Free Stock (up to $200 value) for signing up with Robinhood

Robinhood is offering 1 FREE stock up to a $200 value as a limited promotional sign up bonus right now.

Robinhood is a mobile stock trading platform that lets you buy and sell stocks for completely free (no costs!). 

To get your free stock, sign up here!

http://share.robinhood.com

Military Discounts - Free Admission to Zoo's

Summers almost over. Have you visited the Zoo yet? Zoos love giving Military Discounts. We have put together a list of 30 Zoos and their respective Military Discount. Some of them are FREE (i.e. Bronx, Houston, Pittsburgh, San Diego). And many others offer up to $6 off admission.

Check out the 2017 list below!

Here is the list of Zoos that offer Military Discounts: (Free Admissions in Bold)

• Atlanta Zoo
• $4 off general admission
• Bronx Zoo
• 1 Free Ticket and 50% off for three additional family members
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (Colorado Springs)
• 3$ off Adult Admission and $4 off Child admission
• Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden
• $3 off Adult Admission and $2 off Child Admision
• Columbus Zoo (Ohio)
• $2 off general admission (up to 6 tickets)
• Dallas Zoo
• $2 discount (up to 4 people)

• Detroit Zoo
• $4 discount
• El Paso Zoo
• $3 discount
• Honolulu Zoo
• $6 off general admission for adults and $2 off general admission for children
• Houston Zoo
• Free for active duty US military and their family. 10% off for Year Membership
• Indianapolis Zoo
• 20% off general admission (up to 4 tickets)
• Louiseville
• Active duty receive Free admission
• Los Angeles Zoo
• $3 off Adult Admission and $2 off Child Admision
• Lowry Park Zoo (Tampa)
• Discount not specified
• Montana Zoo
• $2 off admission
• Nashville Zoo
• $1 off general admission (up to 10 people)
• Omaha's Zoo (Henry Doorly)
• $1 off general admission
• Oregon Zoo
• Free admission on Veterans Day
• Phoenix Zoo (My Hometown)
• $4 off general admission
• Pittsburgh Zoo
• Free Admission 
• Reid Park Zoo (Tuscan, AZ)
• 20% off admission
• Roosevelt Park Zoo (Minot, North Dakota)
• 50 cents off admission
• San Antonio Zoo
• $2 off general admission or 10% off membership
• San Diego Zoo
• Complimentary 1-Day Pass at the zoo and Africa Tram Safari.  
• San Franscisco Zoo
• $3 off (SF resident rate)
• Smithsonian's National Zoo (Washington DC)
• Admission is free
• Southwick's Zoo (Menden, MA)
• Free Admission
• Toledo Zoo
• Free Admission
• Utah Hogle Zoo
• Free admission for entire family on May 18th, July 4th, and November 11th
• Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle)
• $5 off general admission (up to 6 people)

Please let us know in the comment box below if you know of any other Zoo's with military discounts

If you LIKE what you've read, LIKE us on Facebook for more awesome military deals!

Get a Top Rated Breast Pump for Free

Did you know if you have TRICARE Insurance you can get a breast pump at $0 cost to you!? 

The Breastfeeding Shop lets you choose from the top rated breast pumps available and will ship directly to you with no out of pocket cost! 

Click Here to learn more or order your breast pump today!

Thoughts on the New Blended Retirement System

Starting Jan 2018, military members have an opportunity to switch over to the New Blended Retirement System.

The BIG question is.....Should I opt in?

There's a calculator that you can play around with, personally I find the calculator confusing though. To keep it simple, this is really what it comes down to.

•  If you are 99% planning on staying active duty for at least 20 years, then stick with the current High Three retirement

•  If you are not planning on staying in 20 years then take the new Blended Retirement System

I'm not planning on staying in 20 years so the answer is simple for me...take the new Blended Retirement system.

The BRS has a huge perk, they will match up to 5% of your base pay!

For example, let's say on Jan 1, 2018 your monthly BASE PAY is $4000.

The DoD will automatically contribute 1% or $40/month into your TSP for FREE. (Thats $480/year)

If you contribute 5% of my base pay to the retirement system, the government will match that 5% (1% automatic + 4% match).

• With that 5% match, the government is giving you a FREE $2400/year!!!
• Obviously this could be less or more depending on your rank/base pay.

