Military Life News

Military Life News, Commissary Rewards and Military Discounts

Military Shoppers Recipe Contest in August

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And the August Military Shoppers Recipe Contest Winner Is…

ice cream with slices of banana in ceramic bowl

Healthy Banana “Ice Cream”

Keri Kendall

Rhine Ordnance Barracks/Ramstein

Keri is the lucky recipient of a $50 Commissary Gift Card for her recipe for Healthy Banana “Ice Cream”

Ingredients:

3 Bananas (Frozen)

Water or Milk or Milk Substitute (as needed)

Optional Add-Ins:

Peanut Butter

Fresh Fruit

Vanilla Extract

  1. Peel and freeze bananas ahead of time
  2. Slice bananas into ¼” pieces
  3. Blend with food processor or blender
  4. Add water/milk/milk substitute for desired consistency (1/4 c. at a time)
  5. Add in your favorite treat, peanut butter, fresh fruit or vanilla extract and stir
  6. Serve in a bowl and enjoy as a cool, healthy and delicious treat

Don’t forget to enter the Military Shoppers recipe contest for your chance to win a $50 Commissary Gift Card!

 

21 Military and Veterans Charities to Consider Before Making a Donation

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In my opinion, the military community tends to be self-sufficient. When one of us has a baby, our on-base neighbors deliver meals for a week to ease this transition. When our marriage is struggling, we are advised to meet with the command chaplain for counseling. When it comes to donating money to nonprofit organizations, we tend to select military and veterans charities that we know will give back to our military community.

21 Military and Veterans Charities to Consider Before Making a Donation

There are more than 400,000 military and veterans charities in the United States.

As we’ve discussed before deciding which military and veterans charities to give back to isn’t an easy decision. There are more than 400,000 military and veterans charities in the United States. That number –400,000– can be daunting and overwhelming.

Here are 21 military and veterans charities that you should consider donating to during this year’s Combined Federal Campaign. These military and veterans charities are a starting point for charities that give back effectively and efficiently to the military community. These nonprofit organizations have received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and the information about each one comes from Charity Navigator.

21 Military and Veterans Charities to Consider Before Making a Donation

What are your favorite military and veterans charities?

