Books
A Mom's Guide to Family Finances 



Author: Ellie Kay, Copyright @ 2006
Many parents dream of the day when their credit card bills are paid off, when they have a savings account and an IRA, or when they can take a once-in-a--lifetime family vacation. But many of them have no idea how to make those dreams come true. Writing with her entertaining signature style, Ellie Kay shows readers how to manage money to meet their goals. She offers practical strategies for saving money, making and sticking to a budget, and weathering financial setbacks. No matter what their family's financial background looks like, readers will find a useful tip or two in this easy-to-use book from America's Family Financial Expert™.
A Tip a Day with Ellie Kay
12 months' worth of money-saving ideas
Author: Ellie Kay, Copyright @ 2008
Save money every day! With a tip a day from America's Family Financial Expert readers reap practical money-saving tips that can be implemented right now! This purse-sized guide shows families how to save money on everything from groceries to vacations, life insurance to investments, and clothing to housing. Ellie understands the need to save - she is the mom of seven and has lived to tell about it! Easy-to-follow tips are divided into need areas. A coupon in the back of the book gets the reader jump-started.
Half-Price Living
Secrets to living well on one income
Author: Ellie Kay, Copyright @ 2007
Ellie Kay, America’s Family Financial Expert ®, will show you how to cut your stress in half – and that’s just a side benefit! With the wit and wisdom of someone who has lived the ½-price lifestyle, Ellie empowers you to cut the cord to a second income.
This easy-to-read guide gives practical steps, creative suggestions, and valuable resources to help you and your family:
- Cut your food bill in half!
- Cut your vacation expense in half!
- Cut your clothing costs in half!
- Cut your debt in half – and out!
- Cut your housing expenses in half!
Heroes at Home
Help and hope for America's military families
Author: Ellie Kay, Copyright @ 2008
Military families, whether active duty, reserve, or National Guard, have a champion in Ellie Kay. In this revised edition of Heroes at Home she continues to inspire and encourage the families left behind during dangerous missions, long hours, and even longer deployments. Always practical, Ellie helps those serving their country stretch a dollar, keep in touch over long distances, prepare for separations, and so much more.
Ellie and her Air Force pilot husband have raised a large family while weathering the many moves and deployments that military families experience. Her insights are valuable for Reserve and National Guard families as well as full-time active duty military personnel and their families.
Living Rich for Less
Create the lifestyle you want by giving, saving, and spending smart
Author: Ellie Kay, Copyright @ 2008
So you want to own the home you love, make memories on wonderful vacations with family or friends, finance college educations, and help others too? You can--starting here and now.
With lively humor, proven know-how, and practical principles for financial health, Living Rich for Less helps you stretch your dollars to realize the lifestyle of your dreams. Ellie Kay’s entertaining and enlightening examples show you simple steps to save, spend, and give smart, and her three main principles are undergirded by dozens of effective rules and hundreds of Cha-Ching Factor™ tips that keep or put money in your pocket.
On the Frontline
A personal guidebook for the physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges of military life
Author: Tom Neven, Copyright @ 2006
The struggles and temptations our service men and women encounter are unique and beyond what civilians might ever face. Written from someone who's been there, this book addresses head-on the issues prevalent in military life: loneliness, fidelity, debt, fear and much more. It's a must-read handbook with uncompromising biblical guidance that will encourage and inspire both men and women in military service.
Operation Enduring Finance
A servicemember's guide to credit repair
Author: Roger Lang, Copyright @ 2010
This book was designed with military members in mind--to protect the credit and finances of those who, in turn, so valiantly protect the world from terrorism.
As a battalion chaplain, former debt litigator Roger Lang saw too many fellow service members struggling beneath sizable financial burdens due to credit blemishes. These credit dings, which result in raised interest rates, often make mortgages, car loans, and other bills more difficult to manage. People in uniform, who serve our country with the most dedication, are the hardest hit.
The Little Book of Big Savings
351 practical ways to save money now
Author: Ellie Kay, Copyright @ 2009
Every month you spend money in twelve major categories. And at the end of each month, you scratch your head and wonder, Where did it all go?
In The Little Book of Big Savings, America’s Financial Expert,® Ellie Kay, will help you uncover the extra cash just waiting to be found in every area of your life. Not only will you never again wonder where your cash went, you will have extra to save–and even to share.
Don’t mindlessly let hundreds of dollars slip out of your ATM every month. Ellie’s practical advice will show you:
- How one phone call could save you $500 a year or more
- How your kids can get a great education without breaking the bank
- Three ways your water heater can save you money
- Why giving away money is one of the best ways to save it
- How to save up to 50% on your online purchases
Plus hundreds of other tips that will loosen your budget without sacrificing your lifestyle. Soon you’ll find what you want the most when it comes to your finances: peace of mind.
