I've always wondered, but do people that was in the Military tend to be well off financially?

[al audi]

I know somebody that's doing this ...he's getting transferred to the middle of nowhere PA but he's gon go by himself and leave his fam back in Carolina ...he was mad as **** when he found out his next location

Man I don't wanna be that guy but men lie and women lie.......


You can google it, if ya want.

This is real life......

 

[deleted]

My neighbor was in the navy for years and years and he's now an alcoholic who is about to be evicted

 

[al audi]

My neighbor was in the navy for years and years and he's now an alcoholic who is about to be evicted

Sad but **** is real.

 

[atlsfinest]

I'm currently active duty (officer in the navy) and I'll tell you that a lot of it is about image. In a lot of case for the junior enlisted guys the military is their first time getting any real money (as small of a check as it may be) and they feel the need to stunt. They buy big cars and houses and end up in crazy debt. I was a division officer when I was on the ship and I can tell you some crazy stories about my sailors putting themselves in dumb financial situations. One dude already had bad credit and went to an Indian Reservation to take out a loan with 40% interest so he could get a Dodge Charger. The stories go on and one. My old CO used to tell me that you'll never get rich in the military but you can be VERY comfortable if you manage your money and use Thrift Savings Plan (kinda like a 401k to supplement your pension). The pension itself is good if too. If you stay active for 20 years you get half your base pay for life. One extreme case I know of is an officer who did 30 years and gets 100% disability. Dude makes $90k/year in pension. :x
The great part about the military is the job security it provides you allows you to do a lot more with your money. Knowing that you're never going to get fired unless you really mess up or do something stupid makes investing and buying multiple homes easier (not to mention the VA loan). My old boss is an O-4/LCDR in the navy and he's bought 5 homes and rents them all out. I didn't even mention the GI bill yet either.
Military life is tough though. I just left my ship a few months ago and I couldn't imagine going back for another sea tour. You save money and see cool stuff but being away from your family takes its toll. Infidelity is rampant in the military both for those gone and the spouse back home. Anyone whose been in the military for more than a day has a crazy cheating story they've heard. Then you have the constant moving around. Many elect to be geo-bachelors (i.e they move from duty station to duty station and their family stays in one place.)
At the end of the day if you're smart with your money and use all the programs the military has you have no excuse to be broke. They'll pay for you to get all kinds of certifications and whatnot, all you have to do is do your research.

 

[art vandelay]

I'm currently active duty (officer in the navy) and I'll tell you that a lot of it is about image. In a lot of case for the junior enlisted guys the military is their first time getting any real money (as small of a check as it may be) and they feel the need to stunt. They buy big cars and houses and end up in crazy debt. I was a division officer when I was on the ship and I can tell you some crazy stories about my sailors putting themselves in dumb financial situations. One dude already had bad credit and went to an Indian Reservation to take out a loan with 40% interest so he could get a Dodge Charger. The stories go on and one. My old CO used to tell me that you'll never get rich in the military but you can be VERY comfortable if you manage your money and use Thrift Savings Plan (kinda like a 401k to supplement your pension). The pension itself is good if too. If you stay active for 20 years you get half your base pay for life. One extreme case I know of is an officer who did 30 years and gets 100% disability. Dude makes $90k/year in pension. :x
The great part about the military is the job security it provides you allows you to do a lot more with your money. Knowing that you're never going to get fired unless you really mess up or do something stupid makes investing and buying multiple homes easier (not to mention the VA loan). My old boss is an O-4/LCDR in the navy and he's bought 5 homes and rents them all out. I didn't even mention the GI bill yet either.
Military life is tough though. I just left my ship a few months ago and I couldn't imagine going back for another sea tour. You save money and see cool stuff but being away from your family takes its toll. Infidelity is rampant in the military both for those gone and the spouse back home. Anyone whose been in the military for more than a day has a crazy cheating story they've heard. Then you have the constant moving around. Many elect to be geo-bachelors (i.e they move from duty station to duty station and their family stays in one place.)
At the end of the day if you're smart with your money and use all the programs the military has you have no excuse to be broke. They'll pay for you to get all kinds of certifications and whatnot, all you have to do is do your research.

Everything this.

 

[serotonins]

Lol an officer and enlisted are in way different pay grades. A brand new officer will make what a enlisted person who has at least a minimum of 4-5 years in.  

Depends on your branch too...yeah doing a sea tour must suck...like might as well just be deployed. 

Really depends on how much you have experienced at a young age before you join the military that will determine how you spend your money and time. 18 years olds who just graduated high school probably barely worked a min wage job or not even worked at all. They have never seen money like that unless their parents had it but then its not really in their bank account, so when they see money thousands of dollars hit their bank account they don't know how to manage. But for a person who is joining at 21 or older and lived on their own since 18-21 and know how it feels like to be broke as **** then yeah they will probably mange their money better because they know how important it is to save money. 

If you turned 21 before you joined the military I believe your chances SHOULD be lowered for getting in trouble with alcohol because you already know what the bar scene is like and know what situations should be avoided. Drinking is a waste of money, yeah man go have fun doing the same thing every weekend spending a hundred dollars a weekend. 

I don't know many people who have done their whole enlistment. They all used their GI BILL some live alone, others live with their parents, some went to a university. It all depends on how motivated you are while in, how much school you do, how much you network, and save.