SAN DIEGO - Thousands of U.S. troops are being barred from overseas duty because they are so deep in debt they are considered security risks, according to an Associated Press review of military records.

The number of troops held back has climbed dramatically in the past few years. And while it appears to represent a very small percentage of all U.S. military personnel, the increase is occurring at a time when the armed forces are stretched thin by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are seeing an alarming trend in degrading financial health," said Navy Capt. Mark D. Patton, commanding officer at San Diego's Naval Base Point Loma.

Read more from The Virginian-Pilot.

There are companies out there that claim to be able to repair and restore good credit to those who have fallen onto the bad credit list. There is no quick way to repair bad credit. Some of these companies claim they can guarantee to get you a credit card regardless of your credit history. But often times they will take your money and run with the help of loopholes and fine print on a contract.

The best way to improve your score is to set an example of on time bill paying. The reason most credit scores are low is because of late and delinquent bill paying. This can be changed in six months to a year with committed on time bill paying.

Another way is to get a copy of your credit report. There are several companies that offer a free credit report. You should not have to pay a fee to have copy of this report or to have any changes made to it. Often if there are mistakes it is the credit card company that makes them and they should be the ones to fix them.

After you have done the research and found that you may be better off going at it alone, the first task is to get a copy of your credit report. Go through your report with a fine tooth comb looking for any discrepancies. You have the right to dispute any thing that is on your credit report and have it investigated. You may contact the creditors directly to notify them of any known errors and ask them to correct the mistake. Some blemishes can't be removed but you can repair it yourself by living within your budget and paying your bills on time. After establishing a good credit history over a period of time it will make past mistakes more forgivable.

Another way to fix your credit is with a credit counseling company. These companies need to be researched just like a credit repair company. Do not put your faith and money in a company just because they have a catchy slogan or a cute commercial. When it comes to your money and credit it is important to stay on your toes. A reputable credit counseling company can act as a mediator with your creditors to lower or eliminate high interest rates while you pay off your outstanding balance. They usually require that you cancel your open accounts and pay them off before getting a new credit card. They can be a consolidator of your debt by allowing you to make a monthly payment directly to them and they will in turn make your monthly payments.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as credit restoration at http://www.creditrestorationfirm.com

Along the Chesapeake coast of Virginia, gunmetal gray is as familiar a color as the clear blue sky and calm ocean blues and greens that attract visitors to the Tidewater area each year. Driving along I-64 to Virginia Beach, or down route 13 from Maryland, it is not uncommon to see large ships creeping slowly across the Bay. Visitors get a grand view of Naval Station Norfolk before the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, and Oceanfront Virginia Beach visitors can see the lighthouse of Fort Story on the way to a day of fun.

For visiting and residing military, the Hampton Roads area offers numerous other opportunities aside from fun in the sun. While a popular destination for living and enjoying vacations, the seven cities also comprise one of the more costly areas in Virginia to live. People attached to Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana, and other military insitutions in Hampton Roads may find that monthly budgets can be rather tight. Once the bills are paid, is there anything left for fun?

It's possible, if one knows where to go to take advantage of military discounts.

Many local and regional businesses are very military friendly when it comes to offering discounts on goods and services. It is a small token of appreciation for the people who serve and protect us on a daily basis, but during months when there's a financial pinch, a good discount can help make the weekend a bit happier for the whole family.

Entertainment

In the mood for a good laugh? Sweet Caroline's Comedy Club of Virginia Beach offers discounts to military personnel. Also, be sure to check area concert venues like the Virginia Beach Amphitheatre and the Constant Center. On occasion, military discounts are available for big name shows.

Connectivity

Need a place to surf the Internet, play games, and hang out with other gamers? Try the WebCity Cybercafe of Virginia Beach, where all military get a 10% discount on rentals and food.

Health and Beauty

Sometimes after a long day of work, you just need to relax and be pampered. In Norfolk, L'Etoile Nail & Day Spa offers special prices on services for the military, while at Ambiance Day Spa in Virginia Beach every Friday is Military Appreciation Day with 10% all services.

History

Education can be fun, too! Take the family to Colonial Williamsburg and enjoy a military discount on admission to the various ticketed exhibits. While you're in the area, Busch Gardens is known to offers discounts on admission to military. Contact the park to confirm.

From comedy to history, roller coasters to hair rollers, discounts on services and entertainment can be had for military personnel if one knows where to look.

By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA BEACH - The military calls them "IAs," shorthand for individual augmentees.

