Newsletter Jan 25 2006

Hello and welcome to the New Year!As of last month our on-line newsletter is now FREE!!! That should appeal to all you other Scrooges out there.Last month we asked you to tell your friends about it. Unfortunately for several days the automatic signup sent new address out somewhere and they got lost in cyber space. So please tell them again.To get a free subscription just go to our home page http://www.scroogeguide.com/ and fill in the box in the lower left hand side.For those of you who have already paid, you still get all the extras - the Scrooge Guide manual, the on-line members-only content, and all the back issues.So, now you can give your friends the gift of reading the Scrooge Guide newsletter for no cost at all! What a gift that is!

Signed,Robert "Scrooge" Lunan

The Scrooge Guide follows:

The Scrooge Guide is a publication of the Lunan Corporation copyright 2006, all right reserved.

Relief for the “Post Christmas Shopping Blues”
Did you include everybody’s wishes in your Christmas shopping and are now aghast at what it has added up to? Here are a few remedies that you can apply to get those high interest credit cards paid off:
List all of your credit cards and loans with their balances and interest rates and high limits
Sort them by highest interest rate, then amount owing
Check with your credit card company if there is an interest rate special on for balance transfers of other debts (e.g. some lenders have a special on for 4.97% interest rate for all balance transfers until paid in full) Transfer the highest interest paying debts to the credit card with the balance transfer special. IMPORTANT: Make sure that your new balance does not exceed 50% of your high limit of the credit card you are transferring to because this will greatly affect your credit rating.
If you can’t transfer the high interest balances, make a plan to pay off the highest interest bearing debt first. Budget a certain amount to pay down on the debt each month. (We have calculators that work out the exact amount for the time required for paying off the loan – please contact us for more information.)
Once the first debt is paid off, move on to the next highest interest credit card and so on until all the debts are paid off.
Don’t use credit cards for anything anymore, unless you have the equivalent amount in cash waiting in your account (money that is not allotted for any other expense).
Make a budget and stick to it. Cut down on expenses by buying items on sale, or second hand. Save in advance for larger purchases, so that you don’t have to use credit. (Subscribe to our free newsletter www.scroogeguide.com for money saving and wealth building techniques)
If you find yourself in the debt so deep that you can’t possibly make any payments but the minimal, the Scrooge Guide Financial Group’s G.O.O.D. program might be in order. It is your key to get out of debt, pay off your mortgage faster and to stay out of debt!Please contact us for more information:

Scrooge Guide Financial Group
Tel: (613) 258-3454
Scrooge@scroogeguide.com
www.scroogeguide.com

Interest Rate Update

Today (January 24, 2006) the Bank of Canada raised its key rate by 1/4 percentage point. This means most banks and other lenders will also raise the cost of mortgages, lines of credit and other loans by the same amount over the next few days.

Making Loads of Money

Last month I mentioned a method I'm experimenting with to maximize investment returns. I'm using only ETF's (of course) and have increased the balance by 10% over the past two months. This will equal 60% per annum if the experimant pans out long-term. Basically I go to the ishares site and look at their calcualtors to choose the best performing country regions for the last quarter, month and two months. I also compare this to the best for the last six months. I thne choose th e highest gainers for all those periods. The theory is if it did well over the last several months then it should do well over the next few (at least). WARNING...this is high risk stuff, as high gainers tend to also drop quickly as well. You should set a stop loss to at most 7% of your investment. You should also be aware that the iShares are only available in US dollars. If you are using a Canadian dollar account then you also have exchange rate risk (that is, if the Canadian dollar strengthens the value of the iShare will drop). Most banks and financial advisors make nothing from selling ETF's so you won't hear them being offered very often. Here is the link to the iShares site : http://www.ishares.com

Too Bad, So Sad for Canada

Canadians elected yet another minority government last night. YUCK! Looks like we will be back to the polls in another several months. Another party in power that will have no teeth, and no ability to implement any real change. So from a financial perspective don't count on much financial help coming from the government. With the rise of the NDP and the remaining strength of the BQ we see Canada is changing into a four party political system from the old two party system. Perhaps I should start a Scrooge Party and be number 5...at least it would have an interesting financial policy!

Life Insurance Update

With the New Year here, now is a good time to mark your calendar to have your life insurance looked at. In many cases you may be paying too much. Make sure you get a broker (like us) to look at it. If you are in Ontario we can look into it for you. Otherwise find a good life insurance broker in your area. In some cases a broker will be able to cut your life insurance premiums in half!Mortgage UpdateAnother broker that you should contact is a good mortgage broker, for mortgage renewals, refinancing, new purchases or taking equity out of your home for investments or expenses. If you go to your bank you will be offered only their product, however a broker will shop the entire market for you. We have a very good in-house broker so if you need a mortgage or refinancing quote - contact us.

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TERMS OF USE Please note that all information is given on an "as is" basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this material, neither the authors, the Scrooge Guide® nor the Lunan Corporation shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the material on this web-site or contained in the Scrooge Guide® newsletter. In this newsletter and on our site we do not give professional advice including and without limitation financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. Nor do we offer a solicitation to buy or sell investments. We offer general information, common sense tips and an educational website and newsletter about frugal living, saving money,and making money.
COPYRIGHTS & TRADEMARKSThe Scrooge Guide is a registered trademark of the Lunan Corporation. All information on this site and contained in The Scrooge Guide® Newsletter and in other attachments and available downloads is copyrighted by the Lunan Corporation. All rights reserved. (c) 2006.