Military Life News

Military Life News, Commissary Rewards and Military Discounts

Your Tailgating Favorites on Sale at Your Commissary

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Football season has sprung and fans around the country are gearing up for America’s favorite pastime. That means tailgating!

October Specials at Military Commissary

Are you ready for some football?

Aside from bringing excitement for their team, football fans typically come hungry and expect delicious food while tailgating or watching the game in the comfort of your warm home.

Are you ready for some touchdown worthy deals that would complete your football bash? This month’s commissary specials offer great options to help you save money.

Start with a bag of Banquet Chicken nuggets ($2.50 each), which is the ideal football finger food. They have fun shaped nuggets too– for the kids or kids at heart.

Then, grab some hearty chili from Wolf Brand that offers chili with beans ($0.89 for 15 oz. can) or no beans ($1.19 15 oz. can)–for those that believe that “real” chili is beanless. Chili is perfect by itself or an addition for hot dogs, hamburgers and cheese dip (or where I come from we call it queso). Use original Velveeta cheese (on sale at $5.99) and throw it in a slow cooker with your chili preference for an easy and tasty side dish with chips.

Mix in PACE Restaurant Style Salsa (2 for $3) with Velveeta cheese for another dip selection that has a great south-of-the-border kick. It’s always good to have different choices. Feeling ambitious? Try throwing everything together (chili, cheese and some salsa).

What's on Sale at Your Military Commissary in October

Are you ready for touchdown worthy deals?

For another meatless side dish, heat up VanCamp’s New Orleans Red Kidney Beans ($0.65) or Dark Red Kidney Beans ($0.59) to satisfy everyone’s palate. Bring Swiss Miss Hot Cocoa Mix ($3.99) Milk Chocolate or Marshmallow to stay warm on the cool evenings.

Don’t forget one of the most important condiment for your football party– ketchup! Starting October 9, Hunt’s Ketchup is only $0.75 for a 24-ounce bottle. Stock up to make sure you don’t run out of ketchup all football season long.

October is also the month for spooktacular fun for families with Halloween. Looking for the perfect family dinner after a night of trick or treating (or any other busy night)? There are a variety of frozen pizza choices that would be perfect to cook in the oven for a speedy dinner. For instance, Tombstone pizza is on sale for $2.75 each all month long. Check out other frozen pizza specials throughout the month and keep them in the freezer for the right night.

Want to know the weekly manager’s specials? Sign up for MilitaryShoppers’ newsletter.

Celebrate Halloween with Our Military Kid Photo Contest

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Halloween is almost here! Such a fun time to dress up the kids in costume and maybe even yourself and your significant other.

halloween

I have always enjoyed Halloween and trying to help my kids decide what they want to be each year. Sometimes they can’t decide and they might wear a couple of different costumes to various events at the end of October. Some years the kids have been super heroes or characters from popular children’s movies, other years it was something more simple like a pirate or a monkey. They are now at the age where they really want to decide which costume they will wear for Halloween each year. I love hearing what they want to dress up as because it is usually based on what they are into at that moment.

Do your kids like to dress up for Halloween? Do you like to get creative when it comes time to figure out what costume they will wear? Do you buy their costumes? Or do you make them? How many photos do you take of your little one  trick or treating? 10? 20?

Instead of simply sharing those adorable costume photos with your family and friends, take 1 minute to share 1 photo with MilitaryShoppers this month and you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a $100 Toys R Us e-gift card.

Celebrate Halloween with MilitaryShoppers’ Military Kid Photo Contest

Child in Halloween costume

Submissions need to include:

  • Name of person submitting photo
  • Installation
  • Branch of service
  • Age(s) of child(ren)

Rules:

  • Image must be submitted as .pdf, .jpg or .gif via email to bschmalz@militarymedia.com by November 3, 2014.
  • Entrant’s email address will be added to MilitaryShoppers.com registration email list and therefore will receive future communications from MilitaryShoppers exclusively for military families via email.
  • One winner will be selected on November 6, 2014. Winner will be posted to MilitaryShoppers Facebook page, MilitaryShoppers on Pinterest and MilitaryShoppers.com.
  • One entry per email address.
  • Image must be submitted by entrant who possesses a valid military ID card (Active Duty, Veteran, Retiree, Reserve, Guard or family member of the aforementioned categories.)
  • Entrant must be 18 years of age or older.
  • Winner will be notified via e-mail.
  • No purchase necessary to win.

