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Sunday, February 28, 2010

HOPE Scholarship for Georgia Military

Just found this out:

"For anyone stationed in GEORGIA...check out the Early HOPE Scholarship. The state legislature has expanded the program to include military (AC, AGR, RC, and NG). If your child is presently attending or will be attending a "poor performing" school, you would be eligible for a voucher ($5k-$9K per child per year) to send your child to private school."

http://www.educatedgeorgia.org/foradvocates-q10167-c1-What_is_the_Early_HOPE_Scholarship_Program.aspx

What should do if the check engine light comes on?

So how many of you have been in this situation: You are driving along, picking up the kids or some other important errand, and your husband is deployed. All of a sudden the check engine light comes on. You call the dealership, they tell you to take the vehicle in then you pay close to $2,000.

I personally feel taken advantage of as a woman with little mechanical knowledge. The Dealership could lie through their teeth about what needs repairing. Even if they do need to fix something it is still going to cost an arm and a leg because of labor costs.

Well, there is something you can do! When ever your check engine light comes on go to Auto Zone, or a similar store, and have them check the code. This code will tell you exactly what is wrong, decoding the problem.

This will save you thousands of dollars in the long run and save some serious headache!

http://steve-olson.com/what-to-do-when-your-vehicle-check-engine-light-turns-on-and-the-warranty-has-expired/

Saturday, February 27, 2010

MyCAA is shutdown! Where is all the money going?

You know, I always try to be positive. I am a pretty upbeat, albeit sarcastic, person. But I am starting to get pretty freakin' pissed.

First, Education Centers close.

Second, Congress takes forever to approve the Defense Budget.

Third, though the Defense Budget is the largest in recent history, not much of the money is going to the Military. Most of the money is earmarked for special projects. Thanks Congress!

Forth, Our COLA is cut. We are living in Chicago. With a 11.25% tax rate. No Commissary. Now, what makes me so furious is if you are living somewhere and they lower your BAH rate, it's alright. You get to keep your original rate. Not with COLA! (Cost Of Living Allowance). And they didn't just take away twenty bucks or so... NO! They cut it in half. IN HALF! Guess we aren't eating beef for awhile.

Fifth, Now MyCAA is shut down. This is a program for Spouses to go to school to have a career that can move with their Soldier. It is very difficult to live on a single income nowadays. No explanation why MyCAA was shut down... Not much information going out... Such crap.
Here are a few links about MyCAA shutting down:
http://marnemessages.blogspot.com/2010/02/dod-halts-mycaa-program-unclassified.html
http://military-education.military.com/2010/02/new-faqs-for-halted-mycaa-program/
So many Spouses are now scrambling to pay for their classes that they assumed were covered.

I am very frustrated at, what I feel, is a complete lack of support from Congress. They are really sticking it to us this year. Guess who I'm not voting for in 2010!

New wives and Identification Cards

The Military ID. When you have one with the worst picture even, your features blurred from the awful government lighting, your Social Security Number for everyone to see.... It is the right of initiation for Military Spouses.

But for those wives with their Soldiers as they go through the grooling enlistment process, where do they go? For some, the closest Military Installation (Post for the Army, Base for Navy and Marines) is over a 100 miles away. Especially when you have kids, where can you go?

The good news is a lot of Reserve Stations offer ID Services. You simply look up the closest one, call and see if they do offer ID Services or, if they don't, the closest one that does.

You can also ask your Recruiter.

Bet you never thought a white-washed photo would look so good, huh?

Where should I go?

So I have no idea what I should do with this blog... Where should I go with it? Should I allow my personal opinions into my posts? Should I write about my daily life and struggles not just as an Army Wife but as a Wife and Mother?

I think I am going to allow my personality to shine through this blog... and write about not just the technical know-how of Army stuff, but about me. My life.

Hopefully, it becomes more entertaining to read!