Nov 16 2009
On November 11th (Veteran’s Day), President Obama signed into law the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act that will allow military spouses the option of choosing a state of residency alongside their active duty service member. The guidelines and regulations still need to be laid out, but here’s a decent overview of what this new legislation will mean for you.
Aug 12 2009
Everyone’s been waiting with bated breath for the launch of the Post 9-11 GI Bill. Before the transferability rules were released, I know people who delayed their retirement from the military to make sure their bases were covered. Until August 1st, rumours and all kinds of bad information were swirling around. Everyone was confused about who was eligible, what could be transferred, how to do it, etc…. The VA stood up a fantastic website. Go there for all you ever wanted to know about the program and more. It’s a great website, but we were hearing from a lot of people who were slogging through all the information looking for a clear, concise guide to the nuts and bolts of the program. So, we have been working frantically to finish this amazing little eBook on the Post 9-11 GI Bill. It’s finally done and you can see it for yourself at www.moaa.org/gibill.
I may be biased, but I think this is the most easy to read information I’ve seen on the Post 9-11 GI Bill. Download the eBook for your own use, share it with friends, post it on your blogs, whatever you need to do to get the information out there. If you have more information once you go through the eBook, join us for a webinar on August 25 at Noon EST led by MOAA’s Deputy Director for Financial Education, Phil Dyer. If you think you’re interested, register now because spaces are limited. I hope you’ll let us know what you think. Share your questions or comments with us so we can address them. Thanks.
Jul 23 2009
This is too important to get wrong, so here are two press releases speaking to the status of the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act – this first one is from Senator Richard Burr’s office:
“Today, U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-North Carolina) offered the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act as an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill currently under consideration in the Senate. The amendment, which was approved by voice vote on the Senate floor, would allow military spouses to maintain residency in their home state regardless of military placement of their families.”
The press release from Representative John Carter’s office:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 23, 2009
Senate Attaches Military Spouse Residency Relief Act to Defense Authorization
Move Puts Carter Bill on Fast Track for 2009 Passage
(WASHINGTON, DC) – The U.S. Senate today approved the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act as an amendment to the 2009 Defense Authorization Act (S. 1390) at the request of Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), putting the legislation on a fast track for passage into law this year.
The bill authored by U.S. Rep. John Carter (R-TX), currently has over 140 bipartisan co-sponsors. The high level of support Carter has built in the House makes it likely the final version of the Defense Authorization Act will include the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act when it is signed into law by the President.
“This is fantastic news for our service families worldwide,” says Carter, who has been pushing the legislation for the last four years. “We should have done this long ago, but at least we are now on track to have a new law in 2009.”
The bill allows a military spouse who moves out of a state with their service member under military orders to have the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse, regardless of where they are stationed. Service members themselves have had that option for decades, while spouse did not, leaving many families with split residencies.
Contact Senator Burr and Congressman Carter to let them know that you appreciate their efforts on our behalf. Thanks to Rebecca Poynter and Joanna Williamson for their leadership on this issue!
Jun 11 2009
I just finished up doing an interview for Military Advanced Education Magazine. As I was going through all the programs and resources for miltiary spouses and dependents, I realized I was holding out on my blog pals. So, here you go, the rundown on some resources you may or may not already know about:
Now, if you’re just starting to look at going back to school, or if your kids are in high school and the SATs or ACTs are looming in front of them, consider the eKnowledge and NFL program that makes free SAT/ACT test prep programs available to all military service members, veterans and dependents. The software is free, you pay only for shipping and handling. Since it’s inception, the program has given out over $20,000,000 worth of products to military families.
In addition to the educational programs available to support military families, there’s also a lot going on at the policy level. Just a couple things of note:
You may or may not be aware of this, but one of your greatest advocates (in addition to MOAA, of course) is the DoD State Liaison Office whose regional coordinators tirelessly work key military family quality of life issues at the state level. They were instrumental in pushing through in-state tuition on a state by state case and have now taken on the Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. This Compact seeks to “provide a vehicle for states to follow common guidelines in handling issues that impact children of military families as they transition between schools”. They want to standardize things such as: records transfer, immunization requirements, graduation requirements, exit testing, etc…. There are currently 21 states participating. If you want to see if your state is one of those participating, go to their website.
Jun 02 2009
A Department of Defense program offering up to $6000 in assistance to military spouses for educational and training purposes is being expanded. This is not the same program as the old Department of Labor pilot program. The new initiative encompasses a broader field of disciplines. There are already over approved 600 schools on the website.
The program is open to spouses of active-duty or activated National Guard or Reserve military members. According to a recent Navy Times article, spouses of Coast Guard members deployed with the Navy are also eligible.
Spouses who would like additional information, view a list of FAQs or apply should go to the website. Even though the Spouse Career Advancement Account Financial Assistance program has not yet officially launched, you can still go online and enroll.
May 27 2009
I was researching laptops last night and happened to type “military…discount…apple…mac” into the search engine and up popped information on an Apple discount for military and government employees. For some reason in the back of my mind, I was convinced they gave us a 6% percent discount, but happily, I am wrong. The discount is actually up to 17% and if your purchase is over $50, you get free shipping. Not a bad deal considering I have to buy a new laptop anyway. Every little bit helps!
Feb 26 2009
I don’t know how many of you are aware of the efforts of Rebecca Poynter and Joanna Williamson of the Military Spouse Business Association to get legislation passed allowing military spouses to claim a state of domicile much as our active duty service members do right now. I’ve attached the press release from Congressman Carter’s website below. This bill has been introduced before and gotten no traction. Let’s help it along this time by contacting your elected representatives and telling them to sign on to co-sponsor the bill. Click here to utilize our Capwiz program to send your legislators a note and reference H.R. 1182. There isn’t a corresponding number for the Senate version yet, but you can just reference the House version and let your Senators know that you want them to support the Military Spouse Residency Legislation introduced by Senators Burr (R-NC) and Feinstein (D-CA).