Good luck and have fun getting the costumes together! We can’t wait to see all the cute kids in their costumes.

 

Stateside for Oktoberfest? Create Your Own German Festival

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Best German food recipes for Oktoberfest

Try making homemade German pretzels.

Oh Oktoberfest! If you have ever been stationed in Germany you know how much fun Oktoberfest can be. Germans love their festivals, especially this 16-day food and beer funfair held in Munich.

So you move back to the States and are feeling a little disappointed this month? Why not create your own Oktoberfest with some foods you can find at your own commissary here in the United States?

You could make a meal for your own family or invite your friends over for a fun night of German food.

Let’s start with dessert. How about baking some German Chocolate Cookies? These cookies might be a little different than what you have had before but they are very tasty. If you love chocolate you should try: Death By Chocolate.  And if you like something a little different you can go with the Lebkuchen German Oldspice Cookies.

Now for the main meal. When you are making German food, it might be good to stick to traditional foods so that everyone who comes over for your stateside Oktoberfest can experience the traditional cuisine. Try making German Schnitzel. You can’t have an authentic Oktoberfest without it.  You can serve it with Hot German Potato Salad and Old Fashioned German Bean Soup.

You also want to have some German snacks on hand. You can make German Pretzels or a Crab Meat Cocktail.

In addition to food you would want to create a festive Bavarian atmosphere. You can add German flags, wear German clothing such as a Dirndl and make it look like an authentic Oktoberfest, even while living in California, Texas or Kentucky. You should also make sure you find some German music (like polka) to play in the background and most importantly don’t forget the beer!

 

Best German food recipes for Oktoberfest.

Schnitzel is a favorite German dish.

You can also check around and see if there will be any local events near you. I know here near Fort Campbell they put on a small Oktoberfest each year. It is not exactly the same as you would find in Germany but it is a nice way to get together and experience some of the traditions.

What’s your favorite German recipe? Share your recipes and you will be entered in the MilitaryShoppers recipe contest. You could win a $50 commissary shopping spree. One winner each month!

Plan B: The Military Spouse Breadwinner

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While downsizing the military will trim the government’s budget, it’s leaving a lot of families wondering how they are going to pay the bills. Just last month it was announced that 550 Army majors were told they will be without a job next spring. Some of these soldiers were deployed when they were given the news. While some may have been told ahead of time that their job was on the line, for others it was a shock. How are they going to support their families? Where will they find work? Will their spouse need to return to the workforce as well?

Plan B: A Military Spouse as a Breadwinner

Are you a military spouse searching for a job?

DoD statistics show that 1 in 4 military spouses are unemployed and seeking work. Some may be looking for any position that will pay the bills while others search for positions in their career field. Either way, there are resources available to help you find the right fit for your needs.

Military OneSource is a great tool that has had tremendous success in partnering spouses with jobs. Since 2011 they have employed more than 60,000 military spouses. Their Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP) website is a job database. Search your area for open positions or use their career advice section to help you get a start on your job search.

National Military Family Association has a wonderful collection of information including links to just about any military spouse employment channel. It has information on Military Spouse Preference and how to apply with it, how to apply for federal jobs, starting a home-based business and details on unemployment.

Military Spouse as the Family's Breadwinner

Have you been searching for a job?

Military Spouse Corporate Career Network is a free service to all military spouses including those of retired service members and caregivers to those wounded in war. They offer job placement and training. For those spouses that have been out of the career force, they offer gap skills training and apprenticeships.

Each branch of the military has a dedicated program to help spouses find employment. Each program offers classes and seminars on things such as resume writing and interview prep as well as tips on networking. They have dedicated counselors that you can meet with you one-on-one to go over your resume and answer any employment questions.

These are the military spouse employment programs:

Army: Employment Readiness Program

Navy: Spouse Employment Assistance Program

Air Force: Career Focus Program

Marine Corps: Family Member Employment Assistance Program

Coast Guard: Access CG SUPRT or call (855) 247-8778

These are all great resources for spouses returning to work. Remember your fellow military spouses as well. Networking is key these days to finding employment. Attend an FRG event and talk to some of them. They may know of an opening at their company they work for or have tips on how they found a job in that market.

