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During National Veterans and Military Families Month in November, we salute the strength of our families as they support the mission of our community. MilSpouses, especially, display determination as they face the challenges of military life. We see you navigate frequent moves, deployments and often raising children as a solo parent. We understand your motivation to keep a career through all of it.
Spouses typically manage the family budget and make important money decisions while their service member is away. These five financial power moves can help you remain “MilSpouse Strong” this — and every — month.
1. Celebrate the small wins. Not every financial achievement is a big one. Often, it’s just the routine of staying on budget, paying down credit cards or getting a better deal on auto insurance. However, little wins add up over time, so take pride in each one, knowing you are contributing to your family’s well-being.
2. Tap into your MilCommunity. Looking for answers to your money questions? MilCommunity contains practical tips from dozens of military spouses worldwide who’ve dealt with budgeting, savings and spending issues like yours. MilSpouse Money Mission’s own financial experts also weigh in with information to empower you to make smart money decisions.
3. Set your MilKids up for success. Teach your kids basic money skills to prepare them for a lifetime of good financial choices. See our helpful resources, including a series of engaging short videos on money topics you can watch with your children.
4. Get money-ready for 2025. The end of the year is the perfect time to conduct a financial review to see what’s working well, find where you can improve and set new goals. Our recent blog can help you get started.
5. Build your financial future through employment. Whether you’re starting out or are mid-career, there are resources to help you find and build a career that moves with you in your MilLife. Explore your options with Installation-Based Employment Assistance Programs, Spouse Education and Career Opportunities and Military Spouse Employment Partnership.
Stay MilSpouse Strong with these tips and keep up with the latest news and advice from MilSpouse Money Mission. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for the MilSpouse Money Mission eNewsletter for financial insights you can use.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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It can be fun and even eye-opening to watch those year-end montages reminiscing about the year. If you ever have that moment when you say to yourself, “Wait, that was this year?”, you could also imagine how easy it could be to lose track of the goals and financial plans you set in motion when the year began. Life can change quite a bit in a year, especially as a MilSpouse, and so can your finances. The end of the year is a great time to conduct your own year in review to evaluate what’s working well, see where you can improve, and set new goals for the year ahead. Here are some tips and resources to help you get started.
Take Inventory and Update Your Net Worth
Start your review with an inventory of your current finances to get a clear picture of your financial situation.
First, gather your account statements. Record balances for all bank accounts (include checking and any savings) and investments such as the TSP, 401(k)s or 403(b)s, IRAs.
Second, determine the value of significant non-liquid assets. This includes items such as the value of your home, car(s) or business. Current fair market values can be looked up online for some of these items.
Next, determine what you owe. This includes your mortgage, car loan, student debt, credit card balances, and more. You will want to know the total amount owed, not the monthly payments. If you pay off your credit card every month, then there’s no need to include the current balance in this calculation.
Lastly, determine your net worth. Simply add up all your assets, both from your account statements and the value of your non-liquid assets. Then subtract what you owe. If your net worth is negative, then you have more debt than the value of your assets. A negative net worth is very common for younger Service members, especially those with student loan debt. Over time, with saving and financial discipline you can see your net worth grow. We have a guide to help you pay down that debt and strive for a positive net worth in time.
Review and Update Goals
Review this year’s goals: Compare your current financial inventory with what you planned to accomplish this year. If you’ve met most of your goals, give yourself a pat on the back! If you didn’t, don’t worry. Give yourself some grace and move on to doing better next year.
Update goals or set new ones: What do you want to achieve over the next 12 months? Save for a new car? Pay down debt? Build up your emergency fund? Whatever you decide, make sure your goals are SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.
Take Action
Once you’ve set your goals for the coming year, taking these actions can help you achieve them.
- Scrub your budget and get lean to achieve goals. Identify any waste in your budget that can be repurposed to increase savings, pay down debt, make a major purchase, etc.
