Alright, folks! Here is my shockingly long guide to packing up your house and life for a Permanent Change of Station (PCS) move! If you just don’t have time to deal with this much information right now, at least read Three Things To Buy Before Your Next Move. Introduction Moving is always an adventure. Whether… | Read More…
Travel Allowances for Military PCS Moves
The travel allowances for a PCS move are confusing. In addition to your household goods, you also get a temporary lodging allowance and also allowances for the days of actual travel. There are two parts to the travel allowance: MALT and Per Diem. Both MALT and Per Diem are authorized for regular PCS moves, retirement… | Read More…
Military Spouse Professional Gear Allowance
If you’re a military spouse, you may be eligible for your own military spouse professional gear allowance when you move. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there aren’t a lot of things that qualify. In particular, technology items are no longer considered pro-gear, even though they used to be. The weight of… | Read More…
Are You Ready To Be A Landlord? 5 Questions To Ask
You’re moving, and you’re trying to decide what to do with your house. Should you sell it, or should you rent it out? In the military, we face this decision more than most folks. Any military family who buys a house needs to be thinking about the all-important question, “Am I ready to be a… | Read More…
Keeping Your Pantry PCS-Ready All Year Long
or Like many military families, my family has a pre-moving tradition of figuring out how to eat all the food that has accumulated in our freezer, refrigerator and pantry. After over two decades of doing this, I think I’ve finally got the process down. Better yet, I’ve figured out how to make this part of… | Read More…
Everything About Military Moving Inconvenience Claims
Moving has challenges. (If that isn’t the biggest understatement ever.) And just when you think that you’re past the hard part, sometimes your stuff gets delayed. Maybe there was a problem at the warehouse, or your truck driver quit, or the ship broke. But to you, the reason doesn’t really matter, because you just need… | Read More…
Eleven Real Estate Lessons I Learned as an Accidental Landlord
This is the story of my first house, which my wife and I bought in our twenties. Things worked out in the end, but there are some lessons that we learned that I would like to share with our military audience. You might find great success in your real estate transactions (although the successful people… | Read More…
The Ultimate PCS Guide to Your Best Household Goods Delivery Ever
I’ve had lots of positive feedback to The Ultimate PCS Guide to Packing Out, and a request for a similar piece talking about household goods delivery. Thankfully, this one won’t be quite as long! Generally speaking, a regular delivery of household goods will take less than a single day. A little preparation before the delivery arrives will… | Read More…
The Math of Buying and Selling Houses, Military-Style
The topic of home ownership for military families is a hot one. I absolutely agree that there are many reasons that a military family may want to buy a house: the pleasure of being able to do whatever you want to the house, the guarantee that you won’t have to move mid-tour, the difficulty in… | Read More…
What Military Moving Expenses are Tax-Deductible?
PCS moves are expensive. Even with all the allowances, you’ll sometimes have some out-of-pocket expenses, especially if you have pets. Thankfully, unreimbursed moving expenses can be deducted from your income taxes, and they’re a most valuable type of deduction. Disclaimer: No article can address every specific tax situation. Do not make any decisions based solely… | Read More…