Money Merge Accounts Promote a System to Pay Mortgage off Early
What Are They and Do They Work?
Several firms promote home mortgage payment systems commonly known as Money Merge Accounts which assist in early mortgage payoff. I have been approached socially, professionally and at church by individuals marketing these programs, therefore I wanted to learn more about them. This article reports what I found out about them. I feel it is important to note that I have never marketed such programs and have tried to keep this article as informative and free of bias as possible.
The Money Merge Account Overview:
Money merge accounts originated in Australia and over the last few years have gained in popularity in the US. Several companies under different names market them, and each one may be a little different. For simplicity I will refer to them all as MMA and not discuss the differences of each program. They are early home mortgage payment systems offered as an alternative to traditional ways of making extra mortgage payments or bi-monthly payment plans.
Characteristics of money merge accounts – MMA:
- Money merge accounts are a system and software to pay off mortgages early using the combination of four elements:
- Regular fixed first mortgage
- Home-equity loan/line of credit
- Monthly earned income
- Monthly bills
- The service consists of software which estimates the cost savings, and manages the cash flow and transfer of money between the four elements listed above. They provide telephonic and web based support.
- Software and service as explained to me, provides mathematical cost savings by: making advance mortgage payments, using different loan accounts to move money back and forth to minimize interest costs, and precise timing of both.
- The services usually are front-loaded, meaning you pay 100% up-front for unlimited software use and service that doesn’t terminate in time, compared to paying a small up-front charge and annual maintenance charges.
- The cost is between $2,000 and $4,500.
- The services are marketed by financial professionals, including mortgage brokers, realtors, insurance and financial advisors, and through multi-level marketing programs. Depending upon the agent’s level, commissions can range from several hundred to several thousands of dollars per sale.
- MMA plans are marketed through one-on-one meetings, very convincing seminars, and there seems to be networking in some churches.
Money Merge Account Claims:
Some of the claims of MMAs are: Early mortgage pay-off, superior to other early mortgage pay-off plans, and complex software necessary to manage all of the moving parts. Advocates justify the cost due to complexity and ongoing needed service.
It appears that this plan does indeed work. I hope that these programs help many people to save thousands, however pay close attention to pay-off estimates and assumptions to be sure that cost savings claims are not over-estimated. Does the complexity and service justify the cost? The pay-off may indeed exceed the investment, but are there companies entering the MMA market with lower costs? If popularity of these plans grows, this may happen.
Ask for full information; obtain independent advice from financial and accounting advisors as to the viability of such programs. As with all long term financial commitments, it is wise to read everything in minute detail, including refund policy if not satisfied, and ask for an explanation of anything you don’t understand. Ask for advice from legal advisors before signing a contract. You may want to obtain advice from tax advisors as to your individual tax implications, and lastly contact your state’s attorney general for information about the company you may be considering.
The conclusion on Money Merge Accounts
Given the current mortgage crisis and depreciating real estate values it may be wise to approach such programs cautiously. They are probably not appropriate for everyone, including those with cash flow (living paycheck-to-paycheck) or credit problems. When it comes to making decisions always remember three things: 1. Seek advice from many people (Proverbs 15:22 “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed)”. 2. Nothing ever purchased lives up to all of the initial hype, and 3. Pay attention to your gut instinct. Lastly, I am always concerned when multi-level marketing programs network through churches. If the programs don’t work out for some people, it could negatively affect the church.
Please comment if: you are aware of companies entering the MMA market with lower costs, or if you know of any independent consumer magazines or accounting firms who have fully audited the computations and published the full results. It would also be good to hear from users of such programs as to the level of service and results they have received.
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This was a guest post by Kent E. Irwin. Kent is the founder of eFinPLAN, an online comprehensive financial planning for software for consumers. He is also a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) and a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU).
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been a mortgage broker specializing in mortgage acceleration. I have reviewed all of the current programs on the market. While some claims are better than others, prices are cheaper than others the key in my opinion is support for an average client to be able to be successful. Lesser cost or better claims do no good if a client is confused or cannot work the program. While researching each program ask for a client support number and call each company in consideration. This will give you an initial idea on how much support you will receive while on the program.