21 4-Star Military and Veterans Charities You Should Consider

  1. DAV (Disabled American Veterans) Charitable Service Trust: This trust targets physically and psychologically injured veterans. Programs supported by the trust typically include: providing food, shelter and other necessary items to homeless or at-risk veterans; accessibility or mobility items for veterans with vision or hearing impairments; therapeutic activities; physical and psychological activities for rehabilitation; and other forms of direct service for veterans and their families.
  2. Homes for Our Troops: This military charity assists severely injured servicemen and women and their immediate families by raising donations of money, building materials and professional labor and then coordinating the process of building a new home or adapting an existing home for handicapped accessibility. The finished home is then given to the veteran at no cost to him or her.
  3. Wounded Warriors Family Support: Wounded Warriors Family Support provides support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations. Its retreats are provided free of charge to eligible family members.
  4. Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund: The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to post-9/11 wounded, critically ill and injured service members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, and their families. This military charity helps defray the expenses incurred during hospitalization, rehabilitation and recovery; assists with the expenses associated with the purchase of specialized equipment, adaptive vehicles and home modifications; and educates the public about the special needs of our injured service members and their families.
  5. Special Operations Warrior Foundation: The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides support and assistance to the military’s special operations community. Its mission includes providing a full college education to the surviving children of those who lose their lives while serving in the U.S. military special operations community and providing immediate financial assistance and support to ensure that severely wounded personnel are able to have their loved ones at their bedside during recovery.
  6. Association of Graduates of the United States Air Force Academy: The AOG’s three-part mission is: to work in partnership with the academy to produce and foster graduates with an enduring commitment to integrity, excellence, and service to country; to provide leadership, communication, and support to all the academy’s graduates, and promote camaraderie among them; and to promote the academy’s heritage, common tradition, and the accomplishments of its graduates.
  7. West Point Association of Graduates: The West Point Association of Graduates is the alumni association of the United States Military Academy.
  8. Freedom Service Dogs of America: Freedom Service Dogs is a nonprofit organization that enhances the lives of people with disabilities by rescuing dogs and custom training them for individual client needs. Clients include children, veterans and active duty soldiers.
  9. Hope For The Warriors: This national organization provides comprehensive support programs for service members, veterans and military families that are focused on transition, health and wellness, peer engagement and connections to community resources.
  10. Puppies Behind Bars: Puppies Behind Bars trains prison inmates to raise service dogs for wounded war veterans and explosive-detection canines for law enforcement. Service dogs are placed free of charge with wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The dogs learn special commands to help mitigate the effects of PTSD and traumatic brain injury.
  11. Operation Homefront: Operation Homefront provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors. Payments are made in the form of grants, not loans, for some of the most basic kinds of needs, such as food, rent and utilities.
  12. Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society: This military and veteran charity provides financial, educational and other assistance to active duty and retired members of the Navy and Marine Corps, their eligible family members and survivors.
  13. Air Warrior Courage Foundation: The Air Warrior Courage Foundation focuses on active duty, National Guard, Reserve and retired military personnel and their families needing financial assistance for medical, educational, and other extraordinary expenses not covered by other military, veterans or charitable institutions.
  14. Operation Support Our Troops- America: This organization’s mission is to support the morale and well-being of American forces by providing comfort, resources and education to them and their families both while they are deployed in harm’s way and after their return. This military charity sends care packages, along with personal letters, cards and notes of support from the community at large to deployed service members.
  15. Travis Manion Foundation: This military and veteran charity engages with veterans and families of the fallen in all stages of their personal journeys and offers them unique opportunities to empower them to achieve their goals.
  16. Honor Flight Network: Honor Flight Network transports senior and terminally ill veterans to Washington, D.C. so that they can visit and reflect at the memorials.
  17. Fisher House Foundation: Fisher House Foundation is best known for a network of comfort homes where military and veterans’ families can stay at no cost while a loved one is receiving treatment. There is at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center to assist families in need and to ensure that they are provided with the comforts of home in a supportive environment.
  18. Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors: TAPS has provided comfort and care, 24 hours a day, seven days a week through comprehensive services and programs including peer based emotional support, case work assistance, crisis intervention and grief and trauma resources. Its National Military Survivor Seminars and Good Grief Camps have been conducted for 19 years and are complemented by regional seminars across the country.
  19. Our Military Kids: Our Military Kids provides substantial support in the form of grants to the children of National Guard and Military Reserve personnel who are currently deployed overseas, as well as the children of injured service members in all branches. The grants pay for participation in extracurricular activities and tutoring programs that nurture and sustain children while a parent is deployed or recovering from injury.
  20. Snowball Express: The Snowball Express provides hope and new happy memories to the children of military fallen heroes who have died while on active duty since 9/11. This military and veterans charity brings children together from all over the world for a four-day experience filled with fun activities.
  21. USO Metropolitan Washington: With the help of nearly 5,000 devoted volunteers, USO-Metro provides programs and services for active duty troops and their families at area military hospitals, five USO Centers, four USO airport lounges and a Mobile USO. Its signature programs include Turkeys for Troops and Project USO Elf.

Obviously this list of military and veterans charities is not comprehensive. But it’s a starting point for CFC donors looking to donate to military and veterans charities.

What’s your favorite military and veterans charity? Do you donate your time with this charity? Or prefer to make a financial donation through the CFC?

When I Remember 9/11

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I was in my last semester of college when 9/11 happened. I remember that morning well, all these years later. I was sleeping because I was on the West Coast. I remember waking up and wondering why President George W. Bush was talking about a plane crash on the radio. Doing so seemed like an odd thing to do. I got up, turned on the TV and was in shock.

How I Remember Sept. 11, 2001

How do you choose to remember 9/11?

9/11 was when the world changed although we didn’t really know how at that moment.

I didn’t know how that morning would change the rest of my life. I had no idea.

At the time I was dating my husband. We were not engaged yet but knew we would get married. He was in the IRR (Individual Ready Reserve) at the time. That meant that he could be called up if something big happened. I think 9/11 would count as “something big.”

That was the first time I ever thought of myself as being a military spouse. A war bride. Someone who waited at home while her spouse was off at war. I thought he could get called up. That was in the back of my mind the whole day.

In the end he did not get called up but in 2005 he did join the Army and I became a military spouse. He has been deployed 4 times, to either Iraq or Afghanistan. The wars that started on that day in September.

The day that changed everything. 9/11/01, a day we will never forget.

As a military spouse I have deep and emotional feelings about 9/11. We found out that people could hurt Americans on that day. That we were not safe just because we were on the other side of the world from people who wanted to do us harm. The terrorists spent a lot of time, money and manpower to pull what happened on 9/11 off. They surprised us. They shocked us in a way we never could have imagined.