- Review your spouse’s Thrift Savings Plan and any other investment allocations to ensure they remain aligned to your risk tolerance and goals timeline.
- Life happens, so build up your emergency fund. Aim to save three to six months’ worth of living expenses in an easily accessible account, like a high-yield savings or money market account. Make regular contributions until you reach your goal.
- Shop insurance companies to look for lower rates or explore any new coverage needed if you discover gaps.
- Update beneficiaries on all accounts and insurance policies, as needed. If you’re newly married, ensure your beneficiaries reflect your current situation.
- Review and update your will and other estate documents, as needed.
Taking the time now to see your financial picture clearly can lead to future success. If you build this habit into your year-end routine, you will see a trend line and be able to track your progress over time.
Do you have questions about conducting a review? A Personal Financial Counselor on your installation can help you with this and other money topics at no cost.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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Hey, MilSpouses, it’s Life Insurance Awareness Month!
Okay, so maybe that doesn’t make you want to break out the cake and ice cream, but life insurance is an important part of your financial plan. It can help take care of your family, giving them financial security if something happens to you or your service member.
Who needs life insurance?
Simply put, if someone depends on you financially, then you’re a candidate for life insurance. A common mistake among spouses raising children and not working outside the home is thinking they don’t need coverage. If the spouse-at-home passes away, the cost of child care for the surviving spouse would be one reason to have life insurance. Other situations include those who may want to repay debt, like a mortgage, or fund future goals, like education for dependents.
How life insurance works
Life insurance provides a death benefit (payout) to the named beneficiary when an insured person dies. Your premiums (what you pay for your policy) are based on the amount of coverage along with risk factors such as age and health. There are two main types of life insurance, term and permanent.
Term life insurance policies provide coverage for a fixed period that you choose, such as 10, 20 or 30 years. They pay a death benefit but do not accumulate additional cash value, as permanent policies do. The cost of term life can be much lower than permanent insurance, and the cost is fixed — it won’t go up during the initial term of coverage.
Besides using a commercial insurance company, service members and their families are offered low-cost term insurance through the military. Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) provides $500,000 of automatic coverage unless you decide to reduce or cancel coverage.
Military coverage includes Family Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (FSGLI), which provides up to $100,000 in low-cost term life insurance for spouses and $10,000 coverage for dependent children of service members. Dependent children are covered at no cost.
Term life insurance may be right for you if you want coverage for a set period, such as until your children are out of school or your mortgage is paid off.
Permanent life insurance policies are intended to provide coverage for life. They pay a death benefit to the named beneficiary and can also accumulate cash value. Since cash value is so important to permanent policies, let’s examine how it works.
When you make payments to your policy, part of the premium covers the cost of insurance and administrative fees, while the remainder goes into a cash value account to be saved or invested. The cash value grows based on the policy’s interest rate or investment performance. These dollars can be accessed through policy loans or withdrawals but are primarily intended to fund the policy in the future.
Because of this cash value component, permanent insurance is generally more expensive than term. It’s important to structure and monitor your permanent policy to ensure the premiums and cash value are adequate to cover the cost of insurance to avoid a lapse in coverage.
Permanent life insurance may be for you if you want insurance that provides coverage for your entire lifetime and includes a cash value component.
Watch the video: Term vs Permanent Life Insurance
How much life insurance do you need?
It certainly depends on your current situation and future goals, but a good way to determine your need is using the acronym LIFE.
LIFE stands for:
- Liabilities (debts to be paid off, such as a mortgage)
- Income (replace any income loss needed by survivors)
- Final Expenses (burial and any others)
- Education and Other Goals (fund future education costs and other goals of survivors)
Once you calculate the above, factor in any available assets at your death (savings, investments, retirement funds) to cover your needs. If there is a shortage, consider life insurance to cover the gap and bring peace of mind.
Watch the video: How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
Have questions about life insurance?