Cheers
I once had a very wise friend give me this piece of financial advice. Never buy a financial product from a friend, relative or somebody you go to church with.
You can ask these people for references of who they use or recommends. But never buy from within your immediate circle. If the product goes south, you damage a relationship. If things don’t work out, its much easier to fire the person and move on.
Multi-level stuff in churches just scares the heck out of me. I’ve seen more harm done than good.
I have several true professional financial guys in my home church (not this part-time wannabe hack stuff you see in multi-level deals). I chat with all of them on a generic level – what they like, don’t like, advise, don’t advise, etc. I don’t buy anything from any of them. However, I send them a lot of business from outside our church.
you know, I think that is good advice. I have heard it too and I have seen relationships ruined by it as well…
Here in Australia I suspect they operate differently. We had something similar, and for a fee of $375 a year our bank did all the work. We paid absolutely no other fees though. I get the feeling they’re not run through banks? And you do a lot of the money management yourself?
We had an account and a credit card. All our income went into our account, and we lived off the credit card and paid it in full each month from the account. That was our loan account.
In my opinion they’re only worthwhile if you’re very disciplined with your money, otherwise it’s too easy to get into trouble.
its definitely worth it if u can afford it, but its not for everyone :/
~Mike
The early payoff from this kind of account comes entirely from massive amounts of extra principle, not from the daily compounding or floating your paycheck. If you put the same amount of additional principle into a regular fixed-rate loan, you will come out ahead of the money merge account.
@Anon
from the simple comparisons and calculations I did I don’t agree. Although I would not recommend the money merge account for many people, from the numbers I crunched it came out way ahead of just adding the extra principle to your “regular” mortgage payment. The difference seems to come from the way that interest is calculated on the different loans.
Of all of my 40 years in business, never has there been a consumer financial product that has more benefits to home owners and our economic system as a means of paying off debt than the Money Merge Account System from United First Financial. Take the time to learn why simple interest money leveraged to pay off amortized interest is the best stewardship of a persons personal finances to come along in a years.
The only reason I can see as to why there are such strong opinions against this product is because it is a very real threat to the conventional wisdom of millions of financial professionals.
As to the cost of the Money Merge Account Software, should I list the fees for services of all the financial professionals we have relied on over the years. Did you get your moneys worth when you paid thousands to your mortgage broker to refinance your mortgage? Did you get your moneys worth when you paid your real estate agent 6% to sell your home? Did you get your moneys worth when your financial advisor put you into mutual funds that have been mostly flat for the last 25 years? No, most of us just pay these fees because they are commonly accepted practices. Fees for the MMA will be accepted in the near future also with the major differce being that the investment will actually give you a substantial ROI.
Funny thing is this; I’ve followed the MMA conversation for quite some time. Also, being mathematically inclined, I wrote a spreadsheet which allows one to analyze the effect of simply prepaying principal against their mortgage each month.
In the classic MMA example using a HELOC (equity loan) one pays their $200K mortgage down by month 125 (10.4 yrs). Well, by simply prepaying with a zero cost spreadsheet, the mortgage is paid in month 122, 3 months sooner. Since the example mortgage normal payment is $1199.10, it seems to me those three months difference is the cost of the software. Why not just do it yourself and save those extra three months?
No agent with answer this, as they are too busy trying to obfuscate the matter, claiming “sophisticated algorithms” (sorry, this is actually just arithmetic) or “factorial math” (nope, it’s just not that convoluted).
There is one thing that MMA does that I cannot dispute- Since it tells you to take a HELOC loan to start the process, you now have the odd feeling of this short term debt hanging over you. You’re promted to put every last cent you earn into the HELOC as payments. Now, instead of buying those shoes or movie tickets with cash, you need to go to the HELOC and borrow it out. I cannot argue that this is a strong psychological motivator, and may force one to spend far less than they might otherwise. In fact, try it yourself. Get a HELOC set up, and take the $3500 now, and send it to your mortgage as extra principal with this month’s payment. Depending on the mortgage, this may cut 3-9 months off the back end. Then, as you pay it down aggressively, just when you have more money to pay the HELOC that you owe, repeat the cycle. I guess you really don’t need MMA to walk you through this process.