Because of what happened that day, our country fought back. We went to Afghanistan and Iraq and my husband was apart of that. It is weird to think about an event like this changing your own life in a personal way. When the tragedy first happened, I knew life would change things but I didn’t know how.

On that morning, I went to my classes at my college and that is all we talked about. Because it was so early and social media was not around back then, some students didn’t know about what had happened until they got to class. That morning was very strange. I don’t remember the words that were said in my classes but I do know we needed to talk about what happened.

That early we didn’t even know who was responsible or what the U.S. was going to do because of what happened. All we knew was that terrorists had come over to our country and killed a lot of people.

On that day in September, everything changed. From the way we get on an airplane to the way our U.S. military is handed. You hear people talk about the “Pre- 9/11” years in the Army and they are very different then what we experience now.

New York was never going to be the same. America was never going to be the same and military families were never going to be the same.

Every year we think about 9/11.

We think about the people who didn’t make it. The heroes. We think about the babies born around that time who are now teenagers and have only heard stories about what happened in their birth year.

We think about the soldiers, the airmen, the Marines and the other military members who fought for us after 9/11 who were lost in battle. We think about all of them because now, in 2015, what happened that day is something we can’t ever forget. It is something that will always be with us.

How do you choose to remember 9/11?

10 Commissary Rewards Card Specials

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As a child, my mom and I had a Sunday ritual. After Sunday dinner, we would sit at the kitchen table together. She would clip coupons from the Sunday newspaper while I discarded the expired ones from her coupon envelope and added in the newest additions.

While recently reflecting on this weekly ritual, I had to chuckle to myself. This routine seems so old-fashioned in today’s high tech e-coupon world. I don’t buy the Sunday newspaper. I don’t clip paper coupons. I don’t have a coupon envelope that I carry in my purse.

Instead I use my commissary rewards card app to conveniently download digital coupons every Sunday night.

With the commissary rewards card, I don’t have to remember to bring my coupons with me, just my card.

I don’t spend time sorting through the paper coupons to find the one I need for each product in the commissary. I simply hand the card to the cashier and the discount is taken at the time of purchase. And best of all, I don’t waste time digging through coupons checking the expiration dates. The commissary rewards card automatically removes the expired ones from My Coupons List.

This Sunday, I logged onto my commissary rewards card account to load digital coupons on to my card for this week. This week, like every week, there are some terrific money-saving coupons available through the commissary rewards card that paired with September’s commissary specials will remind you that the commissary is worth the trip.

10 Commissary Rewards Card Coupons that You Should be Clipping Today

1. Save $0.75 on any 2 Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs. Requires a minimum purchase of 2. Even though the summer barbecue season is over doesn’t mean your family can’t enjoy hot dogs as a quick dinner on Tuesday nights. In my house, hot dogs are a staple for a kid-friendly meal year-round. If you don’t have a commissary rewHow often do you add digital coupons to your commissary rewards card?ards card yet, you can download and print that $0.75 Oscar Mayer Hot Dog coupon here.

2. Save $1.50 on any 3 Classico® Red Sauce Products. Requires a minimum purchase of 3. Speaking of quick and easy dinners that your children will eat without complaining, let’s talk spaghetti. My kids are obsessed with pasta and would it every night, if we let them. Stock up and save on Classico sauce in September.

3. Save $6 on any 1 Nasacort® Allergy 24HR 120 Spray or Larger. Act quick to take advantage of this coupon available through the commissary rewards card. This offer expires September 20.

4. Save $5 on any 2 Gerber® Graduates® Formulas. Requires a minimum purchase of 2. Baby formula along with diapers are the two most expensive items that you buy for your baby. As a mother I would jump for joy when I found a coupon for formula. Then I would use it immediately. If you don’t have a commissary rewards card yet, you can digitally clip a $3 Gerber® Graduates® Formulas coupon here. There’s also a $3 off coupon for Pampers Cruisers or Extra Protection or Baby Dry Diapers.

5. Save $0.50 on any 1 Windex® product. Use this coupon as your motivation to wash your windows and shine your bathroom mirrors.

6. Save $3 on 1 Feline Pine™ Cat Litter. Enough said.

10 Commissary Rewards Card Coupons that You Should be Clipping Today

Use the commissary rewards card app to save even more money at your commissary.

