Currently, the Navy devotes just two hours to personal finance during boot camp. A contract is expected to be awarded next spring, and the training itself could begin as early as August. That in-depth training will cover the entire personal finance spectrum, including how to use thrift savings plans and other investments, dealing with lenders and financial institutions, and managing and protecting both personal credit and the official travel and government procurement cards that most troops now carry. When the program is fully up and running, it also will offer a computer-based information resource that sailors can tap into at every stage of their careers for financial information to support their changing lifestyles, Nemfakos said. The issue of young troops running into financial trouble is hardly new, and the root causes are well-known.
Most recruits enter the military straight out of high school.
They might never have owned a credit card or managed a checking account before, and many are marrying and having families at younger ages, which puts additional strain on their finances. For the military, poor personal finance management is very much a readiness issue. A 1998 study by the Rand Corp., a California think tank, reported that unit commanders cited the financial problems of their personnel as one of the most persistent issues they deal with on a daily basis. Andy Anderson, commander of a P-3 squadron in Jacksonville, Fla., who has organized and conducted financial planning seminars for his people, can attest to that. The No. 1 cause of domestic discord is money.