This newsletter is free, and it is staying free. You should still know exactly how it pays for itself, and who is paying, because that is the whole point of trusting someone with your money.
Here is the honest, complete list.
Affiliate links. Sometimes I recommend a product or service I actually trust, a fee-only financial planner, a self-directed IRA custodian, a disability or life insurance option. If you use one of those links and sign up, I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. When that is the case, I will tell you right there in the text, every single time. I only point you toward things I would put in front of my own family.
Sponsorships. Once in a while a company pays to include a message in an issue. It will always be clearly labeled as sponsored, and it will never be dressed up as my advice. A sponsor does not get to write what I say, pick my topics, or change my opinion. If a sponsor ever asked me to mislead you, they would be gone.
An optional paid course, later. Down the road I may offer an in-depth paid course or guide for people who want to go deeper on the money side. The newsletter itself stays free, and you will never have to buy anything to get the genuinely useful stuff. The paid thing is for people who want more, not a wall in front of what you came for.
I will never charge you to file or increase a VA claim. It is illegal for unaccredited people to charge for that, and free accredited Veterans Service Officers (DAV, VFW, American Legion, your county VSO) do it for free and do it well. I will always send you to them.
I will never take a cut of your VA benefits or your rating. Not a percentage, not a "small fee," nothing. Your benefits are yours.
I will never sell, rent, or share your email. Ever.
I will never dress up a sales pitch as advice. If money is changing hands, you will know.
Because trust is the entire business. The big names in this space cannot show you a page like this honestly, because they are a lender selling you a loan, an insurer selling you a policy, or a claims company taking a slice of your benefits. I am a disabled veteran writing in plain language about what I actually do with my own money, and I would rather make a little less and keep your trust than the other way around.
If I ever break one of these promises, hit reply and call me on it.
Jeff
Rated, Now What. Not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. Education only, not legal, tax, or investment advice, and not VA claims assistance. Affiliate disclosure per FTC 16 CFR Part 255.