Don’t jump right in and blast your “one size fits all” resume to every company in town. Take the time to tailor it to that specific job. An interviewer typically spends 30 seconds reviewing a resume before deciding if it goes in the trash or into the contact stack. Make sure you read the job posting and put those keywords in your resume. If it is sent electronically, there are computer programs that search for specific words and automatically filter out those that don’t contain them. Employers are busy and don’t want to waste their time on general resumes. Show that you are truly interested in the position by proving you took the time to read their job ad.

Military Spouse as the Family Breadwinner

Being the family breadwinner can be stressful.

Looking for a job can be scary, especially if your spouse will be losing his or her job. Will you now become the breadwinner of the family? Take some time and seriously consider what you want in a job and what is most important to you. How many hours will you be able to realistically work? What is the minimum amount of money you will need to pay the bills if you are the main source of income for the family? Are you willing to take an entry level position and work your way up? Start your job search early so you don’t end up rushing into a job that will make you miserable.

Finding a job to provide for your family is stressful. Utilize these resources and tips to help ease the process.

Are you a military spouse searching for a job? Are you worried about becoming the breadwinner if your spouse is forced to leave the military?

When You Deploy, Where Does Your Dog Go?

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No one should have to give up a pet because they have to go somewhere with the military. The Dogs on Deployment organization is a great program for helping service members prepare for a deployment.

Dogs on Deployment supports troopsTheir purpose is to find a place for a service member’s pet to go during a deployment or other military obligation. Not everyone has family members or friends who can take the animals and it can be a frustrating situation when that happens. In a lot of cases the animal has to go to a shelter since the service member will not be able to take their pet with them.

In addition to that, Dogs on Deployment promotes lifelong, responsible pet ownership within the military community. They do this by advocating for pet owner rights on military installations, providing education and resources about pet ownership, granting financial assistance for emergencies, promoting pet insurance and vaccinations as well as the need to spay or neuter animals. The organization also works to make sure everyone has access to the Dogs on Deployment program.

Dogs on Deployment boards pets of all types that belong to active duty, reservists, National Guard, honorably discharged veterans and their families. DoD was started in June 2011 by Shawn and Alisa Johnson, who serve in the Navy and Marine Corps, respectively. They themselves have been in a situation where they needed a program like this for their own pets.

This program is a great one because of the need for help with pets when you have to go away for military duty. No one should have to give up a pet because they have to go somewhere with the military. Even a short-term assignment could cause distress for people who don’t have anyone to watch their animals. The cost of boarding a dog for that long would not be within anyone’s budget either.

Dogs on Deployment supports military pets

If you would like to support this organization, you can make a financial donation, become a sponsor, share their program on social media or even shop on their site. If you would like to board a pet, after registering with the site, you can search to see what pets are available in your area and the dates needed for pet foster care.

This organization was “Founded by Military, for the Military.” It is a great way to give back and to help those fighting for our country.

Should Military Commissaries Ban Plastic Bags?

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Should Military Commissaries Ban Plastic Bags?

Commissary patrons can conveniently recycle their used plastic grocery bags.

Ban plastic bags? Can the Defense Commissary Agency or DeCA really do that? Why would they want to ban plastic grocery bags?

Well, in California, state lawmakers just passed a plastic-bag-ban bill. If the bill is signed it will ban grocery stores from providing the bags to its customers.

The reason a bill like this was passed is to help out the environment. It is probably pretty obvious that there are a lot of plastic bags being taken home by grocery shoppers. Some of them are probably reused for another purpose. I know we like to reuse the ones we get for things like taking snacks or toys to the park to throwing away diapers or other types of mess. They work great to keep in your car and to have on hand if you have small children that might have an accident. There are many ways to reuse the plastic bags but does that make a difference?

According to the Earth Policy Institute, people use 1 trillion plastic bags a year and the average use length was just 12 minutes. Even though some of us reuse them I would assume that the majority of those bags go right into the trash. This can be a big issue as they are not good for the environment. They can take a very long time to decompose (anywhere from 15 to 1,000 years) as well as hurting animals who get stuck in them or who try to eat them.

Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of plastic bags altogether? What if the commissary decided to ban plastic bags? Would it bother you?

We spent 4 years in Germany and the German stores are very different from American ones. Everyone brings their own bags. Some places do allow you to purchase a plastic bag for anywhere from $.10 to $1. Most of these bags are stronger than what you can find in the states and although they are plastic,  you can reuse them a few times. Whenever I went to the German stores I either brought a bag or bought one. However, I never did my big shopping there. I usually only bought 1 bag full anyway.

