Military Families Keeping Close Tabs on Household Finances

The First Command Financial Behaviors Index® reveals that career military families (commissioned officers and NCOs in pay grades E-5 and above with household incomes of at least $50,000) are significantly more likely than their civilian counterparts to keep a close watch over their money. First Command’s annual survey of proactive financial behaviors indicates that military families continue to focus on:

• Monitoring pay stubs. Sixty-four percent of military respondents say they check their pay stubs extremely or very often. That compares to 48 percent of the general population.
• Monitoring personal stock investments (56 percent versus 27 percent).
•  Sticking to a defined budget (55 percent versus 40 percent).
• Monitoring taxes and tax changes (53 percent versus 23 percent).
•  Staying updated on the stock market (53 percent versus 31 percent).
• Checking mutual fund allocations (52 percent versus 23 percent).
• Checking credit scores (52 percent versus 35 percent).
• Checking interest rates on their deposit accounts (48 percent versus 22 percent).
• Checking rates on existing loans (43 percent versus 15 percent).

Professional financial advice is playing an important role in helping military families monitor their finances. They are significantly more likely than members of the general population to say that they are frequently meeting with a financial advisor (43 percent versus 9 percent).

“Again this year, we see that career military families outpace their civilian counterparts in pursuing a variety of proactive financial behaviors,” said Scott Spiker, chairman/CEO of First Command Financial Services, Inc. “Their focus on sticking to a budget, monitoring accounts and engaging in other positive activities is yet another indication of the strong fiscal responsibility we see in career military families. Their reliance on financial advisors is particularly noteworthy as it underscores the important role a coach can play in helping military families make the most of their government pay and benefits in their continuing pursuit of financial security.”

About the First Command Financial Behaviors Index®

Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, Inc., the First Command Financial Behaviors Index® assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 530 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly. The margin of error is +/- 4.3 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. http://www.firstcommand.com/fbi/

About Sentient Decision Science, Inc.

Sentient Decision Science was commissioned by First Command to compile the Financial Behaviors Index®. SDS is a behavioral science and consumer psychology consulting firm with special vertical expertise within the financial services industry. SDS specializes in advanced research methods and statistical analysis of behavioral and attitudinal data.