The Complete Idiot's Guide to Life as a Military Spouse by Lissa McGrath.
I have a certain skepticism regarding the "Complete Idiot's Guide" line, but I decided to put it aside in search of a truly useful book of tips and tricks for the military lifestyle. I'm glad I did! Aside from books specifically targeted toward the training of Special Forces soldier's this is the most useful book I've come across thus far.
McGrath infuses copious amounts of information with light humor and useful tips to make the actual reading of this book enjoyable. The layout of the book into specifically labeled sections and chapters makes it easy to find the information that you are looking for and quickly.
Chapter List
1. Marrying into the Military
2. Understanding Pay and Allowances
3. Benefits for Military Families
4. Military Family Support Services
5. You and Me Plus Baby Makes THree
6. Navigating the Childcare System
7.The Dreaded PCS Move
8. Your New Duty Station
9. Settling in and Getting Connected
10. Moving Overseas
11. Pre-Deployment Planning
12. During the Deployment
13. Post-Deployment
14. What If He's Injured in the Field?
15. What If He Doesn't Come Back?
16. Planning for Retirement...at 37.
The book includes information on gaining US citizenship when marrying into the Military (for those of foreign birth,) how to help children deal with deployment, and making the most of your move.
Most useful to me though, was the information on the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)- an investment option, and what occurs after the death of a soldier. Even though I have no desire to think about it, knowing the procedures and what is available to the grieving family is vital. For example...the Army will cover travel costs for immediate family, the soldier's parents, and your parents to attend the funeral.
McGrath quickly (208 pages) covers many confusing aspects of being a military spouse, along with many of the questions that you either didn't want to or didn't know who to ask questions of. Even though the book is five years old and many of the payment/cost tables are no longer useful, the author does include the website information for more updated spread sheets. This one is definitely worth the time, especially for someone who is new at this! (like me)
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Projects
At the crux of the life of a military wife is finding ways to continually challenge herself and grow in the face of uncertainty. Often times a career seems like a far off dream, and there are times were it isn't even a possibility. So what to do in the meantime? Since Paul left in March I've been working on gaining new skills so that I'm not left stagnant, simply waiting.
Great things to learn:
Great things to learn:
- Dust off the foreign language you worked so hard at in high school, for me, Spanish.
- Learn something fun and (kind of) useful! Pick a lock using a paperclip
- Make an adorable Fox Scarf from Pretty Prudent
- Take up boxing...or just hitting a bag at your gym. I have find the gloriously cathartic benefits of just hitting something.
- Cook one new meal a week: Pad Thai from Brownies for Dinner
- Make something nice for the mom one of the 3,000 babies you see on your facebook news feed. Bibs from Purl Bee
- Take a FREE online course (or a not free one, but free is just wonderful) from Coursera.org
- Get involved with online with forums. They are a great source of information and support! Check out Army Family Information Center and Army Wives Forums
Friday, June 7, 2013
For a long time I've contemplated the blog world and joining it and my resistance came down to one thing: do I really have anything to write that would add value to someone else's life (aside from my friends and family) My answer until now has been no. Then the military happened. As I desperately tried to navigate this new life as an Army Wife, I realized that the information on the 18X program in particular was spread out and hard to find. So I write hoping that as I experience this life wives, girlfriends, mothers and friends of soldiers can get a little insight. Please feel free to add information that I'm lacking.
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