A study by First Command, a military family research organization, has found that military families who use financial planners face less stress.
According to the study, the majority of middle-class military officers say that someone in their family has experienced a mental or physical health problem within the last year directly linked to economic uncertainty. Those officers who work with financial planners, however, have lower odds of developing these mental or physical problems, the study revealed.
For example, an officer who does not use a financial planning service has a 28% risk of developing problems falling asleep at night, while only 18% have the same problem if they use a financial advisor. Also, those who do not use financial planners run twice the risk of developing muscle tension.
These findings speak volumes about the level of stress that can come from financial worry -- and also the level of security that comes from working with a financial planner, according to Barry Knight, the president of NEXT Financial Group, a Houston independent broker/dealer that works with military families.
When families use a financial planner, it can "create peace of mind and a heightened sense of security when it comes to their financial situations," Knight says.