A happy Memorial Day to all my fellow veterans around the world! 

If you’ve seen a certain mortgage rate advertised lately, you may have noticed two percentages.

But why? W

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At the end of each month you might frequently get amazed at how much you have spent on shopping. Although you try to keep in mind to economize your budget, you find yourself unable to do so. This is perhaps because you do not go about the task of saving money in a planned manner. You should plan a budget after taking into consideration various factors. Here are 5 shopping tips that will help you reduce your monthly expenditure.

1. Compilation of necessary items- You should first and foremost list down the items that you need to buy as a necessity, keeping in your mind your budget constraint. You should also decide on a fixed amount of money that you will spend every month. Now, while compiling the shopping list, you should keep this amount in mind.

2.

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CitiMortgage announced this week that it will reduce mortgage rates for disabled veterans via the “Citi Disabled Veterans Mortgage Relief Program.”

The new program will offer an interest rate reduction of 2.5% on existing mortgages for a two-year period.

Surviving spouses of military personnel killed while on active duty may also be eligible.

The new offer is part of the Citi Homeowner Assistance Program, which aims to keep homeowners current on their mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure.

A little more about the Citi Disabled Veterans Mortgage Relief Program:

- Offered to veterans disabled, wounded or injured in the line of duty.
– Surviving spouses may also be eligible if they are co-borrowers on the mortgage.
– Applicants must provide discharge documents and a letter from the VA confirming they have a service-connected disability.
– Loan must be a first mortgage on a principal residence owned by CitiMortgage.
– Open to both current and delinquent borrowers
– No requirement to prove financial hardship
– FHA loans, VA loans, Rural Development loans, and and loans currently under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protection are not eligible.

Homeowners will be evaluated for a permanent loan modification before being considered for the Citi Disabled Veterans Mortgage Relief Program.

The bank and mortgage lender will bring qualifying customers’ loans current if they are delinquent by waiving late fees and forbearing any past due amounts and other uncollected fees.

A notice regarding the program will be included in May 2011 mortgage statements sent to customers.

Tip: Can I refinance with negative equity?

Orange and Barclaycard launch mobile phone payment scheme The UK’s first technology that allows people to use their mobile phones to pay for goods has been launched, known as ‘Quick Tap’. Read more…

For the most part, I typically assume that people who have misinformation came by it honestly. Usually, they didn’t quite understand fully what they read or were told. After all, one of the trickiest things about managing money and personal finance is that there are so many exceptions and nuances. In a lot of cases, what is absolutely true for one person is not true for someone else because of their individual circumstances.

Unfortunately, while the internet has given people easy access to vast amount of information, it does so without any verification that the information published is true.

The problem is compounded by those who read something inaccurate and then repeat it elsewhere. T

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