It's not just the civilians who worry about money.

The 2018 Military Family/Spouse Survey from Pioneer Services finds that among issues faced by military spouses, money is a major concern—and while some of the other challenges they face, such as dealing with a servicemember's deployment, can impact just about every part of their daily lives, dealing with finances can be every bit as overwhelming.

According to the survey, the chief concerns among military spouses are the potential for a financial emergency, the need to accumulate long-term savings and concerns over whether they themselves can find work.

Their worries over financial emergencies have increased since last year, to 82 percent—that's a 22 percent increase since 2017. In addition, 78 percent cited long-term savings while 62 percent are concerned over finding a job—and that's up 10 percent over last year.

And although a quarter think the current political environment favors the military with regard to defense spending, force projections and other matters, that doesn't mean they're feeling a whole lot more secure than those who believe the environment is worse for the military; indeed, nearly half don't expect their spouses to still be serving in two years.

That's a 230 percent reversal from 2017, when 90 percent expected them to still be serving in the military.

Money worries are putting pressure on their relationships, with 43 percent citing financial concerns—a 59 percent increase from 2017, when just 27 percent said it was a problem.

And that could have a lot to do with their current financial status: 69 percent say they're spending the same amount or more this year as they did last year, even though 73 percent say they're saving the same or more as last year.

The money has to come from somewhere to fuel that spending—and 23 percent say they're carrying more credit card debt than last year. Half say that they have more than $5,000 in credit card debt, while 30 percent admit to more than $10,000 in credit card debt.

And a third say they're not prepared at all to handle a financial emergency—up 10 percent from last year.

Instant Insights /

Military spouses increasingly face financial challenges

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