Military Matters

Degrees of Difference

Jonathan Bauchet

Photo provided

Managing money and finances can be a challenge for any family. For military families, the concerns are often greater: Deployments can bring unexpected costs; frequent relocations can make it difficult to maintain civilian career paths; and some lenders engage in questionable practices. The resulting costs can rise even to the point where financial issues threaten security clearances and military careers.

Regulations are in place requiring military members to receive training about personal finance, and trainers are employed at installations across the country to help ensure that financial problems for military families are minimized.

But how well are those financial training programs working?

That's the question the Military Family Research Institute at Purdue is trying to answer with help from the Department of Defense and the Department of Agriculture. MFRI, along with Michael Roe and Jonathan Bauchet from the College of Health and Human Sciences, wrote a successful proposal in the summer of 2014 to fund the evaluation of financial training programs in the Army and the design of similar programs in the Navy.

"It's great that financial literacy is being provided, but we agree that there is no point in giving training unless it's effective," says Shelley MacDermid Wadsworth, director of MFRI. "We are eager to work with the Army and Navy to help make sure that they are achieving their goals."

MacDermid Wadsworth says these types of projects are in line with MFRI's overall mission to ensure that military families have the support they need to do their work efficiently.

"We want to do all that we can to make sure that financial problems do not interfere with family life for military members," she says.

 

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