The Paycheck Chronicles

Free Museums This Summer

Kate — Wed, 22 May 2013 20:35:15 +0000

Looking for a way to keep the family busy this summer without spending, all your extra cash? Blue Star Museums, which runs 27 May 2013 until 2 September 2013, provides free museum entry to active duty, National Guard and reserve military families. Whoo hoo! Blue Star Museums is a collaboration between Blue Star Families, [...]

31 May 2013 Military Pay

Kate — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:26 +0000

Each year, I see a huge jump in traffic with people wondering if they will get paid before Memorial Day weekend. Unfortunately, the way the calendar works, it rarely happens. This year is not an exception. The next regular, active duty military pay day is Friday, 31 May 2013. Payday is on Friday because the [...]

From The Mailbag: VA Disability and Retirement

Kate — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:48:22 +0000

I regularly receiving letters from family members who are worried about their current or former servicemember. The military is confusing enough if you are in it, and it is more confusing for people who don’t have experience. Today’s letter is fairly typical: Perhaps you can help me. My son spent 6 years in the military [...]

Use A CD Ladder For Emergency Funds

Kate — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:47:17 +0000

One popular strategy for earning higher-than-savings-account interest is a certificate of deposit (CD) ladder. A CD ladder (or laddered CDs) is a way of purchasing multiple smaller CDs rather than one larger CD, staggering the maturation dates. There are two main benefits to laddering your CDs: flexibility and higher interest rates. While you can [...]

Tricare Supplemental Insurance

Kate — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:13:22 +0000

I love Tricare – I think it is great insurance. However, there are times when Tricare doesn’t cover all your costs, expecially if you are a retiree or using Tricare Standard. As a result, several companies and organizations offer Tricare supplemental insurance policies. A Tricare supplemental insurance policy covers some or all of the [...]

Avoid Water Damage

Kate — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:03:30 +0000

Courtesy of our friends at USAA, a great article on avoiding damage caused by water: Water damage can be expensive — not to mention messy. Even a small leak can damage your home, lead to mold and send your water bill skyrocketing. To prevent water damage, follow these tips: Look under sinks for drips or [...]

Learn About Space A Travel

Kate — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:16:06 +0000

Ever wondered how to use the Air Mobility Command‘s Space Available travel program? You’re in luck! Not only is there an entire conference devoted to the topic, but the conference will be streamed live and on demand so you can watch from your location. The event will be held in Jacksonville, Florida from May 18-19 [...]

Consider Travel Insurance

Kate — Sun, 12 May 2013 19:17:14 +0000

Of all the many types of insurance available, one of the most affordable and most overlooked insurances is travel insurance. Per our friends at Wikipedia, “Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, financial default of travel suppliers, and other losses incurred while traveling, either within one’s own country, or internationally.” Fine, but how does travel insurance apply to you, [...]

Navy Federal Military Appreciation Week

Kate — Sat, 11 May 2013 20:56:02 +0000

Each May, Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) has Military Appreciation Week with a wide variety of special offers just for military service members. There are some amazing deals. 4.0% Certificate of Deposit I’ve just opened a special Military Appreciation Week Certificate of Deposit that is paying 4.0% interest. It’s hard to find that kind of [...]

Kate Is Clueless: Post 9/11 GI Bill

Kate — Sat, 11 May 2013 08:19:32 +0000

This week, I had the honor of presenting to delegates at the 2013 AWAG conference in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. One of my classes was on the Post 9/11 GI Bill. There were many great questions, and also many “If xxx, and yyy, and my birthday is on a Thursday” type questions. One thing that is hard [...]