Have you ever thought that military families could stand more support here at home? Imagine having your spouse halfway around the globe and potentially in harm’s way on a regular basis as you try to go about your everyday life here at home.
There is inherent stress that comes with a military lifestyle, or any lifestyle where spouses are necessarily separated for long periods of time, and this stress makes the job on the home front all the more difficult. I know from working with military wife writers how much harder their day-to-day job is than it is for those of us whose spouses commute back and forth only a few miles to work each day.
Add to these challenges that military families face, frequent relocation and the steady stream of high-ticket purchase decisions that come part and parcel with a mobile lifestyle and we’ve got a population of military wives, who could sure stand some help navigating all the tricky decisions that need to made on any given day.
And this is where Janine Boldrin comes in—with the information and advice to make military family life easier. Janine has channeled her helpful military lifestyle advice into a new e-book, The Thinking Spouse’s Guide To Military Life, How To Make Better Buying Decisions For Your Mobile Family. Janine understands from experience the challenges military spouses face on the home front each and every day and she can help military wives make better buying decisions today.
If you know any military families, who are getting ready to move or who are moving in the near future, or if you are a military spouse yourself and you know from experience how financially challenging the military lifestyle can be, please join me in spreading the word about Janine Boldrin’s helpful new e-book, which is ready to download and read at a moment’s notice on Kindle and Nook.
Thank you for helping me welcome Janine!
You are a freelance journalist, a mother of three and a military spouse — how did your past personal and professional experience lead up to writing this e-book?
When I was first married, the military was unfamiliar and intimidating. I often shied away from dealing with a lot of situations and issues that were absolutely essential to understand to make a successful life for my military family. The longer my husband stayed in the Army, the more I realized that I needed to learn how to live military life for, not only me, but for my family.
Thirteen years later, this ongoing learning process extended to writing about military families and the issues they face for magazines and newspapers. I began combining my own experience with expert advice and found people could relate and make better decisions based on the information I provided.
Why did you write The Thinking Spouse’s Guide To Military Life? What makes you think mobile spouses are having challenges making major purchases?
Through many moves and multiple deployments, I’ve often wished I knew Day One what I now know after thirteen years of being married to the military. I could have saved us a lot of heartache if I had known how to make better choices for my mobile family. The idea for my book was born out of the idea of wanting to give other military families valuable perspective they could use to avoid common mistakes.
For this first book, I focused on large purchases because I feel this is one of the areas our families struggle with the most. We have to buy homes, cars, and furniture more often than the average person because we are so mobile. This puts us in the position of potentially losing money when a little bit of extra “thinking” could have actually saved us money. Whether you are a new spouse or one that has moved ten times, these tips will give you a new mindset on how you make major purchases. This is especially important as we face possible downsizing in the military plus an uncertain economy. Relying on “retirement” should not be your catch-all way of ensuring you have money when you leave the military.
What are the benefits of reading your e-book? What strategies will I be able to apply immediately if I am trying to make better buying decisions for my mobile family?
The strategies I offer are what you need to hear to make the best buying decisions you can as a mobile family. The information will transform how you view purchases, tell you what mistakes to avoid, give you resources to use, and ways to get discounts and save money as a military family.
This e-book is based on real life experience and expert advice. I’ve moved into nine homes over thirteen years. My husband has deployed three times (fourth is coming soon) and is frequently gone for training. I’ve moved on my own with three kids, sat in a broken down car during a deployment, and cried in front of a wrecked washer the day we moved into a new house. As a military spouse, I know you are often making big purchases on your own with little information and you have to make a decision really fast. This e-book gives you a new way of processing how to make a big purchase that will stand up to your mobile lifestyle.
Janine Boldrin writes for publications like Military Spouse, Family Circle, Military Families Magazine, The Washington Times and parenting publications across North America.
Why are so many families becoming mobile these days?
Many military families move every three to four years and even the civilian population has also become more mobile because of their job situations. For many families, you can no longer stay in the same job, same town, or even same state for your entire life. Whether you have to move for a job, family reasons, or to go in search of something new, being a mobile family requires a whole new way of thinking when it comes to how you make large purchases because your housing, auto, and furnishing needs often change as you move.
I’m sure you didn’t become such a money maven without a few stops at the school of hard knocks. What’s the worst big purchase mistake you ever made and what’s the best big purchase strategy you ever came up with?
The worst purchase we made was buying two cars when my husband went back to school through the Army. We didn’t wait long enough after we moved to determine how we would be using our vehicles. We could have easily downsized to one car because the mass transportation was so great at the school he was attending. Instead, we were left with two hefty car payments and one car that pretty much sat in parking lots all day. One of recommendations I make is to wait at least two months after a move before buying a new car. That way you’ll understand how you will be using the vehicle and can better determine your needs and climate.
Will families who are not in the military appreciate your advice? Or is this advice strictly for military families?
The focus of the book is on those who are in the military but the ideas can be can be extended to other people who move often or face unpredictable relocation.
I can’t imagine how challenging it must be to have to move your entire family every couple of years. Is there a silver lining to the mobile lifestyle? How has this lifestyle impacted you?
Military families have to deal with a huge burden when it comes to frequent moves and every individual views the situation differently. At first, I struggled with having to uproot our family as often as we do but now I see what incredible experiences my children have gained from living across the United States. Plus, with each move we’ve run into old friends and made new friends who add to our lives.
The only part I still struggle with is how my kids will view the experience as they get older. Will they wish they had a hometown? Or resent how many schools they had to attend? That’s why I plan on writing another e-book about how to make better choices for kids as a mobile family.
Learn more about Janine’s new e-book, The Thinking Spouse’s Guide To Military Life, How To Make Better Buying Decisions For Your Mobile Family, with tons of advice for military families planning their next move at http://www.janineboldrin.com.