Since 2008, DeCA has been working to reduce the use of paper and plastic bags through its environmental management program. As part of that program, baggers are asked to not double-bag unless a patron specifically requests it and the commissaries sell their own green reusable grocery bags.  Patrons can also recycle their plastic bags by returning them to collection bins at commissaries stateside.

Plastic Bag Ban for Military Commissaries

Paper, plastic or cloth? What bags do you use when shopping at your military commissary?

If there was a plastic bag ban then people would either need to be OK with paper or bring their reusable grocery bags. This might not be an issue for some although for others it might complicate things. It would be a change and one we would all have to get used to.

If banning plastic bags can help save the environment, it is probably a good thing to do, even at the commissary. If it isn’t going to happen now, it will happen in the future. It is a good idea that most of us get used to bringing our own bags to the store.

What do you think? Do you think a plastic bag ban is a good idea for all grocery stores, including commissaries? Tell us in the comments section.

Ex-Military Spouse? Is There Such a Thing?

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Dear MilitaryShoppers,Untitled-2

My husband and I recently got divorced. The transition has been hard. I am struggling with the idea that I am no longer considered a military spouse even though I endured 7 moves and 3 deployments. Am I an ex-military spouse? Is there such a thing?

–Struggling Civilian

Once a Marine, always a Marine. There’s no such thing as an ex-Marine. It’s a matter of honor, so why would you– the military spouse– feel as though you deserve anything less?

Perhaps you are no longer a part of the military community. Your spouse may have retired, separated from the military after a number of years, been discharged because of a disability or any number of other reasons. Until the question was asked this month, “Is There Such a Thing as an Ex-Military Spouse?” the notion had never crossed my mind. Why would it?

I grew up as an Army brat and was so sad when my dad retired. I felt like I was part of something special and then it was gone. I told him so on Thanksgiving that year when our tradition of visiting the soldiers at the mess halls was missing from that day. It wasn’t just that I got a slice of pumpkin pie at each one (hey I was a kid and there were only 3), but that I got to spend time with my dad and see all the smiling happy faces. I can still picture it, everyone passing plates, the noise so loud with cheer. It may sound funny and so simplistic but at that point my whole life had been part of this great military community. Isn’t it the small things in life that count? At this moment now, I’m considering the question. Did I become an ex-military child? Was my mother now an ex-military spouse?

Once a Military Spouse, Always a Military Spouse

Were you a military child? What memories do you have?

I would never consider myself or my mother that way. The wonderful experiences we had made us who we are. We will never lose that.

I find myself, years later, back in the embrace of the military lifestyle. My husband is in the Navy and so I am an Army brat and a Navy wife. One day he will leave active duty and I will once again say good-bye to this community. Will that really make me an ex-military spouse? No.

Ex-military spouse sounds so harsh. Did we break up? Former military spouse, I could handle that term. We had a great relationship and it will end happily. I will take the memories I have made from the beginning of my life through the beginning of our child’s life.

This has been after all, our life. This was never just a job.

For some, the experience might not have been so magical in their minds. Everything isn’t always peachy. Moving so often has its challenges. Your spouse deploying for long periods of time can leave you vulnerable. You’ll cry, you’ll laugh, and you’ll make friends and leave friends. You will get frustrated when your favorite thing is broken by the movers or your spouse’s deployment gets extended.

This is all part of it. You are a military spouse.

Once a Military Spouse, Always a Military Spouse

You will make some great memories as a military spouse to reflect upon for years.

When the day comes that you are no longer the spouse of an active duty service member your life will change. You will embark on a new adventure, but the memories you have made will remain part of you.

You served your time just as your spouse did. You earned the right to keep that honor.

The same notion holds true for military spouses who divorce their sponsors. Yes, your official relationship with both the military community and service member has ended. You may feel sad or angry at the onset but looking back you’ll still have the memories of great times as a family. You experienced the same events and emotions as any military spouse.

Some may disagree. You’ll be judged, even if people proclaim that they do no such thing. You may feel ostracized and lose all your connections within the community. It doesn’t matter what they say; you aren’t talking to them anyway. You were part of something special, no matter how long that was.

You are a military spouse, former military spouse if you prefer, but you will never be an ex-military spouse. None of us will.

How do you feel? Is there such a thing as an ex-military spouse?

 

Food Insecurity a Reality for Many Military Families

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Military Families Use Food Banks

Are you a military family who uses a local food bank?

