Consumers

Daily at work when I help people and I see how much debt they've accumulated I ask them if they really recall how it got to this point.  It always starts the same..well I bought a brand new car...then I got that big tv...I ate out everyday, I went out with friends when I had no money.  A credit card charge here and there for a night out added up to thousands in debt.  That's how the cycle starts, you're addicted to being an ultra consumer because it provides a small positive response and makes you forget your debt or problems, but this very action of spending money to temporarily make you happy is why you're anxious and stressed about the future in the first place.  Instead of applying self discipline to your life, delaying gratification and working hard on a real tangible goal to become happy, you consume a product which may make you content...but it won't make you happy.  I'm hoping that 18 year old Soldier reading this right now will take this to heart before making these bad decisions.  To balance out talking about the ones I talk to at work in debt, I do get the few who are going in the right directions.  I spoke to a young Soldier who was getting renters insurance and noticed he had a 1999 Honda Accord.  I asked him if he was planning to buy a new car anytime soon (with the intent of telling him not to and keep his accord).  He immediately went on the defensive and replied "No, and I'm not interested in a new car or loan".  When I explained to him why I asked and was actually going to encourage him to stay out of debt he was a bit surprised.  When I asked him why he was defensive he said because since he joined the Army everyone is trying to sell you something.  When he goes to the PX the first thing he gets asked is "Do you want a Star Card today?" (which are absolutely horrible cards, if you have one pay it off and cut it up).  He said he's bombarded with someone somewhere trying to sell him something he doesn't need because they know he has a guaranteed paycheck.  After we talked for a while I told him to stay just how he is now then in 10 years when he wants that new car he'll be pulling out a debit card to pay for it, not getting an auto loan.  You're bred to be a consumer from birth, mass media from the moment you can form memories is already trying to sell you something.  It's human nature to want to buy things, it's our society.  This will be multiplied once you're in the Military.  A lot of you will soon be making more money than you ever have, and you'll likely have almost no living expenses.  Don't live above your means.  Save your money.  Set a budget, set an amount to have fun on for entertainment, but it should be structured.  If you start indulging in being the run of the mill consumer you will see that scale tip from a lot of excess money to having nothing left over after pay day.  No one in your unit is going to care that you have that new BMW, most of them won't even be around you after another year or so.  Take care of yourself first and pay yourself first by saving.  Stay smart.

Master of the mundane- Where to start

So, the title “Master of the mundane” sounds fancy right?  It’s a phrase a past mentor told me.  She told me you must become a master of the mundane, the small tasks, done consistently day to day which will add up to success.  This was simply all I did.  I started working in small bits, consistently on a backup plan.  I usually only spent 10 minutes a day doing this.  Doesn’t sound like much right?  Well, I started this in 2014 and I wasn’t set to ETS until 2017.  Around 10 minutes a day doing personal development that would lead to being successful and prepared, should I ever leave the Military (which I did in 2017).

Most of you think planning is this big huge scary thing so you shy away from it.  Sometimes even being alone with the thoughts of what will happen when you get out of the Military is too scary you block it out completely which leads to you taking no action and just hoping for the best.  You keep that “it’ll all work out attitude” then complain when things don’t work out and say others were “lucky” because it worked out for them.  Those people aren’t lucky, they made their own luck.  Planning doesn’t have to be a sprint.  Most of you if you never read this were going to eventually get all fired up…go spend a whole day writing a resume or reading up on job postings, then quit.  You need to become a “Master of the mundane” in preparing a back up plan.  This can be everything from working on a resume, actively looking for a job, thinking about what you want to do as a career after the Military, mapping out your finances to ensure you get out debt free, even just reading.  Just do something, anything for 10 minutes a day.  You have the 10 minutes.  Those 10 minutes daily will add up too much more time than the regular people who only decide to focus on this the last few months of their contract, or even more realistically the five days they are in the Soldier for life program or whatever similar program your branch may have.

Now, my goal it so to reach readers early.  If you’re getting close to that ETS date, 10 minutes may not work.  Starting for today with it though will still help.  You must get started today.  You could be somewhere completely different in a year.  You could have a letter of employment guaranteed to a great company making the same or hopefully more than you do now, you could be debt free, you could know what you want your degree in, you could be happy.  It must start now though.  My last comment on this first piece of advice is to keep a log.  Write down day 1 and write down what you spent those ten minutes doing.  As time passes, each time you do this you’ll feel a little more secure about what’s going to happen.  When I was about 5 months from getting out of the Military, I had a letter of employment with USAA, no debt, over 2 years of college completed and was happy.  After so many friends asking how I got a lucky break I showed them the log that spanned almost 3 years where everyday I wrote down what I did and how accomplishing that small bit of work each day made me feel secure about my future.  This will work, you get back what you put in.  You just must start.

Introduction

Are you ready to get out of the Military?  If you found this blog you’ve more than likely asked yourself this recently, even if it was in your own head.  I left the Army after 5 years in February 2017.  I had zero debt, a job guaranteed in writing months before my ETS date and had plenty of money saved up.  As I began to get closer to that date and go through those mandatory retention meetings I soon found out this was not normal.  I remember the retention NCO for my battalion at the time asking to see my letter of employment to USAA, and even didn’t believe I had zero debt until I showed him the title for my car.  He went on to tell me most of the Soldiers he spoke with who were getting out, even senior NCOS, were unprepared.  I saw this highlighted about a week later when I had to go through the Soldier for Life program which is the military to civilian transition assistance program you’re required to attend

I was shocked when I realized how greatly unprepared most (not all) the Soldiers attending were.  It began to dawn on me that until you take this course, there’s really no time or effort invested by other sources to influence you to prepare to get out of the Military.  Every program or meeting in the Military is about retention.  This isn’t malicious, it’s just normal.  No employer is going to invest time and money to help you leave them.  Programs like Soldier for life are most likely only there because they are federally mandated. 

It was after seeing this that I wanted to start an outlet to try and reach people preparing to get out or retire from the Military who maybe hadn’t taken the steps I did.  I was working on my resume, reading books, and attending college even in my first year in the Military because I knew I wanted that security and insurance incase I decided to only go through with my first enlistment.  Over the next few posts I’ll highlight a few of the small things I did to ensure I’d be successful once I was handed that DD214.  Follow along, hopefully some of these words will help.  If anyone reading this needs direct help or just someone to talk to, I’m always open.