Smart Payment Plan Announces “Match Payments to Paydays” Program, Helps Consumers Pay off Loans Quicker, Save Money and Improve Credit

Smart Payment Plan recently announced some big news. Here’s the press release below from Marketwire.

LOS ANGELES, CA–(Marketwire – July 20, 2010) –  Smart Payment Plan has just made it easier to budget, pay off loans faster, save money and improve your credit score. The company has launched “Match Payments to Paydays,” a new and revolutionary service which schedules your bill payments immediately after you receive your paycheck, making paying your bills more reliable, easy, safe and hassle-free than ever. Smart Payment Plan is one of the first companies to implement such a system.

You can use Smart Payment Plan to pay off home mortgages, car loans, school loans, boat loans, personal loans, credit cards, and any other fixed monthly bills such as rent, cable, daycare or wireless plans. Why worry about bills all month long? Smart Payment Plan will electronically debit half of your loan payment every time you get paid. You can set-it-and-forget-it to pay down your loans faster, reduce interest charges and build equity faster. With convenient electronic payments, there’s no need for the hassle of mailing checks or buying stamps — and with federal banking laws, electronic payments are even safer than paper options.

Since 2003, Smart Payment Plan has helped people budget easier and reduce their debt quickly. A Better Business Bureau accredited business, Smart Payment Plan’s concept has been featured on Oprah and costs absolutely nothing upfront. A $1.95 transaction fee is included in each debit, and the debit amount never changes. The program is 100% satisfaction guaranteed, allowing users to cancel anytime. Scheduled debits may also be cancelled 3 days in advance.

About Smart Payment Plan
Smart Payment Plan allows you to gain more control over your finances. Also, making smaller payments that match your paydays towards your loans reduces the overall loan amount, helping you pay off your loan faster and saving you money. For more information, call 1-800-481-6863 or visit http://www.smartpaymentplan.com.

Media Contacts
Victoria Lyons
Director of Corporate Communications
(800) 481-6863

Joining The Email List: Do It!

I know, I know, you hate spam email. Yet, alas, this isn’t spam. Below are the pre-selected, personal filtered types of email lists you need to subscribe to and why:

MovieTickets.com – When I need to purchase movie tickets beforehand I go with movietickets.com. I am a creature of habit, the very first time I needed to do this, I went with movietickets.com and have stuck with them ever since. Especially now that I receive weekly emails for free movie showings. Sometimes they’re screenings of big budget/well known films a week or so before the launch date or screenings of unnamed films with famous named actors still in need of some editing. Of course you can opt out of these emails at any time. Showtimes are often scheduled during the week around 7pm at a big city near you.

AEG – For upcoming concert alerts and showdates. Not a lot of deals offered but always nice to be ahead of the pack when purchasing tickets for big acts.

Ticketmaster – Same deal as AEG, but you can receive notifications from specific artists/bands of your choice.

Boutiques – Usually, boutiques don’t have one, sole individual that can maintain an email newsletter. Which means they save all their announcements and deal specials for that one email sent to your inbox about every other week. You don’t hear from them a whole lot, but when you do, it’s always great.

Party and Event promoters – These people want you to come to their party because they need a packed house. So why not go? In the weekly party/club/event email scan through what venues and nights perk your interest. They’ll usually offer you the chance to RSVP beforehand with how many guests. You’re then put on a guest list and get to have a fabulous night at no cost to you.

Money Saving Tip: Go Green

These days “going green” isn’t just for the tree-huggers and the eco-activists, but rather it’s also for the smart money savers too. Whether it’s your car, your home or even what you eat, often times the green choice is also the economic choice. After all, the majority of green items are considered such because they are more efficient, and thus use less energy than their non-green peers. And since energy costs money, the less you use of it, the more you save.

Now, granted, sometimes the green choice can cost more up front. Well, oftentimes, really. But with regard to a light bulb, for example, even if you have to pay an extra $5 for the eco-friendly bulb, you’ll still save around $30 in energy bills over the lifetime of that bulb. So an extra of $25 in savings, and that’s just for one bulb. If you have ten to twenty bulbs in your home, that amounts to $250 to $500. And that’s just with light bulbs!

