DebtSmart®: David's Talk-Your-Way-Out Results

David S. sent me a wonderful email. David wrote to me to tell me about how well he has been doing by negotiating with his banks. Nothing pleases me more than hearing about the financial successes of my readers! This article is about that success.

You'll notice how detailed and systematic David is with his notes. They're short, to the point, dated, and will provide him with a reference when following up in a few months.

I want everyone reading my books and articles to save money. I want you to save money. I want you to make more money! That's what it's all about. Being in control of your finances. Being in control of the banks. Creating your own financial destiny. That's what being DebtSmart is all about. The term may literally mean being smart with your debt, but being smart with all your financial decisions is how to be smart with your debt.

The most efficient use of your efforts is going to be negotiating better terms with your banks. They will negotiate. They have to! There is too much competition in the credit card market for banks to ignore their customers. And if they do ignore us-we need to use another bank!

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EMAIL (8/3/06)

Hello Scott,

I am writing to THANK YOU for the wonderful book Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt.

I racked up over $40,000 in debt throughout college and my first few years out of school. I used to go anywhere I wanted and buy anything I wanted because it "wasn't my money."

Well, last year I found a nice girl that changed my views on all this. She was shocked to find out about my debt, so I knew I had to do something about it. I bought a book about debt management and it was so boring I couldn't even read it!

Then I stumbled upon the greatest book ever, Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt. Okay, I'm not writing a review so I'll get to the point...I have made only a few calls and seen many of the things in the book! Attached you will find some notes that I have made with the details of my few calls.

I was already "DebtSmart" before reading your book as I had taken advantage of two 0% balance transfers, so these calls have saved me much (yet). However, those end soon so now I'm trying to get better rates and better balance transfer options.

Thanks for the book and I hope you enjoy my results!

Sincerely,
David S.

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BANK CALL RESULTS

AMERICAN EXPRESS
8/9/06
Reason for call: Inquire about Platinum card (incl. Annual fee), transfer ENTIRE MBNA-Loan amount: To do so must raise credit limit and get good APR
Rep's Name: Wooshtrum (?)
Credit Line Specialist: Angie
Customer Service for APR Name: Colleen
Result: Angie - Credit Limit raised to $14,700, Colleen - Trying to lower APR… Lowered to 10.99% Fixed

8/14/06
Reason for call: Calling about $4.85 Periodic Finance Charge on 8/6/06 bill. Had $1,4xx.00 credit on 7/6/06 bill, charged $1,200.
Rep's Name: Janine
Credit Line Specialist:
Customer Service for APR Name:
Result: Account was credited $4.85

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BANK OF AMERICA
8/10/06
Reason for call: Inquire about lowering APR
Rep's Name: Mark Newburry
APR Spec's Name: Dave Van Wert
Manager's Name:
Result: APR lowered from 26.24% to 20.24%, CASH APR lowered 28.24% to 22.24%

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DISCOVER CARD
8/10/06
Reason for call: Inquire about lowering APR and raising credit limit and check BT rates
Rep's Name: Utah center, Susan
BT Rep's Name: Tracy
Rep (call #2) Name: Arizona Center, Joyce
Result: Fax number: 801-902-4597 for APR%, Call back for Credit Limit increase
4.9% until Jan. '07 offered - declined…, No credit limit increase available

8/30/06
Reason for call: Inquire about lowering APR, Currently 20.24%, Called back on 8/10/06 and was told I needed to fill out a form (allowing a credit check), I don't want to fill out a form…
Rep's Name: Rose, Delaware Center
Supervisor's Name: Teresa
Result: Rose claims I need to fill out a form to lower APR (again), but transferred me to Teresa. Teresa immediately lowers to 15.24%.

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MBNA LOAN
8/9/06
Reason for call: Lower APR; Current APR 19.99%
Rep's Name: Alicia
Supervisor's Name:
Manager's Name:
Result: Does not qualify for lower rate. WE'LL SEE YA!

8/30/06
Reason for call: Lower APR; Current APR 19.99%
Rep's Name: Tammy
Supervisor's Name: Heather
Manager's Name:
Result: Tammy says no rate change is available., Heather is offering a lower rate on my MBNA MasterCard offering 18.99%, Heather will also be changing my account to a World Points account.

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MBNA MASTERCARD
8/30/06
Reason for call: Lower APR; Current APR 22.99%
Rep's Name: Heather
Supervisor's Name:
Manager's Name:
Result: Heather is offering a lower rate on my MBNA MasterCard offering 18.99%, Heather will also be changing my account to a World Points account.

US BANK
8/9/06
Reason for call: Balance transfer APR, transfer $7115 from MBNA Tiger card, raise credit limit
Rep's Name: Erin
Acct. Specialist: Maggie
Manager's Name:
Result: Maggie offered 1.9% BT with NO fees for 9 months (thru May '07 billing cycle). Transferred $7100 to MBNA Tiger card. Promotion good for 30 additional days.

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EMAIL (8/30/06)

David,

Thank you for writing to me about your success! I am thrilled to read about your results from calling the banks! Including your call-notes; that was a treat - thanks! You are DebtSmart!

Thanks also for your wonderful comments about the book, "the greatest book ever," that's awesome - you've made my day!

Hey, be sure to sign up for my email newsletter. I'm sure that it will help you save even more.

I'd love to share your story with my DebtSmart.com readers. Do I have your permission to do that?

Best,
Scott

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EMAIL (8/30/06 )

Wow Scott, quick reply time!

You've boosted my ego a bit with your remarks about me being DebtSmart!!

You can use any of my calls as an example. After doing some of the things in your book (I'd done a BIT of it before reading, but I'd never ask for a supervisor for example), I realized that what you do is awesome. I love helping people and I think you probably feel the same way!

Keep up the good work!! And thanks for everything you've done for me without even knowing about it!

Thanks again!
David S.

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EMAIL (10/17/06)

Hello Scott,

I emailed you a while back (August I believe) about my success after reading your book Talk Your Way Out of Credit Card Debt.

I have another success/question.

Today, I transferred $23,400 from an account that was charging 19.99% interest to a card with 10.99% interest. I was paying $516 per month on the original account. I tried to figure out the savings from the reduced rate, but I think I did something wrong. I calculated a Ratio of 45, a payments saved of 25.58, which made my savings $13,199.

Did I do that correctly?

To make it even better, I took another card and transferred $11,000 OFF the 10.99% account to an account with 3.99% interest until July '07. I calculated about a $450 savings with this transfer ($75 transfer fee).

Are my savings calculated correctly? If they are, WOW!

Thanks again Scott!

David S.

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EMAIL (10/18/06)

David,

Yes, you did the math correctly! Nice job!

AWESOME!

Best,
Scott