Everyday Finances

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Start a Spending Plan
A spending plan gives you control. Your plan will clearly show how much money you have coming in, what you’re spending it on and where you can make trade-offs to come up with extra cash.
Track Your Spending
The first step to getting your finances on track is to know where your money is going. You may have a good handle on your monthly bills, but what about your daily expenses?
Calculate Your Net Worth
One of the best ways to assess where you stand financially is to calculate your net worth. When you add up all of your assets and subtract your debts, you can clearly see if you’re progressing towards your goals.
Monitor Your Financial Health
Applying for a loan is a common first step toward buying a home, buying a car or going back to school. Monitoring your financial health can help you avoid surprises when you need a loan.
Start an Emergency Fund
We never know what the future holds for us, so it’s always best to be prepared. Having an emergency fund put away is extremely important so you’re always prepared to deal with what life brings—good or bad.
Manage Your Checking Account
Balancing your checkbook isn’t what it used to be. Direct deposit, ATM fees and surcharges, online payments, automatic transfers and debit charges make keeping your account in balance a real juggling act.
Reading Your Leave and Earnings Statement
Your Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) provides detailed information about your pay and benefits. But the document can look like it’s written in code. Here's what you need to focus on.
Talk To Your Spouse About Money
Talking about money issues under normal conditions can be stressful. Talking about them while a service member is deployed to a remote location can be more so. The best remedy is to communicate regularly about household finances.
Set SMART Goals
Goal-setting is pretty simple. A goal is something that you are willing to work for. You can get what you want by planning AND following the plan. Setting achievable—and SMART—goals is your first step to success.
Free Tax Help for Military Families
Filing your income taxes can be confusing enough, but special tax rules, exclusions, extensions and deployment can make tax season even more difficult for military members and their families. Fortunately, free tax assistance is available.
Turn Your Tax Refund Into Instant Savings
Taxpayers now have more ways to save the money they’re getting back in their tax refund. Form 8888 lets taxpayers instruct the IRS to directly deposit a refund into more than one bank account or buy Savings Bonds.
Preparing Your Finances for Deployment
Developing a deployment financial plan and focusing on a savings routine will allow you to concentrate on your upcoming duties.
Financial Tips for Your Next PCS Move
To prepare for a life of moves, you need to know what to expect both before and after a move. That means asking a lot of questions and doing some research.
Investing in Real Estate: The Inadvertent Landlord
Managing real estate from afar can be a challenge for a family living the military lifestyle. You should approach real estate with the same care you would take before making any investment.

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