When it comes to dealing with the financial situations of its personnel, the military takes things very seriously.  Active service members risk their lives for the good of their country and its citizens, so they are all but expected to be responsible when it comes to their own finances.  Members of the military are generally held to higher standards of financial responsibility than civilians in order to keep them from falling too far into the kind of debt that could affect them and their families for years to come.  In other words, being a member of any branch of the military means keeping your budget and finances in check.

Part of what is intended to help military personnel from falling too far into debt is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).  It was established on December 19, 2003 as a replacement of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act of 1940.  The SCRA offers protection from eviction to all service members who are paying less than $1200 a month in rent, the right to terminate a leasing agreement should they be relocated for over three months, a 6 percent cap on interest rates when dealing with credit cards, protection for military spouses who have to pay taxes outside of their state of residency, and access to better options for life insurance.

To further protect the finances of military personnel, military banks provide loans and issue credit cards with lower than average interest rates.  Unfortunately, the financial assistance provided by military banks are unaffected by debt relief programs, and receiving a cash advance isn’t an option because they have interest rates which exceed the guidelines of the SCRA. This applies to military spouses as well.

Military personnel who find themselves in dire financial situations may actually be discharged for their troubles. There are enough resources available to service members to keep them from falling too far into debt, and it is the responsibility of these service members to utilize these resources and be responsible for their own finances. Personnel with too much debt are sometimes considered security risks and have their security clearance revoked, especially since many service members have resorted to criminal or even treasonous activity to get themselves out of debt.  Being in debt can also place a lot of stress on a service member and affect every aspect of his or her life, both on and off active duty.