Joe
@Joe
You know I just recently interviewed a guy selling MMA software (which I will be posting soon) and he did confirm what you are saying about doing it yourself. The point he made was that the software had a better interface and would provide a bit more assistance than an excel spreadsheet… And realistically, most people wouldn’t build the spreadsheet… That said, I am a bit of an Excel junkie myself and I came to the same conclusion that you did with it…
Bob, there’s no need to create the sheet, mortgage amortization spreadsheets are readily available. Anyone savy enough to go online to post to blogs and ask about MMA, can easily google to find them, mine is one of thousands.
One can also buy a TI calculator, the BA35 if that model is still in production. Last I knew it was $29.95 and did all the math one would ever need.
For those who don’t care about the excitement that comes with knowing you’ve ‘canceled’ $4934 in future interest by simply paying $1000 with your first mortgage payment, they can simply prepay, and follow their progress with the year end bank statement showing their mortgage balance. Not very exciting, I agree, but there’s little need for such close monitoring.
Joe
Hmmmm….I have looked at every way possible to pay my loan down faster. My goal is to be out of my house in 9 years or less. I have no other debt.
Primerica’s Smart Loan—could not get it done for what I was willing to put against is per month—which is 800 dollars extra. Pay off 13 years 11 months.
Conventional Loan-No. 14.5 years
MMA-Yes. With the discretionary income of 800/month and the use of my income as float to keep my ADB down on my HELOC I will be out in 8 years and 8 months.
I guess if you want to make up a program you can and save the 3500. But when dealing with a several hundred thousand dollar loan I am just not sure I want to take any chances. I will pay the 3500 for a written guarantee and a software that saves me time.
Looking forward to your feedback.
PS-I have not yet signed the papers, just got my SMART loan and MMA analysis back 2 ays ago….
you don’t mention the mortgage balance , rate of mort, rate on HELOC, or other monthly flow details. Tough to comment.
Loan Balance 295,000
5.625 fixed
3 years 7 months into it
Heloc variable at 5% currently 140,000 limit no balance
I have a discretionary income after taxes, expenses, etc, investing of 800/month. I typically keep 10-20k in checking account.
Thanks for any help on understanding this!
SORRY, loan is 30 year
Ok, the original balance was about $311K? And you have $295K left? Normal payment is $1789.
The extra $800 will pay it off by 13.6 yrs from now. I suspect an agent offered to have you put the $20K you suggested is in checking go right to your mortgage. (Or actually, I see them suggest that you tap the HELOC for for say $23,000, immediately pay $20,000 toward the HELOC and marvel that you only had $5 interest that first month when you did this two days shy of the statement getting cut.)
If you send the $20K, you drop to having only 12 yrs 3 months left.
Someone is telling you that you can drop by another 3 years 7 months. This would mean saving 43 more payments, or nearly $77K. My spreadsheet matches any MMA projections I’ve seen within normal varience (i.e. the $3500 fee plus interest attributable to fee, and the few hundred dollars the HELOC shuffle might save.) The numbers you offer are so far off, and mine so close to Primerica’s numbers, I suggest you send your numbers to a different agent just to confirm the projection. Agents are trained to obfuscate the issues and offer you anecdotes that are unrelated to the numbers. If they can’t answer every question you have in a way that you can understand, you have to decide whether to go in on faith. Many agents also speak about Biblical matters and refer to God and their beliefs. Don’t let that throw you, either. Faith in one’s religion is very different than in a plan designed to separate you from your money. Prepay your mortgage the $800/mo and send the $3500 to your house of worship or local shelter, if you wish. I’ll repeat, nothing about the numbers is complicated, and not only don’t you need any software, you don’t need a spreadsheet, unless you wish to obsessively track your progress. I send the spreadsheet to anyone who requests it.
