Children of Veterans Get Free Tuition in California

In the state of California, children of veterans are eligible for tuition waivers at all University of California, California State University, and state community colleges.

Got your attention? Keep reading.

There are a few easy-to-meet eligibility requirements which I'll list at the bottom of this post. And of course, your little darling will have to get accepted to the school.

The program is for any state school. For example, UCLA, Berkeley, Cal Poly, and any of California State University's 23 campuses. (Not private schools though, so ixnay to Stanford and Pepperdine.) There are more schools than that of course, but I can't think of them all.

Is this even worth it? Well, for the 2013-2014 academic year, tuition for an academic year (9 months) at UCLA is $11,220. Yikes!

If you are sending your kids to college in California and are not a veteran, I would suggest adopting them out to a vet. I'm just saying.


Here's the fine print (which is really, really easy to meet):

1. You (the veteran) need to have a service-connected disability rating of 0% or higher. Yes, 0% is a disability rating! Have you ever been to the hospital while serving on active duty? Then you probably can get a 0% rating.
2. Your child must attend a California community or state college.
3. Your child must be under 27 and make less than the poverty level (about $11,000 year). That's your child, not you. You can make more if you want. 

You can read more about it (and verify that this information is legit) at http://www.calvet.ca.gov/vetservices/CollegeFeeWaiver.aspx.

I don't even have children yet, but when I do, they are going to college in California. I hear California is pretty this any time of year.

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149 Places That Offer Military Discounts

Thanks, Gift Card Granny!

Gift Card Granny has compiled a list of 149 places that offer military discounts. Like Aeropostale, Kohl's, Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Applebee's.

You can get a free 8x10 and 50% off your entire purchase at JCPenney Portrait Studio.

Texas Roadhouse gives you 10% off your meal.

You can even save 5% off flooring at 1800WoodFloors.com.

This list is worth a look if you have a valid military ID. I shop regularly at a few of these places, and had no idea. I feel like I should have written this post with many exclamation points, but I'm just so excited to see this list that I've gone past exclamation points, straight to blissful serenity.

149 Military Discounts

Ziploc Vacuum Sealer - $39.99!

I really need to start saving money. Or, stop spending money. Last month, Kaiser the Dog had a stroke (he's doing great!), but the near-$4,000 of veterinarian bills was unexpected to say the least. I needed to start cutting back. Luckily my darling boyfriend is a great cook, and we're homebodies, so skipping the restaurants and eating at home was an easy kill. But then what?

I came across this blog, Blissful and Domestic, and was amazed at how she lives with her family on $14,000 a year. A year. I could use some of her tips! I was inspired.

This is the first post in my adventure to spend less, without feeling like I'm losing out.

Today's big budget-friendly "splurge" will save me tons in the long run. It's a Ziploc Vacuum Sealer. It was $42 or so at Wal-Mart. (You can get it for $39.99 at Menards by clicking here.) I've always wanted one of these toys (I have a slightly odd obsession with very specific small kitchen appliances). But man, are they expensive! Then along came Ziploc.

I stocked up on ground beef, chicken breasts, Italian sausages, and shredded cheese at Sam's Club. I came home and had a little sealing party, splitting up all the bulk meats and sealing them into portion sizes. I even opened a bag of chips and resealed it, just to see if it would work, and it did! I admit, it was kind of fun. My freezer is full, and I am a happy camper. I'm pretty sure this just paid for itself in one day.

What do you think? Do you have one? Have you continued to use it? Right now, it's a new toy to me; I hope it doesn't end up forgotten on a shelf. I kind of love it right now, in a you-could-change-my-life kind of way.

Ziploc Vacuum Sealer

Fitness Wagon

Trying to get back on the fitness wagon, I may have overdone it this week. I feel great, but my muscles are fighting me. Last year, I lost about 30 pounds in 6 months or so. I had a regular routine of hitting the gym at lunchtime. A month of Monday through Friday Spin classes kickstarted the weight loss, but I got bored fast. I switched to twice a week Spin, twice a week of whatever group workout class they offered, and once a week of Stairmaster or elliptical training. I didn't run much. The one day a week I was on a machine, I watched my guilty-pleasure TV shows like Judge Judy or Entertainment Tonight.

Then the big move, from Germany to Alabama started, and I just didn't have the time. Fast forward to this week, when I realized I had started living in yoga pants again. My skinny jeans were muffin-top jeans! I managed to fit in a Spin class, two 2-mile runs, and topped it off with a 5k this morning. I finished around 29 minutes. I'm proud of myself, but am going to take a few down days. My next thing is a group 5k that we call "The Running of the Bulls" on Tuesday. My goal is to get that 5k down to 25 minutes or less. Oh, and to make my skinny jeans zip up without doing a dance to zip them up.

So that oughta get you caught up on where I stand. I'll post more successes and failures as they come up. But to paraphrase Dori, "just keep spinning, spinning, spinning."