The little things.

I will admit I made a rookie mistake with my blog. I had this set up with the wrong time zone and now I've realized that none of my posts have posted for last week.

SO I'm working on getting everything fixed and rescheduled. Please stick with me while I get this all worked out.

Making it on Your Soldier's Salary: Part 1

  

     One of the most common things you find in the military is families trying to make it on income. The hard part about this is making it on an enlisted soldiers income.

     I am always telling my family "You don't join the Army to get rich." If you don't believe me check out this pay chart for your average enlisted soldier.

    Now I know I don't have to worry as much as most. My husband has 20 years in and is a senior enlisted soldier.  The longer you are in the better the pay (for the most part).

      The very first step you need to take is creating a budget. This is something that a lot of soldiers either don't like to do or just don't know how to. Either way you don't have to go at it alone. The Army has plenty of programs to help you manage your finances.  How do you find them? Well you can ask your FRG leader or your NCO. My husband has always been really great at helping his soldiers with these kinds of issues, but if you don't feel comfortable talking to them find someone you are.

     I know what a weak first step. What about the other tips and tricks you have. Well if you don't have a solid foundation for your finances nothing else is going to help you. All of the other things I have learned aren't going to work. Some times in life you just have to do a little bit of work to make things work.

     If you aren't so fond of getting financial help from the military don't worry about that either. There are plenty of websites on line that have information for you. Dave Ramsey (a financial counselor) has his own military program and I have heard a lot of great things about it.

    Taking this first step will help you really help you with your relationship with money, your relationship with your spouse and lay a solid foundation for any other tips to come. 

1,000 Words

     This month B is in Pennsylvania on my parents farm. I have always believed that giving him the opportunity to take a vacation from us will give him a sense of independence and confidence. This does not mean that these times we are apart are not hard. I miss him greatly and that is why today is filled with pictures.

The Worlds of Army Wives: Where I'm Writing From.

     Before I begin I want you to take a minute. Close your eyes and picture to yourself what an Army wife looks like. What do you see? Do you see one of the characters from the TV series "Army Wives"? Do you see the a friend whom you know is an Army wife? Or do you see on older version like Rosie the Riveter? That classic 1940's wife who is holding down the home front while our country's men engage in a long and dangerous war. No matter what you see I bet you automatically imagine this Army wife being married to an active duty soldier. One who lives on a post such at Ft. Bragg, NC or Ft. Stewart, GA.

     This is the stereotypical Army wife that I am looking to break people of.  I'm not saying that your wrong or that those Army wives/spouses don't matter. I want our nation to take a better look at our National Guard spouses and soldiers and expand our conscious thought to them as well. 

     Our soldiers in the National Guard wear the same uniform as our active duty soldiers. When at war they do the same jobs and face the same dangers. The only difference, to an extent, is in training and actual careers.

     Our soldiers who are active duty are, during their contractual time, career soldiers. Their only job is to train and "fight" in their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).  Their spouses have become accustomed to the demands of soldiers and being an active duty Army wife.

     If a soldier is newly married his wife is living in a community with other Army wives who understand and are willing to help her adapt to the new life. They have an active Family Readiness Group (FRG) on hand and usually the post they live on or near carries all of the essentials they will need.

    Life is much different for our National Guard soldiers and families. These soldiers have civilian jobs they attend to all but one weekend a month and two full weeks a year ( depending on if they are sent to further training through out the year). Their wives and spouses live in the civilian population have civilian friends and only participate in the FRG if their soldier will be deploying.

     You cannot forget that among the very small National Guard population there is an even smaller amount of active National Guard soldiers (AGR). These soldier are the full-time staff that runs the states National Guard. Their days are just like that of our active duty soldiers and their wives face the same challenges and demands the only difference is the lack of support they have about them. 

     This very small group of AGR wives is where I stand and where I'll be writing from. We live in the civilian communities and have civilian friends but our soldiers are always working in uniform or training or being sent somewhere to do something for the National Guard. Our lives are very much like active duty Army wives just with out the support system.

    I know this intro wasn't very brief but it's here to have the understand of the different types of Army wives we have in our ranks. Each one of us faces different challenges but at the end of the day we are all Army wives.

     

    


   

    

Get the show started.

For my very first post I want to take a moment to introduce myself and my company Sew All American.
     My name is Mariah Lynn Colburn. I grew up on a small farm in central Pennsylvania with two amazing parents and an older brother. After attending the Pennsylvania State University I took some time to figure out life. Now I'm married to an All American Soldier and we have two boys. Brandon is 2 and Jeffrey is due October 31.
   Now that I have my short into out of the way I can talk about my passion. Sew All American is my modest little Etsy shop. Everything in it is hand made by me.
     Art and sewing have always been a huge part of my life. It wasn't until after I married my soldier that I had decided (and had the support) to dedicate my self whole heatedly to making this my career. Now that isn't to say there haven't been a few bumps in the road. It's been a struggle for me to get to this point with my business and I am still learning how to manage Army life, children and a business of my own.
    Now, this is where the blog comes in. Not only do I feel I have some great things to show you but, I also have a lot of life lessons, learning experiences and thoughts I would love to share as well.  I am really looking forward to sharing with you and I hope you will join me for the journey!