I'm all for any ideas that can help America get out of debt. It's also great to see someone step in and fill in the hole that MS Money left (it had a fantastic debt wizard/planner, I was sad when MS announced they are killing it, despite how buggy the app always was).
I do wonder if this site can really reach the market it's after. In my anecdotal experience, the people that are in massive debt don't really have the discipline or organization to get out of it, even with a great tool to help them. If they did, they probably wouldn't be in as much debt to begin with.
I do wonder if this site can really reach the market it's after.
I think this is the big question. I really love this idea, because too many people are struggling unnecessarily because they don't realise the true impact of credit card debt. Having something that clearly shows them this impact is a great idea. But I find it hard to believe they will seek something like this out, so it's going to be tricky to reach them.
I was thinking about the very problem yesterday, and wondered if it would be worthwhile requiring information like this to appear on all credit card statements. Instead of just highlighting a minimum payment, what if the statements also had to outline the impact of higher payments somehow? It could be the only reliable way to get the information to the people that could benefit most.
Something like this is required as part of the recently enacted CARD act (in the US):
"Credit card issuers must disclose to cardholders the consequences of making only minimum payments each month, namely how long it would take to pay off the entire balance if users only made the minimum monthly payment. Issuers must also provide information on how much users must pay each month if they want to pay off their balances in 36 months, including the amount of interest." (http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/help/what-the-ne...)
I do wonder if this site can really reach the market it's after. In my anecdotal experience, the people that are in massive debt don't really have the discipline or organization to get out of it, even with a great tool to help them. If they did, they probably wouldn't be in as much debt to begin with.