Some important points (ROTH TSP vs TRADITIONAL TSP)

• The matching contributions will only be deposited in a traditional TSP. This means you can still put anywhere from $0-$18,000 into your Roth-TSP but all government matching contributions will be put into a separate Traditional-TSP.
• This is because, by law, matching contributions from employers are pre-tax — you must pay taxes on the earnings and deposits you make throughout your career. 
• AGAIN, For Service Members that use a Roth TSP, they can still receive the matching contribution but it will automatically go into a separate traditional TSP account.
• The $18K annual contribution limit does not include employer matches. This means you can still max out your Roth TSP with $18K and get the free $1K - $6K (depending on your rank) deposited into your Traditional TSP.

Other Related Posts

1.) My Investment Strategy as an Active Duty Military Member

2.) How to Sign Up for the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)

Allegiant Airlines Military Discounts

Allegiant Airlines recently announced multiple military discounts for active duty, national guard, reserves, veterans and their families including:

• 3 checked baggage fees waived (under 100 lbs)
• Oversized checked baggage fee waived
• Carry on baggage fee waived
• Free boarding pass printing
• Free seat selection
• Free pet in cabin
• Free priority boarding (Active duty, reserve and national guard only, no dependents)
• Change in reservation or cancellation fee waived (due to a change in orders, not available to dependents)

As always, the discounts are contingent upon a valid military ID. Dependents do not have to be traveling with military member and the discounts can be used even for leave. 

Here's what they're saving you:

• Checked bags = $54-150
• Oversized baggage fee = $50-75
• Carry on = $10-75
• Boarding pass = $5
• Seat selection = $0-80
• Pets in cabin = $100
• Priority access = $4-12
• Cancellation fees = $75

TOTAL SAVINGS = $298- 572

Thank you to Allegiant for the great military discounts!

Like what you read? Want more deals for military?

Like us on Facebook

Join us on Google Plus

Lowes Broadens 10% Military Discount to Include All Veterans

Lowes has previously been offering a 10% discount to Active Duty, 20-year-service Veterans, and VA Recipients and their immediate family. But they announced today that they will be expanding the discount to include all retired and honorably discharged veterans.

To get the everyday discount, apply at www.lowes.com/military. 

Lowes will either add the automatic military discount to your existing MyLowes Account or send you a MyLowes card which applies the 10% discount at the register or online. 

You can read the official news release HERE with more information.

Like what you read? Want more deals for military?

Like us on Facebook

Join us on Google Plus

Paying your Tricare Dental Bill with a Credit Card

Starting May 1st, Tricare is switching my family Dental Plan from Metlife to Concordia.

This post goes over how to switch your Tricare Dental Bill over to your credit card so you can get credit card rewards points instead of having the payment deducted straight from your paycheck.

First lets briefly go over what the Tricare Dental Plan is about:

• As an active duty military member, the military gives me free dental coverage that includes basically everything I would need to get done
• For your Family/Dependents, you can purchase the Tricare Dental Program for a minimal monthly fee (Single-$11.10/month,  Entire Family-$28.87/month). See table below for full details.

This provides free yearly checkups, and discounts on all dental procedures (see costs here)

The payments are normally automatically deducted from your LES.

Here are the steps to switching it over to your credit card
Step 1 - Visit the United Concordia Website and log in ---> LINK
Step 2 - Update "My Preferences"
Step 3 - Click on "Manage my Billing Preferences"
Step 4 - A new window should open up (see pic below). You may have to enable "pop up boxes"

Step 5 - Click the payment tab. Then on the bottom right you should see a box that says "add". Click the "add" Box
Step 6 - Click on the tab "Payment Method List"
Step 7 - Click on the add button under the credit card section
Step 8 - Enter in all your credit card info
Step 9 - Go to the "Recurrent Payment List" tab
Step 10 - Click Add. Select the credit card you just entered. Change setting to "ongoing" or until a certain date
Step 11 - Done

Example
Family Plan would be $28.87/month = $345year. You put this on your USAA's new 2.5% cash back credit card and that's an extra $9 bucks a year. Not much but it takes like 5 minutes to set up. I'm going to be in the military at least 7 more years so that's an extra $60 in credit card reward points for logging in and changing my information. 

Ford Military Discount $1000

I recently bought a new F-150 truck from Ford. I personally hate car dealerships and think they are pretty dishonest/shady establishments so I share my story and suggestions to try and help you save some money. I also bought a new Minivan from Honda earlier in 2016 (Click the link to be taken to that post).

Ford has a standard $500 Military Discount (keep reading on how to get $1000). The discount is available to the follow personnel:

• Active Duty
• Reservists serving on active duty
• Veterans within 24 months of separation
• Retirees
• And spouses of the above categories. 

