How much it costs to attend Super Bowl XLV

If you are a penny pincher, which, let's face it, most of us are, we will not be attending the big game this year. If by some chance you're debating, this will change your mind. I had no idea the costs behind just getting there. Yeah yeah I knew the tickets were expensive, but everything else added up.... Gimmie a break! This is the best way to go broke if your on a budget! ...and if your on a strict budget and decide to go anyway, you need our help. Call us 800-920-2262. We'll change your mind. You can thank us later. Debthelper.com

Break out your credit card. Better yet, several
By Jay MacDonald

Headed to Dallas for Super Bowl XLV?

Bring a credit card -- heck, bring a deck of them -- because everything in Texas is supersized this weekend, including the prices.

First and foremost, you're going to need a ticket. Good news: the NFL Ticket Exchange lists 21,032 seats still available as of Tuesday afternoon in the new $1.2 billion, 105,000-capacity Cowboys Stadium.

The bad news? They run between $2,400 and $23,730. Yes, apiece. Which might at least push your card's credit limit.

On the other hand, if you recently sold the ranch, you might want to consider an XLV offer on eBay for a private, 25-person luxury suite on the 40-yard line just two doors down from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, complete with catering, attendant and private loo, for just $599,000.

For the ultimate in NFL street cred, Barclay's new official NFL Extra Points rewards card enables diehard fans to flash their team's colors and logo with every purchase. NFL Extra Points cardholders enjoy a 20 percent discount at NFLShop.com and earn loyalty points toward game day tickets, memorabilia and fan experiences with every purchase.

You can even cash in your rewards points for a seat at next year's Super Bowl, but you'd better get busy -- it will cost you 200,000 points at $1 per point.


Your Pockets after Super Bowl

 Let's talk parking. According to ParkWhiz.com, you'll spend between $550 and $990 for a parking space one-tenth of a mile from Cowboys Stadium, no discount for steer horns on the grill. Ouch, right? If you don't mind riding a free shuttle, you can park one mile away for a mere $55.

As for accommodations, this might be the year to reconnect and crash with that geeky guy from high school who wound up in Big D. CBS MoneyWatch reports that the cost of a queen room at the Arlington Super 8 Motel goes for $1,198 plus tax for Friday and Saturday night. 'Nuff said.

If you plan to pull plastic to partake of the more exclusive Super Bowl parties, you may want to brace your card company first. A single ticket to the marquee Sports Illustrated soiree featuring the Black Eyed Peas -- the halftime performers for the big game -- runs $1,500. Hey, that's cheap; a stage-side cabana for 12 goes for $80,000. Admission to a private party with Prince will set you back $1,500 per as well, which makes the $750 cover charge to rapper Diddy's "Fantasy" blast seem like a steal.

Game: 60 minutes; commercials, 46

The SB wouldn't be the SB without those 46 wacky minutes of TV commercials that have garnered a following all their own over the years. The big game has become the big reveal for ad spots that feature celebrity send-ups, anthropomorphic animals and zany sports spoofs from major brands and bet-it-all upstarts alike.

The cost to join the XLV commercial lineup? A record $3 million for a 30-second spot. The reason? Last year's viewership topped 106 million, roughly one-third of the U.S. population. This year's viewership is predicted to exceed 110 million.

Among this year's most anticipated time-outs, Ozzy Osbourne and Justin Bieber take a "Star Trek" turn for Best Buy, reality star Kim Kardashian attempts to make Sketcher's Shape-Up shoe look sexy, comedians Richard Lewis and Roseanne Barr follow last year's Betty White mudfest in Snickers' clever "You're not yourself when you're hungry" shtick, NASCAR driver Danica Patrick and fitness gurl Jillian Michaels push the envelope for GoDaddy.com and rapper Eminem follows Ozzy into Claymation for Lipton Brisk iced tea.

E*Trade, which has featured its talking baby day traders for the past three years, will unleash the diapered dealers again this year, including a pregame "talk" with Fox Sports.

It's the only event where advertising is not the uninvited guest. Commercials come on, people stop talking.

-- Nick Utton
E*Trade chief marketing officer

"It's the only event where advertising is not the uninvited guest," E*Trade chief marketing officer Nick Utton told the New York Times. "Commercials come on, people stop talking."

Of course, the bigs will be back in force. Anheuser-Busch, which has unveiled everything from talking frogs, lizards and gorillas to a lamb streaker in 23 consecutive Super Bowls, has five spots this year -- its first as exclusive Super Bowl beer advertiser through 2014. Pepsi will air six spots for Pepsi MAX and Doritos, General Motors will roll out five and Hyundai three. If you can't wait for the show, the website SuperBowl-ads has posted 2011 Super Bowl ad previews.

