring firm staffed by folks who have a lot of expertise and consumer credentials.
Calculators
These two web sites have excellent financial calculators that can help you work out answers for just about any money question you can face.
Books
• The Difference: How Anyone Can Prosper in Even the Toughest Times, by Jean Chatzky (Crown Business, 2009). An excellent overview on sound money behavior.
• Credit Repair, by Robin Leonard and John Lamb (Nolo, 2009). This classic offers sound advice on how to fix debt problems and manage credit reports. It includes several sample letters within the book and on a CD that is packaged with the book.
•
I Will Teach You to Be Rich, by Ramit Sethi (Workman Publishing, 2009). Clever, straightforward advice about the breadth of spending and borrowing, from the founder of the blog by the same name at
www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com.
• Get a Financial Life, by Beth Kobliner (Fireside, 2009). An excellent book, updated with new material, aimed at 20- and 30-somethings.
• Deal with Your Debt, by Liz Pulliam Weston (Pearson Education, 2006). The author does a good job of explaining how to proceed when you want to start digging out of financial trouble.
• Managing Debt for Dummies, by John Ventura and Mary Reed (Wiley Publishing, 2007). A decent, general overview of how to manage consumer debt.
Topical Resources
These resources address specific topics that are covered in this book.
Money Management and Budgeting
These are all computer-based or online software programs designed to let you track and budget your spending. Try a few, and see which one you like best.
Credit Cards
•
How You Can Profit from Credit Cards, by Curtis E. Arnold (FT Press, 2008). Soup to nuts, everything you need to know about credit cards from the publisher of CardRatings,
www.creditcardperks.com, an educational web site.
• Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt, by Scott Bilker (Press One Publishing, 2003). This oldie but goodie teaches you how to be a tough negotiator when you are dealing with your card issuer.
• Debt Smart:
www.debtsmart.com The web site of Scott Bilker, who offers techniques for negotiating with your credit card company.
Credit Card Web Sites All of these sites are good places to compare credit card offers and catch the latest news on card rates:
Credit Reporting Agencies
Credit Monitoring
These are sites where you can follow your credit reports and scores.
• Annual Credit Report:
www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the one true free site for getting your credit report from each of the three credit reporting agencies.
Credit Scoring
• FICO
901 Marquette Avenue
Suite 3200
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(888) 342-6336
www.myfico.comYou can use this web site to get your credit score, learn about the history of credit scoring, and also see how your scores affect the rates you pay.
• Credit Karma
Offers free TransUnion scores, and lots of general information about credit scoring, including calculators and a score simulator.
• Credit Report ABC
This service will help you challenge derogatory items on your credit report and get them removed, boosting your credit score. Also provides a lot of education about ways to boost your credit score.
• Your Credit Score, by Liz Pulliam Weston (FT Press, 2009). Updated, revised, smart guide that explains all you need to know about credit scoring.
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Improving Your Credit Score, by Lita Epstein (Alpha Books, 2007). A decent summary about ways to improve your credit score.
ID Theft
• Stopping Identity Theft, by Scott Mitric (Nolo, 2009). A great overview by the CEO of an ID protection company.
•
Stolen Lives: Identity Theft Prevention Made Simple, by John D. Sileo (DaVinci Publishing, 2005). My favorite book on this subject. Find even more info on Sileo’s excellent web site, Think Like a Spy, at
www.thinklikeaspy.com.
• Opt out: Stop prescreened credit offers by calling (888) 5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or by registering at
www.optoutprescreen.com.
• Do Not Call: Stop annoying telemarketing by putting your name on the national Do Not Call Registry at
www.donotcall.gov.
• Reduce junk mail: Cut down on junk mail by registering at the web site of the Direct Marketing Association (
www.dmaconsumers.org).
Identity Protection Companies
Mortgages
• HSH Associates
237 West Parkway
Pompton Plains, NJ 07444
www.hsh.com(800) 873-2837
This established and respected mortgage research firm hosts a web site replete with information about products, rates, and how to get the best deal on a home loan.
• Time Value Software
This site hosts one of the best mortgage calculators on the Web.
•
Closing.com
Comparison shopping for the various services that are all built into the closing costs you pay when you get a new loan.
• ArcLoan
Home of the mortgage in which the rate can only go down, not up.
• Mortgage Harmony
Watch this space for a brand-new mortgage product that is constantly ratcheting down rates, and never going up.
• Mortgage Modification
This company helps you make the best possible case to a mortgage lender about why you should qualify for a modification of your mortgage’s interest rate and/or principal repayment terms in light of your financial circumstances. If appropriate, they can also help arrange a short sale of your home.
Reverse Mortgages
• AARP
A comprehensive and consumerist site with lots of information about the pros and cons of reverse mortgages. Up-to-date with current rules and fees.
• National Center for Home Equity Conversion
This organization went inactive when its founder, Ken Scholen, moved over to AARP, but it has a lot of interesting information on its web site about the history of reverse mortgages.
• National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association
An informative site hosted by the industry trade group.
Shared Equity Mortgages
These three companies are currently offering shared equity (or shared appreciation) agreements.
Equity Acceleration
These companies offer advice and products dealing with equity acceleration.
• Own Your Home Years Sooner, by Harj Gill (American Mortgage Eliminators Publishing, 2003).
