Debt Snowball - 2 Schools of Thought

The debt snowball is a debt reduction method and strategy used to pay off debt. It is widely preached by debt counselors all over the world and many consumer finance and debt help gurus such as Dave Ramsey absolutely swear by it.


How the Debt Snowball Works

It is really a rather simple concept. The one employing this method simply lists all their debt and budgets out the minimum payment owed monthly to each creditor. Then one creditor is selected and any remaining funds available after all minimum payments have been made is allotted the remaining balance. After that creditor is paid off that minimum payment as well as the remaining excess funds is targeted towards the next selected creditor. Thus the snowball grows. You pay of the next creditor at a faster rate then the previous. As creditors are eliminated the snowball grows bigger and bigger. Rinse and repeat.

There is an internal conflict in this method. Conflict arises in determining which creditor should be targeted first, second, and so on.

There are two schools of thought on this matter. The "motivational finance method" and the "logical finance method".

1. Motivational Finance Method - Here the creditor owed the least amount of money is always targeted first. In this way the one paying off debt is thought to be more motivated because they are awarded the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of their labour sooner. However this method pays no attention to interest rates. Thus in theory the consumer will most likely pay more then the one who utilizes the logical method.
2. Logical Finance Method - Here the highest interest bearing creditor is paid off first. In this way the consumer is paying off their debt the fastest and the cheapest. However experts tend to agree that the consumer will be more likely to quit than the same consumer who employs the motivational finance method.

So Which Debt Snowball Method is Best?

Technically it is kinda impossible to argue against the logical method. However, if the consumer in financial hardship is not motivated then perhaps the motivational method would work better. I would contend that if the consumer can't stay self motivated enough to see it through the logic method then neither would work anyway. But that is just my opinion. Personally I would rather get out of debt faster and cheaper.

Debt Settlement Risk Factors

Debt Settlement Risk - Three Key Fundamental Risks

Debt Settlement has some fundamental risks that come with the decision to pursue efforts of settling debt for a discounted price with your creditors.

This article provides an outline of three existing debt settlement risk.



3 Financial Risks

No Guarantee

• There is never a guarantee that you will be able to settle debt with a lender. Just because you want to settle and make an offer does not mean that they will take it.

Taxes

• You will most likely have to pay taxes on any debt forgiven by your lender.
• The government and the IRS count those funds as income. So you will get a 1099 for the discounted amount of debt in most cases.

Credit

• Your credit score is not going to be in good shape. there is no doubt that you will have to become delinquent in order to have any real chance of settling any debt with your lenders. Those missed payments and default statuses go on your credit history and payment history records.
• Also just because you settle a debt successfully does not mean that other potential creditors are going to view that as a good thing. Think about it. You borrowed money and did not pay the full amount back.

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Cash, Credit, or Cell?

"Hey can you cover me I left my charger at work?"

This is how you will sucker your friend in to paying for your night out in a year or two.

Confused?

Yeah... you, Master Card, Visa, and American Express too.


In just a few short months consumers will have the option to pay with cash, credit card, or their smart phone.

That's right soon your smart phone will be just like a credit card except better; it won't be a credit card.

Who Is Behind This New Payment Method?

More then several players are going to be directly offering a cell phone payment method.

Below is a quick list of the bigger companies creating an alternative credit method for your smart phone.

Isis

AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile are all joining forces to form a company or entity or whatever they are call such a partnership. This new transaction processing company will be called Isis.

Google and the Android Operating System

Google is developing a system that will integrate with their Android operating system. All a phone will need is the embedded chip.

New Start-Ups 

There are several new companies that have already formed that are going to offer solutions for both consumers and merchants as an alternative to paying with the old credit card.

Why the Push to Create a New Payment Method and Credit Card Alternative?

Mobile Networks

This is the obvious answer. All the big data networks such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile will expand their offered services in a big way. The electronic transaction solution business is one hell of an extra business to get in to. They will get a cut of every transaction just like the credit card companies do now.

Consumer Choice

Then of course there is the consumer demand for an alternative to credit cads. there is an obvious benefit to being able to pay with your smart phone in addition to the other two choices that we already have. though this is an obvious motive for coming up with another merchant transaction solution and alternative to credit cards it is not even close to the main driver of this new industry.

