Episode 85: Money & Military: Financial Advice for our Service Members, Nov. 8, 2011.
Our military members face some significant challenges today, both on and off the battlefield. Finances are one of those challenges. Today Matt talks about the financial challenges faced by our military men and women and offers some tips for them to avoid financial problems while serving our country.
Don’t forget: Living In Financial Excellence airs LIVE every Tuesday at 10 a.m. CST. You can watch live and join the chat at financialexcellence.net/live-show
Show notes:
- It’s critical for military members to have a written spending plan every month and to plan farther ahead for upcoming travel, training, deployments, and more.
- When deployed or on temporary duty (TDY) it’s easy to get lost in the extra pay allowances you get. Make sure you live off your base pay and have a plan for the extra income so it doesn’t get spent before it hits your account. That will help you reach other financial goals quicker.
- Trying to take care of Power of Attorney (POA) at the last minute is a pain. Taking care of it ahead of time saves you a lot of hassle and lets you spend more time with the family in the last few days before you leave.
- Make sure any life insurance policies you have don’t have a “war clause” in them. This prevents your beneficiaries from being paid if you die at war.
- COMMUNICATION is of utmost importance in a military marriage. Without both spouses being on the same page before the military member leaves for deployments or training, how can the one left behind properly manage the finances without adding conflict to the relationship? Couples absolutely have to make sure the spouse at home not only has the authority to manage the finances but knows HOW to manage the finances.
- You can influence what we talk about in future shows. Simply fill out this three-minute survey.
Like what you hear? Visit the iTunes store and leave a review or leave a comment below. Or call our listener feedback line and leave a voice message that we can share on the air. As always, we appreciate your feedback!