Car Buying and Financing
• Zipcar
An auto-sharing service that can be cheaper than a car rental.
• Hybrid tax breaks
Use this web site to find out which hybrids you can get tax breaks for buying.
• Hybrid calculator
Are you better off keeping your clunker or buying a hybrid? Check this calculator to find out.
• TrueCar
This new site offers current real data showing what people in your area are actually paying for their cars. It amasses data from dealers and tax and licensing authorities. It also has good data on what the dealers themselves are paying.
• Edmunds
The established leader in car consumer information, this site uses dealer data to calculate what it calls “true market value” pricing.
• CarQ
My favorite car buying service. Even if you don’t hire it, you’ll learn a lot by visiting this site.
• Zag
This web site aggregates several car buying services and discount deals so you can compare them before you choose how you want to buy your car.
• Capital One
This bank has committed a fair amount of money to being competitive on car loans.
Auto Leasing Calculators
Here are a few of my favorite spots on the Web for comparing lease and buy deals and learning more about leasing.
Education
• Saving for College:
www.savingforcollege.com A clearinghouse of information about all aspects of saving for higher education.
• College Savings Plans Network:
www.collegesavings.org A site sponsored by the states offering college plans.
• Morningstar:
www.morningstar.com This research firm analyzes the best and worst 529 plans every year.
• FinAid:
www.finaid.org The most authoritative web site about all matters pertaining to financial aid.
• FastWeb:
www.fastweb.com The best place to hunt for college scholarships.
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid:
www.fafsa.ed.gov This is the place where you’ll find the correct forms for applying for federal financial aid, as well as guidance and directions.
• College Board:
www.collegeboard.org This is a good source of information about student finance, as well as the site where you’ll find forms for filing for private schoo—based financial aid.
• Project on Student Debt:
www.ibrinfo.org An informative site for finding information about new income-based repayment plans for student loans.
Peer Lending
• The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Person-to-Person Lending, by Curtis E. Arnold and Beverly Blair Harzog (Alpha Books, 2009). A good overview of this area by a very smart guy.
These are the leading peer-to-peer lending sites:
Credit Counseling
• Cambridge Credit Counseling
My favorite nonprofit debt counseling agency.
• U.S. Trustee, Department of Justice
The federal government’s list of approved credit counselors.
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling
The first, most widely known, and most widely used nonprofit credit counseling network.
• Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies
A trade group of credit counseling firms, some for-profit and some nonprofit.
• American Association of Debt Management Organizations
A broad-based trade group, including credit counseling agencies and debt management firms.
Foreclosure
• Making Home Affordable
The starting point for anyone with questions about the new government programs designed to help troubled homeowners.
• Homeownership Preservation Foundation
This is a nonprofit public/private partnership designed to help troubled homeowners.
• Homeowner Crisis Resource Center
Sponsored by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, this is a good place for troubled homeowners to get help.
• The Foreclosure Survival Guide, by Stephen Elias (Nolo, 2008). A reassuring and smart guide by a consummate expert.
• More Mortgage Meltdown, by Whitney Tilson and Glenn Tongue (John Wiley & Sons, 2009). How to deal with mortgage problems.
Health Insurance, Expenses, and Debts
• eHealthInsurance
A good spot for comparison shopping health insurance plans if you must buy one for yourself.
• National Association of Insurance Commissioners
This site, run by the regulators from all of the states, offers a comprehensive map of all the state-run risk pools for people who can’t get affordable health insurance on their own.
• Medical Repricing
An alternative to traditional health insurance that gives you substantial discounts on everyday medical services and products, a limited medical benefit up to $10,000, and a high-deductible plan to cover major expenses over $10,000, for a far lower membership fee than traditional health insurance premiums would be. You can also get medical repricing even if you have a preexisting medical condition that would make it impossible to qualify for regular health insurance.
• HealthCare Advocates
This company will help you find good, affordable doctors and negotiate medical bills down before you’ve incurred them, or after you are saddled with them.
• Patient Advocate Foundation
There’s a state-by-state guide to financial resources for medical care on the web site of this nonprofit advocacy organization.
Debt Collectors
•
Stop Debt Collectors: How to Protect Your Rights and Resolve Your Debts, by Gerri Detweiler, Mary Reed, and John Ventura (
Credit.com, 2008). A good overview of your legal rights and how to make sure you use them correctly.
• Stop Collection Harassment:
www.stopcollectionharassment.com A web site established by consumer lawyer Robert Stempler, with sample letters for consumers who want to do battle with their creditors and bill collectors.
Bankruptcy
• The Bankruptcy Handbook, by John Ventura (Kaplan Publishing, 2008). A comprehensive guide by a seasoned bankruptcy attorney.
• The New Bankruptcy: Will It Work for You?, by Stephen R. Elias (Nolo, 2009). An updated, detailed, yet simple guide by a consummate expert.
• Legal Consumer
This is a comprehensive and very authoritative web site offering guidance to any consumer considering bankruptcy or going through it. It is hosted by experienced lawyers.
• American Bankruptcy Institute
There’s an interactive map on the web site of this professional association listing attorneys and legal clinics offering free advice and filing assistance to consumers considering bankruptcy.
• Rocket Lawyer Bankruptcy Center
Another self-help legal site offering free forms and letters consumers can use in filing for bankruptcy protection.