That was the question I had when I was first asked if I wanted to speak to a financial planner. In 2006, I was within a couple weeks from deploying to Iraq, and my 2nd child was a little over a month old. I was online reviewing all my insurances and other financial information to ensure that it was all up to date should something happen to me while deployed.
We had our insurances through a "military friendly" company, so their website had a link that could walk you through some pre-deployment questions such as: Do you have life insurance? Are your beneficiaries up to date? Will your car be stored while you are away? These were all questions that seemed normal to ask anyone being deployed. Then came the aforementioned question that somehow changed my life.
Although one may think that sounds a little "dumb" of me, one would have to understand where I came from - and I certainly did not "come from money". I grew up in a housing project for the majority of my childhood, and enlisted into the Navy a few months out of High School at 17. My first car put me in such a bad position financially that sometimes I felt like I would always have that struggle.
Thankfully, I was able to overcome that. However, the question intrigued me, so I went ahead to look up what a financial planner does. My role in the Navy had to deal a lot with helping other members make sure were getting their correct pay and benefits. Also, one of our biggest tasks pre-deployment was to update the emergency contact and beneficiary information for the others deploying. So as I was reading what a financial planner does, I saw that there might be some aspects of that profession that fit into what I was currently doing in the Navy.
In case I had some "down time" while deployed, I decided that I was going to take some classes. Financial Planning became my "calling", as I starting working on some courses in that subject, and upon return from deployment, I began working towards my degree. All this began from the ONE question.
I am sure there are some out there that grew up like me, or even some that didn't, that may not know what we do. I hope that my website answers that question and if you click on the "Get on Base Planning Program" button, you can see fully some of the areas we can help with.