They're the 46,000 men and women who have been picked from Navy units to serve, often facing danger, with soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Once considered a short-term program, the Navy and defense experts acknowledge these sailors are now a permanent part of today's ground force.

The Navy this month created the Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center at Little Creek to track and assist those sailors uprooted from their ships and shore commands. About 150 people are assigned to the center and at bases in battle zones.

Read more at The Virginian-Pilot.

Affordable financing for the military. Apply today!

MilitaryConnection.com
By Paul X. Rutz, American Forces Press Service

A Web site featuring resources for military families hopes to become a one-stop information source for job seekers, coupon hunters and charity backers.

MilitaryConnection.com was the brainchild of Debbie Gregory, an experienced executive recruiter who spent six years working as a print advertiser for Defense Department-contracted base newspapers. Gregory said she aimed the site at today's military family.

"I saw that this is an audience that is online a lot. I saw that there were a lot of resources that weren't available to them, and I wanted to do more than just recruitment advertising," she said. "All the databases are free for their use. ... We're not really selling anything."

The site contains several useful features to support the military's unique needs, Gregory said. Links to hospitals, schools, news, state tax boards, yellow pages, a military pay calculator and a "virtual mall," she hopes, will help military families make smoother transitions between duty stations. The site also provides options for help on resumes and advice for what to do at a job interview.

Coupon providers have space on the site, as well, with links to places where families can print out the coupons they need and take them to their local commissaries and exchanges, she said.

The site's home page prominently displays the banner for "America Supports You," a Defense Department program aimed at facilitating grassroots and corporate support of American troops and their families. Gregory said she has been working with several America Supports You member organizations (including CinCHouse, Operation Homefront, Fisher House and Toys for Tots), sharing expertise on how best to serve the military community.

"We talked to military family groups, and this is what they told us they wanted," Gregory said. "Military (families) move a lot, and we've learned so much in working with these organizations. ... When you look at somebody's resume and they've moved a lot, some people don't understand that it wasn't a choice and that they're outstanding candidates."

Gregory said her earlier career placing military people in civilian jobs showed her some big changes in the job market's attitude over the past decade.

"It has gone full circle now," she said. "When I started out in executive search, corporate America wasn't so in tune with how excellent military candidates are. I think today, they're cognizant of it."

Beyond a simple source of advice, Gregory said she hopes her site will become a hub for job seekers looking for companies, and vice versa. In its "virtual job fair," the site contains links to defense contractors, law enforcement agencies, health care companies and others.

Gregory and her group are working on a section featuring restaurant chains, retail chains and insurance companies.

MilitaryConnection.com makes money by selling ads to companies who seek a military audience, many of whom are looking to hire ex-servicemembers. Some of those companies pay to be part of the "featured jobs" section so military members can have access to companies looking specifically for them.

"We're not charging a placement fee or anything like that," she said. "What we're trying to do is put these ads in front of them and connect them."

Gregory said she also hopes to connect the companies that sponsor her site with charities that help servicemembers. She said she provides incentives to help that process along, offering discounts to the sponsors and giving them an opportunity to donate directly to the military-friendly charities featured on her site.

"We can't make them give (the discount) to the charity, but we certainly encourage them, and we put the charities front and center on the site," she said. "If we're a company that works with military, we should be supporting military. And maybe we can lead by example so that our clients might become involved."

The site offers companies the direct donation opportunity for two reasons, Gregory said. She wants no one to doubt whether their money goes where they want it to go, and she sees the value in providing a direct relationship between people supporting the troops, allowing them to interact however they see fit.

"If they wanted to give more, it facilitates that, rather than us being involved in the middle," she said. "That's not our business."

While there is much more to add, already keeping the site on the cutting edge has proven "a challenge," Gregory said, but she believes in her mission wholeheartedly.

"It's a win-win. It's a win for the corporations that advertise because the military candidates are wonderful ... and it's a win-win for the military audience," she said. And it's a win for the charities. If every time we generate income and a little bit can go to them, that's great."

Source: LIFELines

Affordable financing for the military. Apply today!

As you browse our website to learn more about how you can finance a new desktop or laptop PC, some questions may arise if you aren't familiar with how financing works. Is it like paying for a computer with a credit card? Similar, yes, but in this case you are applying for the credit needed to take home one particular item, rather than a card that lets you buy multiple items. Is it like buying a house with a mortgage? Again, yes, only where you may need to offer a down payment on a home, The Computer Connection will let you finance the computer you want for no money down.

