Understanding Finances during a Deployment or Temporary Duty: Q&A with Financial Advocate Rae Siebold

One of the biggest lessons I have learned as a military spouse is how to financially plan for Temporary Duty (TDY) assignments and deployments. I think the biggest hurdle for me was sitting down and talking about finances without getting anxious all the time. 

Financial planning looks a bit different when it comes to military families. Learning how to talk about finances before a deployment or TDY helps make separation times go a bit smoother. During our second TDY, we learned how to communicate on budgets, making sure I understood the auto pay schedule, and setting alerts for when we have hit a certain level in our checking account. 

You will learn something new, relearn, and build skills through each deployment. Using tools such as Military One Source’s Financial Well-Being Assessment can help start conversations about finances and give some direction.

To talk a little bit more about being financially ready for TDY or deployment, I interviewed our Financial Readiness Advocate here at MSAN, Rae Siebold. 

What are some tips for spouses on managing finances during a deployment or TDY? 

Rae: Discuss bills with your spouse before deployment. Make a budget and ensure there is money in savings for an emergency fund. Stay within the budget of your pre-deployment income and use deployment pay as extra savings.

What are some pay and benefits spouses need to be aware of during deployments and TDYs? 

Rae: TDY assignments usually come with per diem pay, covering lodging, meals, and incidental expenses. Information for spouses during deployment would include understanding and preparing for the changes that occur in pay and allowances due to deployment and
post-deployment. 

Laura: Some of those changes may include things like BAS (Basic Allowance for Sustenance) to come out of their spouse’s paycheck which may mean a smaller paycheck at first. Also, extra pay like combat pay, separation pay (which comes after the first 30 days of an assignment or deployment) special duty pay and other incentives. 

Rae: There is a website you can check out the current TDY rates. The website to check on the current TDY rates: Per Diem Rate Lookup | Defense Travel Management Office. You can also look up Deployment pay on the official Army website.

Laura: For those who are Air Force, you can also look up deployment pay rates as well. I also highly recommend getting the rates from your base finance office or have your spouse print off the pay rates and keep them in your deployment or TDY binder. These will be a great reference for the future.

Do you have any favorite resources when it comes to finances and deployments/TDYs? 

Rae: These are two of my favorite resources when it comes to financial resources as it pertains to family members, to include the topics of deployments and TDYs:

Support for Military Personnel & Families | Military OneSource

FINRED | Home (usalearning.gov)

What are some things that spouses should put in the deployment binder when it comes to financial readiness?

Rae: I recommend having copies of all bank statements and accounts, login info, various insurance policies, budget and list of monthly bills in your deployment binders. I also recommend Important paperwork such as birth certificate, marriage certificate, orders, life insurance, will, power of attorney, and other legal documents. As well as contact information for all service member's unit and chain of command along with family readiness centers. Other things I suggest include, rear detachment as well as all family, friends, and any emergency assistance organizations on base and community partners as well. 

Lastly, I also recommend setting up auto pay for bills to take away any extra stress to the family member left behind to take care of household duties during service member's deployment

Laura: Thank you so much, Rae, for helping in this Q&A on financial readiness for TDY and deployments. I really appreciate you taking the time to help inform spouses on how to stay financially fit. 

Rae is on the HUB every Friday to discuss exciting new topics on financial readiness each week.  You can find Rae and our other MSAN advocates daily on the HUB, and even chat directly with them using the direct messaging feature. 

We are always here to help you thrive and navigate the military life. 

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