jside86
New Member
- Reaction score
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- Points
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I have been thinking of writing this article/post for a long time and I think now is the time. Soldiers are poor, when I say soldiers; I mean most ranks within the Canadian Armed Forces. The pay is not the reason; “We are one of the most paid professional Soldiers in the World”. The lack of good financial educations, knowledge and resources within our ranks is the main reason most of us are poor.
In the 7 years I have done in the Forces, I seen many different financial scenario, some of them make me sad, some of them sicken me, and rarely I will find some that make me smile.
Credit card, car loan, line of credit, payday loan and mostly mortgages are part of the problem. Our troops are crumbling under debts. Rarely, you will see a family debt free in our environment. It’s time for change, it’s time to re-educate our troops regarding personal finance.
Sisip teaches us to be careful with our money, not all of us are. I see many young private driving cars so expensive that the insurance payment is more than the car payment. I see to many soldiers living in the military housing over 10 years. I see many families getting torn apart for accumulated financial stress. Horror stories after horror stories, it is time for change.
We need to have ‘The Talk”, a yearly PD session on the dangers of debt and the benefit of saving. Financial stress is the last thing a soldiers and his/her family need. We have enough stress as it is that none of us need the burden of debt.
I know it is hard to buy a house; the risk of buying is there. Some are losing, but most of us end up making profit. The military housing should be a temporary option at best. I have seen people live in the PMQ for over 25 years, with all the money they lost over the years, they could have retired with a house fully paid and live comfortable life on a military pension.
I know it is hard to pay debt; I hate to quote the Bible but I really like this proverb: the borrower is slave to the lender. The first thing to do is to stop buying. Stop the debt slavery.
Pay your debt and be free. Buy a house before you buy a new car. A new car or a new truck will impress the crow, but being debt free will impress even more.
I know it is hard to save; do it! 15% of each pay should go toward an emergency fund and saving, you should be at least 6 month ahead financially, after that, ramp up that RRSP or RESP. plan ahead big purchase, stop being impulsive, learn to control your finance, take control of your life.
I would like to tell you that you can rely on Sisip or banks to help you, but they are more often out of reach or all they want is your money. Sisip is a good concept but often use too late. If you need help budgeting, If you thing you are going in the wrong direction or even if you need a tap on the shoulder, I highly suggest you consult before it is too late.
In the 7 years I have done in the Forces, I seen many different financial scenario, some of them make me sad, some of them sicken me, and rarely I will find some that make me smile.
Credit card, car loan, line of credit, payday loan and mostly mortgages are part of the problem. Our troops are crumbling under debts. Rarely, you will see a family debt free in our environment. It’s time for change, it’s time to re-educate our troops regarding personal finance.
Sisip teaches us to be careful with our money, not all of us are. I see many young private driving cars so expensive that the insurance payment is more than the car payment. I see to many soldiers living in the military housing over 10 years. I see many families getting torn apart for accumulated financial stress. Horror stories after horror stories, it is time for change.
We need to have ‘The Talk”, a yearly PD session on the dangers of debt and the benefit of saving. Financial stress is the last thing a soldiers and his/her family need. We have enough stress as it is that none of us need the burden of debt.
I know it is hard to buy a house; the risk of buying is there. Some are losing, but most of us end up making profit. The military housing should be a temporary option at best. I have seen people live in the PMQ for over 25 years, with all the money they lost over the years, they could have retired with a house fully paid and live comfortable life on a military pension.
I know it is hard to pay debt; I hate to quote the Bible but I really like this proverb: the borrower is slave to the lender. The first thing to do is to stop buying. Stop the debt slavery.
Pay your debt and be free. Buy a house before you buy a new car. A new car or a new truck will impress the crow, but being debt free will impress even more.
I know it is hard to save; do it! 15% of each pay should go toward an emergency fund and saving, you should be at least 6 month ahead financially, after that, ramp up that RRSP or RESP. plan ahead big purchase, stop being impulsive, learn to control your finance, take control of your life.
I would like to tell you that you can rely on Sisip or banks to help you, but they are more often out of reach or all they want is your money. Sisip is a good concept but often use too late. If you need help budgeting, If you thing you are going in the wrong direction or even if you need a tap on the shoulder, I highly suggest you consult before it is too late.