To get your $500 certificate, you go to https://www.fordsalutesthosewhoserve.com and print out a certificate which you bring to the dealership with your military ID

There is also a $1000 and $750 discount that are occasionally offered. In the last 6 months, Ford has sent me the $1000 offer twice. The key to qualify for this offer is be patient or to register for the standard $500 offer, typically within 2-3 months they will send you a personal increased offer. I think it is a way to incentivize you to come back and buy their car incase you forgot about them. No matter the reason, its an extra $500 in your pocket above the standard offer. 

I wrote about my personal experience and all the discounts I was able to get applied on a F150 Forum. Here is the link for full details. I ended up getting about $12,000 below MRSP using various discounts. It also describes how to get a better auto loan quote. I wouldn't settle for the first offer you get. USAA originally quoted me 3.5% then I got a better rate and asked them to beat it and they counter-offered 1.87% (HALF the original offer)!

Best Strategy

I was able to get my F-150 at a great deal. Here are a couple of suggestions. 

• Check out online car forums beforehand. I searched through several "what did you pay for your truck" forums to find out what the cheapest price other people were walking away with on the same model I wanted. That way you can walk into the dealership with a hard figure you want them to beat. You want to walk out of the dealership with the lowest price anybody has ever gotten on the vehicle.
• Call multiple dealerships in multiple cities. For example, Fresno (CA) and Seattle (WA) are on average 8% higher then the national average. It may be worth driving 40 miles in order to save $1500. Here is a list of the 10 cheapest and most expensive cities to buy a car in
• Once you have a price from one dealership, ask the next dealership if they will BEAT the price. Dont just say they offered me "20k" will you match it, SAY they offered me "20k" I need you to beat it by $500 for it to be worth my time. Be specific with them. If they beat it ask the next dealership or the original one to beat it by $200, etc. I contacted/negotiated with 7 different dealerships.
• TrueCar is okay, but Costco pricing is even better. Costco will often have specific incentitives like an extra $1000 off. 
• HOWEVER, Dont settle for the TrueCar or Costco estimate, I got an additional $1400 off the Costco pricing and $2400 off the TrueCar estimate by asking for additional money off. 
• When using TrueCars estimate, don't include your $500 Military Discount or Graduation bonuses in the cost because you are just cheating yourself. 
• I don't recommend telling them about the Military Discount or Graduation Discount until the last second when you have already come up with a final price. At that time then say "Okay and i'm Active Duty Military so that will be an extra $500 off". They don't lose any money on the military discount but if you tell them about it at the beginning they will try and use it to their advantage saying they are giving you $500 off when they really aren't doing anything
• 99% of the crap they say are lies. After this recent experience I am convinced Car Salesman are one of the most dishonest professions out there. They all say they exact same crap. "We'll throw in tinted windows and nitrogen in your tires. We are the only dealship that will do that". What they don't tell you is that comes pre--installed on every new minivan. Evey dealership has that in 100% of their cars. When you try and negotiate with them and say the other dealership gave you a better deal, they say crap like we'll thats what they said now..but when you get there they will tack on $1000 of dollars of extra fees. Not true. Salesman just love to lie.
• When you negotiate talk about "price out the door". Thats the price you want to be comparing between all the dealerships. All cars have Title/Tax/License fees. Taxes can be a ton, depending on what state you live in. I live in Texas so the tax is 6.25% which his riduculously high. 
• I made a google spreadsheat so I could keep track of all the different offers and update it when they gave me a lower price
• If you call them on the phone to get a quote, give them your email and ask them to email you their total quote out the door. Don't fall for their trick of saying you have to come into their store to get a quote. Just another sales tactic. 

There are alot of other companies that offer military discoutnts (Here are a few examples)

Crystler - $500 off (link)

Honda - $500 off (link)

GM - discount varies (link)

Hyundai - $500 off (link)

Toyota - $500 off (link)

My 2.5% CashBack Card from USAA Arrived Today

I recently applied for USAA's new "LIMITLESS CASHBACK" Card and was approved. I'm excited for this card because it gives 2.5% cash back on all purchases as long as you have a monthly direct deposit into your USAA checking/savings account.

Previously I was either using my Barclay Gold or the Fidelity Rewards card to get 2% back but this will now be my default card

Currently the card is still under a PILOT program. Its been released to 26 states now. Here is the current list: AL, AR, AZ, CO, CT, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MD, MI, MN, ND, NM, NV, NY, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, WA.