The Office of Financial Readiness offers free guidance from Personal Financial Counselors on your installation. They are experienced with insurance and understand the needs of military families.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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After months of planning and hard work, you’ve landed safely at your next duty station. Congratulations!
As you kick off this next chapter in your MilLife, it’s a good time to check in on your finances. Let’s look at two key items that are likely to change after a PCS: your budget and your insurance.
Budget Reset
A PCS is the perfect time to reset your budget as a lot of changes have likely occurred. Taking a fresh look at your budget helps you:
- Prioritize how money is spent
- Discover areas of waste
- Save for your family’s future
- Prepare for unexpected expenses
- Reduce money-related stress
Begin your budget reset by completing this online worksheet to track your monthly income and expenses. Some tips:
- Be as accurate as possible. Track everything coming in and going out so you have a solid grip on what needs adjusting.
- For income, review changes to your housing allowance and other military allowances. Be sure to apply for any refunds you’re due from your PCS, such as the Dislocation Allowance and the Temporary Lodging Allowance.
- The same thinking applies for expenses. Include changes in your costs for housing, child care, commuting, insurance, etc. Out-of-the-ordinary expenses like new household items should be accounted for too. And be sure to budget for building or rebuilding your emergency fund to prepare for unexpected expenses.
- Knowing where your money should go for key categories is a key element in reviewing your budget. Here are some guidelines:
- Saving and investing should be 10-15% of your pre-tax pay.
- Housing expenses should generally be limited to what you receive in BAH or 25% of your pre-tax pay. This can be challenging in some locations, but the closer you can stick to this guideline, the better off your budget will be.
- Transportation expenses, including a car payment along with fuel and maintenance, should be less than 15-20% of your pre-tax income.
Once you know what your situation looks like and the budget you’re now working with, it’s important to review it regularly. It may be more frequent in the beginning at a new place as it does take some time to fully account for all the changes.
Insurance Review
As part of updating your budget and identifying changes, you will need to update your housing and car insurance after your PCS. Some things to keep in mind:
- Before updating insurance, carefully assess what you need to protect.
- Determine the level of coverage you need. Compare insurance companies and their policies.
- Ask about discounts and savings but pay attention to overall price. A company that offers few discounts may still have lower premiums.
- Ask if an insurer reduces premiums for service members or if you buy more than one type of insurance from them.
- Although important, the cost of insurance should not be the only factor. You should also check an insurance company’s reputation by consulting A.M. Best Company reports (available in most libraries) and your state’s department of insurance website to find out whether complaints have been filed against a company.
Learn more about homeowners insurance, renters insurance and car insurance.
Once you get your budget and insurance in line, you’ll be in a better position to take advantage of the opportunities offered by your new duty station. Here’s wishing you an enjoyable and financially secure time in your new home!
To find more resources and information for before, during, and after your move, check out the Permanent Change of Station page.
And if you want help getting started, find a free Personal Financial Counselors on your installation.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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Insurance protection and estate planning are key to your family’s financial peace of mind. Insurance protects you from serious financial loss and provides for your family, and estate planning ensures your wishes are carried out in case you are no longer there.
Protect Your Stuff
Homeowners and Renters Insurance: Both homeowners and renters insurance cover your home and its contents, but in different ways.
- Homeowners pays for damage to both your house and structures (like a garage), while renters insurance covers just your possessions. (Your landlord is responsible for the building.)
- Both policies cover personal property that is damaged or stolen, including furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, jewelry and dishes.
- Both provide liability coverage against accidents in your home or on your property.
- Both have deductibles — an amount you pay before the insurance covers the rest.
Note: Due to an increase in extreme weather events — such as storms and flooding — some insurance companies have greatly raised their rates or stopped issuing homeowners policies in certain states.
Compare the features of homeowners insurance and renters insurance.
Car insurance provides financial protection in case your car is damaged or stolen, you’re injured in an accident or you’re at fault for an accident that causes injury or property damage to someone else.
