Building Wealth Magazine

There are 220 million people in America eligible for credit, however credit card companies sent out over 6 BILLION offers last year.  Besides the obvious waste of paper, these offers create a real risk of Identity Theft. 

Should you ever need to take out new credit you are much more likely to get great credit card deals at sites like BankRate.com so there is no need for these offers to clog your mailbox.

If you would like to reduce the number of pre-screened credit and insurance offers you are receiving, visit www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5OptOut (1-888-567-8688) to opt-out of these offers. This is a free service to consumers offered by the major credit bureaus.

Through this website, you may request to:

• Opt-Out from receiving Firm Offers for Five Years - (electronically).
• Opt-Out from receiving Firm Offers permanently - (mail).
• Opt-In and be eligible to receive Firm Offers. This option is for consumers who have previously completed an Opt-Out request - (electronically).

Other consumers who wish to decrease the amount of unsolicited telemarketing calls they receive should register with the Federal Trade Commission’s National Do Not Call Registry at: www.donotcall.gov or by phone 1-888-382-1222.
Lee Williams

I thought I’d share the way I financed my last car as another way to keep your own money in your pocket and still get what you want. First of all, I’m lucky enough to have enough cash on hand to go buy a new car outright. But then, after handing all that money over to a car dealer, I would no longer have that cash, and would have purchased a depreciating asset that immediately lost value once I drove it off the lot and would continue to depreciate. Cars are not an investment. They are, however, a necessary way of life in Texas due to our lack of good public transportation and long distances to get anywhere. So, no matter what, I must have a car. I already have an 11 year old Saturn with 235K miles on it that was paid for a long time ago that I use for beating around town. I kept it because it’s reliable and cheap to maintain. But I recently wanted a second brand new car (my other second car, a Buick Regal of the same age was donated to charity at the time) to flaunt my status a little without being too ostentatious or flashy.

Here’s the math: I purchased a new Beetle convertible and “financed” $20K. I took $20K of my own money and purchased a 5 year CD at my credit union that was paying 4.5% return, with the option if the interest rates went up I could bump it upwards (’step-up’) twice with no penalty. I then pledged that $20K CD as security on a secured loan to myself for 5 years at 6% (locked in). I have the added benefit that the car was then completely paid for when I drove it off the lot Read the rest of this entry »