Financial Planning Before Deployment

I’m going to be honest with you, I am not financially minded. I hate to pay the bills and balance the checkbook, so I had a conversation with my AWN teammate, Maggie.

Why did I talk with Maggie? Because she worked in military pay from 2005 until 2008. During that time, she was the lead of Reserve and National Guard pay for the Defense Military Pay Office at Fort Lewis. So, she has some experience. I want to share these questions and answers with you.

1. What can a spouse do to prepare to take over as the financial officer of the household when the service member deploys?

This depends on what is easy for the spouse. I am always super busy when my husband is deployed, so I automate as much as possible. I try to get payments either on the 1st or 15th so that everything is paid without me thinking. Some people, however, like to set up reminders on their computers and have the computer ding when a bill is due. If you have financial questions, it is always best to start at the financial folks at Army Community Service. If they can’t help you, then they can at least direct you. And remember, a finance person cannot give you financial advice—they can only fix pay- and leave-related issues if you have the proper Power of Attorney.

I always recommend that spouses have the finance/budgeting conversation with their service member before the separation. Make sure there will be a budget downrange, too. This may seem like a no-brainer, but often the service member is under a lot of stress downrange, and they may not realize they have already spent their monthly limit.

Get a specific Power of Attorney for finances to work with the defense military pay office. This allows you to speak to finance about complex pay issues or something minor, such as a pay inquiry.

It’s also good to get acquainted with The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Generally, if you send a set of orders and a letter to creditors, they will lower your interest rates during deployments. I have found it’s a good way to pay off credit cards and things like that. Your legal office will have standard letters you can mail to creditors.

2. What resources are available to a spouse to help manage the finances?

Army Community Service at most installations have financial people to help with household budgets and other financial questions. Most major installations have Reserve- and Guard-activated mobilization personnel who have that Reserve- and Guard-specific financial help available.

Don’t underestimate Google’s help for military spouses. Plenty of milspouses before you have had the same questions, and they will have a million tricks of the trade.”

3. What do you think makes a strong financial manager?

Honestly, I think being open and talking about money and a budget without getting angry is important for a family.

4. Any final words of advice?

Really, the biggest thing is get used to reading the LES. There are cheats you can read about on the DFAS website. Remember when talking to finance people, there is this little thing about regulations. They are often written vaguely, and the interpretation you have may be different than a finance person has.