You may be haunted by visions of goblins and ghosts on Halloween night, but a financial fiasco can be a real nightmare. Even if you think you have solid financial foundations, don’t let these scenarios lure you into the scary financial zone.
Screams in the night
Unexpected emergencies happen all year round, not just on All Hallows’ Eve. Like when someone in your family suddenly gets sick (read: vampire bite) and you have to fly across the border immediately. That’s an expensive ticket and a bona fide emergency. But having cash stashed away will prevent you from turning to the dark side and carrying a balance on your credit cards to make the trip. According to the Military Family Advisory Network, 27.4% of currently serving military families have less than $500 saved for emergencies. Don’t let the screams of frustration at being shortchanged come out of your mouth.
Deadly debts
Don’t let your credit card balance get to you. It can put your financial future six feet underwater. And if you only pay the minimum balance, the situation becomes even worse: you could have to pay for today’s purchases for years. Pay off those debts quickly. According to Lending Tree, the average APR on new credit card offers is over 21%. At that rate you’ll get buried quickly, so be careful.
Leeches
Lurking in the shadows, identity vampires try to trick you out of your financial information. Scare them away by checking your credit report for free at annualcreditreport.com. Use antivirus and malware programs and consider signing up for a credit monitoring service to stay one step ahead of these culprits. According to Federal Trade Commission data from a few years ago, active duty military personnel were 76% more likely than their civilian counterparts to be victims of identity theft. Add some precautions (maybe a little garlic), and that may be all it takes to combat those leeches.
House of horrors
According to U.S. News & World Report, the average home sales price was $327,667 in August. While interest rates have dropped a bit lately, combine that sales price with an average fixed-rate mortgage rate of over 6%, and things get scary quickly. Being held captive by your mortgage is scarier than any ghosts or goblins. If you exceeding your home purchaseyou could be haunted for years. Exercise caution and make conservative assumptions when evaluating a potential home purchase.
Dead man walks
Don’t spend your retirement years like a zombie. Consider building a retirement bunker with Thrift Savings Plan and IRA contributions before it’s too late. According to the 2024 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey, only 18% of Americans are confident they will have enough money to live comfortably in retirement. You need to save to be confident, so take advantage of the key retirement savings tools available to you. Start saving today so you can make the retirement dream a reality – instead of a nightmare.
Stories of financial ruin are more horrible than a haunted house tour in a hearse and are not fiction. These are painful realities. But if you stay on track and build financial discipline, you can avoid those tricks and enjoy the treats.
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