The Thinking Spouse's Guide to Military Life
Author: Janine Boldrin, Copyright @ 2012
Moves, deployments, and budget cuts all threaten the financial security of today's military families. To meet these challenges, all military spouses should have a solid understanding of how their military life impacts their big purchases.
The Thinking Spouse’s Guide to Military Life, a 50 page mini-guide, will help military spouses when making buying decisions for their family.
This ebook will show you how to account for your military lifestyle when buying a home, car, home furnishings, and pets so you can avoid the common mistakes others make. You will also discover discounts, programs, and resources for your family.
Learn today what many military families only find out about after financial heartache. The Thinking Spouse's Guide to Military Life will help you make buying decisions that stand up to the changes military life can bring.
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Financial Assistance- American Military Family
Provides assistance to families in financial crisis.
After Deployment
Education and tools to help military families and veterans develop and maintain good financial health.
Bankrate.com
Bankrate, Inc. is the Web's leading aggregator of financial rate information, offering an unparalleled depth and breadth of rate data and financial content. Bankrate continually surveys approximately 4,800 financial institutions in all 50 states in order to provide clear, objective, and unbiased rates to consumers. Our flagship Web site, Bankrate.com, provides free rate information to consumers on more than 300 financial products, including mortgages, credit cards, new and used automobile loans, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, checking and ATM fees, home equity loans and online banking fees.
In addition to rate data, we publish original and objective personal finance stories to help consumers make informed financial decisions. Our staff of award winning reporters and editors provides expert advice on just about every major financial decision facing our readers: from purchasing their first home, to selecting a new car, to saving for retirement.
Bonds of Courage
Managing your finances is as necessary for building a good life as keeping a healthy body, a clear head, and decent relationships. You might want to learn how to build a budget. Maybe you have combat pay savings that you want to manage wisely. As you rebuild your civilian career, you may be managing pay check-to-pay check, for now. Maybe you’re trying to decide whether to buy a new car or a used one.
Bonds of Courage has professionals in the world of finance to provide information and guidance to help you and your family to handle your money wisely. Contact us on 908-273-4122 or at info@bondsofcourage.org for more information.
Crown Financial Ministries
Our mission: equipping people worldwide to learn, apply, and teach God’s financial principles so they may know Christ more intimately, be free to serve Him, and help fund the Great Commission.
Crown Financial Ministries®, founded in 1976, is an interdenominational ministry dedicated to equipping people around the world to learn, apply, and teach biblical financial principles. Crown has taught or equipped more than 50 million people in over 80 nations with the life-transforming message of faithfully living by God's financial principles in every area of their lives. Our vision is to see the followers of Christ in every nation faithfully living by God’s financial principles in every area of their lives.
Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace - Military Edition
Financial Peace University (FPU) is an intensive personal finance course that helps servicemembers strategically and effectively remove debt and build wealth. In a small-group format, this 13-lesson DVD course — taught by personal finance expert Dave Ramsey — covers everything from budgeting and paying off debt to retirement and charitable giving.
FPU equips military personnel with the security and protection of a sound financial plan during times of activation, deployment, TDY or PCS. When servicemembers aren't preoccupied with mounting financial stress back home, they are free to focus on their duty and their unit's mission with peace-of-mind.
The average family unit (single military member or married couple) pays off $5,300 in consumer debt and puts $2,700 into savings during the 91 day training!
FPU classes have been held on many installations in the US and around the world since 2001.
Defense Finance and Accounting Service
Military pay, civilian pay, retired pay, travel pay, etc.
Military Finance Network
This website is designed to help military members, veterans, retirees, and dependants find information about military money matters including pay, benefits, legislation and more.
Military and Money
For members of the military and their families, the challenges of juggling deployments, frequent moves and the basics of every day life can put a strain on their finances. That’s why McGraw-Hill and the Better Business Bureau have teamed up to produce this website and a free app, Military & Money, which features educational resources and tools to help users make informed decisions about money.
Because military service men and women and their families are busy, they need information that is available anytime, anywhere. The app, available free in the iTunes store, offers instructional videos and calculators to help reduce debt, increasing savings and build budgets while on the go.
Military Money
The lifestyle of the military family can prove both challenging and rewarding – especially to the family finances. Saving, investing and budgeting on a military income can require special considerations, skills and planning.
Frequent moves... career changes for the spouse... new schools for the kids... Let's face it: Simply raising a family within the ranks of the military can pose unique obstacles.
InCharge® Education Foundation developed Military Money® to provide an authoritative financial resource for military families and help ensure the fighting readiness of America’s armed forces by enhancing their financial readiness to make informed decisions in their everyday lives.
The magazine and its companion website, www.militarymoney.com, explore such personal finance issues as money management, home and family life for military families, education and career advice, deployment and relocation, and transitioning to the civilian world.
