The document provides numerous tips for military personnel to save money, including saving $2.74 per day for an emergency fund, maintaining vehicles for fuel efficiency, using automatic deposits to "pay yourself first", establishing financial goals, and learning about personal finance fundamentals. It also discusses saving on taxes, credit card usage, insurance, investing, retirement planning, estate planning, and available military benefits.

1. Military Saving Tips
FINANCIAL READINESS

2. Money Habits
 Saving $2.74 a day over the course of a year will get you
an emergency fund of $1000.
 Keeping your car engine tuned and its tires inflated to
their proper pressure could save you up to $100 a year in
gas.
 Save using a Pay-Yourself-First approach. This means
setting aside money from each paycheck as soon as you
earn it, rather than waiting to see what is left at the end
of the month. The best way to Pay-Yourself-First is to
use some type of automatic deposit plan.

3. Money Habits
 Establish financial goals and take actions to achieve
them. Be specific with a date and a dollar cost. An
example is “save $8000 for a used car in 4 years”.
Knowing your timeline can help you choose appropriate
places to put your money.
 Learn about managing your personal finances and how
economic conditions affect your finances.
 Double your money. To figure out how long it will take,
divide the interest rate being earned on your savings into
72. For example, with a 4% average annual return,
$1000 will double to $2000 in 18 years.

4. Money Habits
 Financial planning is similar to planning a trip. You
need to know where you want to go, when you want to
arrive, how you plan to get there, and how much it will
cost. Once you have determined your financial
“destination”, savings will get you there.
 It is never to late to start saving.
 Changing spending habits is hard to do if the whole
family doesn’t work together. Make sure everyone in the
family is committed to making the new financial plan
succeed.

5. Financial Statements, Tools, Budgets
 Identify your financial values, goals, and strategies so
you can always keep a balance between spending and
saving and stay committed to your financial plans.
 Develop your own balance sheet and update it
annually.
 Develop your own cash-flow statements monthly or
quarterly and compile them into an annual statement
each year.

6. Financial Statements, Tools, Budgets
 Calculate your financial ratios annually to assess your
financial progress.
 Develop a list of your financial goals. Start with the
shorter-term goals and then expand your list to longer-
range goals. Update and revise your goals annually.
 Start an uncomplicated personal financial record-
keeping system that meets your needs.

7. Emergency Fund
 The $20-$40 you could save monthly by not
bouncing checks or overdrawing your account could
equal enough in a year to nearly fund a $500
emergency savings account.
 Build up your emergency fund until you have 3-6
months of expenses set aside.
 Remember that a shoe sale or electronics at a
discount are not an emergency! Only touch the fund
for unexpected repairs or expences.

8. Energy Savings
 How energy efficient is your home? Get tips from the
US Department of Energy for conducting a DIY home
energy assessment. Learn simple tips for evaluating
your home for air leaks, insulation, heating/cooling
equipment, and lighting. An energy efficient home will
save you money on your monthly utility bill.
http://www.energysavers.gov/pdfs/energy_savers.pdf

9. Taxes
 Reduce your income taxes by signing up for tax-
advantaged employee benefits at your workplace.
 Contribute to your employer-sponsored 401(k)
retirement plan at least up to the amount of the
employer’s matching contribution.
 Set up automatic contributions to your Thrift Savings
Plan.
 Maintain good tax records.
 Use tax refund to build up emergency fund and pay off
debt.

10. Checking & Savings Accounts
 Use a free, interest-earning checking account for
your day-to-day spending needs.
 Use high-interest savings accounts for funds you will
not need for six months to about five years in the
future.
 Use investments for needs that will not occur until
five or more years in the future.

11. Checking & Savings Accounts
 Maintain an emergency fund sufficient to cover three
to six months of expenses. For example, if your
monthly expenses total $1500, you will need $ 4500-
$9000 in your emergency fund.
 Buy certificates of deposit when saved funds will not
be needed until a specific future date.
 Reconcile your account statements monthly.