Joe
I have been given the same advice by others as you have just given me, but I gave the info to him and he inputed right into his computer. It came out 8y 8m. How can they mess around with the numbers so uch to make that large of a variance?
I can produce a spreadsheet. I can do the math. When I was younger, I could tell you, on a new mortgage, how much extra a 15yr loan would cost compared to a 30yr off the top of my head. The best I can do is sent you a spreadsheet, and point you to the standard MMA agent tables of numbers.
The agents claim the HELOC use produces huge savings. I can show that that maximum possible savings is (your average checking balance)* (your mortgage rate). The classic example has $5K monthly cash flow and 6% mort rate. Whatever dance they do can save no more than $300/yr. Not even enough to pay the program fee over 10 years. They will claim optimimum timing. I am currently writing a multipost series (up to 8 right now) which debunks MMA. From one future post;
A quote from one agent’s blog;
“Your (sic) at the store and you see a great deal on steaks. Can should (sic) you buy them or will that mess up your budget. No big deal. Email or call the software from your mobile phone and it will text you back what you have in left in your budget for food and you can determine based upon what you have at home if you can afford it.”
Wait a second. I net $5000/mo. After paying all my normal bills and saving for retirement, I still have $1000/mo, and yet I’m emailing software to tell me whether I can afford to buy steaks on sale?
If you feel you need the hand holding to actually make every payment. And are willing to pay $3500 to perhaps extract $25/mo for all that extra effort, then MMA may be for you. I assure you, 8yr 8mo is not mathematically possible, not unless you end that period with a large HELOC balance. Did the agent put it in writing? See what other assumptions were made if they did.
Joe
Thanks! I will have him put it in writing and then come back with the info.
I keep 10-20k a month in my checking account.
Just for all the people that want to build some kind of spreadsheet and try to make the calculations to accelerated the pay off of their mortgage, on a $200,000 loan amortized for 30 Years at 6%, you would have to accurate to $5.55 per month to beat the $3500 cost of the the MMA software and lifetime coaching system over the term of that loan.
The people at UFirst have never claimed that a person couldn’t come up with some kind of strategy on their own to pay down their mortgage. UFirst just happens to offer a product with a 100% guarantee to take any guess work and save valuable time to accomplish this task at an optimum level. Is that a value? Seems like someone thinks so every few minutes based on growing sales.
I will say it again. If people see negative comments about MMA, it is by most assuredly by people not using the product or financial people that have a vested interest to make sure their own clients don’t use it. Which is stupid by the way.
Lastly, I will emphasize again. Look at the costs and fees associated with mortgages, real estate sales, investments, accounting and tax advices and lawyers. Is it worth the fees they charge for what they do? Evidently many people think so. MMA is a one time life time expenditure that enables the client to see their financial future to allow for a better lifestyle down the road.
If the Money Merge Account would have been a available and made a required investment for people to make 20 years ago, our country would be in much, much better shape right now. It should be the first step anyone makes if they plan to take on any debt.
Dean, how do you derive the $5.55?
I can tell you how I get $37.77/mo. $3500 @ 6% over 10.4 years (the life of the shortened mortgage) has a $37.77 payment. And that’s on the low end as the money to start is borrowed off the HELOC, at a higher rate. ‘Stupid’ are the many agent’s sites that offer examples of things that are simply not correct mathematically. All references to other fees are irrelevant, a distraction from the fact that MMA adds no monetary value.
The interest one can generate from the HELOC use that MMA proposes cannot exceed $300/yr. 5000 monthly income and 6% loan. At best, one would actually see $200 or so. But that’s just $16.67/mo. Paying $37.77 to save $16.67 is not logical. You are an agent selling this product, of course you will have a different opinion.
Since half the people have a negative saving rate, it seems that MMA would not do anything to shorten their mortgage. The other have can just prepay principal.
If you understood compound interest, time value of money, and simple math, you’d have the cloud lifted from your thinking.
Joe
The Money Merge Account™ system from United First Financial Inc. is way way past any debate to having monetary value. In the last few months several large banking and accounting firms along with investigative journalists have spent considerable time and effort vetting the MMA product. By vetting, I mean actually using it.
