Smart Military Money
Personal finance tips andadvice for the military lifestyle.
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We take aim at overspending in this military personal finance roundup. Spending beyond your means is a surefire way to ruin your budget, fall into debt, hurt your credit score and ultimately affect your finances in the long term. Temptations to overspend are omnipresent, so it’s not solely the fault of consumers to overspend.
The best thing to do is be disciplined and live within or below your means. It’s certainly easier said than done, but these blog posts are full of tips that can help you avoid overspending and save money.
Since everybody has to eat to survive, it’s fitting that this week’s military personal finance roundup is about food. Everybody knows food isn’t free and if you’re not careful, food can destroy your budget. With that in mind, we put together a handful of blog posts about food. It might sound silly, but every tip and penny counts nowadays. Have a look at what other personal finance bloggers have to offer when it comes to money and food.
In this military personal finance roundup, we take a look at entertainment and its relationship to your money. Don’t feel like you always have to spend money to be entertained. Thanks to the spring season, weather is improving, which means you can do all kinds of fun things outside. But if you’re more of an indoors person, there’s no shortage of entertainment for you.
Take a look at these blog posts that discuss several types of entertainment and money. How do you like to be entertained? What fun things do you do frugally?
This week in the military personal finance roundup, our focus is on a status symbol, mode of transportation and common cause of debt: a car. There’s no question that cars are convenient for transportation. With a car, you are free to go wherever roads go, and sometimes where they don’t.
But it’s not free. Insurance, maintenance and gas add up quick. Still, cars continue to be a popular option in the U.S. With that said, here’s a host of blog posts related to automobiles. How do you balance the convenience of a car with its costs?
Have you checked your finances lately? Are you financially fit? If you feel like money is going out at a faster rate than you can bring it in, you may be living beyond your means. Here are five tell-tale signs that could spell trouble for your financial health. See More
For this military personal finance roundup, we focus on spring. In less than a week, the blooming season will have started. Not everybody welcomes spring with open arms. Allergies annoy some of us, while other consumers plan on spring cleaning. Young consumers entertain the idea of racing to warm climates for spring breaks.
But there’s certainly no reason you can’t do some financial spring cleaning. Whether you find you need to trim your expenses or you’ve saved enough for that special vacation, spring is nearly here. Check out this roundup for blog posts about what spring means in the personal finance world.
We’ve all seen “going green” become an increasingly popular trend in recent years. Whether that means recycling, buying an eco-friendly car or conserving energy, environmental consciousness is important for the planet and for our resources. But what you might not know is that it can be important for your wallet, too. You could even save up to $113,000.
Many people think of going green as a costly endeavor. Although it might take more time and effort, Sara Tetreault of GoGingham.com and her family prove that it is not costly and is, in fact, a giant money saver.
Check how Tetreault dishes on her money-saving techniques and eco-friendly living.
Asking for a raise is an issue that creates tension for many people. And if you’re in the military or are a military spouse, you probably haven’t had to ask for raise before in your career.
But now you’ve taken on more responsibilities for the same pay or you’ve been in the military or other occupation for a certain amount of time, and the day has come for you to approach your boss or supervisor with a respectful inquiry regarding your salary.
How should you go about this? Here are tips on how to ask for a raise.
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How long do you leave your decorations up after the holidays wrap up?
For many households, the social stigma of being one of those people (the ones who leave their tree and all the trimmings up long past Christmas) creates pressure to take things down as soon as the new year begins. Sometimes it can feel like you’re pulling stuff down almost as soon as you get it put up.
With just a little bit of editing and some simple DIY, however, you can get more out of the time and money spent on decor by upcycling Christmas decorations to bring a bit of festivity into your home during the otherwise dreary winter months.
If you’re new to the military, chances are you have a lot to learn about a lot of things. It’s a new way of life that comes with significant changes, including financially. You want to be sure to start your financial life in the military off right in order to set yourself up for success in your continuing career. And you certainly want to avoid any big rookie mistakes that might come back to haunt your wallet.
So what should new military members know about managing money in the military? “If we could offer one piece of advice to military members — new and old alike — it would be to focus on frugal living,” said Mark Leach, Vice President of Media Relations at First Command Financial Services.
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