David Blackman

Tax Preparation, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love My Computer

It’s tax time again, which means the countdown to April 15th is on. According to a recent government survey (reported in Forbes magazine), taxpayers will spend a whopping 6.1 billion hours “complying with the tax code.” If you believe the latest census, that’s the equivalent of every man, woman, and...
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Free or Discounted Child Care Agencies for Military Families

According to my father-in-law, Cokes used to cost only a nickel, everybody liked Ike, and the world was a swell place. Childcare was easy to find in this world also, since family was always nearby and you had known the neighbor’s kids their whole lives. Sadly, military people have never...
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Homecoming Tips for Single Service Members

As a single person living in the barracks, you may have new roommates when you return, or you may have someone who has been living in your home or apartment while you were away. Perhaps you moved out prior to deploying and will need to find a new residence when...
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Advance Pay: The Payday Loan That Isn’t

Your PCS orders have finally arrived! Look out! Here comes your “friend” to give you the inside track on how to make a little money at the government’s expense. “Advance pay, man! It’s an interest-free loan from Uncle Sam! Invest it, dude, or get that computer you’ve been looking for. ...
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Field Guide to the Commissary Shopper

According to a recent press release, the Defense Commissary Agency recorded “more than 96 million transactions in fiscal 2011.” As a militaryfamily.com reader, chances are you were at least one of these transactions. But what kind of commissary shopper are you? This handy list can help you decide. The “Speed...
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It’s 11 o’clock, Do You Know Where Your Veteran’s Organization Is?

Veterans are a deserving group. Perhaps I have a bias, as you cannot swing a stick in my family without hitting a veteran (and I am a veteran myself), but I doubt even in the depths of the Liberal Arts department at Brown or Berkeley will you find an American...
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