Instead of reading what some so-called debunkers are saying about MMA on internet blogs, here is what professionals are recognizing:
2008 Entrepreneur of the Year – Ernst and Young (YouTube -U1st Financial Ernst and Young Award)
Cover story and Outstanding Company of the Month – Broker/Banker Magazine, 2007
Cover story and featured product spotlight – Mortgage Planner Magazine – Jan/Feb 2008
Cover story – True Wealth Magazine – 2008
Editor’s Choice Award for mortgage acceleration products – Personal Real Estate Investor Magazine – 2008
Clients have saved over $151,000,000 in interest in the last two years alone!!!!!
What is important to understand, all software technology is continually being improved and upgraded and “UFirst” is no exception as they launched their new version 4.0 around August 1st. Anything being written about MMA is about versions 2.0 and 3.0. It is old information.
The older versions were linear systems that still worked better than most people could ever develop themselves for paying off debt, but were really like comparing WWI Era Bi-Planes to F16 Fighter Jets. Version 4.0 optimizes every penny of cash flow each month and prompts for strategic movements of money based on all the variables of each checking, savings, credit card, mortgage, heloc and all creditors to find the fastest way to zero debt. Much like a GPS System. There is absolutely no stagnant money as amounts are moved based on factorial and time value of money principles. The interest bearing side of the equation from checking, savings and rewards from credit cards are also maximized to improve the overall performance.
If you are considering the MMA program, listen to the person that introduces it to you with confidence that the product is not too good to be true. If you are a person that talks to clients about financial matters, you need include the MMA language to your business. It is not going away and will soon be as main stream as an IRA or 401K.
Dean, you offer no facts, just more hyperbole.
“listen to the person that introduces it to you” is your best response? Listen to the agent that wants to make a sale and pocket $2500 commission? Most agents have no understanding of how this software actually works, or rather, doesn’t. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Save your $3500 and use it to pay down your debt, don’t throw it away. V4, shmee4.
Joe
As I have said, the Money Merge Account Cash-Flow Optimization System is long past any debate of having validity or not.
It is just another financial product to consider as you go through life. Sorry to say, at this point some financial professionals still look at MMA as a threat to their status quo rather than embrace it to help their existing clients. $3500 for a lifetime of coaching and financial optimization is truely a tremendous value. You just need to sit down with a “UFirst” agent and understand it. Learn how to become your own bank.
Consumers just have to decide whether they want to give any credence to internet bloggers that are completely anonoymous or companies like ERNST & YOUNG who have done their homework.
Good Luck to everyone. I hope I have given some valuable information.
Dean, you continue to offer sweeping statement which have no basis in fact. E&Y were sponsors, the way Toyota may sponsor a beauty pagent. Consumers need to decide what true valuethere is in any product or service they buy, I agree. Simple math and logic show the savings that HELOC use can provide simply don’t exceed the cost of the product. You offer a lot of rhetoric, but no proof.
I agree, the debate is long over, but my conclusion regarding the results is quite different from yours.
Joe
I was going to end commenting on this topic but must make sure people understand that ERNST & YOUNG did not just sponsor United First Financial and the MMA.
They awarded the founders an “Entrepreneur of the Year” award which is the most prestigious award of its kind in the world for up and coming companies and products. It was given to the founders of “UFirst” after months of vetting the Money Merge Account product by testing and using it. Wouldn’t you think an international accounting firm with a reputation like theirs would want to a make sure of its value before they handed out this award. You bet they would.
Just another reason to listen to people actually using MMA. There have been zero complaints from the tens of thousands of users to the BBB about the actual product itself.
And again, Version 4.0 of the MMA is way beyond using the HELOC linear approach. While a HELOC is still a valuable component, the MMA will work very well without it. The new version is true factorial technology capable of calculating millions of variables to use available cash flow to find the quickest way to zero debt. There is nothing like it on the market.
“factorial technology capable of calculating millions of variables”
pure hyperbole, smoke and mirrors, snale oil.
