According to recent surveys, almost all Americans say financial considerations affect their stress levels.
According to recent surveys, almost all Americans say financial considerations affect their stress levels. Financial struggles, such as worrying about debt or the inability to save for retirement, can trigger stress that affects your well-being.
Knowing the effect our finances can have on our health, learning how to save, and accessing helpful resources are key to ensuring military families achieve financial wellness.
Your Financial Health
We often think about things like exercise and a healthy diet when it comes to our health, but your financial situation can also affect your health in many ways. When you experience long-term, chronic stress, you may have:
- Higher rates of anxiety and depression
- More tension in your relationships
- Increased feelings of shame and embarrassment, leading to isolation and withdrawal
- Higher rates of blood pressure, inflammation, and cholesterol levels
- Insomnia
- Physical symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, muscle tension, and digestive issues
- Increased risk for making unhealthy choices to cope, such as drinking too much, turning to drugs, or making poor food choices
Knowing the effect your finances can have on your health may motivate you to take steps to improve your financial situation. Saving money is one way to start.
Tips for Saving
If your family is living paycheck to paycheck or struggling with a pile of bills, you may be convinced there’s no room in your budget to save. But these tips, compiled from sites such as USA.gov and Military OneSource, may provide you with a strategy you can use to get started.
- Set a savings goal. To begin, start by figuring out why you want to save. Having a goal to reach can help motivate you. Are you hoping to build an emergency fund? Do you want to save for a vacation? What about retirement?
- Track your expenses. To save, you have to know how much you spend. Track your expenses for a few weeks or a month and include everything, such as bills, groceries, takeout, gas, and more. From there, you can start to find places where you can cut back, move money around, and save.
- Make saving a monthly expense. After you track your expenses, find an area where you can spend less, and then apply that money to savings instead. For example, do you have any subscriptions you can cancel? What about a gym membership you aren’t using? A weekly coffee or fast-food stop you can eliminate? Call your cell phone or cable company and ask how you can lower your bill. Once you’re able to cut down in one area, even if it’s just $10 a month, you can make savings a new “expense” in its place.
- Monitor and track your savings. After you establish how much you can save each month, figure out a way to track it that works for you. You can explore using a spreadsheet or an app, getting it automatically deducted from your paycheck, or opening a separate bank account.
- Continue to review your plan. Establishing a weekly or monthly check-in to review your progress can be helpful. Do it yourself, talk with the rest of your family or a professional, and see whether any adjustments can or should be made to your plan.
- Be kind to yourself. Many people experience financial stress. It isn’t something you need to be ashamed of. Life events, like caring for an elderly parent or losing your job, can cause financial strain you weren’t expecting. Taking steps to change your financial situation is something to be proud of.
- Become an expert on military pay. Military pay isn’t always straightforward. Talk with your Service member and review their leave and earnings statements, understand how pay changes during deployment or combat, and make sure your family is taking advantage of everything you can. For example, the Department of Defense’s Savings Deposit Program earns Service members 10% interest on money they deposit while serving in a combat zone or receiving Hostile Fire/Imminent Danger Pay.
- Take advantage of the resources designed to support you. You don’t have to be a savings expert to reach your financial goals. As a military family, you have access to resources to help you. Find more information below.
Resources
Military Saves supports military members and their families with saving money, reducing debt, and building wealth. Start by taking the Military Saves pledge. Then select a savings goal and put your plan into action.
Military OneSource financial counselors are trained professionals who can help you with budgeting, money management, saving, and more. You can speak to a consultant in person, by phone, or via video.
Your installation’s Personal Financial Management Program offers classes, seminars, and one-on-one support covering a wide range of topics to help your family achieve financial stability.
The Defense Department’s Office of Financial Readiness offers information and resources covering topics such as money management, saving, planning for the future, and more. Take a financial well-being assessment to help you figure out how you’re doing and access savings calculators to help you visualize how your savings can start to add up.
Each branch of service has an associated private, nonprofit relief organization that assists Service members and their families in times of need. These organizations can help with things like emergency transportation, medical bills, food, rent, child care expenses, or other unforeseen family emergencies.
With the right strategies and support, you can improve your family’s financial health and begin saving today!