Sequester My Ass, I Dare You!

With all of the talk of the military cuts that are happening because of sequestration, I am hearing so many spouses complain about how they aren’t going to survive if something like this actually goes through.  While, I can understand panic at times, I am not sure sequestration calls for it.  I have learned a little bit about money over my brief time on planet earth and below is just a taste.  Don’t get freaked out, take action.  Enjoy!!!

This week was hard.  Why?  Because I found out that I would need $1500 worth of repairs to my jeep.  Apparently, the burning smell, the sluggish behavior, and shaking steering wheel was due to several leaks, a bent brake caliper and tires being out of balance.  Wham!  Bam!  Thank you ma’am, and there goes $1500 from the Mr. Army Wife, stay at home husband rainy day fund.  Ouch!!!

There is, however, a positive part to this story.  I was able to pay the $1500, have my vehicle repaired and returned to me on the same day, and I don’t have to shop for a new vehicle with a hefty car payment attached.  Plus, it inspired me to write this article.  Well, this story and a trip to the local Post Exchange.

It was Tuesday, around lunchtime, when I wandered into the PX.  Lunchtime is never the optimal time to shop, but it was the only time I was available that day, so in I went.  I walked toward the office supplies ready to purchase the file folder I needed when I looked over toward the electronics section.  This is also the section I like to call Man’s Mecca.

Now whether you are at Wal-Mart, Best Buy or the PX, Man’s Mecca is the holiest of places in a man’s eyes.  Gathered on the altars, otherwise known as shelves, are the latest and greatest technological marvels.  Flat Screen TVs, which seem to grow bigger and bigger with each passing paycheck, call out in a resounding chorus with their high definition sound and picture quality.  Video game systems beg for our attention with their latest realistic portrayals of character interaction and graphic detail.  Laptops, tablets and smartphones answer our prayers for a more complete sensory experience with each passing moment.  All of these items are located in Man’s Mecca, and our path to this Promised Land is lifelong journey toward electronic immortality.

The biggest problem with Man’s Mecca is that it isn’t a cheap place to go.  It’s like having Disney World around every corner.  The latest televisions are thousands of dollars, and by the time you buy the Blu-Ray player, the surround sound system and all the other extras you need to have the full high-def experience, you may have spent at least four or five months salary.  The bright lights may be inviting, but that invitation comes with a price, and far too often I see people willing to pay that price. 

I remember when I was a young soldier with that first bit of money burning a hole in my pocket.  In fact it was doubled because Heather (my wife) was a young soldier too.  We left basic training and advanced training having not spent a dime and suddenly had more money than ever in our bank account. Our eyes got big, as we imagined all the possibilities.  And this was before flat screen TV’s and Blu-ray players. 

On one hand, we were smart.  We signed up for the Thrift Savings Plan so that 10% of our income was being saved for our future.  But that was about where the savings ended.  When we got to Korea, our first duty station, we went crazy.  I bought a 32-inch TV and a stereo system with surround sound.  We found Korean knick-knacks and souvenirs that we just had to have.  We dined out almost every night, and bought whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted.  The savings was few and far between.  We were about to learn our lesson. 

In 2006, Heather and I decided to buy a house.  The market was doing well, and we thought that putting a few dollars into it after the purchase would only make it more sellable when we had to move.  Because we had bought a used truck with a monthly payment, and a jeep with a monthly payment we didn’t really have anything in the bank.  We weren’t worried though and put $10,000 worth of flooring, paint, furniture and décor on our credit card.  We were certain we would be able to pay it off when we sold the house.  

CRASH!!!  If you don’t know, then you are young, but the bubble burst and our house wasn’t worth near the money we paid for it.  On top of that, it needed a new roof; there were mice and rats coming in from the ditch behind our backyard and Heather received orders to Kansas.  What were we going to do?  Everything scared us.  We had no money saved, we were living paycheck to paycheck, and the idea of owning a house we couldn’t sell or rent for the cost of the mortgage scared us to death. 

It was time to get serious.  We had to figure out a way to sell the house and take the hit, if that was what was going to happen.  Anything and everything was on the table, except moving in with our parents.  That is a no-no boys and girls.  I don’t care if you think it will save you tons of money and be totally worth it.  If you are married, never move back in with mom and dad.  I am just trying to save your marriage now.

We were blessed; a nice couple across the street bought our house on a short sale for their mother.  We were able to sell one of the vehicles because Heather was deploying, and instead of moving to Kansas, I moved to Florida where my parents owned a house they didn’t live in.  For the cost of a little housework, I was able to pay off most of our debt and save a little bit of cash.  We were able to correct our mistakes, but very easily could have fallen back into them.  It is something we want to avoid at all cost.