Merchant Incentive - A Cheaper Better and Smarter Alternative

Merchants are going to welcome this thing with open arms. Merchants have a real love hate relationship with credit cards. The problem that merchants have with the existing credit card transaction solutions is the price they are charged by the credit card companies. It really puts a dent into the margins.

Also the credit card companies have been increasing rates on the merchants to make up losses that the banks have incurred during the credit crunch and massive waves of loan defaults.

To top it off the credit card companies have made it a breach of contract for merchants to say anything about the expense to consumers.

In fact many people have no idea how credit card companies make money. It's not the interest we all pay.

Merchants will be able to cut the transaction expense in half. This means bigger gains in margin. This thing will be huge for merchants.

Credit Card Companies are in Trouble

The one thing that is crystal clear amidst all this new possibility and choice that consumers, networks, and merchants will have in the very near future is that credit card companies are not going to fair well.

Sure there is going be a place for credit cards. Trust me when I tell you that credit cards are not going anywhere. I am actually surprised that the bigger credit cad companies are not more involved with this new movement but the again I guess these phone networks have a pretty solid infrastructure already in place.

My next post is going to be on what this will mean for consumers and merchants as well as the data networks. The positive impact and benefits of ths shift is going to be a lot bigger then most people would think and I really want to paint a vivid picture for everyone.

So check back soon!


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How Credit Card Companies Make Money - What you may not know

If you are a consumer then chances are you have a credit card account, or at least have had a credit card account in the past.

Do you know how credit card companies make money? 


Do you know why credit card companies are so willing to lend via unsecured revolving accounts?


Most people would guess credit card companies such as Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express make their huge profits by charging consumer borrowers interest on the money they borrow via their credit card.

Most people are wrong.


Though some credit card companies lend some of their own money or at least make money off the interest that is charged this typically represents a insignificant portion of their overall revenue. This information may come as quite a surprise. But it is more true then most can imagine.

Common Credit Card Company Revenue Streams and Origins


Transaction Commissions

Transaction commissions are the bread and butter of the credit card industry.

When you pull out that Visa card and make a purchase the merchant pays a portion of the money charged to Visa or whatever credit card or bank applicable. The exact percentage of the charge that is handed over to the credit card company variable. This rate is different from card company to card company and from merchant to merchant.

Small merchants pay more. Big merchants pay less. Exclusive and smaller credit card brands charge more. Larger and bigger credit card companies charge less.

For instance McDonald's pays a small fraction of what a "Mom and Pop" store would have to pay. Having said that the typical merchant is going to end up paying 1%-7% depending on the card.

American Express and Discover typically charge higher rates then the larger companies such as Visa and Master Card.


Borrower Fee's

Many credit card companies charge annual maintenance fee's, late fee's, and whatever other fee that some guy wearing a tie and a rolex dreams up. These fee's are typically 10 - 100 bucks a year per card. That may not sound like so much but take 50 bucks and multiply it by say 50 million accounts. Now we are talking real money.

Advertising and Marketing Revenues

Information. The commodity of all commodities. Credit card companies have found themselves knee deep in consumer information. What population of Visa card holders have made at least one monthly online purchase for the last nine  months? Well you can most likely obtain some pretty accurate answers to that question if you are willing to pay for it. Even if a buyer of such information is unable to buy that info they will still be able to reap the benefits of knowing the answer.

What do I mean by that?

Perhaps the buyer is able to place an email blast to all those card holders, or a direct mailing campaign, or whatever. For a fee per mail-out or phone number or maybe a part of the revenue generated from the marketing list. the possibilities are limitless.

Cross Selling Related Products

Protect your credit score. Buy life insurance. The offers a consumer gets are limitless. many of these offers are through one of your existing credit card companies. these large cross selling efforts have a similar macro effect as does the annual maintenance fee. If a card issuer is able to generate an average of 18 dollars per credit account via other products and services then these companies are able to generate billions an additional revenue.

These same tactics work great for other outside company products and an affiliate program.

So there you have it. Now you know that your credit card company is not focusing on that interest rate they are focusing on transaction volume, marketing dollars, and consumer information.

Sleep well.