February

2009

Lynn Spivey – Personal Trainer - Client

The program put Daryl and Lynn on track to pay off their debts in less than 10 years. That includes their house, their cars and their credit card bills. “I’m a perfect case of had the mortgage, had the two cars,had the credit card debt and was struggling along, doing the same old, same old,” she says. “We really didn’t have to change anything in the overall budget. It was just a rearranging of how it was going out so we could make our money work for us.

“My feeling is, I work hard for my money and I want It working hard for me, and that’s really what this Is about.”

Some savvy software gurus might say, “Why can’t I just do this on my own?” And perhaps they could. Obviously it is possible to decode the equations and put them to work without the aid of the Money Merge Account program. A few have tried, but no one has been able to match the efficiency and accuracy of the Money Merge Account software and support.

“ …We had one guy who was determined to do this on his own,” Washenko says. “He was very smart and figured out how he could eliminate his debt within 15 years-which is pretty good. Just out of curiosity, we had him enter his information into the Money Merge Account program, and within seconds the computer calculated…

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…an accelerated debt-reduction schedule of 8.2 years, shaving off almost seven years and thousands more dollars in his quest to be debt free. We instantly made a believer out of him.”

Many of the success stories United First Financial has to share fall under the category of “too good to be true,” but the numbers simply don’t lie. “One woman started with a $184,000 mortgage and within a year had reduced it to $126,000—she had paid off $64,000—just by following the advice the software gave her each month,” Saunders says. “She told us, ‘I don’t have a clue how it works, but I am just going to keep doing what the computer tells me to do!’ “

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Mark Victor HansenCo-Author Chicken Soup for the Soul Series

SFH: Why are you impressed with United First Financials Money Merge Account program?

MVH: I think people have to learn how to earn, save, invest and then be philanthropic. What the Money Merge Account program does is it gives people insight into what their habits are. As a society, we’ve become used to consumerism and spending—maybe even overspending. The Money Merge Account helps you realize when you’re spending too much. For most of us—myself included—it’s a wake-up call.

Mark Victor HansenCo-Author Chicken Soup for the Soul Series

SFH: What about people who say, “I know I’m in trouble, but I can get out of this hole myself?”

MVH: …Even with as much cash flow as I have, and I have much more than most, I still have debt. The software helps me see that, instead of [paying] 30 years on this piece of property, I’m on schedule to pay this off in 12.2 years and potentially save $639,000. I did not realize that until I used the Money Merge Account program.

SFH: Then the Money Merge Account program is the bringer of life because it’s bringing hope to people.

MVH: This product gives people hope. That’s why I’m so enamored with it. The only thing is, I wish I had invented it myself.

Lightening the Burden of DebtMISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MORTGAGE DEBT

One common misconception people have is that they need to have a mortgage payment so that they can take advantage of the tax deduction for interest paid on their mortgage. This is wrong, Mary says. “You should never go into debt for the reason of getting a tax deduction,” she says. Let’s say you’re in the 28 percent tax bracket, so you get to deduct $28 for every $100 you pay in interest. You’re still paying $72 in interest, and it doesn't make sense to do that.”

Instead of looking at this deduction as a gift they’re getting from the government, people should see it as a consolation prize, Mary says.

Lightening the Burden of DebtMISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MORTGAGE DEBT

If you have to pay a mortgage, the tax benefits help ease that burden, but they should never be a reason for not paying off your mortgage, if you can do so. “You need to see your mortgage as a 2-ton brick that you have to carry around with you.”

Another argument some have for not paying off their home is that they can earn a higher return by investing. “That’s part of the problem that got our country into the mortgage meltdown in the first place,” Gail says. “People started looking to their homes as investments, and while it’s true your home can be part of a wealth-building strategy, we need to get back to looking at houses as homes.