Archive for the ‘Home & Finances’ Category
Important Financial Links for Active Duty Personnel, Veterans, and Their Families
This Department of Defense website enables you to determine what your Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) will be using your rank and zip code that you will be living in:
http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/perdiem/perdiemrates.html
This link will help you learn about your eligibility and rules to qualify for a VA home loan: www.homeloans.va.gov
Armed Forces Legal Assistance Website. This website will provide you with information about your legal rights during your deployment. (For example, you may be eligible to terminate your car lease without any early termination fee if you are deployed for 180 days or longer.) http://legalassistance.law.af.mil/
This Department of Defense website explains the benefits and reasources that are available to military families: www.militaryhomefront.dod.mil
Click on this link and then search, “Savings Deposit Program.” You will learn about on a guaranteed interest of 10% on deposits up to $10,000 while you are deployed overseas. www.dfas.mil/militarypay.html
Lean about Servicemember’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI) that is available to you through the Departmentof Veteran’s Affairs. This is an incredibly low-cost life insurance that will cover an insured while one is in a war zone or even traveling overseas. You are only eligible for this while serving in the military. www.insurance.va.gov/sgliSite/default.htm
This official site of the Department of Defense helps with information regarding transition assistance. You can search job listings, learn about benefits information and compensation and resources for seriously injured veterans. www.turbotap.org
This site offers several great resources about ways to access free credit reports, tips on improving your credit score and suggestions on how to guard your personal information from identify theft. http://www.ftc.gov/credit
Federal Thrift Savings Plan has this official site to give you information about how to enroll in a 401K like retirement plan that military members are eligible for. You can learn how to enroll, about investment options and other financial information. www.tsp.gov
Fantastic links for bugeting and financial management-ideas and tools
For a great, free budgeting system and debt reduction tool/planner check out: www.powerpay.org
Check your credit report at least once per year, ideally three times per year. You get a free report yearly from each of the three credit reporting agencies. Check out: www.annualcreditreport.com
Women’s Institute for Financial Education is a great site that has useful information for both men and women. It has financial education, articles and calculators. Check out: www.wife.org
Learn about almost any financial topic from this site. You will also find find financial materials for children ans some on-line financial games. Check out: www.practicalmoneyskills.com
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. This is a great site for learning about different investments and checking the background of a particular Investment Company, Financial Advisor or Broker. Check out: www.finra.org
Search for information and independent research on stocks bonds and mutual funds. Check out: www.morningstar.com
Find financial resources, tools and articles at the Financial Planning Association. Check out: www.fpaforfinancialplanning.org
At the National Foundation fro Credit Counseling you can find information about credit issues and budgeting as well as tools and atricles about credit. You can also find certified consumer and/or housing counselors at this site. Check out: www.nfcc.org
A tax withholding calculator at: www.irs.gov