Being a military wife or mom
can be stressful enough without having to worry about money, but many
do. There are lots of little tricks and tips that military families can
take advantage of to help stretch their hard-earned dollars. Here are a
just a few.
Take Advantage of
Discounts Many retail stores, restaurants, and recreation facilities offer
discounts to military families. Getting your discount is as simple
remembering to ask. Some of the retailers include Foot Locker,
Sears Portrait Studio, and many more. For a partial list, visit:
http://img.military.com/misc/DC/DealIndex.jsp
Commissaries/PX
One of the great advantages of being a military family is shopping at
the PX (post exchange) and commissary (grocery store). Both of these are
tax free, and are offered only to those with valid military ID.
Since the commissary is set up as a benefit to military families, not a
business, they sell at cost. Instead of having the loss leaders, their
price benefit is everyday low prices. The commissary will also price
match, so don’t forget your sales fliers from other stores when you go.
Check out their website,
www.commissaries.com, for notice on when the sales are.
If sale items are sold out at either
the commissary or PX, be sure to ask for a rain check. Even with a rain
check you're not obligated to buy, but you'll have the option of purchasing it
later at the sale price. And, if anything goes on sale at the PX within 30
days of when you buy it, you’re entitled to a price adjustment. Just be sure to
save your receipts.
Don’t forget your coupons! However, if you do, many commissaries have coupons
bins for their customers to peruse. And, for military families overseas, coupons
may be used up to six months past their expiration date.
"Buy bottles, nipples, baby
bowls or pacifiers at the commissary rather than the PX or any other
store. They are usually a dollar to two dollars cheaper then use a
coupon from the manufacturer to save even more money off." -- Genette,
27, from Ohio
Most commissaries have clearance racks
which are worth checking out. You’ll find slightly dinged and dented
cans, boxes or cereal or other items at deep discounts. Sonya, 35,
from Colorado says, "The PX sales racks are amazing. They usually carry
name brand clothes and at the end of each season mark them 75% off on
top of the no tax rule this is a huge deal!"
Know when to shop. If you visit
the commissary a day after it has been closed, you’ll almost always find
meat that has been marked down for quick sale. Some moms even report
finding ground beef for as little as $.70 per pound!
"Whenever I go to the
Military Pharmacy on base, I usually ask the pharmacist or the tech
filling the prescription for the FREE "Over the Counter" list. They have
generic bacitracin, cough syrup, antihistamines, children's pain
reliever, cough drops etc. This is a great savings!" -- Kim, 35, from VA
Deployment
Lighten your load by eating out if you can. Check out which restaurants in your
area have “Kids Eat Free” nights. Visit the
Mommysavers
Eating Out Tips page for a partial listing of restaurants.
Ship care packages together.
Find other families sending packages, too, to save the cost (not to
mention the time and energy) of shipping a package.
Also, reduce the auto insurance premium on a second vehicle while spouse
is deployed (often called dormant coverage). Lisa, 35, from Kansas
writes, “This saves hundreds of dollars a year. You keep all the same
deductibles/coverage, but because there is a huge reduction in the
amount the vehicle is driven (a few miles a week just to keep the
battery charged), our insurance premium was significantly reduced.”
Don't be afraid to ask for help with
child care. Trade babysitting hours with other moms, or find a babysitter
in your area. Follow this link to
check out the
Mommysavers Babysitter Finder,
plus search for qualified babysitters in your area
"For military spouses - save
your sanity: say no to any requests for your time. Your kids will need
more since dad is gone plus you are doing his and your chores so you
won't have any free time. At first it was hard to say "No, I can't. My
husband is currently deployed". But soon it got easier and later on, I
was so glad I had. This is not the time to volunteer for any more than
you already do." -- June, 40, from WA
Get together with other wives in your battalion and to trade off dinners at
other families’ houses. The kids will entertain each other, giving you a
much-needed break and some adult conversation. Beth, 33, of Camp
Pendleton, CA writes, “My friend and I would trade off at least once a week our
last deployment. We learned a lot of new recipes that are unique to our home
states - my friend learned about Skyline Chili from my hometown of Cincinnati,
and I learned about "country fried steak" from Colorado.”
When your military spouse is overseas
they may get extra pay. Use that money to make an extra payment on your
home or car loan, or pay off any outstanding debts. Or, tuck it away in a
savings or retirement account not to be touched.
"If you are a military mom
trying to pass a home inspection, here are two ideas that have always
helped me. Use furniture polish on your bathtub and sink and bathroom
tiles to keep them clean while you prepare to pack or be packed. You
have enough to do. The polish keeps the tub from getting dirty quickly.
It also prevents water marks and soap scum form building up and
lengthens the time needed in between cleanings. Also, if you are not
issued patching plaster to cover all the nails holes in your walls, you
can do that with just some plain white non-gel toothpaste. When it
dries, you can't tell the nail was ever there and, as they say, "it's
good enough for government work." -- Sharon J., 39, from KS