“Factorial” is meaningless, 10 credit accounts, 3 billions ways to pay? I’ve seen all the claims, it stil means nothing. Pay highest rates debts first, and pay aggressively. That’s all one needs to do, Dean.
“millions of variables”? There’s no more that 3 or 4. The math just isn’t that complicated. But MMA agents first try to exagerate the complexity to “prove” that no regular Joe can possibly do this on their own so they can sell a program they don’t understand.
Joe
I guess there will always be people that reject new technology and ways of doing things. The main thing is “UFirst” agents are actually helping people. Not going around criticizing other methods.
Ok, Dean. It’s time I called it quits here. As with other blogs that bring up this topic, agents hop on, offer no proof, no numbers, yet go off on tangents.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both went under. And there were some bright guys working at those companies. Now we have a product that brags “you need no qualifications to sell MMA, housewife, teacher, janitor.” If this product were so good, it would find that it can be marketed by people that actually understand it. I can cite known, respected, people, Dave Ramsey among others, who call it a scam.
I have a list of links on my own blog where I cite agents own numbers, right from UFF, which fall short of straight pre-paying. I’m done. The last word is yours.
Joe
I have listened to Dave Ramsey and others like him along with comments on blogs that site similar things. They all say you can pre-pay the mortgage on your own without spending $3500 for software and coaching. No one at “UFirst” would ever say that if you could pre-pay the mortgage and other debt at the exact times and with the same amounts that the results wouldn’t be the same.
What all these detractors fail to understand is how much faster the acceleration process works when you leverage money in chunks to advance the amortization schedule. Just paying smaller amounts monthly works but much slower and not as well. Why? Because the principle portion of the minimum payment each month is also greatly accelerated by leveraging money in chunks which enhance the process greatly. Example: A recent of client of mine started MMA three months ago and so far has saved $37,000 of interest charges, 51 mortgage payments that would total another $75,000 of mortgage payment dollars saved. There 29 year mortgage is going to be paid off in less than 11 years at present income and expense numbers. How do you accelerate a mortgage with an example like this by just adding money willy nilly from you regular cash flow each month. Answer is you don’t.
Also, some people have good intentions about pre-paying on a mortgage but no one and I mean no one empties their check book out every month to pay on the mortgage. First they need money for unforeseen expenses and they have no way of getting money back for emergencies from the closed-ended first mortgage. MMA is designed to function to optimize all cash-flow always making sure there is an emergency fund to access for unforeseen expense.
In other words, MMA allows. I say again, it allows people to do things they would not do unless they learned how to reposition and direct money strategically like MMA prompts them to do. YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY BE ON MMA TO UNDERSTAND HOW AND WHY IT WORKS.
People like Ramsey give good advise but have not done their homework. I felt the sameway he did for several weeks and did not embrace the product until I finally saw it. It is all good.
The MMA works. It’s just that simple. The current issue is after 3 years, is the MMA the only tool or the best tool at our disposal?
There are those who say “You have to use it to understand it” and I agree. Most of the praises come from company agents. That isn’t in and of itself a bad thing. I believe, as a Christian – debt is a burden we needn’t be carrying. There is an alternative to expending money on something you’re not sure of. And why risk another disappointment if it’s not what I expected.
Why not try a program for a week for free… You can. You can test drive it. Try it before you buy it. Personally, I like that idea because so many of us just have a hard time wrapping our minds around the whole concept anyway. I did.
The money merge, mortgage checking account or whatever it’s called by the marketers, generally performs well. All that is really needed is that you make more than you spend. That’s just common sense. We need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. We need to stewards of our resources. Debt will destroy our testimony to a lost world. We have the power to be the head and not the tail because… Greater is He that is within us.
Let’s remember, we are in the world and not of the world. The world says debt is OK. Not God’s word. Why don’t we look into the tools that are available and us them to helps us, help our families and our communities get out of debt!
Amen in Jesus’ name.
