I know the person who asked me, “Isn’t Enlisted Money an Oxymoron?” was [mostly] joking, but my reaction internally was a big F@%K YOU. People seem to think enlisted folks are supposed to be poor and act poor. It’s true many of us do – at least at one point.
However, it’s not about how much you make – it’s what you do with it. We currently live in a pretty high cost of living area with good schools and huge houses on the water. We’re not “supposed to” be here, but because of our frugality and smart money choices, we’re able to “punch above our pay grade” compared to others.
The Poverty Mindset
It’s easy to get trapped in a “poverty mindset” when that’s all you’ve known. We can get centered on the money, make assumptions about the future, and just accept we’re supposed to be broke because we’re enlisted.
This is all head trash. You can choose to align the resources you have with what you value most in life. Once you get your finances under control, you can do that.
Of course, there’s limits to what you can do. In the words of Paula Pant, “You can afford anything, but not everything.” You need to be deliberate with your choices on how you spend your time and money.
Many Officers are Broke Too
It’s easy to get caught up looking at how much officers and warrant officers make compared to enlisted. However, I can tell you there’s a whole lot of broke officers out there too. We just don’t hear much about it because they carry a lot more shame around it.
Officers aren’t supposed to be broke. They’re supposed to be good with money. It’s acceptable for enlisted folks to be broke, but not an officer. That’s complete bullsh*t! Everyone has some stress around money and everyone has struggles in life.
I’m not the smartest man, but I can guess a lease on a $75,000+ car is a pretty big chunk of change. I know how much these big vacations cost (because we’ve taken a few ourselves). When you see these fancy cars and trucks, big vacations, and nice houses, all you know is that they spent money.
In Morgan Housel’s book, The Psychology of Money, he has a great chapter talking about wealth is what you can’t see. He describes his time as a valet and talking with people driving high end sports cars. Most of them aren’t as well off as we’d assume. He states that if you see a person driving a $100,000 car, all you know is that they have either $100,000 less money or $100,000 more debt – that’s it. You have no idea beyond that.
Don’t get me wrong, senior officers have significantly more money to play with than us enlisted folks. For the same years of experience, our pay is pitiful in comparison. But you can’t focus on that. Whatever happens in their financial life has absolutely no bearing on what happens in your financial life. None!
Comparison Will Guarantee Unhappiness
If you really want to reduce stress and find financial security and fulfillment, stop comparing. All that time spent comparing what you have or don’t have to others is wasted energy. I used to do it too.
I thought if I had a nice truck I’d feel better. I didn’t. Actually, the more I spent, the less fulfilled and more stress I felt.
I just felt like I was working my a$$ off for absolutely nothing – and I was right. At the end of my first enlistment, I hated the Army. I wanted out. However, I got orders to Germany and was immediately conflicted.
I had always wanted to go to Germany, but I wanted out so bad I could taste it. However, after talks with my wife and my NCOs, I had to face the harsh reality – I was 100% unprepared to leave service.
No money, no real plan (I’ll get out and go to school is not a plan to take care of your family). So, then I did what many people do. I said I’d do “one more” enlistment.
Breaking the Old Mindset
Shortly after getting to Germany, I was deployed to Afghanistan – not the way I’d pictured my time in Germany. However, it was on that deployment that I began some major transformations. I changed my diet drastically, I mellowed significantly as a leader, and I made a choice to get our finances straight.
I made a discovery about our debts that got me on a path to where we are today. I had a perspective shift and started educating myself on personal finance. I feel like I read every article on the blog Get Rich Slowly and that eventually led to me buying Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.
I decided we’d become debt free. No more pissing away money on interest to the bank. My wife and I read that book together and it really helped us shift the way we thought and acted around money. We’ve never followed Dave’s guidance to the letter (because military life is very unique), but we followed the guidance around debt very closely.
You Can Choose to Live (and Win!) on Your Terms
You always have a choice about how you react to something. When I think about people thinking Enlisted Money is an oxymoron, I laugh it off. However, deep inside behind my big, goofy smile, there’s a fire brewing to prove those people wrong.
I choose to live life on my own terms. I don’t have to do the things people expect – and neither do you. I’ve been playing the game by someone else’s rules my whole life. I’m tired of it!
You too can choose to get started and take control of your own life. The path to financial independence might look different because of limited financial means, but you can have every bit as much happiness and fulfillment.
Actually, I’d argue that you can achieve even greater happiness and fulfillment. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as silently defying the odds and achieving what others said you couldn’t.