To apply you need to go to the USAA Credit Card Page - Click Here
1.) They may ask you to enter in your state to see which offers are available
2.) The LIMITLESS CASHBACK card should be the first credit card offer that appears
3.) If your in a state that doesn't offer the card yet, be patient it seems like it will come to all states soon. If you have a family member in a state that is available, you could try switching your checking home address to theirs and then apply. There are reports online of that working fine.

USAA has a couple of other good credit cards. I personally like their AMEX Cashback rewards PLUS that gives 5% back on gas and most on-base purchases.

Something else I like about USAA that most people don't know about is that you can pay your Auto Insurance with them with a Credit Card. It automatically defaults to your checking account but is easy to change.

Get an additional 10% off your USAA Auto Insurance Bill

I just moved from Colorado to Texas which is a good thing when it comes to USAA's auto insurance discounts.

Here are 3 ways to save an extra 10% off your auto insurance bill:

Don't use USAA? Get a quick online auto quote

1.) Sign up for their Driving Research Program (Savings 5%)

• In order to qualify for this program you must live in Arizona, Idaho, Texas, Washington, or Virginia
• While I lived in Arizona 2 years ago I participated in the program. You can read my full review here
• If you want to sign up, click here

When you get your bill statement you will see the following discounts

2.) Sign up for automatic payments (Savings 3%)

• This is easy to do. Click on your Auto & Property Bill tab and on the right hand side there will be column that on the top says "I want to...". Below that is a link that says set up automatic payments. Click that and you are good to go. 

When you do that you will notice this blurb in your statement

Then on your bill statement you will see the following discount added!

3.) Pay your automatic payments with a credit card (Savings 2%)

• The default option is just to pay the amount from your checking account but you can pay with any credit card you want.
• I would recommend paying one of these cards (all give 2% back)
• Fidelity Investments Rewards Card
• Citi Double Cash Back
• Barclay Arrival Plus

4.) Ask for additional discounts if you call USAA

• Ask them straight up "What other discounts can you find that I qualify for?" "Are you sure there aren't any other discounts?"
• In the past/present I've qualified for student discount, multi-car discount, passive-restraint discount, premier driver discount, any many others. 

My 6 month premium for 2 cars is $271.74. This is low because of many of the above discounts. That comes out to $22.58/month per car. Because both of my cars are probably worth under 6k (2009 Hyundai accent + 2001 Honda civic) I opted for just liability and not full comprehensive. I wouldn't recommend full comprehensive if your cars are worth less than 6k. 

Like what you read? Want more deals for military?

Like us on Facebook

Join us on Google Plus

Follow us on Instagram

Pin us on Pinterest

Free H&R Block for Military (regardless of rank)

Military OneSource offers COMPLETELY FREE H&R Block online tax software to all military.

Here's how to get it.

1.) Go to http://public.militaryonesource.mil/taxprep and register for a Military OneSource Account

2.) After you've registered, It should automatically direct you to the H&R Block Website. If set up correctly you should see the MilitaryOneSource logo on the top right corner (see image below)

This saved me at least $50-$80. There are a lot of other companies that offer discounts (for example, TurboTax does but only for E1-5.)

The nice thing about this offer from Military OneSource is there are no restrictions on your rank, your income, having additional forms you have to submit like investments, self employment, etc. Its all completely free!

Start your taxes today - http://www.militaryonesource.mil/financial-and-legal/taxes?content_id=295240

Another perk - Free specialized phone support
You can talk with a trained MilTax consultant free during tax season (January through April 18) seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST or EDT at 800-342-9647. After April 18, trained tax consultants are available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. EDT. Call anytime to schedule an appointment.

Nike's Military Discount

A family member was interested if I knew of any nike discounts going around so I thought I would repost this article because with the military discounts and other discounts you can get around 50% off all nike's. In november I bought the Nike Cortez Basic Leather shoes for $20. Normally $70 but on clearance for $40, plus all the discounts (25% nike clearance discount, 20% jet cash back, and 10% military discount)



I recently bought some basketball shoes from Nike.com. They were the new Lebron XIII's. They normally sell for $200+, however they have a couple of the pairs on clearance for $169 and using a couple of the discounts below I was able to get it more than 50% off the clearance price.

