Where Is The Money Going?

First, let me say that I have a business degree specializing in finance and am currently training as a financial counselor. I have sat through the Budgeting class twice now with Jennifer and have, myself, found useful information I didn't know before. There is PPT, but as the instructor, she engages the soldiers and spouses by asking questions and giving additional information. They are also, while listening to the class, given work sheets that they fill out with their own information (with us helping as needed). They effectively leave that class with a budget of their own and information on how to fix their lifestyle issues to make better, more informed decisions. It is truely a wake-up call. You would be surprised at the exclamations from many who are, for the first time, seeing where their money is really going... a lot of it into vending machines, lunches out, and up in smoke. And they truely don't know how to real an LES, which is a serious problem. They need to know what is coming in and what is going out.

Also, it is made very clear that there are other resources to help in additional ways...all free and confidential.

That being said, I have found that many soldiers deploying run into the "I need to get it now before I never have the chance again" senario. It is hard to even imagine the feelings they have about being gone for a year or more, possibly God forbid, not coming back the same or at all. They tend to run out and do and buy everything and cram it all in before depoloyment. Then, when they return, they want to do and get all the things they couldn't do/buy while over there. To top it off, there are so many spouses who just spend while their spouse is gone.

I really think a wake up call will do a lot of these service members and their families a world of good. They really need to see the full view impact of their hasty decisions and uneducated judgement for themselves. The stores aren't going to do it, it would be bad for business. The community, though supportive in many ways, isn't going to do it because they look forward to such revenue too heartily.

It would be great to mandate everyone take finance/budgeting classes, but unfortunately that will never come to pass. There is an additional resource that is being added to our arsenal here at Fort Drum. The Military Family Life Consultants (MFLCs) now have a financial counselor here to help soldiers and families with redeployment finance issues. There is the Soldier and Family Assistance Center for warriors in transition, also. The Army has supplied all the necessary tools, now it is up to the soldier and families to utilize them.

Today I showed up for my weekly budget class and not a single person showed. You can lead a horse to water.....

First, let me say that the idea of the PX as a cause for debt is the equivalent of society letting parents off the hook for misbehaved children. Instead of looking for a solution to the problem, we come up with excuses. The PX is as guilty as the Dodge dealership or even Verizon Cell phones. In my commands, I have seen more Soldiers in debt from a cell phone than anything else. So let's not blame the product (I am fat because MCDs supersized my fries) let's blame a lack of financial education.
ACS has offers great classes on finances and Soldiers need to be made aware of them. As a commander, I failed in that aspect. I did not require financial readiness classes for my Soldiers. I only sent them when it was already too late. So, the first thing we need to do is educate commanders and first sergeant's. I know that the CDR/1SG course introduces the team to the concept of ACS, but doesn't really go into a lot of specific details. If the commander is well informed, the Soldiers will be well informed.
Another way to get the word out is to send Financial Support Teams (FST) to the brigades and battalions. As a Finance Commander, I sent a three Soldier team to a brigade every week to bring finance support to the Soldiers. It worked very well and pay issues went down in our area. Now, Finance Soldiers are not trained to conduct financial counseling. A team would have to be formed, trained and sent out to the Brigades and battalions. Don't wait for the problems to come to you, go to the problem.

"The reality is as long as Soldiers are in debt it is much easier to keep them in the Army."

Couldn't have said it any better...

I am going to add to that... So long as AAFEES continues to offer all the really expensive "stuff"... Lemme just say that the PVT's eyes is often bigger than the wallet and so debt ensues...

From talking with and listening to Soldiers talk I have learned that Soldiers and their spouses are substituting things for affection. To wit personal electronics either to help with deployment or to have when they return. Some pay off debts like cars and credit cards, and a few try their hands at investing. Then there are the gift giving holidays where the gifts can be more extravagant, like items bought at a bazaar or specialty shop.
"We are all adults" here. We can only mentor and counsel about money (or any other personal matter).

We see a credit crisis. Americans are swimming in debt. Banks are failing. Banks are not lending money. People are defaulting on mortgages, failing to make credit card payments, and saving less. The Army is made up of citizens and is a direct reflection of Society.

The Army has the same problems that society gives it. We live in a “keeping up with the Jones’,” “my Bling is bigger than yours,” flat-screen, instant gratification society. We live in a Society where we are constantly bombarded with images of products we are told we can’t live without. We are shown lifestyles that we can’t afford but are expected to maintain. We want it. We want it bigger, brighter, shinier, and we want it now. No one wants to save anymore. No one thinks about the rainy day. No one even knows what a rainy day is.

Credit, up until lately, has been easy to get with zero down, no interest financing, and fast, friendly, free delivery with-in 50 miles. Satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back. But we are never satisfied. There is always something bigger and better. But we want it now. We want Flat-screens, Blue jeans, Camel Backs, Ruck-sacks, Oakley Boots, and Games that shoot. Don’t forget, cars that bump, Double Deuce rims, new pain jobs, and new tattoos from Mr. Kim’s. We also must have internet, as fast as it gets, I-pods, I-phones, I-macs, I-robots, I-homes, I-life’s, but on finances, we won’t see eye to eye.

But what can be done? How do we change what society has driven home? Education is the only answer. As stated in the thread above, the last thing I want is to listen to financial guidance from someone when my finances in order. But if we are really going to fix this, then it has to be done.

Soldiers should be educated on the TSP. I don’t know how many times I have had to set down with Soldiers and explain what the TSP is and what it is for. Soldiers, in general, really have no idea of potential for saving using the TSP. Sure, there are a lot of programs with potential for better earnings, but that isn’t the point. Any savings is better than nothing.

There should be classes on how to live on a budget and still save. When I actually had Soldiers, I would set down with them and counsel them on their finances. I gave them budget sheets and we worked on a budget that they could live on and still put money away. Leaders cannot be afraid to take their Soldiers by hand and teach them financial responsibility.

Classes on the danger of credit cards and what APR’s are. When Soldiers realize they are buying a $12,000 car for $30,000 or that $2,000 T.V. for $3,000, it’s a real wake-up call.

In respect to a Soldiers personal time and money, it has been my experience that a Soldier is going to do what a Soldier is going to do. No amount of counseling and preaching about financial peace is going to make a difference unless the Soldier is ready to make a change in their lifestyle and you can take that to the bank.

Without some education and guidance our Soldiers will continue to spend every penny on a two week cycle no matter how much they are paid. In the short cycles between our deployments I see Soldiers trying to have fun at any cost knowing that they will have another deployment in the near future to help them pay for today's purchases.
I believe that a well thought out budgeting program that sits Soldiers down and encourages them to put money into savings or the TSP could be successful if those tools are made easily available. Most Soldiers don't see that the little purchases add up quickly, and don't have a good grasp of their expenses each month. Without sitting Soldiers down and forcing them to fill out the paperwork that would put $300 every month into a savings account instead of the checking account connected to their debit cards the trend will likely continue.
Credit cards are harder to tackle because its difficult to see the damage on a monthly basis, but Soldiers are smart, and will likely latch on to the idea that waiting a month to pay for something saves them 20% or more of the cost compared to putting it on plastic and paying it off slowly.
I admit that I am not looking forward to "another mandatory briefing" even if the subject is budgeting, but I do think its what we need. If the training is more than the generic power point brief, that no one gets anything out of, then it could be valuable, and if it forces some action and participation then it might make a difference for our Soldiers.