03 Episode 3 – Employment Assistance
This Employment Assistance episode discusses the Black Hills Regional Job Fair, how to succeed at a job fair, dressing for success, and job interview tips.
Military Saves Weeks is just around the corner. The Airman & Family Readiness Center is proud to present educational courses and a Certified Personal Financial Counselor.
If your register for and attend an educational course you are registered to win a 32″ Flat Screen TV or $50 cash!
The Certified Personal Financial Counselor will be available during this week to provide budget assistance, investing information, and more.
Click the image above to read or print the flyer.
Please give us a call at 385-4663 to register for courses or schedule an appointment with the Financial Counselor.
Below are a few of the educational courses being offered:
Money In Motion
Our finances are always a work in progress. And no matter who you are or how much money you have, life happens. Money will come, and it will go–money is always in motion, just as our lives are in motion and continually changing. We get married. We have families. Our families grow up. We grow older. We retire. We are consumers at every stage. Our wants and our needs continually change. We make smart decisions with our money, and we make those we later regret. We learn from both our successes and our regrets.
Home Buying “Make Your Move”
The goals for Make Your Move . . . a Guide to Homeownership are: To prepare you for all aspects of the home buying process. To provide you with the information you need to gain confidence in handling the process of buying a home. Knowing what is involved in the home-buying process helps you understand what will be expected of you.
Money Habitudes
How your habits and attitudes about money support or sabotage your life, relationships, careers and financial goals.
Credit When Credit is Due
The primary tool in the program is a twelve-lesson workbook, Credit When Credit is Due. The course is designed to give consumers the information they need to understand how credit and debt work. This course helps to develop responsible money management strategies.
It’s Valentine’s Day and I wanted to share some [edited] thoughts from Chuck Lorre…
“I thought it might be nice to write about the human heart – the organ from whence love comes. While cardiologists might see it as just a simple pumping mechanism, common wisdom knows better. The brain does not love. The lungs do not love. In the end, we all know the truth. We’ve all experienced the truth. That swelling feeling in the chest is the universal sensation we have when the heart is expressing love. Conversely, that sinking feeling in the chest is the universal sensation we have when our love is not reciprocated. It is then that the heart is “broken.” We are literally “heartsick” until we learn that our former paramour was inexplicably taken hostage by Somali pirates while dining at a neighborhood pizzeria. News we find “heartening.”
- Chuck Lorre Productions (Vanity Card #377, February 9, 2012)
Most people have heard the sayings, “nothing new under the sun” and “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” These saying definitely apply to being an Air Force Spouse.
Whilst perusing Family Service’s, now known as the Airmen & Family Readiness Center, photo albums and scrap books from 1959 to 1987, I came across a news commentary from the Black Hills Sentinel from 1963 that supports those sayings.
In 48 years, only minor changes would need to be made to update this article to reflect the current day. No longer would the headline start with the word ladies since the Air Force has many men that are spouses who support their wives/sponsors. Instead of Family Services Dependents’ Orientation, Ellsworth’s Airman and Family Readiness Center holds Heartlink Spouse’s Orientation as well as Happy Landings for individuals new to Ellsworth AFB.
As an Air Force spouse and Air Force BRAT, I thought I was a little bit of an Air Force know-it-all, but I decided to attend Heartlink anyway. I learned some new things and received a lot of great information on Ellsworth and the surrounding area.
Sponsors please encourage your spouses to attend and spouses, even though you are referred to as a dependent, please be independent and come to learn about your Air Force resources and family through Heartlink and Happy Landings.
This episode discusses the reintegration process, reintegration finances, coping with grief and loss, and introduces our new Passport program.
Valentines day is around the corner and for those of us that celebrate the holiday we start wondering what to get our significant others. It would be so much easier if we knew what our significant other wanted or expected as a gift.
Many of us either already have a plan for our significant other or you’re just reading this and realizing that is the end of January and you don’t have a clue what to do. Don’t panic, according to the National Retail Federation, Americans procrastinate their Valentine’s Day shopping more than any other holiday, with 60% of sales coming in a 3 day span (Feb 12-14).
So if you know what you are going to do, you have some time to shop. If not, you may still be in a panic over what to do for your significant other. For those of you that are just dating or newly in a relationship, figuring out what to get each other doesn’t always get easier with time.
More than half of the U.S. population celebrates Valentine’s Day, which happens to be one of the largest holidays for spending in the U.S. at around $15.7 billion. In 2011, it is estimated that the average person spent $116.21 on gifts, meals, and entertainment for Valentine’s Day. Of that, Men tend to spend double what women spend on Valentine’s day: $158.71 compared to $75.79 (1). Adults 25-34 will spend an average of $189.97, about three times the $60.22 adults 65 and older will spend.
What do they spend that money on, you ask?
During research on this subject, I also found this scary fact for men to be aware of: 53% of women in America would dump their boyfriends if they did not get them anything for Valentine’s Day (3). Even if your significant other tells you “You don’t need to get me anything,” don’t think you are safe. Gentlemen, listen up…you need to get them something. So this brings us back to the issue of what to do in the way of gifts for Valentine’s Day and I was reminded of this JC Penny ad from 2009.