- Insurers base your premium (payment) on how risky they think it will be to insure you. Risk factors include your age, gender, type of car and where you live. The higher the projected risk, the more expensive your insurance.
- Uninsured motorist coverage provides financial protection if you are hurt in an accident and the other driver doesn’t have insurance.
- Your policy may also offer features like roadside assistance and car rentals, if yours is being repaired.
Learn the basics of car insurance.
Protect Your Life
Life insurance provides a death benefit (payment) to the beneficiary when an insured person dies. Your premiums (cost) will be based on how risky an insurer thinks it will be to insure you, including your age, gender, health and whether you smoke.
There are two main types of life insurance, permanent and term.
- Permanent life insurance policies are intended to provide coverage for life. They pay a death benefit and can also accumulate cash value. The cash value may be invested or earn interest depending on the policy. The main intent of cash value is to keep the policy funded in future years, but most policies also allow the owner to use the funds for other purposes, either through withdrawals or loans. It’s important to understand that doing this can impact the policy’s ability to remain in force.
- Term life insurance policies provide coverage for a fixed time, such as 15, 20, or even 30 years. They pay a death benefit but do not accumulate cash value. The premiums are typically less expensive than permanent insurance.
Service members and their families can also access low-cost life insurance through the military. Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) provides $500,000 of automatic coverage unless you elect to reduce or cancel the coverage. Coverage includes Traumatic Injury Protection Insurance (TSGLI), which provides up to $100,000 to service members during recovery from a serious injury. Family Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (FSGLI) provides up to $100,000 in term life insurance to the spouses and dependent children of service members.
As a spouse, keep in mind that if you are currently not working or underemployed, it’s important to consider the cost of child care should you be unable to care for your child(ren). MilSpouse Tessa explains how it’s key to Know Your Worth.
Watch this video comparing permanent and term insurance.
Estate Planning
An estate plan supports most of the important legal, health, and financial decisions in your life and after you pass. It documents things like what happens to your property, who will care for your children, and who will oversee your finances and health decisions when you are unable.
Things to remember:
- Estate planning is not just for the rich — every family can have peace of mind knowing that important end-of-life decisions have already been made.
- Estate planning may sound daunting, but it’s really a series of small steps you can take one at a time.
- Estate planning is an ongoing process. Once you prepare the major documents, you will need to periodically review them to make sure they’re accurate and up to date.
There are many ways to plan your estate, but most plans include these five key documents:
- Your will specifies who will receive your property when you die, appoints a guardian for your minor children and names an executor to handle your affairs when it is time to probate your will.
- A durable power of attorney appoints another person to manage your legal and financial affairs in case you can’t due to prolonged absence, injury or illness. It stays in effect during your lifetime unless you revoke it.
- Your health care directive or living will lets you specify medical procedures you want taken — or not taken — if you aren’t able to state your preferences. For example, you can specify desired types of treatment, such as no cardiac resuscitation but maximum pain relief.
- You use a medical power of attorney or health care proxy to appoint someone to make health care decisions on your behalf, in case you become incapacitated through illness or injury.
- Your letter of instruction is a summary of essential information that clarifies your wishes concerning personal and financial matters such as who will need to be notified of your death and instructions for your funeral.
Note: Service members who are deploying are required to complete or update their Record of Emergency Data (DD Form 93). This document tells your wishes to the military if you die or become incapacitated, including who you want to be notified and how certain benefits should be distributed.
You may also need to prepare a family care plan to determine how you want your family cared for while you’re away. This document is required for certain service members, such as those who are single parents or dual-member couples with dependents.
Watch this video about the five key estate planning documents.
Take the Next Step
The Office of Financial Readiness offers free guidance from Personal Financial Counselors on your installation. They are experienced with insurance and estate planning and understand the needs of military families.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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Did you set financial goals earlier this year only to have a permanent change of station (PCS) threaten to derail your family’s budget? You’re not alone. Other MilSpouses have learned how to keep their family finances intact during a move — and so can you! Here is valuable advice from their experiences.