I wasn’t surprised by the numbers. I wasn’t shocked by the headlines. I thought to myself “yeah, that seems about right.” Many military families, like many Americans, regularly face food insecurity so these military families, like many Americans regularly fill their pantries with nonperishable items from their local food banks. They may do it once. They do it between pay periods. They may do it every 6 months. The point is that military families use food banks.

This isn’t something new. My husband volunteered distributing food to military families at a southern California installation in 2003. But the news of American service members utilizing civilian food banks has recently grabbed the media’s attention.

It all started with Feeding America’s annual survey. In that report, it said that 620,000 households that seek food assistance from a Feeding America network agency each year include at least 1 member who is currently serving in the U.S. military. That person may be an active duty Marine or he may be an inactive reservist. The Feeding America study didn’t examine that type of specific data. But every media outlet ran with a headline saying “25 percent of military families are seeking food aid.”

The Department of Defense immediately questioned Feeding America’s survey methodology saying that “surveying households instead of individuals while comparing those numbers to military data creates an inaccurate picture.” The Pentagon spokesman also reminded Americans that the military offers the Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance for low-income families.

But few military families are using the Family Subsistence Supplemental Allowance. Why? My guess is military families want to remain anonymous in their financial struggle. They don’t want their commander to find out they can’t afford to feed their 5 children. That’s why military spouses prefer to visit a food pantry at their local churches. In the majority of cases, spouses show their military ID and the food bank will give them food that day.

A short and incomplete search on Google showed food drives for hungry airmen, lines of Marine families waiting for free food, donation drop-off locations near Navy installations, partnerships between the USO and food banks and churches scrambling to fill the need for veterans, National Guard soldiers and Reservists families. I’m sure if you ask your FRO or the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society, they will tell you that some, not all, military families are struggling financially to make ends meet.

If military families weren’t struggling, than why would there be a need for food banks located on overseas military installations?

Many military families, like many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. They aren’t saving for their dream house and they won’t buy a vacation home at their retirement. They are scraping by and local food banks ease their burden.

Do I think military families should use local food banks? Frankly it’s none of my business. But I do think that the Pentagon needs to hear the old adage: if one military family is relying on a local food bank, that’s one military family too many.

Did you donate food through DeCA’s Feds Feed Families program? How do you feel about military families using food banks?

Military Newlyweds Skip Warehouse, Bulk Buy at Commissary

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Commissary Better Than Warehouse Stores

Buying bulk items at the commissary saves money for military newlyweds.

Once my husband and I moved into our first home, we wanted to put together a grocery shopping plan that would be the most economical for us. We just paid for a wedding and furniture to fill our house, so we quickly shifted our priority to saving as much money as possible.

We considered memberships to warehouse stores like Costco and Sam’s Club, where you pay an annual rate to use the facility. But, we realized that route might not be the best for us. Right now, it’s just my husband and I, plus a cat. To really reap the benefits of a warehouse store we would need to use the perishable items in a more timely manner. The last thing we would want to do is have 40 pounds of produce and not use it all before it spoils.

Besides, the warehouse stores are further away than our military commissary, so in the long run, it wouldn’t be cost effective. We would pay for a membership to drive a little further and we would still need to shop at a grocery store for perishable items. We were looking for a streamlined one-stop shop approach.

That’s when we calculated that our military commissary is the best place for our grocery needs and that we would do our bulk buying at the commissary too.

If we purchase the largest size available in-store, that would last us a good amount of time. Also, we would actually be saving money in the long term. Who doesn’t like saving money?

We bought everything that we would need to start out all at once including all our toiletries, cleaning supplies (trash bags, all-purpose cleaner, etc.), spice selection, a week’s worth of food and more. That first bill cost us a couple hundred dollars. Since our first time huge purchase, the average weekly commissary bill is around $20. Yes, that’s right, just about $20 per a week.

As a result, we run out of different items at different times and we refill our supply when it’s needed. Everything is spread out and for the most part our commissary bill stays the same each time.

To me, that’s a pretty good deal. I’m sure there are even ways to bring the cost down and if you feel like splurging sometimes for a filet mignon instead of a sirloin steak that would affect the average too.

Bulk buying has always been a way to save money over time. Brands bundle more than one item of their products together for little savings here and there. Let’s say one bottle of contacts solution costs $8. The double pack may costs $13 If you are an avid contacts user and use 1 bottle a month over a year span you’ll save $18. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you have the habit of doing that with all your needed items you’ll see some awesome savings.

