Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) For Debt Eraser |
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Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Simple Joe's Debt Eraser PC software. |
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)How many debts can I enter? Can I include my mortgage payment with my other debts? How does Debt Eraser prioritize my debts? Can I enter more than one set of debts? More: What is Priority used for? What if I am not being charged interest for a debt? Should I enter the minimum monthly payment or what I am actually paying? What if there is no minimum monthly payment for a debt? What if the minimum monthly payment changes? How do I delete a debt? How is the average interest rate calculated? Why do I get a warning when I enter a monthly payment amount? Why doesn't my payment go down on my Debt Reduction Plan when I pay off a debt? How can I move my data files to another directory? How can I move or copy my data files onto another computer? Can I install this program on my desktop and laptop computer? Something strange is happening. Can I reinstall the program without losing my data files? How many debts can I enter? Back To Questions Unlimited. Well, limited only to the size of your hard disk or two gigabytes. Can I include my mortgage payment with my other debts? Back To Questions Yes. You can include any debt. Note however, that if you pay your mortgage on a bi-weekly schedule you will need to multiply your bi-weekly payment amount by 2.17 to get the approximate monthly payment amount. (The .17 is because you will make the equivalent of 13 monthly payments on a bi-weekly payment plan. Also note that when entering a mortgage monthly payment amount, you should subtract amounts paid for homeowner's insurance, property taxes, mortgage insurance and any other escrow amount that is collected. These amounts are not applied to the principal or interest of your mortgage loan. These amounts should be found on your monthly mortgage bill or your mortgage documentation. How does Debt Eraser prioritize my debts? Back To Questions Debt Eraser creates a rapid debt reduction plan that pays off high interest debts first. This maximizes the amount of interest you will save. Can I enter more than one set of debts? Back To Questions No. Although you can change your debt information at any time, to create multiple Rapid Debt Reduction Plans use the "Pay Off My Debts" tool in Simple Joe's Money Tools. What is Priority used for? Back To Questions You may have noticed a Priority box in the upper right section of the debt information page. This is used to prioritize your debt repayment. For example, say you have borrowed $10,000 from your Aunt Martha to help with the down payment on your home. You are paying Aunt Martha $200 each month and she is (because she is financially savvy) charging you 10% interest. You want to impress your Aunt Martha so you set the priority of paying off your debt to her at 9 (the highest). The rest of your debts you set to a priority level of 8. The higher the number, the higher the debt repayment priority. This means that any extra money will go to pay off the debt to Aunt Martha before being applied to the other debts. Just extra money goes to pay off Aunt Martha; minimum payments will still be met on all debts. Extra money becomes available if the total monthly payment you selected is greater than the total of the monthly minimum payments or you have already paid off one or more debts. What if I am not being charged interest for a debt? Back To Questions Lucky you! Just enter (or leave) 0% as the interest rate. Should I enter the minimum monthly payment or what I am actually paying? Back To Questions You can enter either. But it is probably better to enter the minimum required by the creditor. This way the extra money you are paying could be applied to a higher interest debt or a higher priority debt that should be paid off sooner. What if there is no minimum monthly payment for a debt? Back To Questions If there is no minimum monthly payment specified you can calculate the monthly interest you are being charged and then add on an extra amount to go towards the principal amount (the original amount you borrowed). To calculate the monthly interest multiply the principal amount by the interest rate ($10,000 x .10 (10%) = 1,000), then divide by 12 (1,000 / 12 = $83.33). This will give you the amount of interest you are being charged each month. To this amount add $10, $20, $50 or whatever amount you would like to pay on the principal (the higher the principal, the more you should pay towards it each month). Another way to estimate an appropriate monthly payment is to take the principal amount and multiply it by 1.5% ($10,000 x .015 (1.5%) = $150). What if the minimum monthly payment changes? Back To Questions If your minimum monthly payment changes, such as the case with a credit card debt, enter the most recent minimum payment requirement. Part of the secret of Simple Joe's Rapid Debt Reduction Formula is that you continue to pay the same amount each month even through you may be required to pay less and less as the amount