PCS-proof Your Finances
“While the government provides relocation allowances to help cover the costs of a PCS, those allowances may not be enough to cover all of the expenses you will incur.” To keep your financial house in order, keep these tips in mind:
- One way to PCS-proof your finances is to have money set aside to help cover unreimbursed expenses you encounter to move or set up your new home. Many MilSpouses refer to this as a PCS fund. A great way to boost this fund is by selling unused items you don’t plan to take with you.
- Have a healthy PCS fund to cover the cost of lodging, food, and incidentals. Even if you’ll get reimbursed, it’s nice to have discretionary funds set aside to pay off credit card balances or pay for utility deposits, new bathroom rugs, curtains, etc.
- Rebuild your PCS fund as soon as you arrive at your new duty station to give yourself ample time to save up for your next move.
- In addition to a PCS fund, build an emergency fund with a minimum of $1,000 but strive for 3-6 months of living expenses for your family. This will come in handy as unexpected expenses arise.
- Use these two worksheets to help you estimate your costs for the move.
More tips on PCS finances from MilSpouse Kelly
House Hunting
“As soon as we find out where we are PCSing, I rush to research everything I can about houses for sale, houses for rent and floor plans on base. It’s always hard to choose if we should live on or off base as both options have a lot of positives and negatives. For me what it comes down to is how far our money goes off base versus how much space we will get on base.”
Moving OCONUS – Plan Ahead
“One thing we were not prepared for was two and a half months in a hotel without any of our household items. The military did pay for the hotel, but we had to pay out of pocket to compensate for everything else such as our meals out, our rental car and other basic household goods. Most of these household goods were items that we purchased previously, but our shipment took between two and three months to arrive. My advice for future moves is to set a daily budget and have that money saved ahead of time — especially for time you’ll be staying at a hotel. Other things that we found important to budget for were contracts (such as a new phone plan, internet plan, etc.) and to have money saved to replace items that are damaged during the move.”
Benefits of a Personally Procured Move Across the Country
“Last spring, my dear husband came home with orders for a cross-country move. We chose to do a full Personally Procured (or do-it-yourself) Move. This would give us the flexibility we needed to make a door-to-door move, avoid waiting on delivery appointments, make a little extra money and have more control. As an incentive for conducting a PPM, you are allowed to receive 100% of the Government Constructed Cost (GCC) for a partial or full PPM. The GCC is the cost the government would have paid for the move and/or storage done by a Transportation Service Provider hired by the government. The upside is that you get to receive the payment and keep anything that is left over minus taxes! It is a lot of work, but it can pay off in the end.”
More tips on Personally Procured Moves
Affordable Family Adventures During a PCS Move
“Back in 2014 we had our first family PCS from Florida to Alaska. We did this with our 15-month-old, 6-year-old and our dog. We stayed at places with free breakfast and also made PB&J sandwiches for lunch to save money. Additionally, we only went out to eat for dinner and tried our best to keep everything under $50. We also saved money by staying with some of our closest friends on the way.”
More PCS adventures: Check out your local Morale, Welfare & Recreation office for budget-friendly things to do as you move, from discounted lodging and events to free access to national parks and museums.
Pets and PCS
“Having pets in the military presents a unique circumstance, and military families must consider the added cost of taking pets with them every time they move. When we moved to Colorado from Georgia, we had to keep our dog in mind when looking for hotels along the way as well as factor in hotel pet fees that added up to several hundred dollars. We are moving overseas now and thankfully, since our dog is small, he can fly in the cabin with us. Large dogs must fly as baggage or cargo and based on my research, that can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $7,000 per pet.”
More on moving with pets: The new Pet Travel Allowance provides reimbursement for costs related to relocation of one household pet during a permanent change of station move.
