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Welcome to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ page). Below, we have tried to answer the most common questions visitors to this our Web site may have. If you find that your question is not answered on this page, please email us paul@dollars-n-sense.net or call us at 205-586-4658. What does this cost? What does this cost? You’ll receive a two-hour coaching session for basic and crisis situations. Pricing varies according to situation and services chosen. I want to charge fairly according to each and every situation. I can’t even afford all of my monthly payments. Why should I pay for these services? We understand that if you’re looking for help that money is tough to come by. Here’s the deal - bankruptcy and debt-settlement are short-term fixes that don’t really address the core issues; see more about each option below. Plus, they will cost you more in the long run. Bankruptcy will cost $1000-$2000 to file, and debt settlement companies will take $30-$50 per month until they reach a their service fee of $1000 or more. I teach you how to fix your behaviors so that you never end up in this situation again. Do you work for Dave Ramsey? No. Dollars and $ense is an independent company trained in financial coaching and counseling using Dave’s methods. We have the full backing and support of the Lampo Group [Dave’s parent company] along with access to many of their resources, but we are not compensated by them in any fashion, nor do we pay referral fees to his company. Why should I use your services instead of an accountant or financial planner? These folks, while they offer outstanding and necessary services, often don’t address the realities of everyday budgeting. Accountants are geared towards maximizing your tax advantages, while financial planners are geared towards wealth building and estate planning through the specific recommendation of products and services. Often, they sell the same products and services that they recommend. I don’t sell financial products so I don’t make recommendations for nor benefit from such products. Why not use consumer credit counseling service? These services, also called debt settlement services, is an arrangement where you send someone else your money and they pay your bills, so you don’t learn how it feels and how to take care of it yourself. Your credit will be ruined in the process; their tactic for getting your creditors to settle is to get you behind in your monthly payments and attempt to negotiate with the creditor to forgive some of your debt. Using one of these services is classified as a chapter 13 bankruptcy on your credit report. Further, the fees will cost much more than our service in the long run. Why should I not consider debt consolidation if my total payments will go down? Your monthly payments go down because you’re spreading these payments out over a longer period of time. If you’re two years away from paying off your car, three years from paying off your student loan, and two years from paying off your credit cards, then you’d be debt free in three years if you don't add any debt. If you put these into a HELOC, then it will be ten years or more before all of this debt is retired because you’ve lowered your total monthly outlay by extending the length of time to pay it off. Also, closing costs on something like this are much higher than our service. Rolling the closing costs into the HELOC? You’re still paying for it, just over the life of the loan. Plus, what if you need to sell your house [think layoff, divorce, death of a spouse, etc] and this debt consolidation puts you in a situation where you owe more on your house than it’s worth? Then what? But most importantly, you don’t learn how to change your behaviors through debt consolidation. In other words, the things you’ve done that have gotten you into this situation are not addressed. If we sweep everything into one monthly payment without addressing the behaviors, you are most likely to be back in the same situation in the future. Why should I not just file bankruptcy and clean my slate? Several reasons. First of all, bankruptcy stays with you permanently. Many employers ask on their applications if you have ever filed bankruptcy, and answering yes will limit the types of jobs that you can hold. Secondly, bankruptcy doesn’t take care of everything. Student loans cannot be bankrupted, nor can the IRS, for example, and anything that you “reaffirm” or want to keep such as your car or home will not change or go away. Third, by wiping the slate clean you’ve still not addressed the core issues that got you into the situation that you may be in. By working on the behaviors, you put yourself in a better position to win long-term.
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"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7 (NIV) |
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Copyright 2008 Dollars and $ense Financial Coaching |
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