Jim
Jim – God does not approve of debt? How, exactly do you suggest a Good Christian buy a home? I bought mine by preparing (saving) to put 20% down on a new home, and having 10% more in case of overages. I then took a mortgage that had payments equal to only 15% of my monthly gross. That’s as conservative as I’ve seen. How long would one need to save to buy a house with no mortgage at all? And how would your savings grow? The interest a bank pays comes from someone at the other end who is borrowing. I don’t smoke, and I don’t buy tobacco stocks, but it appears that if you are a saver and not a borrower, that, to be blunt, you are counting on those who are not Christians to be at the other end.
Back to MMA – Since the product is a scam, sold to people who are ignorant of finance, I suspect that when you ask WWJD, the answer is “He wouldn’t appreciate those who scam while using His name.” I’m afraid your post is not reverent, but appears to be blasphemy.
Have a nice day!
Joe
Feel free to visit the web site link provided and actually take the time to do an analysis. Then after that, test drive the software. The analysis is free, the 1 week trial of the actual software is free. Then you look at the numbers yourself. No cost, No fuss, No hype – just numbers.
The whole problem, I think, is the various mortgage interest payment reduction programs promoter use a lot of hype to market their deal. I just don’t want people to throw out the baby with the water. The hype doesn’t diminish the facts – the math works. When the 401K was introduced, people thought is was a scam.
No sales pitch here. Just try it. See for your self.
BTW, I was wondering… Is there a difference between the word “taxpayer” and “tax payer”? I noticed the use of the word in your screen name.
If I have scales over my eyes, pray that I would have eyes to see and ears to hear.
May you be richly blessed
Jim-
I thought you were selling the UFirst Money Merge Account, but it appears you have a competing product.
If you visit my site, you will find that I’ve analyzed MMA exhaustively. Yes, it (MMA) is hyped to the point of fraud. So forgive me if I put you in the same group.
I did, however, focus a post or two on the “HELOC shuffle” which you can find by simple googling the phrase, I am the lucky first hit. Those posts offer the math which shows that the HELOC use offers more risk than reward, which leaves us with prepaying, which everyone is invited to do. And from my MMA links page, you are invited to pull a copy of a free spreadsheet (as are all readers of Christian PF) and see how one need not spend a dime. The sheet is free, and most people own a computer, which MMA would require anyway.
Funny – you ask why “taxpayer”. My family asks “why Joe?” When I started posting on financial topics it just occurred to me to be a catchy name, the question for me was whether the Joe remain separated by a space. I usually write it as one word JoeTaxpayer. Or sign posts just Joe. (Of course this is a variant of Joe Sixpack, or the concept of the “average Joe”. Nothing more or less than that.
Your “MMA Analysis Compilation” is a great read with excellent documentation – Good work! And, in my humble opinion, the “MMA_Sheet.xls” spreadsheet is a work of art.
Thanks,
Jim
IXOYE
Joe,
This is a public apology for my private rant. I do love the Lord and do want to be obedient to His word. I was hurt when I was, in my initial estimation, unjustly and publicly mocked in regards to my walk with God.
So, that being said. I want to honor you and the work you are doing. We, my family and I, on this side of the blog, will lift you and your family to God with our prayers.
Be Blessed!
Jim
Jim – both of your posts are much appreciated. And at 46, I must say, your’s was the kindest apology I ever received in my life, which I of course accept.
(Honestly, I didn’t ever take personal offense, I need a thick skin to keep expressing my opinion in public.)
It’s obvious you have a good heart and your family is blessed to have you as a husband and father. Be well.
Joe
“Using the banks money” – We started out by taking out a loan called a mortgage, using the bank’s money. Now that it’s time to pay the loan back, we need to get the money from somewhere. Usually, it comes out of our paycheck. But MMA claims that if we use a HELOC, we are not using our money anymore, we are using the bank’s money. But, wait, we started all this by using the bank’s money to take out a mortgage and now we have to pay it back. So that means if we use the bank’s money by taking a loan out of the HELOC, we have to pay that back, too. So all we did was postpone having to pay the bank back by using the HELOC money to pay the mortgage. We still have to pay the HELOC back. Where is that money going to come from? Out of our paycheck. So why should we spend $3500 on MMA to play a money shell game with a HELOC?