7. Save $3 on 1 Gillette or Venus Razor. Smooth savings for you and your husband.

8. Save $2 on any 2 AVEENO® products. Aveeno is my favorite. I use the baby wash with my daughters. I use the sunscreen. I use AVEENO® Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 on my face every single morning and I can’t live without my AVEENO® Daily Moisturizing Lotion. The same $2 coupon can be digitally clipped here.

9. Save $1 when you buy any 1 Starbucks VIA® item. Instant coffee=instant happiness in my house. If you buy two, don’t forget to clip this e-coupon. You can save $2.25 when you buy 2 Starbucks VIA items.

10. Save $1 on any Glad® Food Protection Item. Through my church I used to deliver meals to new mothers, sick people and people who were recovering from surgery. I never wanted the person receiving my homemade meal to worry about returning my Tupperware to me, so I stock up on Glad food storage containers whenever they are on sale and I have a coupon. Then I can afford to deliver the meal without worrying about if I’ll get the container back.

This list are the coupons that I downloaded onto to my commissary rewards card last Sunday. I’ll log on again next Sunday to check for more coupons.

Want to know about the commissary rewards card? Here’s how and why every commissary shopper should be using a commissary rewards card.

Switch to Tricare Standard When You’re Pregnant?

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If you’re a pregnant military spouse who is considering switching from Tricare Prime to Standard, you’re not alone.

Google the words “pregnant and Tricare” and you’ll find numerous community posts similar to this question:

I’m 17 weeks pregnant with Tricare Prime and currently being seen at a Naval Hospital. I haven’t had any appointments since 11 weeks where there did an ultrasound and pap. I don’t have another doctor’s appointment until 22 weeks. I’m worried and feel like I’m not getting the care I need or deserve at the Naval Hospital. I was thinking of switching to Tricare Standard but don’t know how long that process takes if it would even be worth it.

The responses range from “Yes, you should definitely switch. I switched to Standard and I’m so much happier” to “You need to call your PCM and make another appointment. They’ll get you in if you explain your situation.”

I’ve given birth twice using my Tricare Prime health insurance as a military dependent. The first time I received my prenatal care from a PCM (prime care manager) and delivered at an overseas military hospital as a Tricare Prime Overseas patient.

The second time, I received a referral to an obstetrician and delivered in a civilian hospital because we were stationed more than 50 miles (actually it was 52.1) from a military treatment facility. In my case, I was pleased with the medical care in both situations.

Was my prenatal care prefect? Hardly. Was I upset about some medical decisions that were influenced by Tricare coverage policies? Of course.

Insurance isn’t perfect. But it helps pay for your medical care. And having a baby isn’t cheap. In fact, the average American delivery costs $8,000 and considering I paid nothing to have 2 healthy children, in the end, I’m pleased with Tricare.

What about you? Are you a pregnant military spouse with Tricare Prime insurance? Are you frustrated or pleased with your prenatal care? Are you thinking about switching from Tricare Prime to Standard? Are your military spouse friends recommending that you switch to Standard?

Here are 5 things to consider if you’re thinking about switching from Tricare Prime to Standard during your pregnancy.

Here are 5 things to consider if you’re thinking about switching from Tricare Prime to Standard during your pregnancy.

Before switching to Tricare Standard take time to research your options so you fully understand your decision and the outcome of your decision.

Picking Your Doctor Provides Peace of Mind for Many

With Tricare Standard you get to pick your doctor instead of being assigned one. When I was at a military medical treatment facility, it seemed like my doctor was PCSing every 2 months and a new one was assigned to me. For consistency, it would be nice to see the same doctor for your entire pregnancy. With Tricare Standard you don’t need a referral to see a specialist, so you can see an obstetrician during your prenatal care without waiting for referral through Tricare Prime.

Tricare Standard May Mean More Regular Appointments

Many military medical facilities are crowded and busy. There are lots of military spouses and active duty service members having babies which means that the scheduling can get pretty tight. Many people prefer seeing an off-base doctor through Tricare Standard so that they know they will see their doctor every month. At many military medical facilities, pregnant (who aren’t having complications or considered high-risk) military spouses are seeing their doctors every 6 weeks instead of 4 weeks.

Tricare Standard May Lead to Medical Bills

With Tricare Standard, you will have an annual deductible for outpatient services and cost-shares for most services. In general Tricare Standard covers 80 percent of medical costs (you pay the remaining 20 percent) and in many cases, it’s 100 percent if you use an in-network doctor. Review this cost shares chart for more information.

