Budget For Baby

The military has many programs set up to a help to the service member and their family.  The programs are called different things in different branches.  I can only speak for what I know and that’s the Navy.

I decided to take advantage of a class called Budget For Baby that is offered by the Navy Marine Core Relief Society (NMCRS).  If you are the spouse of a sailor or marine, you should have the NMCRS on your radar.  They are a great resource.  They will help you make a budget and can help with rent and utilites if you are having a hard time making payments.  You can also receive a $300 no questions asked loan.  They helped me get to my grandmother’s funeral in September 2010.  They made airline reservation for me and paid for the ticket; we were able to pay in back through an allotment over 10 months.  It was nice to not have to worry about it.  Just know that they are available to help you in times of need.  I don’t know what available for the Army/Air Force/Coast Guard but I would think there is something similiar.

I had been told that this is a great class and that for going I would get some free baby items.  I thought that was great, I like free.  The class lasted about a half an hour and we went over simple budgeting.  I think it was supposed to be longer but we went through the material quickly.  We were given a budget outline and even though we were told to bring a copy of our LES (our paystub for those nonmilitary folk) we didn’t use it. 

At the end we were handed a reusable bag and were able to choose a color of a hand knitted blanket.  I picked a green one.  When I got home I was happily surprised to see what was inside.  Everything is Gerber brand and I received:

1 white knit sheet, 1 cotton sheet with little lions, giraffes, elephants, monkeys and alligators on it, a 3 pack of burp cloths with cute animals, 3 bibs, 1 white thermal blanket, 2 pairs of mittens, 3 pack of sleep n’ plays (pj’s) size 3-6 months, 5 white onesies size 6-9 months, and a hooded towel and wash cloth.  Everything matches and has the same little animals that are one the cotton crib sheet.


How great is that?  These items are super cute.  I don’t have any crib sheets yet so I was super excited about that!  You can never have too many burp cloths, bibs, sleepers or onesies.  I was wanting one or two more hooded towels.  I also love the green blanket handmade blanket.  It has hearts around the edges and an angel in the middle…how perfect for a little angel!

So I’m sharing this so that other people can take advantage of it!  So please, make sure you check into what items are available to you and a military family and take advantage of them!

Oh, one more thing…I did have to preregister for the class.  If you don’t know the information for the closest NMCRS near you, you can check it out in this link.

For my Milspouse friends, what services/programs provided by the military are your favorite?

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