KateHorrell

Helping Military Families Make The Most of Their Money

The Ultimate PCS Checklist For An Organized Move, with Printables!


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

 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


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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 post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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?


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

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…

Affiliate Disclosure

This site does contain advertising and affiliate links. If you click on an advertisement or link, I may be compensated. I only promote companies that I love and trust. Kings High Media/KateHorrell.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Disclaimer

Kate does not represent the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any government agency. This blog is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes only. The content on this site should not be considered professional financial or legal advice. I may receive compensation through affiliate or advertising relationships from products mentioned on this site. All reviews on this site represent the personal opinions of the author. All references to third party products, rates, and offers may change without notice.