Comments on: Of MMAs and HELOCs http://www.joetaxpayer.com/of-mmas-and-helocs/ Financial Commentary For The Average Joe Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:56:17 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: JOE http://www.joetaxpayer.com/of-mmas-and-helocs/comment-page-1/#comment-1781 JOE Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:27:45 +0000 http://www.blog.joetaxpayer.com/?p=186#comment-1781 First, John, I thank you for the kind words. It's great to get feedback, good or bad, and to see what articles are hitting the target audience. Also, knowing where my readers first became aware of my blog is always interesting. To the question regarding the difference between the open-ended vs closed loans, mt Pt 3 does not address this. Nor do upcoming Parts 8,9, or 10. I will give this exact issue some further thought, and it will be Part 11, pub date Nov 20. Since this is the basis for MMA, I think a good explanation is in order. As I continue to write this series, there are some points that I find I need to expand upon, and new twists that come up as I read the claims of the MMA agents. The nature of the blog is that I really shouldn't re-write any posts as it might leave a trail of bad links from other bloggers kind enough to link to me. I'll sent you the sheet. I think that on one hand I've made it clear that the HELOC shuffle can't even save as much as MMA costs so why bother? Then I became aware of Greg's program, and he was honest in his discussions, pointing out that HELOC shuffle has some value and his program helped capture it at a cost that's reasonable. So I've been happy to refer readers his way. Joe First, John, I thank you for the kind words. It’s great to get feedback, good or bad, and to see what articles are hitting the target audience.
Also, knowing where my readers first became aware of my blog is always interesting.
To the question regarding the difference between the open-ended vs closed loans, mt Pt 3 does not address this. Nor do upcoming Parts 8,9, or 10. I will give this exact issue some further thought, and it will be Part 11, pub date Nov 20. Since this is the basis for MMA, I think a good explanation is in order.
As I continue to write this series, there are some points that I find I need to expand upon, and new twists that come up as I read the claims of the MMA agents. The nature of the blog is that I really shouldn’t re-write any posts as it might leave a trail of bad links from other bloggers kind enough to link to me.
I’ll sent you the sheet. I think that on one hand I’ve made it clear that the HELOC shuffle can’t even save as much as MMA costs so why bother? Then I became aware of Greg’s program, and he was honest in his discussions, pointing out that HELOC shuffle has some value and his program helped capture it at a cost that’s reasonable. So I’ve been happy to refer readers his way.
Joe

]]> By: John B Geer http://www.joetaxpayer.com/of-mmas-and-helocs/comment-page-1/#comment-1760 John B Geer Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:33:53 +0000 http://www.blog.joetaxpayer.com/?p=186#comment-1760 Joe, all the MMA articles on here are great! Thanks. The (title alone of the) Money Merge Innumeracy article makes me smile :-) I was at a UFF presentation tonight (it's new in Canada) where folks were offered a whirlwind presentation and video with matrix-movie-like numbers streaming across the screen and wads of cash flying up in the air, followed by a confusing example of the live software, and then an open question: "Is there anyone here who does NOT want a free assessment?". At that point, I was the only person with my hand in the air. I found you from [http://www.christianpf.com/money-merge-accounts/] after googling for sites that had side-by-side comparisons of MMA projections and base-case schedules (from, say, a simple amortization calculator or spreadsheet) for realistic scenarios. I figured there would be *some* benefit to the line of credit shuffle, so I wanted to quantify it. I enjoyed your comment in the quoted link about engineers and controlled variables, so thanks for providing spreadsheets and pointing at others with hard numbers. As a "software engineer" (now there's an oxymoron!), I took exception to some of the presenter's claims and his use of obfuscating phrases like "sophisticated algorithms based on factorial math". I was going to simply write an MMA free-software equivalent this weekend, but the link in this article saves me having to do that. Anyone willing to spend $3500 should spend $30 as part of their due diligence on that investment, so thanks to Greg for making his program available. In this article (and in Money Merge Account Analysis Pt 3) I find lacking a quick explanation of "open vs. closed" loans, and "average daily balance" -- pieces on which the HELOC (open) shuffle to your mortgage (closed) is based to make it a win, albeit a marginal one. Or maybe there is another article I've just missed that explains it. Anyway, kudos to you for clear, lucid writing and numbers that don't lie. (I'll peek at your spreadsheets if you like; maybe you could publish an excel-based MMA for folks? :-) Joe, all the MMA articles on here are great! Thanks.

The (title alone of the) Money Merge Innumeracy article makes me smile :-)
I was at a UFF presentation tonight (it’s new in Canada) where folks were offered a whirlwind presentation and video with matrix-movie-like numbers streaming across the screen and wads of cash flying up in the air, followed by a confusing example of the live software, and then an open question: “Is there anyone here who does NOT want a free assessment?”. At that point, I was the only person with my hand in the air.

I found you from [http://www.christianpf.com/money-merge-accounts/] after googling for sites that had side-by-side comparisons of MMA projections and base-case schedules (from, say, a simple amortization calculator or spreadsheet) for realistic scenarios. I figured there would be *some* benefit to the line of credit shuffle, so I wanted to quantify it. I enjoyed your comment in the quoted link about engineers and controlled variables, so thanks for providing spreadsheets and pointing at others with hard numbers.

As a “software engineer” (now there’s an oxymoron!), I took exception to some of the presenter’s claims and his use of obfuscating phrases like “sophisticated algorithms based on factorial math”. I was going to simply write an MMA free-software equivalent this weekend, but the link in this article saves me having to do that. Anyone willing to spend $3500 should spend $30 as part of their due diligence on that investment, so thanks to Greg for making his program available.

In this article (and in Money Merge Account Analysis Pt 3) I find lacking a quick explanation of “open vs. closed” loans, and “average daily balance” — pieces on which the HELOC (open) shuffle to your mortgage (closed) is based to make it a win, albeit a marginal one. Or maybe there is another article I’ve just missed that explains it.

Anyway, kudos to you for clear, lucid writing and numbers that don’t lie. (I’ll peek at your spreadsheets if you like; maybe you could publish an excel-based MMA for folks? :-)

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