Conspicuously absent from the XLV lineup are credit card commercials. Past Super Bowls teemed with credit card ads. This year, all we have is the pregame campaign from Visa, whose "Never Miss a Super Bowl Club" spots feature four weathered gents who have missed family births and weddings for 44 years in order to attend the big game.

Betting on the national anthem

There's little doubt that XLV will redline more than a few credit cards before the winning QB plants a wet one on the Lombardi Trophy this year. It is equally predicable that a fair number of cardholders will try to hedge their spending spree with a wager or two on the big game -- placed on their card, of course.

SBNation.com reports that MGM has already accepted a $1 million bet on the Packers. Win or lose, that's one cheesehead that's likely to stand alone!

With this gridiron classic too close to call -- Las Vegas odds makers favor Green Bay by 3 -- many soon-to-be super-debtors are hoping to hit on "prop bets" to prop up their finances. A "prop bet," or proposition bet, is a bet made on a proposition or outcome.

XLV's most intriguing prop bets?

•Coin toss: heads or tails?

•Which team will win the toss? Unexplainably, the NFC has won 12 straight Super Bowl coin flips. Will the Packers extend the streak?

•How long will it take Christina Aguilera to sing the national anthem? Over/under 1:50 minutes.

•How long will she hold the word "brave?" Over/under 6 seconds.

•Will her hair be any color other than blond?

•Will she wear a cowboy hat?

•How many times will controversial former Packers quarterback Brett Favre be mentioned? Over/under 2.5

•How many times will the word "lockout" be mentioned? (Why "lockout"? Owners have mentioned that they will likely lock players out in the offseason as the two sides continue contentious labor negotiations. Some believe that the lockout could continue for months, even putting next season in peril.) Over/under 1.5

•What color Gatorade will be dumped on the winning head coach? According to Pregame.com, a $100 bet returns $150 for yellow, $300 for clear or orange, $400 for red, $500 for lime green and $1,500 for blue.

Whoever emerges victorious, whether on the field, the advertising response or the tote boards, the only guaranteed winner of Super Bowl XLV will be the Dallas metroplex, which stands to rake in a record $202 million, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers estimate.

Not bad for a week's work.

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Why Credit Cards Can Be So Devastating

We are a society that runs largely on plastic. It’s easy. It’s convenient. And we don’t really have to watch the money leave our hands. And, if we are using credit cards, the money being used may not even be ours. Credit cards, when used irresponsibly, can have devastating effects on your finances:


Out of Sight, Out of Mind

One of the biggest issues is a mental issue. When using credit cards, it is easy to rack up the balances because you don’t actually see the money going anywhere. It’s really easy to spend a great deal in a short amount of time because you’re not pulling a dwindling pile of cash out of your pocket. Without really paying attention to what you are doing, you might find yourself spending more than you thought you would. (Indeed, studies show that those who use credit cards spend more on an average shopping trip than those who use cash.)

The fix: Pay attention to your spending. Just as your track money coming out of your checking account, you should track your credit card spending. Personal finance software can help you keep track, and financial applications on your smart phone can keep you up-to-the-minute. Consider what you spend on your credit cards as coming out of your checking account, and prepare to pay the balance of each month.

Carrying a Balance = High Interest Charges

Credit cards are so devastating because of their interest rates. When you pay interest, you are paying money directly into someone else’s pocket — all for the privilege of borrowing money. While credit card interest rates aren’t the highest out there (they are lower than pay day loan rates), they are still quite high. And, when interest is compounded daily, it means that every day that you have a balance means that you are charged a little more interest. That interest is added to your overall balance, and then interest is charged on your accrued interest as well as the principal. Soon, things get out of hand, and you find you have paid more in interest than you even borrowed in the first place.

The fix: Pay down your debt as soon as possible. Start with the highest interest credit card first, and put what you can toward paying that card down. If you use your credit card in the future (for rewards programs), make sure that you only spend what is in your budget. Pay off your card balance each month so that you aren’t charged interest.

Small Minimum Payments

It may seem like a great deal. You charge a large purchase on your credit card, and then you only have to pay around $25 a month for it. Score! Unfortunately, if you only pay the minimum payment, you could be paying that purchase off for the next 10 years; chances are that item will be long gone by the time you pay it off. On top of that, when you pay only the minimum payment, most of your payment actually goes toward your monthly interest charges. So the balance is reduced at a snail’s pace. By the time you pay off the card, making only minimum payments, you will have repaid three or four times the amount you originally borrowed.

