“Some may think that we have an easy life having a steady and dependable lifestyle but we pay for it. It hurts like you would not believe to lose one of our guys and when one goes down, we all feel it.”

You think managing your money is difficult? Try doing it from a war zone. Or, taking control of the family finances when your spouse is serving the country.

Back in March I had the pleasure of speaking with Taurean Washington, a Geezeo member and military officer. I thought it would be good to check in with his wife, JoAngela. Spouses like JoAngela work exceptionally hard and take on an amazing amount of responsibility.

JoAngela, how long have you been a military wife?

A little over 5 years now and I spent the 12 years prior as a Military Brat and Marine Corps Civilian.

Are you also in the military?

No, I never did join.

Do you have a civilian job, or are you a stay-at-home partner?

I have a civilian career with the Defense Department in the Human Resources field.

Do you have any children?

Yes, our daughter Keyara is nearly eight and Cyren, our son, is newly four.

I understand you act as “Family CEO”, particularly when your husband is deployed. What does the “Family CEO” role entail?

Family CEO is much more than just a business or financial role that you assume. As the CEO, you are mommy and daddy, healer and disciplinarian, chef, chauffeur, and mechanic to name a few. Normally, I can count on Taurean for so many things that I realize how spoiled I am each time he leaves. When he is gone, five minutes of time for myself at any point in the day comes at a high cost.

What are your responsibilities when it comes to the family finances?

My husband & I share the responsibilities; he still continues to fluff up several investment and retirement accounts, maintains insurance and payments on our vehicles, pays the credit card, and ensures financial freedom for retirement while I maintain the households recurring monthly expenses to include child care, gas, groceries, the phones, internet, and three additional retirement accounts. I am also responsible for buying all of the family’s clothes (gosh kids grow fast!). While my husband is away, I am the only one left to get suckered into a pizza night or take-out food.

Did you have the skills to do everything that is necessary to run your family’s finances, or did you have to research and get outside help?

I have the skills now, besides common knowledge, my husband schooled me on most everything we utilize. It also did not hurt to have him pay off a college girl’s credit cards within two months of our getting married!

Where do you research, or whom do you trust to give you financial advice?

When I want more information than his explanation I will Google it or use Yahoo Finance to get back to the basics. I listen to Suze Orman as well, she has opened our eyes to a lot of things as well as reassured us of decisions we have made. When it comes to selecting stocks, my husband never advises me on a particular vehicle, he says that I have to be able to stomach huge losses on my own so I stick to my gut and I do pretty well.

What’s a common misconception people have about military wives, or their roles?

I cannot say as I really do not listen or care to know how others may perceive military wives. I do not think of myself as a military wife but as a wife whose husband happens to be in the military. We are resilient families arranged in our own subculture of family sets who often do not receive credit for the part we play. Some may think that we have an easy life having a steady and dependable lifestyle but we pay for it. It hurts like you would not believe to lose one of our guys and when one goes down, we all feel it. Our husbands and wives are not out there alone — they take the largest part of us with them.

From a purely economic standpoint, what is your family’s biggest financial goal(s) right now?

Retirement at age 39 (11 years from now)!

Wow, that’s amazing! To do that would take hard work and discipline — two skills you’ve really honed. How can civilians be more supportive of our military families?

Support the good programs passing through The Senate and Congress with our names on it. Keep our fighters happy by sending them packages, school and medical supplies (for the locals wherever they may be), and letters. These things make it a little easier on them which somehow trickles down to smiles on my kids faces. Honor us for what we sacrifice, too.

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Thanks, JoAngela. I think too many people ignore the everyday efforts of military spouses, their service to their countries, and service to their families. Thank you for taking the time to speak with Geezeo.

To reach out to JoAngela or Taurean, contact them in their Geezeo group, “Combat Investors”.

Related:

Money and Military Life in a Time of War (interview with Taurean Washington)
Politics, Money, and Votes
Get Life Insurance

Further Reading

• The ABC’s of Budgeting and Finance : P – T (0)
• The ABC’s of Budgeting and Finance : A-E (1)
• Is Geezeo For You? (0)
• 3 Ways to Diminish Debt (0)
• You’ve Got Questions, Farnoosh Has the Answers! (0)

Tags: Credit card, Financial Freedom, Geezeo, home, Military, Personal finance, Suze Orman

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 8:58 am and is filed under Budget. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.