This blog post is dedicated to my sweet cousin Bethany who is a military wife to a deployed Marine.
It takes a special person to be married to the military. Being a military spouse is not easy. I know because I was a military wife for 8 years. During that time there were separations, long work hours, and moving every few years. The military came first, family was second. If my husband was called in to work on his day off, he did it without complaining and we would adjust our schedule. If he had a last minute temporary duty assignment away from home, I would step up and fill in the gap during his absence. Many military spouses do the same thing every.single.day.
We were fortunate to avoid year-long deployments and just deal with short-term training missions that lasted a month or two or three. But no matter how long your military spouse is gone, having to take care of everything can be stressful. It can be even more stressful when you are the military spouse who not only has to raise children alone, but take care of the finances without being able to consult your spouse.
When my husband was enlisted, we struggled to live on his enlisted salary. There was no Dave Ramsey at that time. In fact, Financial Peace University was just getting off the ground. But now, Dave Ramsey offers a Financial Peace University Military Edition class for service members and their families.
What is the difference?
I have only coordinated a regular Financial Peace University (FPU) class so I do not know first hand the differences in the military version. I have noticed from the website that military members get a workbook that focuses on military-specific questions. I believe anyone can coordinate a class on post/base with approval from the commander or chaplain. If you are a military member or spouse you can find out how to get started HERE.If you are a military family I HIGHLY encourage you to attend a Financial Peace Military Edition class. If you cannot find one, see if you can coordinate one. If that sounds too intimidating, try locating a regular Financial Peace University class in your area. It will change your thinking and help get on the same financial page with your spouse before deployments.
If you are not a member of the military but would like to help military families learn about Financial Peace University, Dave Ramsey started an Adopt a Base program. It is a non-profit organization that invites people to donate funds to help get Financial Peace University materials to military installations.
Let’s face it, being in the military is a HUGE sacrifice. Enlisted personnel live on very little while sacrificing a lot. Officers live on more, but still sacrifice a lot and can even be in worse financial shape than their enlisted counterparts. As you may know, your income level does not equal financial intelligence level.We’ve been on both sides of the fence militarily and financially. Point is, we ALL need good financial information, especially those who sacrifice so much to protect this country we love so dearly.