12. Groceries
 Most supermarkets offer store brands which cost
about 25% less than the big name brands.
 Use coupons for products you buy often
 Marketing tactic to be aware of: stores stock priciest
items at eye level so be sure to check high and low on
shelves for better deals.

13. Groceries
 Compare prices by using cost per unit. Unit price is
cost of item per ounce, gallon, pound, etc.
 Learn to cook from scratch. Mixes and convenience
products cost more.

14. Credit
 Protect your credit reputation just as you would
guard your personal reputation.
 Calculate your own debt limits before taking on any
credit.
 Obtain copies of your credit bureau reports regularly
(www.annualcreditreport.com), and challenge all
errors or omissions on them.

15. Credit
 Never cosign a loan for anyone, including relatives.
 Always repay your debts in a timely manner.
 The average interest rate on a credit card is 15%. Get
the best rate by paying your bills on time, not maxing
out the credit that you have, and staying away from
new debt.

16. Credit Cards and Consumer Loans
 Move credit card balances to lower-cost accounts, if
necessary.
 Never make convenience purchases on bank credit
cards on which you carry a balance.
 Pay your credit card balances in full each month, or
no longer than two or three months later.

17. Credit Cards and Consumer Loans
 Check your monthly billing statements against your
receipts for accuracy, and challenge discrepancies.
 Use student loans for direct education expenses only
rather than to maintain a better lifestyle.
 Select installment loans that have a low annual
percentage rate.

18. Credit Cards and Consumer Loans
 The best investment most borrowers can make is to
pay off consumer debt with double-digit interest.
For example, if you have a $3000 credit card balance
at 18% and pay 3% minimum payments, it will take
14 years to pay it off. Add in accumulating interest ,
and you will pay $5625 in interest charges!

19. Major Purchases
 Think through all of your major purchases using the
planned buying process.
 When planning to buy vehicles, check repair ratings
history in the April issue of Consumer Reports
magazine.
 Purchase late-model, high-quality used vehicles and
check their ownership history at www.carfax.com and
any recall history at www.nhtsa.gov.

20. Major Purchases
 Obtain price information from at least three sources
and aggressively negotiate prices and financing
terms for major purchases.
 Never tell a seller what payment you can afford.
 Promptly and firmly seek redress when dissatisfied
with purchases or services.

21. Major Purchases
 Never purchase expensive items on impulse.
Instead, think over each expensive purchase for at
least 24 hours. Using this principle will result in
fewer regrets and more money for savings.
 Always negotiate price, never payments. Payments
can often be manipulated so that the item is
affordable. Stay focused on the price because
salespeople will always try to get you to talk
payments. Once you have the best price, the
payments will take care of themselves.

22. Major Purchases
 When buying a car, donʼt forget to consider other
costs, like insurance, gas mileage, maintenance and
repair. These numbers are available in new car
guides or on websites such as www.kbb.com and
www.edmunds.com.

23. Home Buying
 Read your leases and all other real estate contracts
before signing.
 Get your finances in order before shopping for a new
home by reducing debt, budgeting better, and
clearing up anything that keeps you from having a
high credit score.
 Buy a home as soon as it fits your budget and lifestyle
so you can take advantage of special income tax
deductions and the likelihood of substantial price
appreciation over time.

24. Home Buying
 Thoroughly explore mortgage loan sources and
options to determine which one best fits your needs.
 If you make a down payment of less than 20 percent
on a home, cancel private mortgage insurance as
soon as the equity in your home pushes the loan-to-
value ratio to 80 percent.

25. Insurance
 Always insure your home and vehicles.
 Purchase insurance policies with very high liability
limits to protect against the possibility of
catastrophic losses.
 Verify that your auto insurance policy covers rental
car losses so you can wisely ignore sales pressure to
purchase such overpriced coverage.

26. Insurance
 Always comparison shop for insurance locally as well
as online.
 Maintain a verifiable inventory of all your insured
property so that you can collect what is coming to
you in the event of a loss.
 Once each year, reassess what types of and how
much insurance coverage you need.

