The collapse of the housing market in 2008 has had a devastating impact on individual families and the economy as a whole. Outside of the wave of foreclosures there has also been a significant decrease in property value which has sapped the wealth of millions of homeowners. The other side of that coin however has been the resulting low home prices and historically low interest rates that are the direct result of the bubble.

If you are looking to buy a home 2012 may be an excellent time to buy as there are several cities across the country where you can buy a home for less than $150,000 with an extremely low interest rate. The combination of low interest rates and low home prices mean that many people can afford to buy a home even with a salary as low as $20,000 a year.

One of the most important pieces of legislation during the administration of President Barack Obama has been the passage of the Affordable Care Act, aptly nicknamed "Obamacare".  Possibly no other bill in the last 20 years has been debated as much as Obamacare, with many people singing its praises and others slamming it as the most evil law ever created. 

Opponents of Obamacare went to every level to try to repeal the law, taking the case all the way to the supreme court, but after last month's 5 to 4 decision to uphold Obamacare America can be sure that Obamacare will be the law of the land.

Now that we know that we will all be living with this new healthcare bill, the $100,000 question that many average Americans want to know is - "How does Obamcare affect me?".

Since the start of the recession many families have had to make major adjustments in lifestyle, including finding new places to live.  For those struggling, low income housing programs have been the savior of millions of American families.

Low income housing properties are defined as apartments or houses that are a part of some kind of affordable housing initiative, usually sponsored by the federal government, the state, the city, or a non-profit organization. These properties offer either an income-based rental rate or a flat rental rate designed to be affordable for needy individuals and families.

Having a house is the American dream, but when things start breaking it feels like the American nightmare.  Garbage disposals breaking, doors that won't shut, and washing machines that destroy your clothes can drive you crazy plus straight to the poor house.  You can pay hundreds of dollars to specialty repairmen to fix each item, but if you are mechanically inclined you might want to try to fix some of these things yourself.

Below are two resources that can greatly assist you with your do-it-yourself repair efforts and hopefully save you a lot of money in the process.

In just a few short years Steve Jobs and Apple have transformed the way we get our information thanks in large part to the iPhone and the iPad.  Both devices are great for communicating, watching videos and sharing information, but the real benefit is the additional 100,000 or so third party applications (apps) that you can download and enhance your user experience.

By far the most popular apps are the game apps that bring back the oldies like Pacman as well as the newer iBasketball, but since this is a Survival Guide we thought we would present a few apps that are a little more practical.  Below we feature some iPad/iPhone apps that will save you money.   There are many more than these cash saving apps so please share your favorites in the Comments section.

Getting your first car is great, but don’t think about driving it without car insurance.  It is illegal to drive in the US without at least liability insurance, and if you hit somebody and have no insurance you can destroy your finances and even end up in jail.  Since car insurance companies know that you need insurance the bigger companies spend millions of dollars bombarding you with ads to make you buy their insurance over the other companies.  Talking lizards, pigs on skateboards and other silly ads are all designed to make you ignore the facts and instead buy insurance based on the funniest ad.  This article will help you ignore the marketing foolishness and get the best deal based on what insurance you really need.