Military families are also often dedicated volunteers, sometimes to several organizations.

Tax return time is a chance to recoup some of the money we spend to help our communities.

Sure you get a warm and fuzzy feeling for helping out. You make new friends. You learn new skills. And, if you keep your records correctly, you can use the money you spend to volunteer as a deduction on your annual tax form.

Just to be clear, there are rules. Lots of them. The IRS has a form that tells you what charitable organizations qualify, what types of contributions you can deduct, how much you can deduct, how to track your donations and how to report them on your IRS forms.

The IRS details this in a handy publication you can find here:

https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-publication-526

And it is important to note that not all charities are recognized by the IRS. So, before you donate several thousand to a local needy food bank or school group, check the IRS list first to make sure you can deduct part of that money. You can find a list of eligible charities here:

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/exempt-organizations-select-check     

Basic IRS rules give three types of contributions that can be deducted: cash or check donations; property donations and out of pocket expenses you pay to do volunteer work. This last category is the most nebulous.

Dues and fees you pay to join a volunteer organization  cannot be deducted, neither can items that that organization reimburses you for. There is also a clause for “gifts from which you receive benefit.” Basically, if you are enjoying the experience or using a volunteer trip as a partial vacation, you need to be very careful with your deductions.

For example, to deduct a trip with a scout troop to a local attraction, while you may not be able to deduct the ticket to the attraction, since you were there enjoying yourself, you probably can deduct the mileage you logged ferrying yourself and a car full of scouts.

To deduct mileage, you must keep track of the date, where you traveled to and from, and the exact mileage of each trip. You can be reimbursed for the actual cost of the gas and oil or be paid 14 cents per mile, but not both.

Not to mention, there are very specific rules set forth by the IRS for deducting gifts you make of $250 or more.

The best way to deduct your volunteer expenses? Keep all receipts. Log your miles in a book or excel spreadsheet and consult a tax professional.  

Do you enjoy online shopping?

If so, Blue Star Families has a new perk just for you.

This month the military family support organization launched a new, members-only, online shopping platform.  Blue Star Deals is open only to military members, their spouses and children. The site requires only a name and email address for registration.

Tabs in the online portal divide shopping into wellness, financial, travel, hotels, car rentals, tickets, electronics and other general categories.

Unlike shopping at AAFES.com or Amazon where you search by product, here you search by vendor. For example, the electronics tab offers four links: hp, Dell, extended service plans and EZ Pay. The individual tabs indicate the percentage off sticker price you can expect to receive.

Some of the links take you to other discount sites, such as priceline.com.  Savvy online shoppers will easily be able to pick out what deals here are similar, or the same as they would be if you simply visited another site, such as priceline.com.

And, with many military family sites such as AAFES and USAA already offering discounts to partner sites, some of the offers here look and feel similar.

However, there are some gems hidden in the tabs.

A 10-month magazine subscription can be had for $2. There are discounts here for pet insurance plans. If you PCS with Fido, you know that is worth its weight in gold. There is a grocery coupon section with decent $1 and $2 off coupons for stuff you actually use like toothpaste and Ziploc bags. There are also discounts for financial services such as LifeLock and legalzoom.com

The field to deliver discounted services to military families is crowded. And not all the deals are worth the paper you print them on. But Blue Star Families’ new Blue Star Deals page is worth checking out.

Visit it at: https://bluestarfam.org/bluestardeals/

By Amy Nielsen

Practice versus habit. That is the topic today. I recently started a yoga practice. I am also trying to stop the habit of smoking. Why is one called a practice and one called a habit? Why does one have a positive connotation and one negative? Can I change my habit with a different intention, a different word? Can I practice stopping smoking? Should yoga become a habit?

In exploring words lately, I realize that the intention behind the word is the key. So I went to look at the definition of practice and habit.

Prac·tice - noun - 1. The actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to theories about such application or use. Synonyms: application, exercise, use, operation, implementation, execution. 2. Repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it. Synonyms: training, rehearsal, repetition, preparation. Verb - 1. Perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency. Synonyms: rehearse, run through, go over/through, work on/at. 2. Carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly. Synonyms: carry out, perform, observe

Hab·it  - noun - 1. A settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up. Synonyms: custom, practice, routine, wont, pattern, convention, way, norm, tradition, matter of course, rule, usage. 2. A long, loose garment worn by a member of a religious order or congregation. Verb – archaic - 1. Dress; clothe.