If you have health insurance through your employer, you can use that insurance and Tricare can be your secondary insurance.

If you don’t have a second insurance plan, you may want to purchase one. You can purchase a Tricare Standard supplement insurance through MOAA (Military Officer’s Association of America), Air Force Association, Uniformed Services Benefits Association or Association of the U.S. Army. Before purchasing a policy, Tricare recommends that you consider several aspects of the available coverage. You can compare Tricare supplement companies with this chart.

Tricare Doesn’t Cover Routine Ultrasounds (Standard or Prime)

I noticed many small differences between Tricare prenatal care coverage and other health insurance companies. One of these differences deals with ultrasounds. When I was seeing my Tricare Prime-approved obstetrician, he complained to me at EVERY appointment about Tricare’s ultrasound policy. He wanted to do a 20-week ultrasound because “it’s routine” in his opinion.

Here’s what Tricare’s maternity care fact sheet says:

Some providers offer their patients routine ultrasound screening as part of the scope of care after 16–20 weeks of pregnancy. Tricare does not cover routine ultrasound screening. Only medically necessary maternity ultrasounds are covered by Tricare.

Because I wasn’t a high-risk pregnancy I didn’t get a 20-week ultrasound. Later I was measuring small and then it was medically necessary to have an ultrasound, so I did. I think it was around 30 weeks and it confirmed that my baby was small, but still growing at a healthy rate.

Choose What’s Best for You and Your Baby

You can switch to Tricare Standard at any time. Here is a link with by step-by-step instructions for how to leave Prime and enroll in Standard. You can start using Tricare Standard on the day after your Tricare Prime coverage ends.

But let’s say you want to go back to Tricare Prime? You may not be able to re-enroll in Tricare Prime for up to one year after you disenroll. So consider your options carefully before making the switch.

Every baby is a unique individual and every pregnancy is a unique experience. No two pregnancies are created equal. You may have a smooth sailing 9 months followed by a difficult delivery. Your sister may be the opposite. That’s why in every pregnancy you need to be your own advocate and listen to your body.

Before switching to Tricare Standard take time to research your options so you fully understand your decision and the outcome of your decision.

Now it’s your turn. What’s been your experience with Tricare and its prenatal care?

Making Jam Is a Simple Way to Preserve Summer’s Flavors

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Making Your Own Jam, Jelly & Relish

August is rich with fresh fruits perfect for turning into delicious jams and jellies. Homemade jam by Whitney via Flickr

August is here and that means it’s officially jam, jelly and relish-making season.

Are you Suzy Homemaker who whips up a great jam each year or will this be the year you make your first batch?

Either way, MilitaryShoppers has everything you need to know about making your own jam, jelly and relish.

First of all, what’s in season? Make sure you know which fruits and vegetables are in season before you start looking at recipes and head to the commissary.

August is rich with fresh fruits perfect for turning into delicious jams and jellies.

Blackberries, blueberries, apples, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries and strawberries are all ripe and ready for you. While apple season is just kicking off, blueberries are on their way out. If you plan on canning blueberries, this might be your last chance this year.

The two most popular fruits, strawberries and raspberries, will be around until November so there is plenty of time left for them. Blackberries will be in season through October, but the big juicy ones that grow in the south are already gone. Don’t worry; you can still find great ones from Oregon (the leading blackberry producer in America).

Making Your Own Jam, Jelly & Relish

Instead of picking the berries yourself, you can pick up a pint at your military commissary. Photo by Jared Smith via Flickr

My parents own Blackberry Hill Alpacas farm in Alabama and while it is an alpaca farm, there are numerous wild blackberry bushes growing (hence the name). My mom dons jeans, long sleeves, gloves and lots of sunscreen to venture into those prickly bushes each June to collect blackberries for her jam.

I recommend skipping the torment of sweating in the heat, being bitten by who knows what, poked with thorns and sunburned and just go to the commissary and buy a few pints to make your jam.

Everyone has their own story to tell about their jam, which makes it that much more special. Whether it’s how you handpicked the berries, the mischief the kids got into while you were mashing them or the mess you made while doing it, there’s always a story behind the jam. That’s probably one of the reasons why it has become so popular to make your own these days.

You can venture out with your own recipes, try one passed down from grandma or go with a new one from your fellow MilitaryShoppers readers.

Making Your Own Jam, Jelly & Relish

Do you like to make your own jam, jelly or relish?