For more information and resources before, during, and after your move, check out our PCS page.
Mandi Moynihan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER
professional who has been with MilSpouse Money Mission since its inception. She also served in the Army and is the spouse of a retired service member.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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As MilSpouses, we are often asked to shoulder a big load of responsibility. When partners deploy or work long hours, managing career and home responsibilities — especially finances — can fall on us.
May 10 is Military Spouse Appreciation Day, and we pause to honor your unwavering support, strength and resiliency in all you do for your service member, community and country. In addition, I want to show you some love by lightening your financial load with great resources and tools from MilSpouse Money Mission. They are prepared by people who understand your situation — some of them military spouses — and can help you confidently manage your finances each day.
Blog: See our monthly advice column for timely financial tips to help you along your life and military journey. Topics range from planning for PCS expenses to maximizing retirement savings to setting your kids up for financial success.
Check for monthly updates >>
eNewsletter: Timely tips on managing your family’s finances delivered right to your inbox. Read the current issue and browse past topics.
Sign up now >>
Social media toolkit for community leaders: Explore our library of ready-to-use social media posts and share them with your network. They cover dozens of financial topics and are searchable by category.
Share financial content >>
Digital resources: Find flyers that highlight helpful financial resources for military families. Topics include raising financially fit kids and how to strengthen your family’s financial future. Download the flyers and share them with the spouses and parents in your circle.
Download flyers >>
Social media: Share and engage with content that offers financial tips and timely news impacting your family wallet. We want to hear from you!
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Wallet card: Put this handy little card in your pocket or wallet. It packs plenty of financial tips to help you navigate your military life. Share it with other MilSpouses so they too can benefit from our content.
Order cards >>
On this special day when we express our heartfelt gratitude, we hope these resources are helpful and empower you to create a stronger financial future. Be sure to share them with others. Let’s support and grow our community to help all MilSpouses lighten their financial loads.
Mandi Moynihan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional who has been with MilSpouse Money Mission since its inception. She also served in the Army and is the spouse of a retired service member.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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During Month of the Military Child, we pause to recognize the sacrifices and highlight the resiliency of military children. As we celebrate their unique experiences, take a moment to consider how their exposure to big life events, like a PCS, impacts their understanding of financial well-being. The money lessons we teach our children while they’re young — both in what we say and what we do – can set them up for financial success as adults.
Age-appropriate lessons can begin as early as three years old by introducing coins and paper money with basic counting. You can use a piggy bank to start teaching a seven-year old about saving, but a discussion about compound interest is way too advanced for this age. I’ve found that teaching kids about money works best in real-life situations, like when you’re grocery shopping or paying bills.
Check out the age-appropriate money lessons and activities below that you can use to boost your child’s money smarts, whether they are three or 19. I’ve used some of them to teach my own daughters, but you know your child best, so adapt activities to their personal interests and abilities. Starting the conversations sooner than later will help them appreciate financial decisions and build a solid foundation from which to build.
Ages 3 to 5
| Money Lessons | Learning Activities |
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Watch these videos with your child to learn more money basics.
Ages 6 to 9
| Money Lessons | Learning Activities |
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Watch this video with your child to learn more about earning and spending.
Ages 10-12
| Money Lessons | Learning Activities |
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Watch this video with your child to learn more about making purchases online.
Ages 13-15
| Money Lessons | Learning Activities |
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Watch this video with your child to learn more about getting a job.
Ages 16-19
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Watch this video with your child to learn more about investing.
See these other resources to help teach your MilKid to be money smart:
- How to Teach Kids About Money In Your Busy MilLife
- Money Management Strategies for Military Children
Set yourself up for success and gain confidence by using these resources as a guide. As you Purple up this April to celebrate your military child, take time to teach them fundamentals to help secure a bright financial future.