27. Insurance
 Calculate your life insurance needs every three years
or when major life events occur, such as the birth of a
child.
 Avoid being talked into buying types and amounts of
life insurance that you do not need.
 Shop for term life insurance on the Internet to obtain
the lowest possible rates.

28. Insurance
 Employ the principle of “buy term life insurance and
invest the rest” with guaranteed renewable or level-
premium term life insurance.
 Contribute the money saved by purchasing term
rather than cash-value insurance into your
retirement plan.
 If you decide that you need a cash-value life
insurance policy, get one with a guaranteed
insurability option.

29. Investing Fundamentals
 Sacrifice some of your income by investing for your
future needs and lifestyle.
 Start early in life to invest in a diversified portfolio of
assets consistent with your investment philosophy.
 When investing for the long term, willingly accept
more risk.

30. Investing Fundamentals
 Invest regularly through your employer’s retirement
plan using an asset allocation strategy.
 Invest no more than 10 percent of your portfolio in
your company stock, or any single company stock.
 Follow the buy-and-hold long-term approach to
investing.
 Invest in stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and real
estate, not life insurance or annuities.

31. Retirement Planning
 Save early and often by beginning early in life to
invest in mutual funds through tax-sheltered
retirement accounts and continuing to invest every
year.
 Take enough risk to increase the likelihood that you
will have enough money in retirement.
 Save within an employer-sponsored retirement plan
at least the amount required to obtain the full
matching contribution from your employer.

32. Retirement Planning
 Diversify your investments.
 Keep your hands off your retirement money. Do not
borrow it. Do not withdraw it. When changing
employers, roll over the funds into the new
employer’s plan or a rollover IRA.

33. Estate Planning
 Every three years or whenever your family situation
changes, review the beneficiary and ownership
designations in your life insurance policies, retirement
plans, bank accounts, and other assets to make certain
they will transfer the property according to your wishes.
 Always have both an up-to-date will and a letter of last
instructions and revise them as major life events occur.
 Prepare and regularly update advance directive
documents so others can make the right decisions for you
if you become incapacitated.

34. Estate Planning
 Once a year, discuss with your spouse or significant
other your family’s financial and estate plans.
 Be positive that certain family members or friends
know where you keep financial records, advance
directives, your will, and an estate planning checklist.

35. Military Benefits
 Army Emergency Relief and other Military Aid Societies
 Veteran’s Aid & Attendance benefit can provide close to
$2000/month for a qualified veteran or surviving spouse
who needs help with everyday activities. (Program is for
those with a net worth of $80,000 or less, excluding
home and car).
 Go to annual physicals, medical tests and preventive
medicine appointments to make changes now and to
treat diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes
early to minimize their impact on health and finances.

36. Military Benefits
 Utilize GI Bill education benefits which may total up to
$52,500.
 The Military Spouses Residency Relief Act ensures that
the spouses of military personnel who move because
their spouse is posted for military duty will be treated as
not having changed residency for tax purposes.
 The Service Members Civil Relief Act clarifies and
restates existing law that limits to 6% interest on credit
obligations incurred prior to military service or
activation, including credit card debt for active duty
servicemembers.

37. Military Benefits
 Take advantage of free, confidential financial counseling
services at Financial Readiness Programs.
 Military travel benefits currently available include: Space-A
travel, airline and cruise lines offer military discounts, Amtrak
offers a 15% discount and Greyhound gives a 10% discount to
Military and their family.
 Military discounts and deals can be found at MilitarySpot.com
 Military One Source

38. Military Benefits
 Often overlooked Veterans benefits that go
unclaimed include Disabled Veteran payments,
Veteran death benefits and burial allowances, and
Veterans life insurance. For general assistance with
benefits due Veterans contact:
 Veterans Benefits Administration
Department of Veterans Affairs
1120 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20421
 Phone: (800) 827-1000 to speak to a benefits counselor
 Site: www.vba.va.gov