Interested in freezing jam? Brandi Thomas submitted her recipe for freezer jam. Strawberry jam is by far the most popular; there’s nothing quite like the aroma of strawberries in the kitchen. Try this strawberry jam recipe for something new.

Making Your Own Jam, Jelly & Relish

My challenge to you is to submit your canning creation’s recipe to MilitaryShoppers recipe contest.

Looking for something to do with the jam you make, besides spreading it on toast? Put a smile on your family’s face with a jam cake topped with brown sugar icing. They will thank you for making such a treat. All jams and jellies aren’t sweet though. Nicole Cloutier has a great recipe for raspberry jalapeno jelly that will get you going in the morning.

This season isn’t entirely about the fruit though. Once you’ve made jam or jelly, try relish. Did you plant a vegetable garden this year? If you’re tired of making salads, use your abundance of cucumbers for relish. Patti Osteen has a recipe that uses 24 cucumbers. That will take care of most of your harvest or at least a good bit. If you want to get a head start on holiday planning, test out some fall recipes now. Spicy cranberry relish is a great starter.

Wondering how these readers got their recipes on MilitaryShoppers? Did you know you can submit your own recipe? You can post them and one winner is chosen each month to receive a $50 commissary shopping spree. How sweet is that? My challenge to you is not only to make your own jam, jelly or relish this year, but to post your creation to the site and share with others tips for making it.

If you’re looking for visual help and step-by-step instructions on how to make jam, Allrecipes has a great tutorial.

Are you a DIY guru? Share your favorite canning recipes with MilitaryShoppers. Don’t forget, there’s one winner every month.

Why His Deployment Is the Right Time to Earn Your College Degree

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Tips for Getting Your College Degree During His Deployment

Your service member’s deployment may be right time for you to start taking college classes.

You’ve been thinking about going back to school for a while now and your spouse just deployed. What are you waiting for?

Deployment is a great time to earn a college degree.

We’re all busy with family, work, volunteering and just life in general, which can put higher education on the back burner. If getting a degree truly is important to you, don’t put it off any longer.

Ask yourself a few questions and follow these tips to start working toward a college degree while your service member is away.

What type of learning environment suits your needs best?

Start by deciding if you would benefit most by going to a traditional college, an online program or a school that offers both in person and online classes. Is it feasible to make the commute to campus? Are you disciplined enough to take classes online and study on your own? What kind of experience are you looking for? Some people thrive in the classroom interacting with the professor and other students while some prefer to do it all on their own.

Do you want to go to a two-year or four-year college?

Community colleges offer associate degrees through a two-year program. Many students start at these schools, because they cost less and then transition to a four-year school to complete a bachelor’s degree.

Research colleges thoroughly.

Don’t limit your options to the college closest to you or exclude one you think might be too expensive. You might miss a great school that way. Widen your search and see what each school has to offer then you can determine if it is a match for what you want. Make sure the college you choose offers the program you want in the timeline you are looking for.

Browse through the school’s alumni directory to see what graduates have done with their degrees. Are there many listed in the field you are interested in? Read the school’s testimonies and search social media to see students’ perceptions of the college.

Decide on a major.

While you don’t need to decide on a major before you begin classes, it is helpful to have an idea of the area in which you want to pursue. You can take a few classes without declaring a major or simply register for general studies and many students change their majors multiple times.

Tips for Getting Your College Degree During His Deployment

College is expensive. Don’t forget to apply for scholarships for military spouses.

One thing to consider though, you may end up taking extra classes, which means your college degree could take longer to attain and you will be spending more money.

Look for scholarships.

College is expensive, but you don’t have to foot the whole bill. There are thousands of scholarships available; you just have to look for them.

I had 9 scholarships for my undergraduate years. Combined they covered everything. A friend received one scholarship that paid for everything.

Scholarships are offered in various amounts and every little bit helps. Spend some time researching college scholarships. Apply to the ones that require more work. Those with essays receive fewer entries because people don’t want to spend the time doing them.

Start volunteering with your community, if you aren’t doing so already. This is a very valuable quality to put on scholarship applications and some scholarships even require a certain number of volunteer hours. Look for scholarships that are specific to you as well. There are scholarships available strictly to military spouses.

Talk to friends, family and coworkers about their experiences.

It can be difficult to make such a big decision. Seek out help from friends by simply asking them what they liked best about their school, their college experience and how they made their decision on a school that lead them to a degree.

