Nearly every Airman will deploy at least once during their contract, and there’s a lot of preparation that has to be done to make a deployment successful. While deploying is essential to Air Force operations and can often be fulfilling for Airmen who want to serve our country, it can also come with a lot of stress. You don’t want to add to your stress by failing to manage your finances while you’re away. In this blog, we’ll guide you through ways you can manage your finances to alleviate stress while you’re overseas.

Our Top 6 Tips for Financial Management During Deployment

You don’t want to return from your deployment having just managed your stress overseas only to have to deal with financial stress that can take months or even longer to resolve. Instead, there are things you can do to financially prepare for your deployment and manage your finances while you’re overseas. Below, we’ve compiled our best tips for financial management while you’re serving our country.

1. Manage Your Bills

You don’t want to be late on your payments while you’re deployed, so it’s best to take care of your bills before you leave so you don’t incur any late payments that could impact your credit score. While you may start out your deployment with the ability to pay your bills, you may end up in a situation where paying is impossible if you lose access to the internet or end up in a situation where you can’t use your devices.

Rather than fret about how you’re going to pay your bills while you’re overseas, think about setting up automatic payments with your providers before you leave. With automatic payments, your bills will automatically be taken from your account on the due date. If you’re married, you can put your partner in charge of paying your bills so you don’t have to worry about them, allowing you to focus on the important tasks and responsibilities you have while you’re deployed.

2. Get Rid of Unused Services

Oftentimes, you’ll have services or subscriptions that will go unused while you’re deployed. For example, you may have a subscription to a streaming or gaming service that you and nobody in your household will use while you’re gone. Rather than continuing to pay for this service and wasting your money, you can cancel these services or pause them until you return to the States. If you’re living with a spouse or partner, ask them what services they will and won’t be using so you can determine which ones are best to cancel.

You may also want to look at the insurance on your motor vehicles. While you don’t want to cancel your policy outright, you may be able to make some changes to your policy if your vehicle is in storage or unused while you’re away. Avoid canceling services like your utilities since you want air conditioning in your home in the summer to prevent damage to your furniture and electronics and heating in the winter to prevent pipes from bursting and causing costly damage.

3. Think About Having Someone Else Manage Your Finances

Deployments are already stressful, and you don’t want to add unnecessary financial stress to your plate while you’re trying to deal with everything overseas. Instead, consider giving someone you trust power of attorney, which allows them to make financial decisions on your behalf while you’re away. A power of attorney can take away a lot of the stress that comes with trying to manage your finances while you’re deployed, especially if you have payments that can’t be set up through an automatic withdrawal system.

When you’re picking a person to have power of attorney, make sure you choose them carefully. You want it to be someone you trust, like a spouse or a loved one. You’ll need to trust that they’ll make payments on your behalf on time and will properly manage your finances so you don’t have to worry about damage to your credit or financial impacts that you’ll have to manage when you return home.

4. Increase Your Savings

Aside from your typical savings, you’ll likely be saving some extra money while you’re deployed after you cancel your services. You may even receive additional pay while you’re deployed. Any extra money you make should be funneled toward a savings account. It’s best to have separate accounts for different things, including an emergency fund and an account for future purchases, such as a down payment on a home or a vehicle. You can also consider increasing your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions while you’re deployed to gain more money for your future retirement.

5. Benefit From the SCRA

The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) is available to all Airmen and provides financial and legal protection to them and their families. You can use the SCRA to lower your interest rates or break a lease early with no penalties when you have official orders to deploy. Before you deploy, sit down with your spouse and look at the SCRA to see what savings you can benefit from. You can even put any money you save into a savings account for future use.

6. Put Money Aside

Deployment is an excellent time to start putting money away so you can reach your financial goals, particularly because you won’t be home to spend it. You’ll be able to increase your savings, pay off debts, add to your emergency fund, and more. It’s very important to work towards these goals, but you should also consider putting money aside that’s free to use when you return home.

Deployments are stressful, and you are likely to want to have some time to relax or have fun once you get back to the States. If you go ahead and set aside funds for this, you won’t have to worry about dipping into your other savings accounts or spending more money than you have when you get back. If you have an extra income during your deployment, set around 10% of this aside for “fun money” you can use when you return home. You can use this to take a vacation, buy something you’ve always wanted, or for experiences for you and your family.

Ways Spouses Can Reduce Financial Stress During Deployment

Spouses play an important role in helping their partner deal with financial stress while their partner is deployed. This responsibility can help your partner focus on their crucial work overseas, which is why it’s important to understand your role in managing the finances at home. Some ways you can help your spouse manage their money on the homefront include:

• Maintain your budget: If you haven’t already made a budget with your spouse, it’s time to make one. A budget can help you stay on track with your spending and allow you to save. Once you have a budget, stick with it when your spouse is deployed. Make sure your allocating money to a savings account, especially for an emergency in case anything happens.
• Talk with your partner: You want to be on the same page as your spouse when it comes to your finances. You need to agree on spending, savings, and financial goals, especially with an upcoming deployment. Sit down and talk with your partner about your finances to make sure you are aligned.
• Automate finances: Setting up automatic payments for your bills can help take some of the stress when it comes to paying for your expenses. Managing things on the homefront while your spouse is away can be stressful enough, and you don’t want to add more to your plate when trying to remember what bills to pay and when. Instead, automate what payments you can so that money is automatically pulled from your account when due dates roll around. Just make sure to stick to your budget so you have enough in your account for your bills.
• Think about a new account: It can be hard to communicate with your spouse overseas, and you don’t want to accidentally have your account overdrawn because you were unable to communicate about spending. Instead, consider opening up a new account that’s separate from your joint account. That way, your deployed spouse knows exactly what money they can spend without having to worry about overdrawing the account or spending too much when bills haven’t been paid yet.
• Consider a support group: Support groups offer valuable assistance to Air Force spouses, especially during deployments. If you’re struggling with managing the finances on top of everything else, you can join a support group to vent, find support, and listen to experiences and tips from other spouses who are going through the exact same thing.

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Uniforms are essential for day to day Air Force life and for deployments. Make sure you’re prepared for your upcoming deployment with uniforms from American Uniform Sales. We offer AFI-compliant Air Force uniforms and accessories, making it easier to stay within strict Air Force regulations while you focus on preparing yourself and your family for your deployment. Get started by shopping our selection, or contact us if you have any questions about our products.