This article was provided by our SOF for Life partners at AAFMAA.
The New Year is always filled with resolutions of things we wish we had done better in the last year. Go to the gym more, save more money, be more organized, so on and so forth. Military Family Advisory Network (MFAN) reports that 27.4% of currently serving military families have less than $500 in emergency savings or no savings at all. If you are like so many Veterans who are trying not to be part of that 27.4% and you want to do a better job of preparing for the future, especially if you are considering transitioning from the service soon, make 2023 the year to do it!
3 simple things you can do to get started on the right financial path:
- Budget — Start small use a 50/30/20 approach
● 50% — Needs (house, car, electricity)
● 30% — Wants (entertainment, travel, eating out)
● 20% — Saving and Debt Repayment - Set It and Forget It — Set a certain amount of money to automatically go to a savings account on a certain day of the month. This doesn’t have to be a large amount — $10.00, $20.00, $100.00. Any amount will add up overtime to more than you started with.
- Tackle Credit Card Debt — The windfall approach is a good way to do this. Start with your highest-interest debt and put all you can into paying that off, while making the minimum payments on your other credit cards. Once that one large debt is paid off, move to the next highest debt and do the same thing.
Hopefully with the implementation of these three things you will be well on your way to making 2023 the year you become one step closer to financial independence!
Subscribe now to AAFMAA, check out our military transition resources or call one of our Member Benefit Representatives at 1-800-522-5221.
Have a great 2023!!!