Your military job, your GI Bill benefits, military discounts and more all offer financial advantages that can help you, as military servicemembers, through tighter economic conditions.
It's top news and top of mind for everyone in America, not just members of the military: what is happening to the American economy? Are we in a mild recession, a Depression as big as the Great Depression of the 1930s, or are we on the road to economic recovery?
These questions won't be definitively answered anytime soon. And while we count on our leaders to guide us to economic recovery, every American family will also have to create a personal economic solution.
Rather than sink into a personal depression, take stock of the financial situation in your own military family. Become more aware of spending habits you can downsize; invest in some savings habits; get a financial education that will serve you and your family. Your military job, your GI Bill benefits, military discounts and more all offer financial advantages that can help you, as military servicemembers, through tighter economic conditions.
Today's economy is one more opportunity we can face successfully, with a little support and encouragement. It's time to honestly assess your own financial habits and revise as needed.
In this section of Military Hub, we'll update you on the best ways to leverage today's changing American economy. Whether the economy represents a challenge or an opportunity, as military servicemembers, you can thrive.
Create your own spending plan. If you were a business, you would be required to submit a balance sheet at the end of each month, to determine your financial status. So, treat yourself like a business. Keep track of your income and your spending and reconcile it each month.
Military financial readiness programs are not only popular, but mandatory at first-duty stations and they are often offered free of charge. "Financial Peace University," is one such financial military readiness educational offering.
Financial scams and predatory lending against servicemembers and veterans are so common that the Arizona attorney general has created an advisory board to stop it. Payday loans, something regulated by both the federal and Arizona governments, are another problem the state is looking into.
It can start out with just a small $200 loan till your next military paycheck; but the downward spiral begins when a military family starts the next military pay period in debt. Military family finances, credit ratings and debt management can all be easily and quickly destroyed with one payday loan.