Let’s look at the synonyms for each word, those for practice are movement oriented, those for habit are more static. Exercise, use, training, repetition, perform versus custom, pattern, tradition. As I think about how to actually go about doing either thing, breaking a habit or starting a practice, it occurs to me that no matter which I choose I still have to do it every day for it to move me forward along the path I want to go down.

What on earth does this have to do with starting a business you might ask? Almost everything.

How you think about starting your business will determine if it will succeed or fail. If you think about your business as a habit, you will eventually lose love for it and learn to resent its hold on you. If you think of your business as a practice you will actively work at it every day and it will become vibrant and dynamic and changing and exciting always.

What habits do you have now that you need to rework into practices to get yourself unstuck? Not to practice in the future, but to practice right now. You know those memes that say, “The zombie apocalypse is here, your only weapon is the thing to your right! How screwed are you?” Yes, do that right now with a habit. In order to succeed, you have to take that thing - that one habit - learn everything about it and turn it into a practice that furthers your inspiration.

In some cases that may mean finding a new practice that is opposite of the original habit. In order to get there you may need to start out with something close but one step better. The old adage, know better do better, applies here. Really look at the habit you want to remove and decide what purpose it has served until now. There may be a piece of the habit that is useful in building a new healthier practice.

Take smoking. So many people want to stop smoking but, try as they might they can’t seem to do it. They haven’t really discovered what smoking does for them that they might use as a spring board to a better habit. For many, it is breath work. The act of inhaling a deep breath is really what their bodies crave. It is a deeply ingrained response to stress. So many of us live under 24/7 fight or flight response living that we have tightened our muscles up around our rib cages to tight that we literally cannot breathe. Smoking is our body’s way of getting a deep, relaxing lung full of – adulterated - air.

So what to do? How to quit and stay quit of the habit of smoking and turn it into a practice of self honor in four easy steps? First, find an herbal smoke blend made by a trained herbalist that is formulated specifically for you. Or find a good smoke shop that carries herbal non tobacco smoke blends and ask the proprietor about them, make a personal connection. This person can be very helpful in your next few steps.

Next, buy yourself a beautiful pipe that makes you feel regal when smoking it, something that you will use every day. Ask your new friends where you might find a nice one. Look in fancy tobacco shops. Third, learn when, where, why, and how you smoke. Is it outside only, during work only, in the car only? With friends at the bar? Start smoking your new pipe in place of cigarettes when you normally go out to smoke.  Slowly you may find that the smell of cigarettes isn’t as great next to your beautiful blend in your lovely pipe. You might decide that you want to move away from that time to smoke another time. You might find a new time during the day where you can practice your ritual of smoking your beautiful new pipe with some delicious herbal blend. Draw deeply of the smoke and visualize yourself in a place where you feel this way all the time. Eventually you may find that the breath work of smoking takes over and turns into a meditative practice and you cease to use the smoke and continue to use the breath work.

Make your smoke time a special time to check in with yourself on your progress down this path from the habit of smoking to the practice of breath work. If you begin with the intention of stopping the habit of smoking and starting a practice of breath work this progression will naturally follow. They are mutually exclusive but the path to get there isn’t.

There, you have successfully quit smoking and developed a practice of honoring yourself in breath work and relaxation. This same principle is true for business habits moving into business practices. Do you hate writing billable invoices because it makes you feel badly asking for money for your services? Turn the habit of writing invoices into the practice of accepting abundance into your life.

Words matter. Intent matters. Is your business a practice or a habit? Your success may rest with that decision.

Traveling this summer for PCS or vacation? It's worth a stop at your closest MWR facility and a call to your vacation destination. A military discount is not always what it seems.

Last month, we headed to Clearwater, Fla., to visit the dolphins, Winter and Hope of movie fame, Dolphin Tale.

Our home MWR office said they didn't sell discount tickets, but, not to worry, a military discount was offered at the gate.  

