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Syndicated: Military.com | by Jennifer Calonia, GOBankingRates
The men and women in our armed forces face challenges every day, even after returning from their respective tours of duty. And while nothing can truly compare to the challenges confronted by soldiers, sailors and airmen in the face of combat, integrating oneself back into civilian life — where tracking finances is key — can be tough in its own right.
Whether acquainting oneself with tax changes, rolling over retirement accounts, managing credit, building up an emergency fund or formulating a savings-oriented budget, there are already more than enough money worries for newly reintegrated veterans to contend with.
This Veterans Day, GOBankingRates sought to address these real financial concerns by reaching out to the most influential members and organizations of the military community. We asked these experts what they think the biggest financial hardship is that veterans and active service members face today, and what they can do to achieve financial peace.
Related: Best Military Banks and Credit Unions
1. Lack of Early Financial Education
Ryan Guina, Air Force veteran and member of IL Air National Guard, helps others in this precarious financial position through his site, The Military Wallet.
“The biggest financial problem I see military members and veterans facing is having relevant financial education,” Guina said. “Financial literacy is a topic that many adults struggle with — and it’s easy to see why. High schools and colleges focus on teaching coursework that leads to a degree; they don’t always focus on teaching life skills. But the problem is often compounded for military members, who have a complex pay and benefits system (the complexity of the pay and benefits system led me to create The Military Wallet as a resource to help struggling military members and veterans).”
U.S. Marine Corps veteran, and author of the upcoming book, “8 Lessons in Military Leadership for Entrepreneurs,” Robert Kiyosaki expressed that military members are primed to be entrepreneurs out of the service as long as they ready themselves with the “vocabulary of money.”
“The advantage that service men and women have is that they have had outstanding training,” Kiyosaki said. “They have shown discipline and strength and courage — and, in my opinion — those characteristics translate into success in the civilian world, especially as entrepreneurs. Since we aren’t taught much (if anything!) about money in school, the easiest and fastest way to improve your financial health is to invest in yourself and your financial education. Rich dad’s secret weapon was words… both the words you choose and the financial vocabulary you build and use.
“Create a plan. Make it realistic. Commit to learning two new ‘vocabulary of money’ words each week. Understand what they mean. Use them is your daily conversations. Stick to your plan and put your discipline and mental toughness to work. It won’t be long before you see that small changes can deliver big results. You’ll feel smarter and more confident, more in control of your financial future — and better prepared to navigate even the most turbulent economic times.”
2. Managing Money During Deployment
When thinking of money issues veterans face, most people think of the many financial obstacles that must be dealt with upon reintegration to society, but rarely about the difficulties that veterans face when managing their money during deployment overseas. Managing investments, paying bills and contributing to savings can be tough while in a combat zone.
“Financial difficulties are often made worse because service members are frequently forced to deal with their finances while they are deployed, sent overseas, or are out to sea,” Guina said. “Most bases offer financial counseling services (often free of charge); but unfortunately, most people don’t use the counseling until they dig themselves into a financial hole.
“A better solution would be to require military members to attend financial education classes that teach basic financial skills and cover the unique complexities of the military pay and benefits system. The military does have some courses, but they are woefully inadequate, and only briefly cover the most basic topics. A more in-depth course that stresses the fundamentals, such as budgeting and basic investing, would help prevent some of the struggles with debt and predatory lenders that many of our military members often fall into. This would help military members, and ultimately help the military’s readiness capabilities.”
Jeff Rose, Army National Guard veteran, certified financial planner and author of the best selling book, “Soldier of Finance: Take Charge of Your Money and Invest in Your Future,” agrees that managing funds while deployed is a difficult balancing act. He recommends that military members reach out to a trusted person at home to be their financial eyes and ears.
“One of the greatest challenges that military have have is keeping track of their finances while on deployment or extended training missions,” Rose said. “Keeping tabs on their credit (for identity theft) or if bills are being paid is very challenging. That’s why it’s important to have a ‘financial battle buddy. For married soldiers, this is much easier as their spouse can handle this duty. For single soldiers, it’s a little more challenging but that much more important. They should consider enlisting a family member or even a close friend that monitors their credit and makes sure that nothing comes up that looks off like an unusual credit card charge. Soldiers have enough on their plates defending our freedom. Having that financial battle buddy will allow them to focus on the mission and defending our freedom.”
3. Not Enough Program Participation
JJ Montanaro, a certified financial planner at USAA, notes that financial programs can be a lifesaver for service members who are looking to be financially successful.
“Those that serve our country in uniform are confronted with the same financial challenges as the rest of America, however, the unique nature of military life can ratchet up the pressure,” Montanaro said. “You don’t get to tell Uncle Sam, ‘No, I’d rather not make that move,’ when you get orders in the military. A deployment or a move to a new location or ‘PCS’ as they’re called in the military could be right around the corner — like it or not. This can cause … (continue reading Veterans Day: 6 Financial Tips from Military Experts)
