WalletHub’s nationally representative 2020 Military Money Survey in honor of Veteran’s Day found that 75% of Americans believe military families are under more financial stress than the average family, at a time when most people are reeling from the coronavirus pandemic. The survey also found that nearly 50% of people feel that poor financial literacy among military personnel is a threat to national security, with most adding that the military isn’t doing enough about the problem. You can check out the complete findings in the infographic below, including whether Americans think frontline healthcare workers or police and military personnel should be paid more.
Key Stats
- 75% of Americans agree that military families experience more financial stress than the average family.
- Nearly 1 in 2 people think that poor financial literacy among military personnel is a threat to national security, 40% more than in 2019.
- 74% of Americans don’t think that the military does enough to teach financial literacy.
- 78% of military members don’t think they should have to pay interest on debt when deployed to a war zone.
- 46% of people think that frontline healthcare workers should be paid more than members of the military and police officers.
Ask the Experts
- Do you agree with the 75% of respondents who say that military families experience more financial stress than the average family?
- Do you think poor financial literacy among military personnel is a national security threat?
- Should frontline healthcare workers be paid more than police and members of the military?
Ask the Experts
- Kevin D. Gomez
MA – Instructor, Heider College of Business – Creighton University
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- J. Michael Collins
Ph.D. – Fetzer Family Chair in Consumer and Personal Finance, Professor, Consumer Science Department – University of Wisconsin–Madison
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- Katherine (Kate) S. Mielitz
Ph.D, AFC® – Assistant Professor – Family Financial Planning; Human Development and Family Science – Oklahoma State University
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- Shawn Tysiak
Associate Lecturer of Finance – University of Toledo, College of Business and Innovation
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- Ben Strother
Head Baseball Coach, Professor of Finance – Hannibal-LaGrange University
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- Robert A. Uptegraff
Special Instructor-Finance – Oakland University
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Survey Methodology
This report reflects the results of a nationally representative online survey of over 1,300 respondents.
After we collected all responses, we normalized the data by age, gender and income so the sample would reflect U.S. demographics.
Full Details Overall
| Should members of the military have to pay interest on debt when deployed to a war zone? | |
|---|---|
| No | 78% |
| Yes | 22% |
| Should members of the military be excused from having to pay bills while deployed to a war zone? | |
| Yes | 68% |
| No | 32% |
| Should firefighters, police, EMS and other first responders get the same credit card perks as military personnel? | |
| Yes | 64% |
| No | 36% |
| Does the military do enough to teach financial literacy? | |
| No | 74% |
| Yes | 26% |
| Should members of the military have to pay income taxes while deployed? | |
| No | 70% |
| Yes | 30% |
| How should U.S. military spending change as a result of COVID-19? | |
| No change | 43% |
| We should spend less | 37% |
| We should spend more | 20% |
| Who should be paid the most? | |
| Frontline healthcare workers | 46% |
| Members of the military | 39% |
| Police officers | 15% |
| Is poor financial literacy among military personnel a threat to national security? | |
| No | 51% |
| Yes | 49% |
| Do military families experience more or less financial stress than the average family? | |
| More | 75% |
| Less | 25% |
Note: Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.