What to do for a Soldier with finance issues?

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:22:09 -0400

Ok I know we have all had that Soldier with a financial issue what would you do? Years ago I had a Soldier that was greatly indebt so I counseled him and enrolled him in several ACS classes (i.e. check writing, budget planning....etc), had him apply for WIC and food stamps also. I ensured he attended these classes and on paydays I assisted him with the budget that was developed to ensure he stuck with it. I also gave him spare furniture that I had in my house that I was going to donate anyway so that he could renturn the stuff he had to rent a center. after working for him for several months i realized that he continued to go get credit from other places to purchase items that were not needed. What would you have done when realized this and what do you think about what I did?

Invite others to respond by typing @name

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Apr 29 at 2015 2:30 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:30:53 -0400

"Start the breathing, stop the bleeding, protect the wound...."

It looks like you went through the proper check list... however, they have to want to be helped.

Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb your way out. Failure (his, not yours) is a hell of an experience, and sometimes it's the one you need.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Apr 29 at 2015 2:37 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:37:56 -0400

You went by the book, no doubt about it. Leadership 101 and then some. Some people just see help from others as a way for them to get their needs met and use their money for themselves. The more you provide, the more cash that gets freed up for them. This isn't the norm, but I saw it often,.......when I worked at mental health. It is hard to undo a lifetime of bad habits by a few classes and donations; it can take years of reprogramming. From a mental health perspective, there might be something within the person that got broken or some need that was not met growing up for them to teeter on the brink of failure, get a helping hand, and then knowingly put themselves back in jeopardy. Until that issue gets resolved, you are just patching the holes in the ship while leaving the watertight doors open. Send them to mental health for an intake eval and let them continue to earn their pay.

Response by SGM Erik Marquez made Apr 29 at 2015 2:48 PM

SGM Erik Marquez — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 14:48:07 -0400

What to do, inform, provide the offer of education, explain the likely actions should they not fix their issue. Detail my expectations as to job performance and impacts that will not be tolerated on the team due to their financial issues.
If the SM choose to educate themselves with the help provided by SME's, and ensures their job performance and readiness is not impacted, then it;s a past issue with no concern for the future.

If the SM refuses to use the help provided, fails to work out a solution, continues to be a distraction to the leadership required babysitting, hand carrying to this or that provider..court, calls from creditors... Then it's time for them to go.

Those same careless traits will be used by that individual in all manner of military life.. that is NOT what leadership is charged with caring for.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 29 at 2015 3:17 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 15:17:15 -0400

I was in a similar spot when I was a young Soldier. I lived beyond my means and used credit to purchase everything. I ended up in a lot of debt that I could not afford and the Army ended up pulling my security clearance from me because I became a "liability" which meant they were going to re-class me to needs of the Army (Cook or truck driver). That was my come to Jesus moment and I opened my eyes. I worked my ass off trying to get everything caught up or paid off. In the end, I submitted a packet to the Army showing my budget, a bunch of receipts, and a monetary plan and they reinstated my clearance. Before I got to that point, I would not listen to any financial planning the Army or my leaders gave me because I "already knew it all". Some Soldiers, like me, are just hard headed and if you hit them with a .50 cal barrel, they still won't get it.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 29 at 2015 3:18 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 15:18:11 -0400

I believe Army Community Services gives finance classes.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 29 at 2015 5:00 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 17:00:53 -0400

In debt: was he a single soldier, married, kids? And by in debt, was be getting all sorts of random stuff and not paying for it? To the point that his bills weren't being paid? Or was he the normal 18 year old that has money but is blowing it on random stuff?

Response by SGT Nia Chiaraluce made Apr 29 at 2015 5:23 PM

SGT Nia Chiaraluce — Wed, 29 Apr 2015 17:23:25 -0400

When I recieve a new soldier part of their inprocessing is a manditory financial class. After class we sit down and fill in the financial worksheet together. This is a part of their packet. With that is the AER paperwork if it is ever needed.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 30 at 2015 12:55 AM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 00:55:41 -0400

I actually just went through something similar to this.

I inherited a soldier who, not only had financial issues but was going through a divorce (takes a full year in North Carolina) while supporting another woman who had a child from a different soldier. It all started when his cell phone service shut off because he couldn't make payments and he was eating all the MRE's in the motorpool everyday. Sent him to financial classes, enrolled in WIC, created a budget, etc..

It actually looked like it was working until I found out that he started opening credit lines he could not pay off and he started taking money from one debt to pay off another as well as support someone else's family unit. My CIC perceived that I wasn't doing enough even though I paid off some of this debt and started buying him food during the workday. Overall, the CIC will not let me chapter him out and the soldier is living in lala-land (he's attempting to purchase a SUV/Truck because he thinks a family needs such a thing).

At this time, I am forward and another NCO took on the soldier. I made sure the other NCO was fully informed of the situation and that he understood the steps that I took to assist the soldier.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 30 at 2015 1:17 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 01:17:22 -0400

It sounds like you are taking care of your soldiers as any good leader would do. First of all he needs to be counseled and educated on the dangers of taking out more credit than he can afford. It sounds like you may have done that. Once you become first aware of the debt issue then the counseling would focus more on that issue. Overspending can be a addiction like gambling or alcoholism. Try to direct to resources to educate and treat the problem. Only then if no improvement in say a couple of months, would I resort to the disciplinary steps (start with a warning of how it can affect your career than use progressive discipline steps) But make it clear your there to help the soldier be successful in his/her job as well as personal/financial management.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made May 18 at 2018 1:25 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 18 May 2018 13:25:35 -0400

You did the right thing, steered him in the right direction...what else you could have done...only thing is to call him in again and councel him after that it's all up to him..