It’s never wise, military spouses, to put all your eggs in one basket. That one basket represents your servicemember’s income. In the business world of finances, investors would immediately encourage the need to diversify investments. This phrase is the same equivalency as risking all one has on the success or failure of one thing. Thus, we owe it to ourselves to have this discussion about the importance of creating your own income and becoming independent.
When considering our financial independence as military spouses, for many of us, it is nonexistent. The need for financial freedom as a military spouse may mean different things for different reasons. A recent survey found that 20% of military spouses in the labor force are unemployed and actively seeking work. The national unemployment rate at the time of the survey responses was 6%; it has since fallen to 3.8%. However, 42% of military spouses reported not being in the labor force and looking for employment. Of course, I can go on and on with the factors a military spouse faces from seeking new work due to relocating because of new orders or the need for reliable childcare.
Of course, many of us spouses would rather live a life where our spouse is our financial supporter for the family created from our marriage. Who doesn’t want to be taken care of? Still, in all honesty, the future can never be predicted regarding life as we know it. This may be a hard pill to swallow, but it needs to be mentioned. So often, I have seen the reality of unfavorable situations within the marriage of the military occur that it forces military spouses to seek independence without fair warning. These unfortunate situations can range from divorce, death and other hardships.
Then on the other side of the scope. Some military spouses yearn to have financial stability for themselves and want to be seen as the “partner” who participated in the building process of the life you and your spouse want. Yet, finding themselves unable to contribute because of the statistics the military life brings that I mentioned above.
I want to take this time to encourage you that this advice is given in the spirit of knowing that the playing field in Military Life will never be completely even. I want to take this time to prompt you not to stop seeking ways to implement income independently because this also means freedom for yourself. Freedom for how you choose to invest in yourself, whether it be your education, aspirations, or life as an individual and a military spouse. We must understand that financial independence will not happen if we are unwilling to go after it. This financial freedom must be recognized as a fight of willingness to pay the price of success as you work towards your goals. This is a key that many people don’t see from the outside looking in: the little sleep, the hard work, and all the sacrifices you make, all to achieve your objective of creating independence for yourself. This is the mindset that many people need when you don’t immediately see success yet refuse to give up.