9 Things Service Members Do That Keep Them Poor

Most service members who live paycheck to paycheck aren't underpaid. It's usually one of these. I've done a few of them myself.

1. Treating BAH and BAS as spending money. Your housing and food allowances already have a job. BAS is $476.95 a month for enlisted members in 2026, and it exists to pay for your meals. BAH is set by your duty station, rank, and dependents to cover housing there. When either one quietly turns into car money or going-out money, the rent and groceries still have to come from somewhere, usually a card. How to Read Your LES shows exactly what each one pays you. The move: spend your allowances on housing and food first, and build your budget on what's left of base pay.

2. No cushion. Without even a small emergency fund, every surprise bill turns into a crisis, and a crisis turns into a payday loan or a maxed card. Start with one month of expenses in a separate savings account, then build toward three to six. Guard and Reserve pay makes this matter more: drill pay, orders, and travel pay don't land on a steady schedule. If something breaks before you get there, call your branch's relief society before any lender. They give 0% loans and grants (Before You Take a Payday Loan, Call Your Relief Society). The move: set an automatic transfer for the day after payday, even $25.

3. Skipping the TSP match. Under the Blended Retirement System, the government puts in 1% of your base pay starting at 60 days of service, whether you contribute or not. Starting in your third year, it matches up to 4% more, but only if you put in 5%. Put in less and you turn down free money every single month. You're vested after two years, so that money leaves with you even if you only do one enlistment. The move: log into myPay today and confirm you're at 5% or more.

4. Financing a new car right out of basic or AIT. It's an expensive first money decision, and it's easy to make with a steady paycheck and a dealership outside the gate. Here's what most people don't know: the Military Lending Act's 36% cap does not cover a loan to buy a car when the car is the collateral. That protection you heard about in a briefing probably doesn't apply to the loan the dealer is offering. I learned the car lesson the expensive way: a fully loaded Maxima for $38,400, with $10,000 down that could have been growing instead. The move: buy the car you need, used if it does the job, and get your own loan quote from a credit union before you walk onto the lot.

5. Big commitments without a money conversation. Getting married or signing for something major is your call. Skipping the talk about money first is the mistake. Before the ring or the lease, cover three things: what each of you owes, what each of you earns and spends, and what you're both working toward. Then update your SGLI beneficiary the week anything changes. It doesn't change on its own. The move: one honest money conversation before any big signature.

6. Stopping at the briefing. The military does require financial training: at initial entry and then at about a dozen points across a career, like a first duty station, a promotion, or a new child. A briefing isn't an education, though, and learning the rest is on you. The good news is that a lot of the rest is free. Every installation has personal financial counselors, and Military OneSource offers free financial counseling too. The move: book one session with a financial counselor this month and bring your LES.

7. Carrying credit card balances. The average rate on credit cards that charge interest was 22.36% in August 2026, per the Federal Reserve. A balance at that rate undoes progress everywhere else. I had multiple cards maxed out at one point, and paying them off smallest balance first gave me the momentum to finish. If you had card debt before you went on active duty, the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act can cap that interest at 6%. You have to send the creditor a written request with your orders. The move: list every card with its rate, pay the minimums, and put every extra dollar on one card until it's gone.

8. Leaving earned benefits unused. The VA loan, Tuition Assistance, Credentialing Assistance, the GI Bill transfer window, the Savings Deposit Program on deployment: these are worth real money, and most of them have deadlines or only work while you're in. Not using them costs you as much as overspending does. Top 10 Financial Benefits of Military Service has the list. The move: pick one benefit you haven't used and find out this week what it takes to start.

9. Waiting to invest "until things settle down." Things rarely settle down on schedule. A PCS, a deployment, a new baby: there's always a reason. Time is the part you can't get back. I didn't invest my deployment money, and that's the one I'd change. Here's the math: $200 a month at a 7% average return grows to about $525,000 over 40 years. Start 10 years later and it's about $244,000. Same monthly amount, less than half the result. (7% is an example, not a promise.) The move: start with the TSP at 5%, then add one small automatic investment and leave it alone (How to Invest $100 to $1,000 in the Stock Market).

These aren't unique to the military. They hit harder here because so many of the first big money decisions get made young and fast, with steady pay and a lot of people outside the gate who know exactly what you make.

Start this week:

• Check your TSP percentage in myPay.
• Set one automatic transfer to savings for the day after payday.
• List your debts with their rates.
• Book a free session with a financial counselor.

Sources and further reading: DoD Military Compensation, BAS; Military OneSource, Blended Retirement System; 32 CFR Part 232, Military Lending Act; Federal Reserve, G.19 Consumer Credit; 10 U.S.C. 992; checked October 2026.

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Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. The information provided here is for educational purposes only and should be verified independently. See the full Disclaimer.