Financing is defined as a means of obtaining the resources to purchase an item, then paying back the loan in a set time period for a set monthly or weekly fee. In most cases, people turn to financing when buying a house, a boat, or a car, but there are instances when financing may be needed to purchase other necessities. For example, furniture stores may offer financing plans to people who wish to purchase entire room sets, and yes, there are business that sell computers and accessories with similar plans.

You may be asking yourself now, why not just buy a computer on a credit card? While a convenient method for some, it isn't for everybody. With interest rates as they are, the price of a purchased item on credit will fluctuate as the rate on the card increases - a person will definitely end up paying more than what the item is worth. Also, consider the fact that not everybody will qualify for certain credit cards and rates. You may receive numerous mailings proclaiming that you are prequalified for this or that card, but it is still possible to be turned down for credit, and missed payments on present cards will show up in your credit score. So when you do try to buy a house or a boat and alarms ring when your credit history is brought up, you know you're in trouble!

So how then, you wonder, can one qualify for financing with a smaller business? Smaller businesses take various factors into consideration, of course, as you apply for a loan through them. Most importantly, they look at employment status - do you generate a regular enough income to be able to make monthly payments? If you are in the military, you may find it easier to apply to credit on the basis of your employment. That you are taking in a steady wage from the government tells a business owner that you are good for the money you will need to pay back, and from there a reasonable payment plan can be made so you can enjoy your PC now and pay as time passes. With some businesses, your paystub could be the ticket to owning a nice computer.

This blog will serve to inform interested readers about financing, living on a budget, and other news of interest to military. The Computer Connection is proud to offer low financing plans to military personnel looking to buy PC desktops and laptops, and we assist civilian government workers and others as well. Watch our site for information on how you can finance a computer through us.

by Jeremy Horelick, ArticleInsider.com

If your credit history is marred by late payments and ballooning debt, and you're an active or retired member of the service, you're eligible for military computer financing. You don't have to be on a Special Ops team or parachuting out of planes over Iraq to qualify for a payment plan on a desktop or laptop. If you're anywhere from E-1 (Private) to O-9 (Lieutenant General), fill out an online application, and as soon as it's processed and reviewed you'll receive a contract.

Once you've reviewed the terms and rates of the agreement, just send it back through the mail--most companies need signed hard copies of the contract--and within a few days your computer will be on its way to your door. There's no long, drawn-out approval process, no letters of recommendation, and no attorneys, all of which means no headaches for you. All of these factors make military computer financing a superior choice--certainly much better than leafing through countless catalogs looking at models and accessories you can't buy.

This Is Too Good To Be True!
If you've just read that you can purchase a computer based on your military status alone and think this sounds suspicious, consider this as well: you're not buying a reconfigured or outdated machine. Military computer financing lets you own a brand new computer with all the peripherals, including mice, printers, and drives, for no money down. If that sounds even more dubious than before, never fear, there's a perfectly good explanation for everything.

Men and women in the armed forces don't simply receive a free pass in the credit world. While there are military mortgages, phone calling plans, and other discounts out there, none of these things will compensate for a truly horrid credit history. It would be great if banks and other lending institutions cut us all breaks for the various sacrifices we've made in our lives, but then most lenders would be out of business. So how does military computer financing work?

The Secret to Military Computer Financing
When you fill out your online forms, you're still just applying for a loan the way thousands of "civilian" Americans do each day. The difference is, in some cases lenders are willing to take a gamble by offering low interest rates to those who've served (or are serving) their country. The rationale for this can change from lender to lender, but there are a few reasons some companies are willing to do this.

One is that their business model is scalable. Even if computer financing companies only make one- or two-percent interest on their loans, if enough borrowers come to them, the sheer volume is enough to offset the low return. Another reason for this seemingly unsound business strategy is the "loss leader" principle. This is the (proven) idea that a long-term gain justifies a short-term loss. In other words, if a computer company knows a buyer will come back for a full-price computer once his or her credit is strong, it's worth luring that customer in now and establishing a relationship.

Nobler Reasons for Military Computer Financing
Not all business decisions are made solely on a bottom-line basis. Some companies are just proud of the job their country's young men and women are doing both here and abroad and want to reward their bravery. This is arguably the most dangerous time in our country's (and world's) history to join the armed forces. Even reserves now stand a decent chance of being called up and shipped out to fight. Military loans are just a small way for some businesses to show their gratitude.