It sure was - to active duty only. My husband is a retiree.

And, retirees, national guard and reserve families had to drive an hour back to Tampa, to the nearest base, and buy discount tickets at the MWR office there.

Tickets that were less than half the cost of what the box office wanted. But, it was Sunday morning. The base office was closed. We were leaving the state that night.

So, I forked over $90 more than I would have paid at MWR in Tampa had I dropped by there on Friday.

This isn't the first travel discount snag we've encountered. Discounts are higher for military who buy online before arriving at the gate. Sometimes you can find free tickets, but only online.

And the MWR office on base always, always sells tickets for less, anywhere you want to visit.   

The base in Tampa was an hour out of our way. But, lesson learned. I'll never pass up a chance to visit the nearest MWR again. And you shouldn't either.

Happy travels!

You need to write your resume. For many job searchers, this task can be daunting.

There are professional resume services, that are happy to charge you between $80 and $700 to

not only edit your resume, but to write it completely as well as draft your cover letter and the thank you notes you should follow up with after each interview. Shooting for an executive position? High-end resume services that include interview and salary negotiation coaching can cost you a cool $2,500.

And if you are out of work, chances are, you probably have enough in your budget to print a few dozen copies of whatever you decide to type, and that is all.

 Writing your resume does not have to be stressful or scary.

We've compiled the best tips the internet has to offer. So if you are looking for work, and ready to write that resume, start by reading this, first:

1. Free resume templates - Military spouses can use free resume templates courtesy of the Military Spouse Employment Partnership. No more guessing. They have five sample resumes on their sites that can easily fit nearly any type of job search and job history. Check them out here: https://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/msep/content/resume-templates

2. Re-read it - You do not need a professional editor to point out typos and errors. Most computers come equipped with a spell check feature meaning a spelling error in your resume screams computer illiterate. Most word processing programs will also happily highlight your grammatical errors as well. If you can't figure out what is wrong, Google it. Once your page is free of highlighted errors, read it backwards, slowly. Then check each punctuation mark. And then, have your spouse read it. And maybe your mom and your best friend.

3. List what you've achieved, not what you've done - You worked in an accounting firm where you were responsible for processing weekly payroll, annual taxes and tracking freelance accounts. Great! Who cares, so has everyone else. You should list what you achieved that makes you stand out from the crowd. How many payrolls did you process each week? What kinds of tax documents did you file (show how you are capable, that you know the information), how many freelancers, spread out over what distance? How large of a budget did you manage? Describe (briefly) how you saved the company money. Explain what you have done, not just what your job description says you should be able to do.

4. One page? Nope - Despite what your high school guidance counselor said, resumes do not have to be limited to one page, especially for military spouses who have worked a series of fantastic jobs over a number of years. Just be certain to include only the jobs that show the depth of your ability and experience. You do not need to include every single job, especially those that may have just be fillers between career moves.

5. Revise your resume for each job - Do not ever send out one resume to every position you apply to. Look closely at the job description and requirements. Then, look at your resume and determine how you can highlight your skills and experience to meet those requirements. This may mean expanding your description of some jobs you've held and shortening others. It may mean leaving some jobs off the resume completely if they do not fit the parameters of the new job. Employers want to know how you can be an asset to their company and why you are the perfect fit for them, not just for any old job.

Women outnumber men on college campuses.

Experts have been tracking the growing presence of women in classrooms since World War II

when the end of the battles meant women could begin straying further from the homefront and pursue a degree. By the 1960s and 70s women wanted careers, not just jobs.

And in 2014, the Census Bureau reported that 29.9 percent of men earned a bachelor’s degree, while 30.2 percent of women did. The number indicates that women are pulling ahead. Ten years earlier, in 2005, 28.5 percent of men had bachelor’s degree, while only 26 percent of women did.

According to the American Association of University Women, millions of women, as many as 4

million the group claims, earned those degrees at community college. While the local schools may mean lower tuition costs, and no worries about housing or transportation, not all community colleges offer the assistance that working women need: childcare, flexible class schedules and access to degree programs in STEM fields.

The AAUW has put together a snapshot of community colleges in each state. While the report does not break down the pros and cons of each individual college, it does give a overview of each state's collective community colleges profile to include enrollment by gender, race, age, availability of on-campus child car and the degrees the schools offer in STEM related fields.

