Financial trouble can severely stunt a military career: Some service members struggle to meet the financial expectations of the military and monetarily support their families.

To help prevent such problems, one aspiring Certified Financial Planner has volunteered with the Navy Marine Corp Relief Society for the past 10 years as a financial counselor, helping service members organize their finances and remain in good standing with the military.

Members of the military can’t be in any financial trouble or take on too much debt, said Elizabeth Plot, AFCPE, client service associate with Ballast Financial Services in Burlingame, Calif. Being off track financially could actually affect their career path, she added.

Having too much debt directly violates Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and failure to pay can cause military personnel to lose security clearance or be demoted to a position with a lower clearance requirement, according to a report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 

“Some service members send money back home and get into trouble with the military trying to financially support two families -- one in the U.S. and the family they have in their home country. I understand those values,” Plot said. “We don’t tell people to financially cut off their families, but instead build a plan that compliments their cultural values.”

Plot has volunteered to help expand financial literacy and knowledge of the services offered by financial planners while completing her CFP/ChFC education programs with the American College of Financial Services.

“We create a spending plan or budget with the [service] member, look at the numbers, and add family support into the plan, but sometimes people have taken advantage of their relative who is in service. We have reached out to explain the member’s financial circumstances and in some cases families don’t know their relative truly can’t afford to help them,” she said.

Plot, who comes from a Mexican background, says cultural awareness serves a strong purpose in financial planning. Recently, The Financial Planning Association (FPA) recognized her efforts in diversity expansion, awarding her an annual diversity scholarship. The scholarship covers the cost of attending the annual FPA conference in Chicago Oct. 3-5. The scholarship also extends a one-year complimentary FPA membership to award winners, according to an FPA press release.

Mexican culture is deeply rooted in family support and many Spanish-speaking countries share those values; that has to be accounted for when building a budget that’s going to last, Plot explained. In other cases, some members are just more comfortable speaking in Spanish, and having someone to translate financial information has proven to be really valuable to those members, she added.

The financial counseling program also provides a range of financial guidance and assistance to service members and their families. Many enter the program when they are in crisis mode, Plot explained.

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