Written by: Kristen Jowers, MS & Nichole Huff, PhD, CFLE
Military service is marked by a series of key milestones that shape not only a service member’s career but also the lives of their family. Transitions such as initial entry, marriage, promotions, and relocation to new duty stations create pivotal moments that influence both financial and emotional well-being. These transitions also present valuable opportunities for service providers to engage with military couples, helping them navigate financial touchpoints in a way that promotes harmony and stability.
By understanding the link between financial behaviors and relationship satisfaction, service providers can offer comprehensive support to military couples, strengthening both their financial and relational readiness.
Understanding Military Couples as Part of the Population You Serve
The structure of military families is varied, encompassing not only active-duty service members but also reservists and non-married or cohabitating partners. An estimated 49% of active-duty service members are married (DOD, 2024). Additionally, married reservists and non-married and cohabitating partners add to the total number of formal and informal military couples. Given the significant number of married and cohabitating partners within the military community, understanding how couples manage shared responsibilities, particularly in financial matters, becomes increasingly important.
Financial Attitudes and Relationships
Many researchers have looked at the connection between finances and relationship health. For example, certain financial attitudes, such as materialism (i.e., attaching a lot of importance to having material possessions) correlate with lower relationship satisfaction (Dean et al. 2017; LeBaron et al., 2018). Financial self-efficacy (i.e., satisfaction and confidence in financial decision-making abilities) has been linked to higher romantic relationship quality (Saxey et al., 2023). Moreover, financial mismanagement, such as overspending and financial infidelity, can lead to relationship dysfunction (Olson & Rick, 2022). While these findings are well-documented in civilian populations, less is known about how financial dynamics play out in the military family context.
Military Couples Research
To address this knowledge gap, recent research has begun to explore the relationship between financial readiness and military couples. Peterson et al. (2024) highlight the connection between financial attitudes and behaviors among coupled military service members. Findings indicate that financial attitudes directly influence military couples’ relationship satisfaction and commitment. Additionally, healthy financial management behaviors correlated with greater agreement on spending, higher relationship satisfaction, and stronger commitment among military couples.
Tips for Service Providers Working With Couples
- Work together to assess the couple’s current financial well-being.
- Help military couples cultivate healthy financial mindsets by linking their financial attitudes and behaviors to stronger, more fulfilling relationships.
- Encourage couples to discuss financial goals to foster agreement on spending.
- Develop interventions that engage both partners to promote shared financial decision-making.
Preparing for Divorce
While positive financial attitudes and behaviors can strengthen relationships, financial stress, and mismanagement can also contribute to conflict and instability. When financial strain becomes overwhelming, it can sometimes lead to separation or divorce. Divorce is more common among military families than in civilian couples. Learn how you can support military spouses amid divorce as a service provider by reading the OneOp blog, Divorce in the Ranks: Supporting Military Spouses Navigating Divorce. And connect the military spouse with resources from the MilSpouse Money Mission about the financial considerations for divorce in this divorce touchpoint guide.
References
Dean, L. R., Carroll, J. S., & Yang, C. (2007). Materialism, perceived financial problems, and marital satisfaction. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 35(3), 260–281. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077727X06296625
LeBaron, A. B., Kelley, H. H., & Carroll, J. S. (2018). Money over marriage: Marriage importance as a mediator between materialism and marital satisfaction. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 39(2), 337–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-017-9563-2
Olson, J. G., & Rick, S. I. (2022). “You spent how much?” Toward an understanding of how romantic partners respond to each other’s financial decisions. Current Opinion in Psychology, 43, 70–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.06.006
Peterson, C., O’Neal, C. W., Lucier-Greer, M., & Okamoto, R. (2024). Finances and fights: How military members’ financial attitudes and behaviors are linked to romantic relationship processes and outcomes. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning. https://doi.org/10.1891/JFCP-2023-0146
Saxey, M. T., LeBaron-Black, A. B., Totenhagen, C. J., & Curran, M. A. (2023). More than a score? Indirect associations between credit score and romantic relationship quality in emerging adulthood. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 34(1), 55–67. https://doi.org/10.1891/JFCP-2022-0018
U.S. Department of Defense, DOD. (2024). 2023 Demographics: Profile of the military community. https://download.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2023-demographics-report.pdf
Cover photo: kasha_malasha / Adobe Stock