Mandi Moynihan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional who has been with MilSpouse Money Mission since its inception. She also served in the Army and is the spouse of a retired service member.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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Stay Financially Fit for Summer Fun
It’s March, the time of year I start dreaming about warm beaches, longer days and vacation travel. I know I need to plan now for that getaway and other things summer brings like camps for kids, possible vacations and maybe even a PCS. Here are some planning resources that can help you enjoy your summer while keeping your budget on track.
School’s out: Summer camps and child care
When the school year ends, the Department of Defense offers programs to keep your kids busy and well cared for with a variety of fun summer camps and child care resources — some available at reduced or no cost.
Almost all military installations hold summer camps for children and teens. These include camps for younger kids, Military Teen Adventure Camps (think rock climbing and white-water rafting), DoD STEM, 4-H Military Partnership camps and more.
The DoD also offers a variety of child care services, including access to a national database of more than a million caregivers so you can find hourly, flexible and on-demand care. Childcare.gov can also assist you with finding services in your location, and providing links to fee-assistance programs for each branch of the armed forces — such as the Army Fee Assistance Program, which lets parents pay on-installation childcare fees for off-base care.
Save more money: The new Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (DCFSA) benefit is a pre-tax account you can use to pay for eligible child care services, including summer day camps. With a DCFSA, you can save up to 30% on child care while reducing your overall tax burden. If you already have a DCFSA, changing your child care provider during a PCS counts as a “qualifying life event,” so you can keep this money-smart benefit even when you move.
Vacation and travel: Get more for less
Military families can book great summer activities while scoring big deals on travel and events.
From fitness and sports to tickets and travel, your Morale, Welfare and Recreation program offers you an array of recreation and entertainment options.
Looking to book an affordable trip? You can find deals on hotels, rental cars, flights, packages, event tickets and cruises through American Forces Travel℠. See Tickets and Tours for discounted special events, area attractions, hotel reservations, cruise bookings and more. And if your travel plans are flexible, military families can use Space-Available flights to travel around the country and the world at a reduced cost or for free.
You can also benefit from the vacation experiences of our MilSpouse friends:
- Beth explains how she uses military discounts to stretch her family’s vacation budget.
- Learn how Joderle saves for family vacations so she isn’t saddled with debt later on.
Bonus tip: An annual America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fees to National Parks and discounted entrance fees to various national monuments, such as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. The pass is free for military members and their families.
PCS: Moving to your next home
Whether you’re moving within the U.S. or overseas, advance planning can help make your PCS easier on you and your bank account.
Every good move starts with a plan. We can help you create an effective PCS plan to cover each stage of your move. You can also find tons of useful resources and advice on Military OneSource, from scoping out your new installation to housing allowances and planning checklists. Also, these helpful checklists from MilSpouse Money Mission can help you save money:
Job hack: Plan to work at your new location? The Spouse Education and Career Opportunities program can help you build a portable career, learn about transferring your professional license, find a job, network with employers and more.
The coming months can be a welcome and exciting change of pace. I hope these resources can help you make fun and financially savvy plans this summer!
Mandi Moynihan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional who has been with MilSpouse Money Mission since its inception. She also served in the Army and is the spouse of a retired service member.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
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There is a lot of financial advice out there that can help you build wealth and reach your financial goals. There’s also plenty of misinformation that can set you back. This month, I want to highlight five common money myths to avoid in the new year, as well as good advice you can take to the bank.
Myth 1. There’s no reason to save for retirement when you’re young. It’s easy to put off retirement saving when you’re young — I mean, it’s so far off and you have other priorities like buying a car or raising a family. But if you wait to save for retirement, you’re missing a huge opportunity.
The key to successful retirement savings is compound interest and time. With compound interest, your retirement account — whether a Thrift Savings Plan, 401(k) or something else — pays you interest not only on the money you deposit but also on the interest your money earns. So the longer you save, the faster your money grows. Let’s see how this works.
