Ryan’s savings journey started when he was an active duty airman. Frequent deployments and temporary duty assignments gave him the opportunity to save. By the time he transitioned out of active duty, he had built up a healthy rainy-day fund and had started to aggressively save for retirement.

Savers with a plan are 2x as likely to succeed. Start Saving >>

For years, Military Saves has been advocating that savers should have a plan for their money. The stimulus check (technically called the Economic Impact Payment) that many Americans are receiving right now is no different. But these are turbulent times, and we are in uncharted waters. Before you make any decisions about spending, you should consider these points.

Even though service members still have a steady paycheck, military families may have experienced loss of income or increased expenses due to the halt on permanent change of station moves and quarantine requirements. Here are some things you can do if you have lost income because of the current pandemic.

 At Military Saves and America Saves we talk a lot about savings. Because our campaigns are based on research in the field of behavioral economics, we know that the best way to save is to make it a habit and save automatically, by setting aside a portion of one’s pay through either payroll deduction or bank transfer. Our organization encourages savers to make setting up an emergency fund a priority.