Created as part of the U.S. Department of Defense's "Financial Readiness Campaign" with the support of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, Military Money magazine reaches an estimated 500,000 readers each quarter through distribution at military bases around the world. Additionally, Military Money Minute radio broadcasts are heard daily on American Forces Radio Network and the U.S. Army’s Soldiers Radio and Television Network.
Military Money Matters
Military-Money-Matters.com is a strong advocate for America's military families. We believe helping them achieve financial freedom is one way we can express our gratitude for their service.
Our mission is to provide America's military families with reliable, accurate information to help them achieve financial freedom and quality of life on their military paychecks. We can't pay them enough for their service to our nation.
Military-Money-Matters.com is your guide to money management and financial freedom for America's military families. Written by a former Navy JAG and Navy spouse who understands the challenges faced by military families.
Military Saves
Military Saves is a social marketing campaign to persuade, motivate, and encourage military families to save money every month, and to convince leaders and organizations to be aggressive in promoting automatic savings. The campaign is a growing network of organizations and individuals committed to helping and supporting military members and their loved ones build personal savings arsenals to provide for their immediate and long term financial needs.
Military Saves was developed and tested by its non-profit sponsor, Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the military services from 2003 to 2006 and launched throughout the Department of Defense (DoD) on February 25, 2007. It is part of two larger campaigns -- the DoD Financial Readiness Campaign, and the national America Saves campaign.
While it is an ongoing campaign, the entire military community comes together to focus on financial readiness during Military Saves Week, the last Sunday in February to the first Sunday in March.
Money Guide for the Military Family - Kiplinger
The financial strategies, rules and resources for military families are often very different from those for civilians.
Paycheck Chronicles - www.military.com
Welcome to Military.com's finance channel blog, hosted by military spouse and finance writer Kate Kashman. The military money experience is unique and challenging. The Paycheck Chronicles is here to help with daily tips on the special financial situations of military servicemembers and their families
Got a question or advice based on a real world money experience? Click on the "Tell Kate" link to the right and let us know about it.
The Military Wallet
The Military Wallet is a personal finance website for military members, veterans and their families. Our goal is to help the military community better how to better manage money and understand the variety of programs and benefits available to them.
Thrift Savings Plan
The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is a retirement savings and investment plan for Federal employees and members of the uniformed services, including the Ready Reserve. It was established by Congress in the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986 and offers the same types of savings and tax benefits that many private corporations offer their employees under 401(k) plans.
The TSP is a defined contribution plan, meaning that the retirement income you receive from your TSP account will depend on how much you (and your agency, if you are eligible to receive agency contributions) put into your account during your working years and the earnings accumulated over that time.
Veterans Plus
Our mission is to teach service members, veterans and their families the skills necessary to better manage their finances, get control of their debt and learn how to save and invest for their futures and for their children's futures. Whether you are presently deployed overseas or completed your service many years ago, VeteransPlus is available to help you manage your financial life. Most of our team members are veterans themselves and all of them are trained to be sensitive to the issues that affect veterans, deployed military personnel and their families.
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Military consumer awareness
Annual Credit Report
This central site allows you to request a free credit file disclosure, commonly called a credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site to help consumers to obtain their free credit report.
Better Business Bureau Military Line
Since 2004, BBB Military Line has provided free resources to our military communities in the areas of financial literacy and consumer protection through the efforts of 116 BBBs across the U.S.
The five main components of the program are:
- Education - Many Local BBBs on and around military installations teach financial readiness classes to service members.
- Outreach - We attend and support community fairs, conferences and other events, speaking with service members and distributing information.
- Information - Our website provides a one stop shop for articles, links and consumer alerts for each branch of service. Check out our resources page for free consumer guides written just for military members and find us on Facebook and Twitter.
- Data Collection - We analyze BBB data to help identify the threats and needs of our military community in the marketplace.
- Complaint and Dispute Resolution - Filing a complaint with BBB helps military consumers resolve disputes and alert us to issues affecting the military community at large.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Servicemembers should be able to accomplish their mission without worrying about illegal or harmful financial practices. The Office of Servicemember Affairs is here to ensure that military personnel and their families have a voice at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Military life can have some extra challenges that can sometimes have powerful financial repercussions.
How to create a strong password (and remember it)
You can create strong passwords that don’t make you memorize a cryptic string of letters, numbers, and punctuation symbols.
Military Sentinel
Welcome to Consumer Sentinel/Military, part of the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database of millions of consumer complaints, operated by the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC, the nation’s consumer protection agency, collects complaints from the military community and makes them available only to law enforcement -- civil, criminal, and military.Whether your complaint concerns identity theft, deceptive lending or mortgage practices, debt collection, phone fraud, or some other scam, your complaints help the FTC and the Department of Defense identify and target problems that affect you in the marketplace.
The FTC doesn't resolve individual disputes, but your complaint helps us and our partners target cases for prosecution, shut down scammers, spot patterns of fraud before they become widespread, and alert the military community to scams.