Tips for Getting Your College Degree During His Deployment

What tips do you have for going back to school during a deployment?

Make a college plan.

Look at the necessary courses for the degree you have chosen. Review the class schedule ahead of time and make a plan with a timeline for completing your degree. Some classes are only offered in specific semesters. Most programs have a capstone class that must be taken in your last semester. Make sure you know when that is so you aren’t waiting an extra semester just to take that one class because you didn’t time your program correctly.

Delegate time.

Once you have decided on a college and a program, make sure you take it seriously and spend the necessary time studying. That means setting aside a specific time to study. Do your homework. Don’t waste your time and money avoiding it. Delegate your time wisely and don’t show up late for class.

Tips for Getting Your College Degree During His Deployment

Are you thinking about going to college while your service member is deployed? What questions do you have?

Enjoy your classes.

College is a wonderful thing and can be a great experience if you let it. Study hard and you will feel so rewarded when you receive your degree.

What tips do you have for going back to school during a deployment?

Military Spouses Unaware of MyCAA Scholarship Program

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Earlier this year, the RAND Corporation, a research group, released a study that military spouses are NOT using scholarship programs that are aimed to help assist the community with college.

Particularly, a majority of military spouses didn’t know about the MyCAA (Military Spouse Career Advancement Account) Program.

As military spouses, we experience multiple moves, deployments, TDYs and any other unexpected surprises that come our way. Because separation often times keeps military spouses busy holding down the fort, college might take a backseat.

Military Spouses Unaware of MyCAA Scholarship Program

MyCAA was created so that military spouses can pursue a meaningful education and attain portable careers.

Also, college is pretty dang expensive and scholarships are critical to help with tuition. I speak for myself when I say I wouldn’t have been able to finish my college education without scholarship programs. Last school year, the College Board reported that the average cost of tuition for state residents is more than $9,000 and almost $23,000 for out-of-state residents. In addition, if you wanted to attend a private university, tuition is more than $30,000.

Tuition is really intimidating and might have hindered a lot of spouses from attaining their bachelor’s degrees. But, just like the RAND study exposed, military spouses don’t know what’s out there. It’s important to share the message and pass along the details of MyCAA.

MyCAA was created for military spouses by the DoD, so they can pursue a meaningful education and attain portable careers. The goal of MyCAA is to work with a spouse’s military lifestyle and to ease the financial burden of a college, but less than 1/5 of eligible military spouses use MyCAA. MyCAA provides payment for obtaining appropriate licensing or certificates needed for certain jobs.

To be eligible for MyCAA, military spouses need to be married to active duty service members (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force) at the following pay grades: E1-E5, W1-W2 and O1-O2.

Guard and Reserve spouses can use MyCAA if they start and complete their classes while their service member has Title 10 orders.

The RAND study highlights that one of the main causes for not using the MyCAA program is because a lot of military spouses think they don’t qualify or are time limited. It also found that newer military spouses didn’t know MyCAA existed.

Related: 10 Employment Programs to Help Military Spouses Find Jobs

Military OneSource counselors are available to military spouses that have questions or need guidance with MyCAA. It doesn’t hurt to reach out to someone, especially if you’re thinking about a career change or continuing your education.

Even if you aren’t eligible for MyCAA, there are so many other military spouses out there that would benefit from this amazing program, so be sure you keep it in mind for others.

Have you used the MyCAA scholarship? Why or why not?

Parents Should Be Ashamed of Facebook Parenting Shaming

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Recently I have heard about some military spouses posting photos of other people’s children on their base’s military spouse Facebook pages. They are doing this because these children are misbehaving.

The children are doing things such as throwing trash in the park, picking on other kids or doing something else the poster feels isn’t right. I am not saying that what the kids are doing is OK, behaving that way clearly isn’t, but posting what they are doing on Facebook isn’t a good thing to do either.

Posting photos of other people’s kids on Facebook when your intent is to shame them is not OK.

Facebook Parenting Shaming Is Not OK

What are we teaching our kids and teens when we take part in Facebook shaming too?

Doing so is judgmental and you never really know the story behind why a kid is doing what they are doing. The better thing to do would be to notify the kid’s parent and leave things at that.

I know my kids do not behave 100 percent of the time at 100 percent of the places we go. No one has kids that do. I have carried a screaming child out of the PX more times than I would like to admit. Those moments happen.

We as parents do the best we can do to train our children. Sometimes they act out anyway. We can take those experiences to teach our children that we do not act that way.