Which brings me back to Man’s Mecca at the PX.  Living on a TRADOC installation allows me to see a lot of the same young couples with money burning holes in their pockets.  They are almost always shuffling through the aisles looking at the shiny new equipment that is going to hang on their walls and entertain them for hours.  You can tell by the gleam in their eyes, that if they just get this one thing, life is going to be better.  And when the customer service representative convinces them to put it on their PX card, it is just like more money flowed into their already full stores of cash.  I wish, in that moment, I had the ability to just walk over there and convince them of their potential mistake, and share with them a different path.

I am not saying you can’t have the things that you want.  I am not saying you can’t build the perfect man cave or spa retreat room or whatever it is that you believe is going to make you the most comfortable and entertained person on the planet.  What I am saying, is that please, please, please think about what you are doing while you are young, because it has a huge impact on how you are able to live your life when are 60, 70 or even later. 

To that end, here are five things that have helped Heather and I have some of the things we want, while at the same time making sure our life after the military is just as comfortable as our life in it.  We have tried (sometimes successfully and other times not so much) to balance the two, and I hope by reading this you can also find that balance. 

1.    Pay your future self first.  If you are in the military and are not taking advantage of the Thrift Savings Plan, then you are missing out on one of the most important benefits afforded to you.  Let’s put it this way.  By putting just 10% of her income into the TSP over the past 12 years, we have gained a $600-$700 a month in retirement savings.  If we continue to donate for the entire 20 years and then not touch it until she is 65 years old, then that number will easily be more than $1500.  Think about what 10% of your salary is now, and what it could be 30 or 40 years from now.  Trust me, since it is taken out of your check before taxes, you won’t miss it.

2.     Put it down and walk away, give it just another day.  This is a great rule that we have instituted in a lot of our larger purchases.  When there is something that we absolutely don’t need, we never buy it on the day we find it, especially if it costs more than $50.  We may wait just another day, or maybe a week or a month, but rarely do we walk into a store and make an impulse buy.  The reason?  Sometimes, thinking about a purchase for 24 hours gives us the realization that we really don’t need whatever the item is.  An example from our life is a 32” flat screen TV for our bedroom.  I wanted one for more than 3 years, but waited because we still had a perfectly functional 24” Tube TV.  3 years later I got the flat screen and it was more than $200 cheaper.  That was worth it. 

3.     Get out of debt!  If you have any credit card debt at all, you are giving away money for absolutely no reason.  After having my share of debt, and believe me Heather and I have had a ton, I have learned this lesson above all.  Paying other people your hard earned money when they do nothing but send you junk mail is not worth it.  T-shirts you put on your credit card because they only cost 5 bucks can end up costing you $25 or more once you pay it off just because of how interest can add up.  If you are young, I can hear you saying, “well I can pay it off, I am young.”  Ha, Ha.  If debt sucks at 22, it is 1000 times worse at 35.  I have learned to hate it.  Trust me, it is the best hate I have in my life. 

4.    Emergencies don’t have to change your philosophy.  The cars break down.  The kids need braces.  The toilet floods the carpets.  Things happen, but that doesn’t mean it has to ruin your financial life.  There are advocates out there of having an emergency fund, and I certainly support that, but until you can build up that in your budget use a credit card as little as possible for these emergencies.  Did you know most bases have Do-It- Yourself shops where you can learn to work on your car?  That saves money.  Did you know that installing carpet is taught at home depot?  That saves money.  The point is that emergencies may be an opportunity for you to learn a new skill, but they don’t have to bring you to your wit’s end about when the next paycheck is going to get deposited in the bank.

5.    Live life to your standards, not the standards of others.  You can look at the lives of others and be downtrodden about your own life no matter how high up the ladder you go.  Believe me, someone is always going to have something newer, faster, better.  But that is there life not yours.  In fact, statistics show that for every new car you see on the road, the owners are not only paying off that car, but the two or three they have previously owned.  Kind of stupid when you think about it.  You are not on this earth to impress anyone with your toys, so stop trying to keep up with the Jones’; chances are they can’t keep up with you.

Let me conclude by saying this.  These rules work for Heather and I, but may not be right for everyone.  They are guidelines. You and your Soldier, have to come up with scenarios and budgets that work for you.  But you have to do something.  If you get nothing else from this humble article get this, If you don’t dictate your financial situation now, then someone else is going to dictate it in the future, and that won’t be worth anything to you!