Free tools for military families

Military family life runs on a cycle: orders arrive, the house hunt or move planning starts, and the budget gets rebuilt around a new zip code. Families who thrive in this life are the ones who treat each PCS as a math problem instead of a scramble. These tools handle the math.

The move itself is the first decision. A personally procured move, PPM, pays you around 95 percent of what the government would have spent moving you, and families who pack smart routinely clear several thousand dollars above their actual costs. The alternative is letting the transportation office handle everything, which is less work and less money. The PPM calculator estimates your payout from weight allowance and distance so the decision is based on your numbers, not someone else's anecdote. Get the estimate before you choose your move type, because you cannot switch midstream without headaches.

If the PCS comes with a home purchase, the VA loan is almost certainly your best financing, and the funding fee math matters more than most buyers realize. At 2.15 percent for first-time no-down-payment borrowers, the fee on a $400,000 loan is $8,600, unless a disability exemption applies. Run the calculator before the lender meeting so you walk in knowing your exact numbers.

For life between moves, two budget tools earn their keep. The free campground directory covers campgrounds across 9 states, which turns leave weekends into cheap adventures instead of expensive hotel stays. And for OCONUS assignments, the eSIM calculator shows how much a local data plan saves versus carrier roaming, because $10-a-day roaming adds up brutally over a three-year tour.

PCS wisdom from families who have done it ten times: decide your move type before the transportation briefing, photograph everything the movers touch, and pack a first-week box with documents, chargers, medications, and the coffee maker. The calculators on this page get you the money. The box gets you through the week.