If my son was throwing trash on the ground, it would be a good chance to teach him about why we don’t do such a thing. His photo does not need to appear on Facebook in order to get that message across to him.

I am glad that there was not Facebook when I was growing up. As an adult I can step away from the drama but our kids are growing up in a time where anything can be captured on camera and shared with others.

What are we teaching our kids and teens when we take part  in Facebook shaming too?

Doing so teaches them that posting like that is OK. Posting those photos is telling them that it is fine to single someone out on a bad day and make that bad day last forever.

We need to step away from posting shameful photos on Facebook. Whether a kid is doing something they shouldn’t or an adult isn’t dressed the way we think they should be, posting about it on Facebook is being a bully. We want to be the people who our kids look up to and learn from. We as adults should know better and do better.

How do you handle kids who aren’t behaving in base housing? Do you talk to them? Do you talk to their parents? Or do you post your complaint about their behavior on a Facebook military spouse page?

Years ago, public shaming might have meant standing on a street corner holding a sign. The kid who stole a candy bar might be made to stand in front of the store. Yes, people saw the child and he learned his lesson, but then the whole thing was over.

His face was not shared all over Facebook. He was not turned into a meme about good parenting. He was not shamed like that for years and years by strangers.

We really need to think about what social media can do to kids. We don’t want to make things worse than they are by taking part in the Facebook shaming.

When we see parenting shaming being done, we need to speak up so that the posting will stop. That makes for a better world both on Facebook and off.

What do you think of parenting shaming on Facebook?

Search Charity Navigator Before Donating Through the CFC

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My elderly neighbor handed me the solicitation paperwork she received in her mailbox and asked me

Is this a legit veterans organization?

My neighbor wants to donate her money to a veterans organization and she gets many requests through the mail for her donations. But she is worried that this organization might be a scam and frankly, she should be concerned. These scams target senior citizens and the donation paperwork often looks very similar to legit nonprofit organizations.

Did I know if this nonprofit organization was telling the truth? No, but I used the website Charity Navigator to find out.

Search Charity Navigator Before Donating Through the CFC

The Charity Navigator takes the confusion out of the donation selection process. Use it before making a donation through the Combined Federal Campaign.

Charity Navigator is a nonprofit organization that aims to give donors information so that they can make informed giving decisions. It’s an independent charity evaluator and the best way to research thousands of charities easily.

“By guiding intelligent giving, we aim to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace, in which givers and the charities they support work in tandem to overcome our nation’s and the world’s most persistent challenges,” according to Charity Navigator’s mission statement.

Charity Navigator has a comprehensive search tool and rating system. Charity Navigator also has interesting Top Ten Lists (10 Charities Worth Watching and 10 Charities in Deep Financial Trouble) that are worth browsing along with a specific Support Out Troops page.

The Support Out Troops page cautions donors “to look carefully before choosing one of these charities to support as not all operate with equal efficiency.”

“Donors can be confident that contributions made to the higher rated charities will be spent efficiently as these charities have low overhead and fundraising costs enabling them to use more of their resources in carrying out their mission.

“On the other hand, the low rated charities do not operate efficiently. Much of the money donors give to those organizations ends up in the hands of for-profit fundraisers, not the brave women and men of the United States’ military and their families,” said the Charity Navigator’s Support Out Troops page.

Search Charity Navigator Before Donating Through the CFC

That’s the reason why I search Charity Navigator before making a donation through the Combined Federal Campaign.

I want my donation to go to help veterans, not toward a 6-figure salary for a nonprofit’s CEO. I always look very closely at the percentage reported for the organizations’ program expenses (percent of the charity’s total expenses spent on the programs and services it delivers) within the financial performance metrics provided by Charity Navigator.

My goal is to donate to a nonprofit that is 90 percent or higher in that category. That’s my personal benchmark. You can pick your own.

I also use Charity Navigator to take the confusion out of the Combined Federal Campaign. The Combined Federal Campaign, available to federal employees and service members, is the largest workplace giving campaign.

It’s a convenient way to donate money to your favorite charity. The CFC takes place once a year. It’s not required that service members donate money to a nonprofit organization, but the CFC gives everyone the option and opportunity to make a donation.

The CFC has thousands of charities in its system and sometimes I have difficulty deciding which to give my money to. The Charity Navigator takes the confusion out of the donation selection process and allows me to make an informed donation.

Want to research your favorite charities? Visit Charity Navigator today.