The fix: Always pay more than the minimum payment. Pay off the entire balance each month if you can. It’s best if you just save up to buy large items, making sure that you can pay off the purchase right after you make it. If you decide you have to have it now, reconsider. If you can’t pay off an item in two months, you really probably can’t afford it.

The Debt Cycle

The combination of easy spending, high interest rates and low minimum payments makes credit cards so devastating to finances. It promotes a cycle of debt in which you spend years buying a few things on credit, carrying balances and paying them down slowly. Indeed, this combination is exactly what credit card issuers want: An army of consumers that are able to continue to make payments (comprised mostly of interest charges) without actually completely succumbing. It’s about encouraging consumers to live on the edge.

If you want to break the debt cycle, you have to get back to financial basics:

■Spend less than you earn.

■Create a spending plan or budget and stick to it.

■Say “no” to consumer items you can’t actually afford.

■Pay down debt.

■Save for the future.

Work toward moving beyond the debt cycle, and you will find that credit cards lose their power to devastate you financially.

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Can I Keep My Credit Card After Bankruptcy?

Debtors filing bankruptcy often want to keep at least one credit card out of their bankruptcy filing. Their reasoning is that since it is almost impossible to survive in our society without a credit card, keeping one credit card out of bankruptcy would be helpful. However, when a debtor files bankruptcy they are required to include all of their debts in the bankruptcy filing. But they are allowed to “reaffirm” a debt after the bankruptcy filing. When a debtor reaffirms a debt, they are entering into a legally binding agreement that says that that particular debt will be permanently taken out of bankruptcy and that the debtor will repay the debt, adhere to the originals terms of the loan and continue to make payments as agreed. Many debtors reaffirm mortgage debt and car loan debt which are secured loans. They often reaffirm the secured loans in bankruptcy because it allows them to keep the secured property (house or car). However, is it a good idea to reaffirm credit card debt? In most cases it is not a good idea to reaffirm unsecured credit card debt during bankruptcy. Even if a debtor reaffirms credit card debt during bankruptcy, it is not guaranteed that the credit card account will remain open and available for the debtor’s use. A matter of fact, it is highly likely that the credit card account will remain closed and you will be required to repay the debt, plus any additional fees and interest accrued. For debtors filing bankruptcy, the best solution is probably to keep all of your credit card debt in bankruptcy and get a secured credit card after your bankruptcy has been discharged. A secured credit card will allow you to have the convenience of a credit card while rebuilding your credit record.

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Credit Card Laws Change this Month

This is a heads up for people with credit cards. On the 22nd of this month (February) credit card laws will undergo major changes. Thanks to the Credit Card Act passed by Congress last year, credit card laws have been drastically changed. Credit card companies have been forced by the congressional act to change their lending practices and the manner in which they can charge fees, and the due date is the 22nd. Here are a few ways that you might be impacted by the Act.



The Good News:

Banks have lost some of their proverbial teeth. Thanks to the passage of the bill, credit card companies can no longer:

• Charge interest on fees due


• Limit the amount that banks can charge on specific fees (such as late fees and over limit fees)


• If you get pre-approved by a company for a new credit card but you don't want to open a new account for it, you now have the ability to "reject the card" up until you activate the card


• Banks must give you 45 days notice in advance if they want either raise the APR on your accounts


• And more

The Bad News:

Credit Card Companies are trying to grow new teeth to replace the ones that they have lost. Companies are looking to charge new fees for their services to make up for any lost revenue. Here are a few known tricks that will soon be making an appearance:

• Annual fees are on the rise


• The interest rates placed on cards are expected to rise as card companies try to find new ways to make up for their lost revenue


• Chase changed balance transfer fees from 3% interest to 5%


• Bank of America instituted a great deal of changes, including the ability to raise the APR on future accounts if you miss a payment (go here for a more in-depth review of BoA's changes)

Keep A Watch Out:

The most important thing to get out of this is that you, the consumer, are now more protected than ever before. Banks now have to give you a heads up on policy changes, rate increases, etc... something that they did not have to do in all cases before. As long as you pay attention to your monthly statements released by your credit card companies and any email notification that you recieve from then, you should be well ahead of the curve. Good luck!