I'll tell you how I got them for around $80

1.) First apply Nike.com promotional codes (use a coupon website like Ebates, RetailMeNot, SlickDeals.net to find current codes). The code I found was 25% off clearance. These codes aren't always around, usually about once a month though
***This made the shoes $42 cheaper

2.) Use a cash back website (Ebates, TopCashBack.com, Jet.com). I used Jet.com which is giving 20% back on any purchase at Nike.com right now. DiscoverDeals gives like 15% back
***This made the shoes $25 cheaper

3.) Use Nike's Military Discount. Per Nike's Website:

"Active, retired and reservist US Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard personnel are eligible to receive a 10% Nike military discount on Nike.com and at US Nike retail stores (excluding Nike Company/Employee Stores)."

To get the discount, call 1-800-344-6453. Tell them you are active military and they will send you a 10% off code to your email. I'm pretty sure you can only apply one coupon code to your order. In my case, I would have had the option to apply the 25% off clearance code or the 10% military discount code. SOLUTION - I recommend doing this: apply your non-military discount code during checkout. Complete check out and then call Nike.com and tell them your order number and they will add the military discount code to your order and credit your credit card back 10%. In my case they credited me back more like 14.5%. I'm not sure why but i'll take it!! This way you can take advantage of BOTH discounts!
***This saved me an additional $20

The total price for the Shoes came out to be $169-42-25-20 = $82. Still expensive for a pair of shoes but hopefully they last me 5 years like my old pair.

Nike's Military Discount (Key Points)

• It can be used online or in-store
• Applies to family members as well
• All military branches are eligible

Also if you like Under Armour, They offer 10% off for military members as well!

Like what you read? Want more deals for military?

Like us on Facebook

Join us on Google Plus

Follow us on Instagram

Pin us on Pinterest

Military Discount - 2016 Microsoft Office for $9.95

Did you know that Military can download 
2016 Microsoft Office Professional Plus for $9.95! 

This is a steal of a deal. Normally it costs $399...yikes. You can use the download link on two computers also, which makes the final price like $5 per computer. 

Here are 8 easy steps for the Military Discount 

on Microsoft Office

1) Click here to visit Microsoft Hub
***Use your home computer/laptop (not your military laptop or military work computer)***

2) Enter your military email address 

For example: @mail.mil, us.army.mil, navy.mil or usmc.mil

*Your email must be in the following format John.Doe@navy.mil, Jane.Doe@usmc.mil, etc

If you are a veteran and don't have a military email,
 then you can still get a one year subscription for a discounted price ($62)
 at the Microsoft Store for Military

3) Enter the program codes below:
(Updated November 19, 2016)

If that doesn't work than try NOT entering any code. Some people have had success entering NO code. 

Army
enter the code 44C0707F11

Air Force
New code for 2017 Air Force members - 4A82EF7B8F
If you are AIR FORCE....click the blue link that says you do not know the program code and it will send you an email with what you need. I tried with the code first, then without the code... and that is what worked for me.

Navy
This code should work for Navy - 44C0707F11
or 22FCF442D2 or 18DCD3115E
Read our new post specifically for Navy Members - Click Here
For Non-NGEN USMC users: use program code 44C0707F11
For NGEN USMC users: use program code or 18DCD3115E
The code 67F2F2491D also has been reported to be successful as well. 

*Remember try entering your email address without any code FIRST

4) They will then send you an email that contains a link to download the software

 GREAT TIP from comments below - "Make sure to use your work .mil address and then forward the confirmation email to your personal PC. I have done it for both my Mac and Windows 8.1"

5) Click on the link inside the email
GREAT TIP from comments below - "Make sure to use your work .mil address and then forward the confirmation email to your personal PC. I have done it for both my Mac and Windows 8.1"

6) It will bring you to the page below

7) Proceed with the checkout and click install

8) YOU'RE DONE!!! (takes about 5 minutes)

CLICK HERE or click the Picture Below to take you to 
the $9.95 download page or  

Please comment below your Military branch and if it worked for you. If it didn't work for you give us more details then just "the code didn't work". Tell us your branch, status, email address, and details like you didn't get the email, or it wouldn't accept my military address, etc. and we will try and help. 

If you are a veteran and don't have a military email then you can still get a discounted 1 year price ($62) at the Microsoft Store for Military. Right now they are giving an extra 10% off

The military also provides McAfee or Norton Antivirus software free of charge , visit our page Military Free Antivirus Software (McAfee - Norton) to learn how to download it. 

If you LIKE what you've read, LIKE us on Facebook for more awesome Military Discounts!