Personal Finance and Investing

iFreedom Direct, a national VA specialty lender, is pleased to report that funding fees on certain types of VA home loans have been reduced due to changes in federal legislation.

As a result of Public Law 112-26, Restoring GI Bill Fairness Act of 2011 and previous legislation, reduction in funding fees for the VA home loan program will take place for loans closed on or after October 1, 2011. First time VA loan users will now pay 1.4% for purchase and refinance loans, down from 2.15%. And, reservists and National Guard members will now pay 1.65%, down from 2.4%. Read more…

You may have seen the news. The Centers For Disease Control have issued a preparedness plan for a Zombie-Apocalypse.  Good thing too. I was all set for earthquake, windstorm or terrorists, but you just never know about zombies. I hear they’re sneaky. It’s good to have a plan.

Since the CDC has “3 Days, 3 Ways” covered with all of its water storage and emergency plans, I’m going to use my experience with real-life disasters including civil disruptions and natural disasters to distill down a few lessons that should be considered in your financial plans before a zombie (or other) crisis comes your way.

The bottom line: Zombies or earthquakes or windstorms, you have to be prepared, regardless of the nature of the emergency. Without so

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Credit cards can provide several benefits in times of financial difficulty, including simplified budgeting, decreased financial burden and various types of rewards, such as discounts or rebates on gasoline purchases and airline tickets. Thus, being instantly approved for a credit card is certainly an appealing proposition, especially when a credit card issuer promises a prospective cardholder that they have already been pre-approved. Although such terms may appeal to sub-prime cardholders who are having difficulty being approved for a credit card, the following information should be considered.

Instant Approval Vs.

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You’ve probably been hearing about the debt ceiling and the national debt in the news for a while. Should the U.S. government raise the debt ceiling? Does the government need to raise tax rates instead? How does the debt ceiling and national debt affect me? These are some of the questions that may come to mind every time you watch the news.

What is the Debt Ceiling?

Every day the government spends more money than it has, and as a result, the government has to borrow money (sell debt) to cover for that deficit. There was a law passed back in 1917 determining the debt ceiling (the maximum amount that the government can borrow), but of course, the amount has been changed many times since then. I

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