Military Spouse Residency Relief Act Introduced in U.S. House and Senate
(WASHINGTON, DC) – The Military Spouse Residency Relief Act was re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives today by Congressman John Carter of Texas, and will be introduced in the Senate by U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA).
Carter was joined in a news conference unveiling the bill in the U.S. Capitol by Rebecca Poynter and Joanna Williamson of the Military Spouse Business Association; Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) President Vice Admiral (RET) Norbert Ryan, USN; representatives of Senators Burr and Feinstein; and military spouses and dependents from as far away as North Carolina.
“We have long supported a service member’s ability to continue voting and paying taxes in one state over the course of a military career as they are transferred around the world on orders,” says Carter, who represents Fort Hood, the U.S. Army’s largest base. “I feel it has been an egregious oversight spanning decades that we have not extended that stability to spouses as well, as they are impacted politically and economically just as much as the service member by these frequent and career-long moves.”
Poynter and Williamson stressed both the monetary cost to spouses in having to change residency status with every move, and the unique ability of military families to work with multiple Members of Congress in order to help promote the issue. “The fact that many couples have different Congressmen and Senators in the same household because of this situation gives us an edge in pushing the issue,” says Poynter.
“Our nation has long recognized the importance of servicemembers’ ability to maintain a domicile for voting and taxes,” says Admiral Ryan. “The service of today’s military spouses is such that they deserve that same opportunity.”
“This bill will give military spouses the ability to keep residency in their home state regardless of where military orders send their family,” Senator Burr wrote in a statement provided for the event. “Our military families are often called on to make frequent relocations, which can be very disruptive to family life, and it is only fair that we give the same residency benefits to spouses as we do to servicemembers.”
Carter, House Republican Conference Secretary, introduced the bill in the House during the last session of Congress. The bill allows a military spouse who moves out of a state with their service member under military orders to have the option to claim the same state of domicile as their active duty spouse, regardless of where they are stationed.
Feb 19 2009
“People are idiots and I can prove it.”
“Figure out what hurts and stop doing it.”
“Stop raising stupid children.”
These are just some of the zingers bellowed out by Larry Winget at yesterday’s Financial Readiness Roadshow. Some of you may have heard of Larry. He’s a motivational speaker and the author of several best-sellers including, “Shut Up, Stop Whining and Get a Life”, “You’re Broke Because You Want to Be” and “It’s Called Work for a Reason.” His straightforward style makes him a media darling (they never know what’s going to come out of his mouth next) – he’s appeared everywhere from FOX, CNN, Larry King Live, CNBC, The Today Show (just to name a few). His own website has this to say, “He is caustic, straight-forward, never minces words, hilarious and offers solid advice for improving your life and your business.” As a military spouse, he’s not the kind of guy I’m used to seeing in a base theater giving a financial presentation! He’s bold, brash and incredibly abbrasive, but wow, we were all riveted as he led over a hundred of us through simple steps to a better financial outlook.
Who among us isn’t looking for more money to fund retirement, savings, children’s college funds, etc….? Fortunately for all of us, the DoD is partnering with installations around the world to put on Financial Readiness Roadshows. These roadshows are a one-day event putting nationally acclaimed speakers in front of military audiences to teach them about every possible aspect of financial literacy. I’m not going to lie to you….9 hours is an awfully long time to be fed information by firehose, but some of it does manage to seep in and stick with you. If you don’t have 9 hours to dedicate, pick and choose the sessions you want to attend. My experience was people came in and out as their schedules permitted.
Yesterday’s event at Andrews AFB consisted of 4 general sessions: John Sileo speaking about Identity Theft: Think Like a Spy….Bulletproofing your Identity, the director of education from Experion speaking about The Truths and Myths of Credit Reports, a Military & Family Life Consultant speaking about Taking Complete Control of Your Finances and finally, Larry Winget. After the last general session, we could choose from a variety of breakout sessions ranging from: strategies for homebuying, foreclusure prevention to retirement savings. I decided to brush up on Financial Planning for Deployment.
All the sessions were fair to excellent and as keynote speakers, John Sileo and Larry Winget were phenomenal. You’re bound to walk away with a lot of information and tools to help with your financial goals. More than that, I’d be surprised if a single person walked out of those sessions yesterday without a plan to change their lives in some way. As Larry Winget said so eloquently, “If you have the information, you’re obligated to do something about it.”
The Military Homefront website lists the schedule of Financial Readiness Roadshows. I’m sure there’s one coming to an installation near you. I encourage you to check it out.
Jan 07 2009
Here’s an interesting op-ed from an Army major about the effects of the housing crisis on active duty military families:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2009/01/housing-and-our.html
Apr 18 2008
Remember the Career Advancement Accounts we spoke about earlier? These are the accounts for military spouses that go toward funding education costs at the rate of $3000 per year, renewal for up to 2 years for a maximum of $6000. It’s a program that has come out of a collaboration between the Department of Defense and the Department of Labor to promote portable career options for military spouses. It’s currently being piloted at 18 demonstration sites in 8 states.
Although a great deal, many of us were very disappointed in that the program was too narrow in its scope. Originally, only spouses married to E-1’s to E-5’s and O-1’s to O-3’s were eligible and you had to be pursuing a course of study in 5 disciplines deemed highly portable. Well, I’m happy to announce that the program has been expanded to include active duty military spouses married to service members of any rank (at the demonstration sites) and they have added several more categories to the areas of study. Check it out.
