A Veteran’s Guide to Financial Independence
Military servicemen and women become eligible for many financial benefits once discharged from the military. Utilizing these benefits can help those who qualify to reach financial independence. It’s important for those who are eligible to be educated and research the topic, so they can take full advantage of them and make their transition back to civilian life as easy as possible. Below are a few benefits that will help in your efforts to reach financial independence.
VA Benefits
The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) offers plenty of financial benefits to military veterans including home loans, health care, and education. The most valuable benefits that you may be eligible for come from the VA, so it’s important to know what they offer.
VA Home Loan
If you are a military veteran looking to buy a home, a VA home loan is a great place to start your home buying process. A VA home loan requires no down payment, has low-interest rates, and offers foreclosure avoidance assistance, among other things. If you’re an eligible active-duty service member, a veteran, or a military spouse, taking advantage of a VA home loan can be a major factor in setting yourself up for financial success. This will help you determine how much house you can afford when you begin your house searching process.
VA Health Care Benefits
The health care benefits offered through the VA are also a great financial perk that veterans can be eligible for. When utilizing VA health care, you’ll be covered for normally scheduled visits with your primary care provider as well as appointments with specialists. You also have access to things like home and elder care, receiving specific medical equipment or prosthetics if necessary, and any prescriptions you may need.
VA Education Benefits
If you are interested in pursuing an education after you become a veteran, the VA can help with that. They offer education benefits that, if you are eligible, include help finding the right school for you and even college tuition.
When trying to achieve financial independence after you’ve been discharged from the military, the VA is a great resource to help lighten the load of some of your major expenses.
Location Specific Benefits
Depending on where you live, you may receive some more specific benefits that might not be offered in other states or U.S. territories. Every U.S. state offers benefits to military members and veterans, so it’s important to research the benefits in your state to see if you could be eligible for more financial assistance or perks that you may not be aware of.
Military Focused Banks and Credit Unions
When trying to achieve financial independence, one of the most important aspects to help you reach this goal is having a bank that you trust. Fortunately, military members have access to military-centric banks.
There are plenty of banks and credit unions that focus only on serving the military community and offer some exclusive benefits for military members, veterans, and their families. It would be best to do some research into what military-focused bank or credit union best suits your needs before choosing one.
Debt Relief Programs
For many veterans, this could be the first time they have had a lot of financial responsibility, especially if they entered the military at a young age. Trying to balance multiple monthly payments and bills can be a very difficult and daunting task, and it can be very easy to fall behind on some of these and find yourself in debt.
Luckily, there are many programs available for the military community to help them with this. The offerings of these programs range from debt relief programs to financial counseling. Taking advantage of incredible programs like this is a great way to help you achieve financial independence.
Discounts
When working towards financial independence, it’s important to prioritize saving money wherever you can. Thankfully, there are what seems to be an endless amount of discounts that military service members and veterans can take advantage of. You may be eligible for discounts on shopping, travel, entertainment, home renovation, storage, and more.
Achieving financial independence is a tough task for anyone, but it might be even more difficult for veterans if they have not taken on this much financial responsibility before. That’s why it’s important to do some research and find out all the benefits that you may be eligible for as a veteran and take full advantage of them.
