It’s official This scam has been reincarnated into a new program called “Worth Unlimited.”
My MMA spreadsheet. (<<<Click here) is now available for download, no special request required. As always, please feel free to post a comment or ask a question.
I am pleased to make available a Money Merge Analysis Compilation, a PDF containing all of my MMA posts, so you can view them easily. Please advise if you find any typos or errors. The current revision shows R33 indicating it includes up to my Part 33 posting, which should be my last in this series.
A link to an announcement on the Australian Securities and Investments Commission regarding proceeding against the mortgage broker peddling the EquityExcel plan, which makes claims very similar to those made by UFirst Financial. (But wait – UFirst brags that such plans originated in Australia, so I guess it’s UFirst who is the copycat. Either way, the momentum is building to eliminate this scam.) This was send to me by a kind reader who works for the Consumer Action Law Centre in Australia, my thanks!!
(NEW!) The Australian SEC is continuing to prosecute these UFF-like scams. “AD Federal court declares Sydney mortgage broker engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct” is a June 24th ’09 article that concludes “For consumers the key message is that the only way to pay off your loan sooner is by moving to a loan with a cheaper interest rate or by making extra repayments.” Sounds a lot like what I (and my peers) have been saying. This action is against Whyte Corp, seller of EquityExcel Plan mentioned above. Let’s hope the US SEC gets the message.
The Simple Dollar‘s blog post on MMA, which generated more comments than I’ve ever seen on one posting. (Careful, this can take some time to load)
Get Rich Slowly also had a discussion that generated much interest.
WiseBread also gave a review of MMA with a similar conclusion to the one I reached.
United First Financial, who created the MMA concept, offers 3 videos to explain the approach.
For some interesting hyperbole Vision Force 21 is an agent selling MMA.
Mortgage Acceleration LLC also an agent for MMA.
Integra Mortgage and Investment has another series of links with MMA comments and observations.
MSNBC’s “What’s a ‘mortgage accelerator’?”
CNBC’s interview with author Rick Edelman
Clark Howard fields a question on MMA
Dave Ramsey‘s reaction to MMA
Another Dave Ramsey conversation (transcript)
An article by ActiveRain
A page containing a summary MMA example which many agents link to. (note, the example here has been updated recently. It now assumes you have $1300/mo to send as an extra principal payment. Fortunately I have a copy of The Classic Example for you to view as well.)
The web site Money Merge Advantage (this blog has been suspended due to TOS violations, the agent starts and cancels sites frequently, Money Merge Rescue among them.) Jennifer Hartman who inspired my post Money Merge Innumeracy, is back with The Interest Saver.
The Age (an Australian site) has a great article, “Smoke and Mirrors“.
Kiplinger’s “Don’t Fall for This Mortgage Pitch”
A kind agent sent me a link to a video, Money Merge Account Version 4. I find little there of value, judge for yourself.
The Fraud Files Blog by Tracy Coenen, a forensic accountant and fraud examiner who investigates white collar crimes, including cases of financial statement fraud, embezzlement, tax fraud, and insurance fraud. She is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud and more than 100 articles on fraud featured in industry publications. She also kindly summarizes and links to my ongoing series Money Merge Analysis.
A great general summary from Searchlight Crusade.
A series of posts on Scam.com‘s website.
Bargaineering.com has a brief article and series of post comments on MMA. The comments have taken an odd turn, a poster claims that MMA was divinely inspired. A faith based mortgage accelerator, I suppose.
A post on Fatwallet debunking the agent’s claims of magazine articles regarding MMA somehow adding legitimacy.
Patrick at Cash Money Life asked Are Money Merge Accounts a Great Way to Pay Your Mortgage Quickly, or Are they a Scam? I answered him pretty quickly as I think I’ve made my decision. No doubt for me!
The Get Out Of Debt Guy posted Worth Unlimited Scam Comment Leads to Missing Complaints and this Review. (This is the first new link I’ve added since Worth Unlimited started to come to my attention in the media.)
(Please send a comment if you have more links to suggest or if you’d like to discuss my MMA spreadsheet. The sheet will let you see your own numbers, and will help you decide for yourself.)
JOE