“Interest cancellation” – MMA claims that by loading up the HELOC and running our paychecks through the HELOC, we reduce the balance so much that we save lots of money that way, and that alone is worth $3500. OK, so how much can we save? Well, let’s assume our mortgage rate is 6%. That means each month, we are charged 1/2% on our mortgage balance, the whole balance. But if we are using interest cancellation, the most that we can save is whatever our monthly salary is. So, if we bring home $5,000, the largest HELOC balance we can offset is $5,000. How much will that save? $5,000 times 1/2% is $25. That’s $25 per month or $300 per year. So MMA wants you to spend $3500 upfront to save $300 per year. Do you know how much interest you would save if you just put $3500 towards your 6% mortgage? OVER $16,000 and 16 months. (Not $4000 as I said in a different post)
“Factorial math” – MMA claims no one except a computer can figure out the best possible way to pay all your bills and debts because of all the possible combinations. LIES. There is only one SIMPLE BEST way to pay off all your debts. You pay off the highest interest debt first and work your way down using a DEBT SNOWBALL. It only needs addition and subtraction.
Great responses from all and each persons opinion is crucial. I am currently a user of the MMA account. I had a 15 year mortgage which was at 9 yrs when I signed up along with three CC accounts and I put in a new wood flooring to my home. When the program was intorduced to me, I was estatic, yet, very cautious; it predicted 3.0 yrs to pay off 9 yrs worth of mortgage and those other debts. It took me a whole month of investigative work to see what was really up with this company before I signed up. Honestly, I could not be more pleased with the results. I was able to clear up $45,000 in debt for the first year alone which included $6,600 towards my morgage priciple. I did not work it from a HELOC, I utilized my checking account and the program showed me how to save and when to apply what amount I needed to eliminate those hefty interest that the bank would normally be getting. I assure you, based on the numbers, I am on schedule to be paid off in less than 1.5 yrs and I am convinced that this was worth every dollar I spent and If I, God’s willing, will apply my monthly payments to some sort of savings account for the rest of the 9 yrs, after I’m paid off, that will be my reward of what the bank would have gotten from me. Let’s face it folks, when you purchase a $200,000 home and end up paying over $400.000 after the life of that mortgage, where is the incentive it that for you a borrower? I don’t mind paying for some service but when it comes to paying more for the service than the merchandise, something is awfully wrong from where I sit; evaluate for yourself and make up your own mind. Remember, you can always give your money to the bank or you can reward yourself; you choose. God bless
Another observation, I notice that it seems everyone is concern about the cost of the money merge account program more than anything else. Let’s thing about something here, people refinance day in and day out and they pay for it without any quams. A typical refi on a $200,000 mortgage may run as much as $2,500, a $300,000 is about $3,500. Now, we will pay that kind of money to restart a mortgage, even though the payments may be lower, but we are back to the original term period no matter that you have paid off several years on the mortgage already. The MMA will illiminate all that and give you a way better result in the end; think about that for a minute.
Leroy – respectfully, the introduction of the refinance issue is a Red Herring. One needs to look at refinancing very carefully, understanding the cost and impact to term. You realize – one can pay what they will regardless of the term. When refinancing from a 30 year mortgage, the borrower may not be able to afford to drop to a 20 year term, but can make the same payment to not let their payoff date slip. This is a simple calculation. If your calculator is lost, just use the same payment, but any extra goes to principal.
Ironic, however, that the refi cost you cite is still equal or less than MMA cost.
Even at zero cost – MMA is inefficient. Agent sites that show a years cash flow easily prove that the HELOC withdrawal MMA dictates are not optimum and cost more, not less interest.
In this economy, pulling large chunks of money from a HELOC is a higher risk strategy than ever. As MMA is programmed to use up all of one’s “idle” cash to put toward the mortgage, it leaves the user with little to no emergency account, and if the HELOC is shut down, there’s trouble ahead.
Last, and then I’ll close, everywhere on UFirst’s site, they state they are not in the business of offering financial, mortgage, or real estate advice. Just selling the use of software. Yet, on every agent site, they dispense advice which is financial in nature and not sound.
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