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Whether you’re looking for help finding the best deals at your exchange or commissary, seeking investment information as you prepare for retirement or working to improve your credit, our financial columnists can help. You’ll find their columns here, along with information on military-specific state and federal tax issues.
  • Consumer Watch: Child death puts focus on window-blind cords
    Marine wife Chantal Teraberry never imagined that window blinds would pose a hazard for her child.
  • Consumer watch: Smart Choices Program guides shoppers to healthier products
    Recently you may have seen some products sporting new labels with green check marks in your commissary and other grocery stores. And while it could prove to be a useful tool for those who want to eat...
  • Federal employees get pay supplement when called up
    Rob Sperling earns a healthy salary as acting communications director for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. But, until now, when he was called up to serve his country in the Air...
  • Jobless rules can be vexing
    Navy wife Stephanie Cato found out the hard way that dealing with state unemployment compensation long distance can be frustrating — or worse.
  • COLA won’t go negative as consumer prices fall
    Although the cost of living is falling, paychecks for military and federal civilian retirees won’t get smaller under current federal law.
  • Financial fitness
    ’Tis the season ... to get your personal finances back into fighting shape.
  • Survey: Job search harder for vets
    Job searches that last six months or more are much more common for veterans leaving active duty than for non-veterans who are changing jobs, according to a survey conducted for CareerBuilder.com.
  • Some troops see bump in 2009 clothing allowance
    Service members will see relatively modest changes in their annual clothing allowances to pay for wear and tear on their military uniforms in fiscal 2009.
  • COLA boost higher than pay raise
    With inflation running at a rate of 5.4 percent a year, military retirees and disabled veterans are getting a 5.8 percent pay increase — while active-duty service members and reservists are...
  • Pay and benefits upgrade
    The package of military pay and benefits improvements for 2009 took shape earlier this year with approval of a new and generous GI Bill.
  • Military families can join YMCA for free
    Starting Oct. 1, families who do not live near a military installation will still have access to family programs and support services through a Defense Department initiative with the Armed Services...
  • Phone call provider takes AT&T, AAFES to task
    The executive director of a nonprofit organization honored for its efforts to provide 1 million free minutes of phone calls for troops in the war zone used the ceremony at which he was feted to take...
  • Small COLA hike a surprise to veterans
    A 2.8 percent cost-of-living adjustment in veterans’ disability and survivor pay approved by the Senate just before the summer congressional recess is drawing complaints and head-scratching...
  • Inflation outpacing military pay hike
    A 3.9 percent military pay raise for 2009 seemed generous when lawmakers first proposed it in February, but its luster is dimming as rising inflation threatens to erode service members’...
  • Are service members perceived as a higher foreclosure risk?
    Family advocates are concerned that recent reports about home foreclosure rates in areas with a substantial military presence will hurt service members who try to buy houses this summer.
  • DoD backs automatic TSP signup
    The Pentagon supports proposed changes to the government’s Thrift Savings Plan that would automatically sign up troops and offer an investment option that provides tax-free earnings at...
  • Bills would expand VA home loan offerings, foreclosure protection
    A House subcommittee voted April 23 to update the veterans home loan program to expand availability of government-backed mortgages to service members, cut loan fees and stall foreclosure on mortgages...
  • Lawmakers balk at Tricare fee hikes
    Two key senators said April 16 that they will not go along with Bush administration pleas for dramatic increases in Tricare fees for military retirees, and also will work on providing better health...
  • Commissioner defends proposal for drill duty
    Defense officials reacted angrily when a congressionally appointed commission recommended Jan. 31 that the Pentagon should replace the traditional 48 drills per year for reservists with 24 days of...
  • Go online to get your W-2 faster
    Tax season is just around the corner, and those all-important 2007 W-2 forms will start being mailed to service members in early to mid-January. But here’s a reminder: Those who can access...
  • Group offers free credit scores to troops, families
    Service members and their spouses can now get a free credit score — an analysis of their creditworthiness — as well as a personalized action plan to improve that score.
  • Congress tries to fix GI Bill for reservists
    A bipartisan bill to fix a glitch in GI Bill eligibility that has denied thousands of National Guard and reserve members the right to bigger education benefits has run into an unexpected hurdle...
  • Some charities choose to it alone in the CFC
    Among the 278 new national and international charities that have made it through the Combined Federal Campaign’s vetting process this year are USA Cares, a Radcliff, Ky.-based charity that has...
  • Law restricts family loan options
    Some military personnel and their families will find that certain loans are no longer available to them Oct. 1, as payday loan companies and other lenders consider their options in preparing for a...
  • Officials: Scheme may have cost troops $50M
    State and federal agencies are investigating an allegedly fraudulent investment scheme targeting service members that apparently has spread to 23 states — and to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan,...
  • Sending mail to troops gets more costly
    The cost of postage stamps may have increased by two cents, or 5 percent, but rates for packages have gone up a lot more in some cases, say those who support the troops.
  • TSP funds unfazed by teetering stock market
    By July, the collapse of the subprime mortgage market was throwing investors around the world into a crisis.
  • National and international charities new to the CFC
    The following charities have become part of the Combined Federal Campaign.

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Savvy Investor


Consumer Watch


Tax Center


  • Lawmakers consider military tax breaks
    Army National Guard Maj. Alan Johnson, 44, was killed Jan. 26, leaving behind his wife, Victoria, and a 15-year career as a Yakima County, Wash., corrections officer.
  • Don’t forget to ask for your phone tax refund
    Taxpayers have already received almost $87 billion in income tax refunds this year, but many are neglecting to ask for a modest refund from a now defunct
  • Navigate your state (N – Z)
    Below is a state-by-state guide with general information on filing your state income tax return for 2006. For more information, see the Web sites or call the phone numbers listed for each state.
  • 7 credits all troops should know
    There are a number of credits that can make a nice dent in the amount of taxes payable, from the Earned Income Credit to credits for children and education-related expenses.
  • Road to a big refund
    Good intelligence is essential to success in combat — and tax season is no different.
  • Essential intel: Links to military tax info
    One of the most critical documents you need at tax time is your W2 form, which you include with your tax documents when you file. Like Leave and Earnings Statements, service members’ W2 forms...
  • Withholdings and taxes: What you need to know
    The following are details on common withholdings and tax issues for service members.
  • Taxpayers have until April 17 to file, pay
    Taxpayers around the country will get an extra two days, until April 17, to file 2006 returns and pay taxes owed, the Internal Revenue Service said.
  • Navigate your state (A – H)
    Below is a state-by-state guide with general information on filing your state income tax return for 2006. For more information, see the Web sites or call the phone numbers listed for each state.
  • Navigate your state (I – M)
    Below is a state-by-state guide with general information on filing your state income tax return for 2006. For more information, see the Web sites or call the phone numbers listed for each state.

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