Related Links:

The Credit Card Act in PDF format is linked here

A Forbes article changes that you can expect to see as a result of the Credit Card Act: Forbes Article

Debt Relief Grants To Clear Credit Card Debts

By: Walter Sigmore  
Debts are dreaded by almost everyone. No matter how confidently one promises to himself about using the credit card only when the need arises, all the users end up being guilty for having made purchases that are well beyond their budget. This in turn directs them to huge debts, which necessarily means headache. Debt relief grants can come to your rescue now. With these grants, it is easier to get rid of your debts and lead a peaceful life.


These debt grants can be utilized for your educational purposes, health care, to clear your household or store debts, etc. The good thing about such grants is that the rate of interest is relatively low and repayable by any person with not so good financial status. These financial grants are issued by debt consolidation companies and also nonprofit organizations. The nonprofit companies provide relief to people who are in critical financial crisis and can hardly find any means to get out of the same.

Credit counseling should be the first step that any person who is fully submerged in debts should look forward to. This will help him analyze the various options left and which one suits him the best so that he can comfortably get out of the debts. Normally, a person who has huge debts to clear will be in a confused state. Hence, it is necessary to submit to a credit counselor.

Before you can attend these sessions, you are required to collect all your credit bills and other debt bills. When you carry these to the credit counselor, he will analyze your financial status and with his experience, will provide you with all the possible scenarios. A good counselor will strive hard to lead you towards personal freedom and helps in stabilizing your future.

There are umpteen credit consolidators in the market today. While most of them genuinely struggle to help you out, there are scams too. You should conduct a brief research on which company has been successful in helping the debtors to restore their life like before.

You can compare the success rates of the various companies and zero-in on the best company that can help you out. You can try looking for nonprofit companies that offer debt relief grants for people who are in terrible crisis. If your condition is really poor, then you can benefit from such grants. Start today with ending your bad debt.

Source: Article Snatch

Senate committee takes on Web-based 'loyalty' marketing companies

Nobody wants to get nailed with unexpected credit card charges in this economy. Who's got money to waste?



If you've ever been startled by tiny little charges appearing on your monthly statement that contain the words "rewards," or "club" you swear you didn't pay for, there's a fairly good chance you've done business with Webloyalty, Vertrue or Affinion, though you didn't know it at the time. A boatload of consumers are with you.

And that's why these three companies, all privately owned, half an hour drive from each other on I-95 in Stamford and Norwalk, Conn., recently found themselves the subject of an investigation by the Senate Commerce Committee. From what I've heard, they haven't been particularly cooperative so far.



But when it comes down to it, none of them have had to be. The FTC really hasn't done much, despite some excellent suggestions.

In the past, Webloyalty has acted as if it had something to hide, developing something of a reputation over the years for trying to bury negative information about itself -- though its efforts to do so with an investigation we did at Consumer Reports Webwatch in September 2005 led to what could live today as a lesson for companies about how not to go about this sort of thing.

Hint: Don't publish a client list on your Web site if they've hired you to SEO their bad results off the first page of search returns. Take the lead from Kekst, the PR company Webloyalty (and AIG) hired. They're known for not publishing client lists.

However, Webloyalty may have learned from past mistakes. Webloyalty's corporate PR office e-mailed me after I Twittered that I was looking for former employees of these three companies -- no luck, I probably would have done better hitting some of the bars in downtown Stamford -- to ask if I needed anything.

I wanted to know: How is the company considering changing its practices in light of the congressional investigation? "Although the incidence of individuals who appear to have clicked through our process without reading what they were doing is quite small as compared to all of our members, even a few is too many," Beth Kitchener, Webloyalty's vice president of corporate communications, said in an e-mail exchange. "The class action lawsuit settlement as well as the issues raised by the Senate Commerce Committee put an exclamation point on the need to get this number as low as possible."

As of Aug. 1, Kitchener said, one key change is that Webloyalty "now require[s] customers to enter the last four digits of the credit card they used for the purchase they just made from our marketing partner to confirm they want to charge that same card for a Webloyalty membership. If they enter a number that doesn't match, we don't sign them up."

That seems to be a step in the right direction. Many consumers take requests for surveys and $10 rebates after a transaction as coming from the Web site they just did business with, which could be Chase or Orbitz or some other well-known brand, and don't expect some kind of quasi-identity-theft in the background, even if they enter some blow-off e-mail address just to get to the next screen.

An extra step requiring the consumer to actually part with credit card information a second time, should make a difference. Interestingly, Kitchener said, "None of our competitors have adopted this form of affirmative consent. We hope they will follow our lead."

So: Let's ask the same question of Vertrue and Affinion. Is Webloyalty right? Or are you changing your practices? How? More next week.

Source: Wallet Pop