Same goes for more fuel-efficient vehicles — the better the gas mileage, the less you have to fill up, the less money you’re spending — as well as appliances and even windows.

For more money saving tips, check some of our past posts.

Five More Easy Ways To Save

Amidst our nation’s current economic troubles, many families have found themselves tightening their proverbial belts. And, for some, this tightening hasn’t been too comfortable — or pretty, for that matter. Fortunately, not every money saver has to be difficult. Some are even easy, in fact. Really! Last week I highlighted five quick and easy money savers; this week I’ll list five more.

Exercise From Home. Simple concept: gym memberships are expensive, especially when multiplied out over an entire year, whereas working out from home is not. It can even be free if need be! You just need to be a little more creative. Jog around the block, instead of on a treadmill, for example. Or swap the StairMaster for the stairs at a local park. Or instead of a stationary bike — well, I think you get the idea.

(Note: purchasing your own machine-filled exercise room is not the solution here — unless, of course you already have one that you just don’t use.)

Vacation During the Off Season. Life is stressful, especially these days. And yet, just when we need a vacation the most, we find ourselves unable to pay for one, which can be very demoralizing. Fortunately, all is not lost. Off-season vacations are not only still a lot of fun (really), they’re also quite cheap too.

Cut Back on the Drinks. Whether your poison drink of choice is coffee, alcohol or soda, there’s always some room to cut back, even if just a little. Now, I’m not saying you need to go cold turkey or even that you should cut your intake — I know better. Rather that you should finder cheaper alternatives. For example, consider swapping your daily Starbucks for some home brew, or slamming your daily beer (or three) at home instead of at the bar.

Go Generic. A few years ago it might have made sense to get the name-brand stuff for purposes of appearance, but I can only hope that mindset has since been dutifully put to rest. Because, really, appearance is all that differentiates the brand name cereal from the generic, the taste is the same. Same goes for medicine, clothing and other grocery items.

Buy in Bulk. Now, this probably isn’t a wise idea for produce and other perishables — unless you have a very large, very hungry, vegetable-eating family — but for non-perishables, stock up! Because the more you buy, the lower the price (per item).

23 Tips on How to Save Money Now

True, there are a lot of money saving tips out there. But here’s a quick view of some tips that I use myself and that work!

1. Combine your cable, internet and telephone service.
2. Send away for and follow up on rebates.
3. Buy a refurbished Mac. Did this and bought a 1 year old Macbook for $500. Apple freaks always need to have the newest Apple gear. You know you have a friend like that. When a new version Laptop comes out, ask him/her what they’ll do with the old one and then score!
5. Request a reduction in the interest rate on your credit cards.
6. Refinance you mortgage. My dad did this and saved over $300/month after the refinance.
7. Get your books from the library. Nuff said.
8. Get DVDs from the library.
9. Get DVDs from Red Box. $1, nuff said.
10. Read magazines online. Why buy US, People, Maxim when you can visit their site and read what’s found in the mag for free!
11. Never pay checking account fees.
12. Get a rewards card. Albertson’s, CVS, even Sephora, do it!
13. Don’t pay interest on credit cards.
14. Drive your car longer. Run that thing into the ground. I hate my monthly car payment with a passion.
15. Increase insurance deductibles.
16. Get rid of your home telephone.
17. Agree to limit gift giving.
18. Pass on extended warranties.
19. Take your lunch to work. I do this about 3-4 times/week. An average lunch can cost anywhere from $7-$10. That about $40 your saving/week if you start bringing leftovers for lunch.
20. Take advantage of employer 401(k) matches. I cannot stress how important it is to start a 401K. Stop waiting and just do it already.
21. Get organized and avoid missed payments.
22. Buy online when it saves you money. And usually when free shipping is involved.
23. Use Open Source software when possible.