I am sure that by now you have heard of Lifelock, the new ID Theft Protection company whose CEO is blitzing the media with his real Social Security Number. My first thought was "that's stupid", but then I figured that it has to work. I don't know if I would do that regardless, because I just feel it's something private; heck, I wouldn't publish my home phone number, so why would I give someone my Social Security Number.
Anyhow, I have spoken with several people, including the company that has done their multi media PR blitz at well as a Lifelock company rep who helped me understand more about what they do as compared to the other services out there. I found them to be a pretty amazing company and very likely will be a huge part in stopping ID Theft from occurring.
There are two types of Identity Theft protection plans:
The first is an insurance like product that will go to bat for you in the event of your identity being stolen. One such product is Identity Theft Shield sold through Pre-Paid Legal Services. I have been an ID Theft Shield customer for years and fortunately I have not had to use the service, however I do know of a few people who have used it and it has worked well for them.
The second type of service is the kind that actually prevents ID Theft from happening by being proactive rather than reactive. That is the kind of service that LifeLock offers. Another difference is that they cover children as well. Why is this a big deal? ID Theft in children is a fast becoming an issue as thieves know that if they steal the identity of a 10 year old, they have at least 8 years before that person will attempt to apply for their own credit.
In the end it boils down to whether or not you want to be proactive or reactive with your ID Theft protection. It's like the difference in having a good diet to stay healthy or have a great cardiac surgeon to do a bypass surgery; I think we all know which one we would prefer.
Because I was so impressed with LifeLock and wanted to share it, I have arranged for a special offer from LifeLock to my clients; and I am extending this to you as well. For just $9 per month (or $99 for the year), you can have full protection against ID theft. I don't recommend publishing your Social Security Number to test it, but I am sure it will give you and your family piece of mind.
To redeem this offer, simply visit: http://www.lifelock.com and use promo code CAMTG1
Here are a few facts about Identity Theft:
FACT: ID Theft occurs every 70 seconds.
FACT: The average ID Theft incident has a financial impact of roughly $90,000
FACT: It takes roughly 600 hours to clear up an ID Theft incident.
Don't wait - Enroll TODAY!
To redeem this offer, simply visit: http://www.lifelock.com and use promo code CAMTG1
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Thursday, January 03, 2008
4 ways to agressively reduce your mortgage balance in 2008
Most well known financial gurus (Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey, Charles Givens) advocate paying off your mortgage early when possible. Most likely you've heard about adding extra principal payments to your mortgage to pay it off early. It definitely works, but most people are not disciplines or financially educated enough to do this consistently enough to make a difference. Here are 4 different strategies to keep in mind when looking for ways to pay down your mortgage without changing your lifestyle.
1. Make simple principal payments. I won't assume that you have a fixed conventional loan, but if you do, the difference is that you will not realize the benefits up front. It will reduce your principal at the end of the loan, or at the time of pay off. If you do have an Interest Only loan, you can make principal payments at any time, and the next month, you will see the evidence of a reduced payment because you cannot pay interest on principal that does not exist. Making periodic payments will help you, but not much and you really won't see the benefit until you either sell your home, or was down the road when you pay it off.
2. Make bimonthly payments. If you are paid every two weeks and live on a monthly budget, you will have two extra payments per year which you can put towards your principal payments, this will result in a mortgage reduction of approximately 7 years on a fully amortized 30 year mortgage.
3. Make consistent payments in excess of one payment per year. If you can afford it, you can make additional monthly payments in as much as you can afford. If you can afford to make double payments, then you will pay your home off exponentially quicker. If you calculate your payment based on a 15 year amortization and make that payment every month, you will pay it off in 15 years. The challenge here is that it will be a large payment.
4. Leverage Short Term Interest to Pay your mortgage. This is a new and more advanced financial planning concept, but it is catching on in the states. In short, you would acquire a home equity line of credit and use this account to deposit your check in and pay all of your bills out of. The theory is that as you deposit your checks, you will offset any interest payments and any discretionary monies will be used towards the mortgage. The BIG advantage, is that you can leverage the line of credit to pay down your mortgage in large amounts at the most opportune time based on your loan structure. This allows for the absolute fastest reduction of a mortgage (reduces the term by a third to a half), and even better, you can then take those funds once you have paid off your loan and begin to invest. In the end, instead of paying off your mortgage in 30 years, you will have paid it off in about half the time, and put those fund into an investment account and you are now not only debt free, but have used your home to accumulate more wealth than most people ever dream of.
I am promoting Option 4 as it is the most reasonable option for the average homeowner and the emphasis is on paying off the mortgage in the shortest amount of time without changing your current budget. This program can even help people with little to no equity and those who owe more than their home is worth. After a short period of time on the program, you will be back in your equity position and not have to take a loss if you need to sell.
If you are interested in a free mortgage analysis to see if your mortgage qualifies for this program, please contact me at anthony @ atozlender.com
Wishing you the best in 2008!
Anthony
1. Make simple principal payments. I won't assume that you have a fixed conventional loan, but if you do, the difference is that you will not realize the benefits up front. It will reduce your principal at the end of the loan, or at the time of pay off. If you do have an Interest Only loan, you can make principal payments at any time, and the next month, you will see the evidence of a reduced payment because you cannot pay interest on principal that does not exist. Making periodic payments will help you, but not much and you really won't see the benefit until you either sell your home, or was down the road when you pay it off.
2. Make bimonthly payments. If you are paid every two weeks and live on a monthly budget, you will have two extra payments per year which you can put towards your principal payments, this will result in a mortgage reduction of approximately 7 years on a fully amortized 30 year mortgage.
3. Make consistent payments in excess of one payment per year. If you can afford it, you can make additional monthly payments in as much as you can afford. If you can afford to make double payments, then you will pay your home off exponentially quicker. If you calculate your payment based on a 15 year amortization and make that payment every month, you will pay it off in 15 years. The challenge here is that it will be a large payment.
4. Leverage Short Term Interest to Pay your mortgage. This is a new and more advanced financial planning concept, but it is catching on in the states. In short, you would acquire a home equity line of credit and use this account to deposit your check in and pay all of your bills out of. The theory is that as you deposit your checks, you will offset any interest payments and any discretionary monies will be used towards the mortgage. The BIG advantage, is that you can leverage the line of credit to pay down your mortgage in large amounts at the most opportune time based on your loan structure. This allows for the absolute fastest reduction of a mortgage (reduces the term by a third to a half), and even better, you can then take those funds once you have paid off your loan and begin to invest. In the end, instead of paying off your mortgage in 30 years, you will have paid it off in about half the time, and put those fund into an investment account and you are now not only debt free, but have used your home to accumulate more wealth than most people ever dream of.
I am promoting Option 4 as it is the most reasonable option for the average homeowner and the emphasis is on paying off the mortgage in the shortest amount of time without changing your current budget. This program can even help people with little to no equity and those who owe more than their home is worth. After a short period of time on the program, you will be back in your equity position and not have to take a loss if you need to sell.
If you are interested in a free mortgage analysis to see if your mortgage qualifies for this program, please contact me at anthony @ atozlender.com
Wishing you the best in 2008!
Anthony
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