you owe is paid off. Creditors (especially credit card companies) do this so that you will keep paying them interest as long as possible. Good for them; bad for you. How do I delete a debt? Back To Questions To delete a debt select it in the debts list at the top of the debt information page. Then click on the Delete button, located near the bottom-middle of the debt information page. You will be asked if you are sure that you want to delete the debt. Select the Yes button to delete the debt. Debts may be entered and deleted at your discretion. Debt Eraser automatically recalculates your debt status and Debt Reduction plan as changes are made to your debt information. How is the average interest rate calculated? Back To Questions The average interest rate you are paying on your debts is calculated as a weighted average. This means that, if most of your debt ($ amount) is at a high interest rate, the average interest rate will be closer to that high rate. Or if most of your debt is at a low interest rate, the average interest rate will be closer to the lower rate. The calculation is made by dividing the amount of each debt by the total of your debts and then multiplying that result by the interest rate for the debt. Adding these numbers up for each debt gives the weighted average interest rate you are paying. For example:
Why do I get a warning when I enter a monthly payment amount? Back To Questions If you have entered a monthly payment amount that is less than the total of your minimum payments you will be warned of this situation. You don't want you to get in trouble with your creditors for not paying the required amounts. (See the next question for information on how you can lower your monthly payment.) Why doesn't my payment go down on my Debt Reduction Plan when I pay off a debt? Back To Questions Part of the secret of Simple Joe's Rapid Debt Reduction Formula is that you continue to pay the same amount each month even though you may be required to pay less and less as the amount you owe is paid off. As your debts are paid off the extra amount goes toward the next debt. This produces a "snowball" effect which helps you to rapidly pay off your debts. If you want to lower your payments you can create a new Debt Reduction Plan with a lower payment amount, but remember, the more you pay each month, the sooner you will pay off your debts and the less interest you will be charged. How can I move my data files to another directory? Back To Questions Use the Move Data Files tool located in the Settings & Tools window. How can I move or copy my data files onto another computer? Back To Questions After Debt Eraser is installed on the new comptuer, copy your data files to a floppy disk or through the network to your new computer and into the program folder ("C:\Program Files\debteraser" by default). To determine where your data files are located and where the program files are located click on the product logo in the Menu window. This will open the About window, which shows you the version date of the program as well as it's location and the location of your data files. To move your data files you will need to move all of the files with a "CDX", "DBF", or "FPT" extension to your new location. (If you cannot see the file extensions (e.g., FILE.EXT), in Explorer, select View | Folder Options | View tab, and uncheck the "Hide file extensions for known file types" option; about the 8th line in the box.) If you want to keep your data files in a location other than the program folder (debteraser), first place them in the program folder and then run Debt Eraser and use the Move Data Files tool in the Settings & Tools window. This way Debt Eraser will know where to find them. Can I install this program on my desktop and laptop computer? Back To Questions Yes! Simple Joe's Software Use Agreement allows you to use the software on more than one computer so long as you are the only user of the software on each computer. We don't squeeze you for extra licensing fees by limiting software use to one "user" or one "computer." See the Software Use Agreement for more information about who can use the software and how it may be installed. So if you have a desktop and a laptop, feel free to install Simple Joe software on both machines. Just remember the data files are separate and the data in them may be different on each machine. Something strange is happening. Can I reinstall this program without losing my data files? Back To Questions Yes. The installation routine checks for current data files and will not overwrite them if they already exist. To reinstall completely, either run the Uninstall program from your Start menu or delete all the files in the program folder ("C:\Program Files\debteraser" by default). |
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| Page Title: | Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) For Debt Eraser |
| Keywords: | Frequently asked questions FAQ Simple Joe Debt Eraser PC software simple create rapid debt reduction plan quickly pay off credit cards loans mortgages |
| Summary: | Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Simple Joe's Debt Eraser PC software. |