You can find the full report on all 50 states here:

http://www.aauw.org/article/state-report-card-community-college/

Retirees will pay more for their healthcare under the 2017 proposed Defense Department budget.

Under the plan, Tricare will be re-aligned into two plans that reward families for using military treatment facilities. Under both Tricare plans, active duty families who use military facilities will pay nothing.

Families who choose the plan that includes civilian doctors will pay between $20 and $250, depending on the type of doctor and service provided. 

Retirees face additional fees. Annual enrollment fees may rise as much as $900 per family. Pharmacy prizes will double in many cases.

The Tricare re-alignment is the only major facet of the budget that touches military families. There are no changes to housing allowances or commissary benefits because Congress has already moved on those issues. Current legislation aims to change commissary prices based on region. The amount of Basic Allowance for Housing that troops will receive will decrease each year until the amount only covers 95 percent of troops' cost.

For a complete look at the new Tricare pricing structure, visit http://www.military.com/daily-news/2016/02/09/budget-proposal-includes-major-retiree-tricare-fee-hikes.html

Need a passport, or need to renew? You might want to get that paperwork submitted ASAP.

U.S. officials warn that they expect passport processing to be backlogged through 2018. Why? A U.S. law in 2007, dubbed the western hemisphere travel initiative, required any U.S. citizen travelling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda to hold a passport.

That year, U.S. officials issued 18 million passports because of the new law. Most of them are due for renewal in the next two years, meaning lines and waits are about to become longer.

If you do not plan to travel further than Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean or Bermuda you can opt instead for a passport card. These $30 cards are issued to U.S. citizens who currently have a passport. The cards can be issued much quicker than a new passport. Travelers cannot use them for international air travel, though they are good for those driving north or south of our borders, or venturing out via cruise ship.

To learn more about the passport rules, visit the Department of Homeland Security website at: http://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative

Did the gate guard stop you from entering base over the weekend? If so, it may be because of your driver's license.

As of this month, all military installations will no longer accept driver’s licenses from Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, New Mexico, Washington and American Samoa as proof of identity.

The ban is due to the REAL ID Act of 2005.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Congress began examining how states issue driver's licenses and ID cards when they realized most of the terrorists involved had licenses issued from Virginia and Florida.

Legislators put security measures in place that make the new licenses harder to duplicate or tamper with. The new licenses can also be read by machines that are now located at all DOD facilities and airports. While states do not have to comply with the new rules, if they do not, their citizens may run into headaches, especially when they travel.

Residents of the five states that have yet to comply will not be able to board a flight without an alternate form of identification. The same is true for friends and family of military members who try to visit a military facility. Without an alternate form of ID, such as a passport, they will be turned away at the gate.

Service members, family members, DoD employees, and federal employees with the DoD common access card, DoD uniformed services identification and privileges cards, federal personal identification verification cards or transportation workers’ identification credentials are not affected.

For a full list of facts regarding the new IDs, visit the Department of Homeland Security facts page at: http://www.dhs.gov/real-id-public-faqs

You can go back to school to learn your craft.

You can spend years perfecting your skills.

An employer will hire you to run their business, their way. And a good employer will not just ask you to work, but will challenge you to expand your skillset and improve every single day.

But what if you want to start your own shop? Where do you learn how to do that? You may know the basics of setting up the storefront, working the cashier and bringing in customers. But what about managing taxes, finances and setting up a business plan?

The Spouse Education and Career Opportunities can help teach you all of that.

The organization, a division of Military One Source, is hosting a series of webinars to teach spouses the ins and outs of starting their own business.

The series stretches from February to October and is held the first Wednesday of each month at noon.

Sessions are:

February 3: Is Entrepreneurship for You? - Questions to Ask Yourself

March 2: Business Plan Basics

April 6: How to Finance Your Business

You must register to attend the webinars. You can do that, and learn more about the series by visiting,

https://myseco.militaryonesource.mil/Portal/Content/View/2791

If 2016 is the year you want to get your own business up and running, make sure to register and learn from the pros how military spouses can grow a successful business!