Military life offers its own special brand of challenges, opportunities, and needs, and military spouses and families share this unique perspective from locations around the globe. Today’s smartphones, however, make it easier than ever to connect to other families, communicate with your loved one, and make military life easier to navigate. Below are 7 excellent free apps that help military families stay informed, make the most of their budgets, and find the information they need, faster.

Military News

This free app delivers top U.S.  Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard headlines alongside pay and benefit updates. Created by Military.com, you can personalize your news feed for information most pertinent to you and your family, and to ensure that you never miss updates on pay and benefits. You can also use it to easily share military news to your social media network and find additional related resources or news topics. Also a good source for related resources and job searches for military personnel, families, and veterans. Android and iPhone

Commissary Rewards

Saving money in the digital age is easier than ever with this free smart phone app. Serach, clip, and share digital coupons, then automatically redeem them when you scan your DeCA Commissary Rewards Card at checkout. Simply select the digital coupons you want to use and they are automatically loaded to your Commissary Rewards Card. Scan your card at checkout to get discounts that add up to real savings! Android and iPhone

Base Directory

Base Directory is the universal base phone directory for US Military installations in CONUS and OCONUS. The application supplements the website BaseDirectory.com and provides a free, comprehensive, always-available way to find what you're looking for on base. Use this app to easily find information – from fitness centers to medical facilities and movie showtimes – on any base, save your own home base for easy access, explore maps of other bases, review on-base establishments, and more. Android and iPhone

My Military Life

Created by the National Military Family Association to help spouses navigate the many adventures of military life by offering answers to real-life questions, resources, and a network of other military spouses. Includes ratings of resources and locations from other military spouses, personalized info based on your location, must-have emergency contact numbers, benefits alerts, scholarship information, customized to-do lists, acronym lists, and more. Android

Sandboxx

This free app helps simplify life for military members and the people that support them by providing a cross-branch platform to connect, communicate, and correspond. Use this app to post, upload, and message your military network, which you can organize by unit, friends, and family. A “Letters” feature helps you easily create digital and physical letters to boot camp or deployment locations. You can customize your profile to include your military lifestyles, history, and rankings. Android and iPhone

Hero Care by the American Red Cross

A complete solution for members of the military, veterans, and their families to prepare for, cope with, and respond to the challenges of military service. Created by the American Red Cross, Hero Care enables families to easily set up and submit an emergency request at the touch of a button, 24 hours a day, 365 a year, regardless of deployment location. It also includes extensive resources for families for before, during, and after deployments, as other critical information such as VA facilities locations, benefits information, mental health/substance abuse, and job resources. Android and iPhone

Sesame Street for Military Families

This free app takes all the great characters and resources from the beloved children’s show Sesame Street, and tackles topics specific to military families, such as deployments, homecomings, injuries, grief, and self-expression. The app features engaging videos, articles, storybooks, parent guides, and more to help support your preschool and school-aged children as they encounter transitions common to military families. Be sure to review content first due to sensitive nature of some of the topics. Android and iPhone

10 Great Bonus Apps

Goodwill locator

Military Discount Locator

Military Acronym Guide

VA Loan App

Military Pay Calculator

Military Ranks Guide

Transition to Civilian Life App

Military Forms Database

Magic Home Inventory

Skype

Written by Megan Hammons