The military is a great way to serve your country, travel the world, get an education, and make a decent living while doing so. However, one of the biggest problems with being in the military is keeping your finances in order. This is most the result of having to travel to places where there may not be the same banks as the ones found in your hometown, and because you may need to take care of financial obligations in variety of different places.
Having an Account that Lets You Transfer Money
One of the most important parts of preparing to join the military is making sure that you have an account that allows you to easily send money. During you time in the military you may have friends and family members who need to borrow money, want to collect money you owe to them, and you may also want them to buy things around your hometown while you are away. Having an account that allows you to easily transfer money into your account will go a long ways towards making this process easier. It is even possible to have your branch bank office cut money orders for persons, and then have a designated person pick the money up when they show their driver’s license.
Having Automatic Bill Pay
The second thing you should do is to make sure that you can pay your bills while you are overseas. It is possible to arrange for your bank to pay nearly every bill on an automatic basis. This can include things like rent, car payments, credit card payments, utilities, and even education expenses for family members.
Having automatic bill pay will allow you to make sure that life in your hometown remains normal while you are away, and that you are able to keep you belongings while you are deployed. This is especially useful if you happen to be renting your own place or have a mortgage.
Being Able to Send Money Internationally
Finally, it is exceptionally important to make sure that you can send money internationally. This is because you may want to send money to friends you make in the military, or because you want to do business overseas. It may simply be because you want a little bit of extra money of your own, or if you want to send some of your money back home for safe keeping.
It is possible to have your bank send the money by wire. The military has an excellent international money sending program, and it is a good idea to make sure that it is compatible with your bank.