Here are 2 examples to show how bulk buying can save money over the long term based on actual figures from my military commissary.

Cats eat an average of 10 pounds of dry cat food per a month.

$3.99 for a 3.15 lb. bag = $1.27 per lb. and $152.40/year

$11.99 for a 15 lb. bag = $0.80 per lb. and $96.00/year

$56.40 in savings a year for cat food.

Bulk Buying at Your Military Commissary

What bulk items do you buy at your military commissary?

In my house, we use on average 32 regular rolls of toilet paper per a month.

$12.99 for 64 regular rolls = $0.20 and $76.80/year

$2.92 for 8 regular rolls = $0.37 and $142.08/year

$65.28 in savings a year for toilet paper.

Bulk Buying Saves Money at the Commissary

Bulk buying has always been a way to save money.

And of course, the savings continue for every other item you bulk buy! Plus you never pay an annual membership fee to shop at the commissary.

What bulk items do you buy at your military commissary?

Are You Deep in Credit Card Debt? Consider Using a Credit Counselor

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There was a time in my life that I bit off more than I could chew regarding my credit limit. I was young and naive on the specifics of credit cards. I signed up for 3 different accounts before the age of 20. Of course, the credit card companies were itching for people like me. They fed me stories on how I needed to build up my credit history and establish a good foundation for the future.

Should Military Families Use a Financial Consultant?

Military families should work with nonprofit debt managers to reduce their credit card debt.

What they neglected to say was their extremely high interest rates and the actual importance to pay off your balances in a timely manner. Otherwise, you’d be accruing more interest and adding to your debt. Years passed with me just paying the minimum payments with all my credit cards at near max. If I continued to pay my credit cards at the minimum amount, it would have taken me 25 years to pay off the remaining balance.

Despite conversations with my credit card companies, I had to take additional action. It got to a point where I was drowning in my credit card debt and I didn’t see an end in sight. I wanted to find a way to get myself back on track and eliminate my debt as well as learn some safe credit card habits. So I researched ways and programs that could help me.

Are you deep in debt? Here are debt and credit counseling tips for military families.

Military OneSource provides free financial counseling. All you need to do is give them a call and they can walk you through options that could help you negotiate a reduced rate with your creditors  and offer basic education on money matters, including debt management and things as common as setting up a budget. They can give you the foundation to tackle your goals and become debt free.

Another great option is enrolling with a debt management organization, which is the route I chose to take. You are assigned a credit counselor that is familiar with your situation. I wanted the ease of a single professional guiding me through the process and also a company that took care of negotiating with my creditors on my behalf. I made 1 payment to my counselor and they allocated the appropriate funds to each creditor.

Everything was simplified to me by my debt counselor, down to the penny. Because they knew my financial history, I was able to get a thorough explanation as well as a very streamline approach to be successful. I really liked having everything mapped out for me and finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I sat down with my counselor to evaluate what was possible with my income minus all my living expenses. Even with the small fee the debt management charged, they were able to negotiate a payment plan with my creditors that would have my debt paid off in 5 years (instead of the calculated 25). That to me was a win-win situation.

Want to win a $50 commissary gift card? Register to win with MilitaryShoppers.

Be very careful with shopping around for a debt management counselor, especially if you’re going to do it outside of Military OneSource or any other military, veteran or government entities. Basic signs for a credible organization are that they are a member of the National Foundation of Credit Counseling (NFCC) and the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies as well as backed by the Council of Accreditation. Another telltale sign is that they are a nonprofit organization.

Military Service Members and Debt: How to Get Out

I needed to eliminate my debt as well as learn some safe credit card habits.

Debt management companies as well as accredited counselors are there to help and inform consumers. At first, it was very intimidating for me, especially because I had no financial background or any previous education. After discussing my credit card debt in depth, I felt confident and looked forward to reducing my debt and saving for the future.

You don’t have to limit yourself to the payment amount that was calculated by your debt counselor. If you can pay a little more each month, wiggle it into your payment schedule and it’s possible to pay the credit card debt faster than your plan. When I received my tax deductions, that’s when I added more to my payments and finished off my debt counseling plan earlier than 5 years.

In addition to knocking down the time it would take to payoff the debt, Debt management company taught me safe credit habits. The last thing I would want is to be in a similar situation again.

Have you ever worked with a credit or debt counselor? Would you recommend it? Tell us in the comments section below.