Wouldn’t it be great if we knew what that perfect gift was for our significant other so that we didn’t end up in the doghouse? For as long as humans existed, it is probably safe to predict that men have always wondered what women want and women…well they probably are right when they say they know what men want.
In relationships, discussing expectations between you and your spouse/significant other is important and will cover many aspects of your relationship from the early days of dating, to wedding plans, child raising, retirement, life goals and beyond. This isn’t a one time conversation that you can have, but will take place many times throughout your relationship.
So what does your significant other expect in the way of gifts? Do you know? If not, have you asked? That would be the best place to start. Responses range from a straight answer to, “nothing”, to (my personal favorite) “you should already know.” If they are asking, they don’t know. Help them out. Give them a ”bone.” A national jewelry chain has an email form that you can send to your sweetheart giving them a gift suggestion.
My wife and I discussed Valentine’s Day gifts and agreed that we would not get flowers for each other. For us, a bouquet of flowers are not a gift that lasts and especially when a dozen roses, that normally cost $40 anytime of the year, doubles around Valentine’s Day. At the minimum we get at least a card, if not something else.
When it comes to gift giving, think outside of the box (or shopping bag). Give gifts that match the person. Do not waste money on stuffed animals and flowers if they will not be enjoyed. Valentine’s Day, is not a time for one-size-fits-all gifts. Knowing a partner’s real desires will express the meaning of the day, and could eliminate irrelevant and expensive purchases.
One suggestion would be to go the homemade route. Write a poem, create your own card, a homemade gift, or prepare a home cooked meal. Whatever it is you have the benefit of the gift being completely personalized to suit their taste.
If our current trend of a warm winter continues, head outside. Use the magic of the night to fuel some energy for ice skating, or build a bonfire and eat s’mores. Or create a winter picnic with blankets and hot cocoa. Then head inside, defrost and snuggle up
with a blanket for a movie night.
Give helpfully. Brainstorm a list of things a partner normally handles, but dislikes such as the laundry, dishes, walking the dog or shoveling snow. Make coupons that he/she can redeem to enlist help with the activity. Don’t forget to add some romantic and relaxing activity vouchers as well. HOWEVER, a word of warning…make sure you will honor the coupons!
Whatever gift path you take: give it some thought, make it personal, make it financially realistic, and keep in mind that all that truly matters is it came from the heart. Communicate your expectations with your significant other, whether it be about gifts or other matter, and be prepared to actively listen to their expectations as well. That way you can avoid going to (or returning to) the doghouse.
What is your Love Language?
After counseling for several years, Dr. Gary Chapman noticed a pattern: everyone he had ever counseled had a “love language,” a primary way of expressing and interpreting love. He also discovered that, for whatever reason, people are usually drawn to those who speak a different love language than their own.
Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive—everyone has a love language, and we all identify primarily with one of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.
We have The Five Love Languages book available for you to check out in our Discovery Resource Center.
Sources:
(1) 2011 U.S. National Retail Federation survey
(2) Hallmark
(3) CT News
(4) Wisebread
There is no intended endorsement of JC Penny’s Jewelry Store.
A sudden death can be a shock and deep loss to any of us, both in our personal lives, and in the workplace. When a co-worker, dies suddenly, our productivity and the dynamics of our work place are greatly affected. We probably have spent many hours with that person, and consider him/her not just a co-worker, but also a friend.
With the death of a co-worker, often we do not think of them ever leaving unless it is to retire or take another position. The death can touch peoples’ feelings about their work and workplace, their own lives, and their own fears about death and dying. People who work together can become like extended family, and when they suffer a loss, friends and co-workers grieve. When the death is unexpected, as from violence, accident, suicide or sudden terminal illness, it can be even more traumatic to the co-workers who did not have a chance to say good-bye.
The following are some suggestions that may help you through this difficult time:
The Grieving Process -
Feelings and symptoms of grief can take weeks, months, and even years to individually process. We do not follow or heal according to a timetable, but over time our emotions do ease. The brief time given to attend the memorial and funeral only touches on the beginning stages of grief. The feelings and symptoms can be different for each of us. They may include: shock, denial, anger, guilt, anxiety, sleep disorders, exhaustion, overwhelming sadness, and problems with concentration.
Some outcomes of grief may include: 1) finding a new balance (which doesn’t necessarily mean that things will ever be the same), and 2) growth (which means readiness to move ahead with one’s life). Most of the time we feel several of these emotions at the same time, but in varying degrees.
Eventually each phase is completed and we move ahead. The extent, depth and duration will depend on how close we were to the deceased, the circumstances of the death, and our own situation and losses that we have experienced.
Some things you might do:
What to expect:
Seek help – Be aware that there may be times when talking to a trained professional might be helpful, especially if you are having ongoing difficulty dealing with the loss or if your work performance is suffering. This can be a signal that this loss or others are affecting you more profoundly than you thought.