Pressy, Katie and Steve all want to save for retirement. Pressy starts at age 20 saving $200 per month. Katie starts at age 25 saving the same $200 per month. Steve waits until age 35 and tries to play catch-up by saving $400 per month. Assuming the same 8% rate of return for each of them, see the chart below for their results. Even though Pressy only saves $12,000 ($2,400 for five years) more than Katie, she ends up with over $350,000 more by age 65. Steve, by age 65 has significantly less than both, despite saving more.
Get the picture? With the magic of compound interest, time is on your side the sooner you start saving for retirement.
Myth 2: Buying a home is better than renting. It is a common belief that you need to own a home to build wealth. When you rent, you lose out on gaining equity in a home, and home values tend to go up over time, giving you a tidy profit when you sell. So buying is always a better choice than renting, right?
Yes and no. Typically, the longer you are able to own your home, the larger the value is likely to increase and you begin to build equity. One consideration when you buy a home is the substantial upfront expenses such as closing costs, fees and set up costs. It’s important to know your breakeven point – or said another way, the amount of time it takes to build enough equity to earn back all of the upfront costs. Before making any decisions, it’s wise to calculate the values of renting versus buying based on taxes, fees and other expenses.
For many military families who move frequently, renting might make the most financial sense. But if you are able to stay in one place for many years — or plan to rent your home to tenants — owning a home may be a good way to put down roots and build wealth.
Myth 3: I don’t earn enough to save. This is certainly understandable especially with high prices and inflation. But setting aside even a small amount will help.
If you can find just $20 a week to set aside, in one year you will have $1,040 which is a solid start to building an emergency fund. You might have to look at giving up one subscription or take a little extra time to pack a lunch during the week, but what might seem small can add up quickly.
Here are some tips to help you save:
- Automatically transfer a portion of your pay to a savings account through a direct deposit. That way, you may have less temptation to spend the money.
- Consider banking some of the “extra” money that comes your way, such as pay and longevity increases, bonuses, tax refunds and gift money.
Myth 4: Paying only the minimum on a credit card is fine. When your credit card bill comes due, it’s tempting to simply pay the minimum required amount. This way, you pay a smaller amount, and you avoid late fees. Unfortunately, when it comes to credit cards, if you don’t pay in full and you carry a balance, you end up paying more in the long run and taking longer to pay off the debt. Credit cards can have very high interest rates — like 18%. For example, if you carry an average credit card balance of about $3,000 at 18% for just one year, you’ll be charged around $540 in interest!
So you can imagine how only paying the minimum payments each month makes it incredibly challenging to pay off your balance AND the interest that’s building. Ideally you want to pay in full each month, but if that’s not feasible, strive to pay more than the minimum payment and be sure to know all the basics of how best to manage your credit cards.
Myth 5: Giving up your daily coffee purchase will set you up for financial success – You’ve likely heard this before. Give up your daily $5 caffeine fix, and you’ll save about $100 per month, right?
Making small adjustments like this can add up over time, but the more important financial decisions are your major purchases. What you decide for housing, cars, electronics and more will make a larger impact on your overall financial trajectory.
The Real Deal
In summary, falling for these myths can impact your finances and hold you back. Instead, use SMART planning to set clear money goals and establish a long-term strategy to achieve them. And don’t forget, as part of the military community, you have access to no-cost financial counseling services to help you achieve and maintain financial readiness for you and your family.
Mandi Moynihan is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional who has been with MilSpouse Money Mission since its inception. She also served in the Army and is the spouse of a retired service member.
MilSpouse Money Mission® is a Department of Defense resource that offers FREE personal financial education specifically geared toward military spouses. There is a Money Ready guide for various stages of financial life, a MilLife Milestones section to help you through the big moments in your military journey, a blog, spouse videos, quizzes, calculators and more!
The post 5 Money Myths to Avoid This Year appeared first on MilSpouse Money Mission.
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