KateHorrell

Helping Military and Veteran Families Be Confidently Prepared for The Next Stage of Life

Capital Expenditures Matter: A Guide To Rental Real Estate


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

I answer a lot of questions about owning real estate, either a primary residence or rental property. One subject that folks often don’t consider is how much long-term capital expenditures matter. I thought I should make a spreadsheet to help people make a capital expenditure plan. And then I realized that my friend Dave Pere… | Read More…

If Your Rental Is Not Making Money, Stop Saying “It’s A Good Investment”


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

What makes a good investment? Well, it’s generally considered to be an investment that increases your net worth. And net worth is important – but so is cash in hand. As a financial educator, and a military landlord myself, I spend a lot of time talking to military families about their rental houses. In almost… | Read More…

How To Get A Refund Of The VA Home Loan Funding Fee


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

Are you eligible to get a refund of the VA home loan funding fee? Home mortgages guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are a valuable benefit of military service. One characteristic of a VA-backed home loan is that you pay a funding fee when you get the loan. However, some folks are exempt… | Read More…

You Don’t Have To Carry Debt To Have Great Credit Scores


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions about how to have great credit scores. I hear one myth a lot. It says that you have to carry a balance on your credit cards in order to have a great score. That’s just not true. There is no part of the credit score that measures… | Read More…

August Military Scholarships for Service Members, Veterans, Spouses and Kids


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

This August military scholarships post is part of my ongoing Military Scholarships series. I know I said the last few months were slow, but this month is just sad 🙁 I’m thinking that it is a great time to get started on the applications that will be due later on this year. Since August is… | Read More…

A PCS-Proof Financial Plan


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

There are so many unique things about personal finance when you’re in the military. Your pay may change from paycheck to paycheck depending on a wide variety of factors. You have pretty extensive benefits including Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance for Subsistence. We talk about this stuff all the time. But today we’re… | Read More…

Should You Sell Back Your Military Leave, or Take Terminal Leave?


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

One hot topic in transition planning is terminal leave vs. the selling of leave. Generally, these are folks who are separating or retiring. They have leave, and they’re trying to figure out what to do with it. I used to have a single answer, and then I opened my mind a little. I discovered that… | Read More…

Everything About Umbrella Liability Insurance


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

Umbrella Insurance? What the heck is that? Imagine you’re tooling down the highway during rush hour, and suddenly your tire explodes. You manage to keep your car mostly under control, but you bump a tractor-trailer in the adjacent lane, which then hits two cars next to it, and then overcorrects into the jersey wall. OR… | Read More…

From the Mailbag: Dislocation Allowance FAQ


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

Ah, dislocation allowance, aka DLA! Such a huge benefit, and such a source of frustration. Here are some of the DLA questions I’ve answered recently. (As always, things change. Talk to your finance folks to find out the exact rules for your branch this week.) Learn more at Everything About Dislocation Allowance. Can I Get Dislocation… | Read More…

July Military Scholarships for Service Members, Veterans, Spouses and Kids


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

This post is part of my ongoing Military Scholarships series. July is possibly the slowest month in the military scholarship world, so if you don’t find much here, you can get a head start on some of the scholarships coming up in future months. While the new list won’t come out until about 30 days… | Read More…

Affiliate Disclosure

This site does contain advertising and affiliate links. If you click on an advertisement or link, I may be compensated. I only promote companies that I love and trust. Kings High Media/KateHorrell.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Disclaimer

Kate does not represent the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any government agency. This blog is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes only. The content on this site should not be considered professional financial or legal advice. I may receive compensation through affiliate or advertising relationships from products mentioned on this site. All reviews on this site represent the personal opinions of the author. All references to third party products, rates, and offers may change without notice.