{"id":12136,"date":"2014-09-15T09:39:24","date_gmt":"2014-09-15T07:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/?p=12136"},"modified":"2020-08-10T11:15:31","modified_gmt":"2020-08-10T11:15:31","slug":"getting-by-on-your-army-salary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/getting-by-on-your-army-salary\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting By on Your Army Salary"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article first appeared on YNet. You can view the original in Hebrew at this link: <\/em>http:\/\/www.ynet.co.il\/articles\/0,7340,L-4198590,00.html<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no military secret that soldiers\u2019 salaries are tiny. How can a soldier pay the bills without going into debt? Lt. Gal Zerihan, a service conditions officer in the Galilee Division, helps soldiers manage their salary and cover their regular expenses.\u00a0For young adults, army service is the peak of their transition from teenagers reliant on their parents to independent adults responsible for making their own decisions. This stage of life also includes the transition to financial independence. Below are a few tips to help make the transition as smooth as possible:<\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Pay Up Front<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Choose a debit card over a credit card. Debit cards are the best way to avoid going into overdraft, since every purchase you make is deducted from your bank account immediately instead of once a month. When your money runs out, the card is blocked, which keeps you from overspending. This way, there are no surprises at the end of the month.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Use Credit Cards Wisely<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Need a credit card? Use it wisely. Credit cards are a gateway to unintentional overspending. To best keep track of your monthly spending, ask your bank or credit card company to set your billing date for the first of the month \u2013 the same time you receive your monthly salary from the army. This will make it easier to keep track of the balance between your income and expenses.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Beware of Fees<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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A common misconception among soldiers is that they are exempt from all banking fees. In reality, you may pay up to NIS 50 in fees for going over your credit limit or going into overdraft, for insufficient funds (if a check bounces, for example) or for service charges. These fees may apply to all customers and all types of accounts.<\/p>\n

The solution? Don\u2019t make withdrawals, set up standing orders or authorize other charges directly from your account if you don\u2019t have enough money in your account to cover these costs. Don\u2019t keep more than one credit card at a time. Most importantly \u2013 don\u2019t go into overdraft.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Shop Wisely<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
\n

Deciding to give up buying snacks for your entire service isn\u2019t always practical. Treat yourself once in a while, but stick to a few important guidelines.<\/p>\n

First, avoid making purchases at gas station convenience stores. Instead, shop at the Shiklit [military canteen] for the cheapest, most conveniently available products. In the supermarket, buy store brands \u2013 these products are generally comparable in quality to name brands and are usually cheaper.<\/p>\n

In general, try to compare prices of products you buy regularly so that you can make an educated decision about where to buy.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Loans \u2013 Use With Caution<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Many soldiers use loans as a quick fix for their overdraft or an easy source of money for a big purchase. Most banks offer loans in proportion to the customer\u2019s income to ensure that the customer will be able to pay back the installments. Still, remember that loans include monthly interest payments with each installment, so think carefully before deciding to take out a loan.<\/p>\n

If you really need a loan, ask your unit\u2019s service conditions officer [mashakit tash] for information about military loans. This option is always preferable to taking out a loan at the bank, since the payments are deducted directly from your monthly salary and the army does not charge interest.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>An Expensive Habit<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Smokers, especially soldiers who smoke, have an extra financial burden to shoulder every month. Income tax doesn\u2019t make things any easier \u2013 taxes account for approximately 70% of the retail price of cigarettes. These high taxes aren\u2019t meant to prevent you from smoking, as most people probably think \u2013 they\u2019re actually meant to offset the damage that smoking causes the state: smokers are more likely to suffer from illnesses, which leads to more patients in government-funded hospitals. Treating these patients is extremely expensive for the state.<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/i><\/i><\/span>Are You Keeping Track?<\/span><\/a><\/h4><\/div>
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Always keep track of your expenses. Even if it seems complicated \u2013 go to the bank, ask for bank statements for your account and go over them at home. Ask a service conditions officer who is familiar with the details for advice. You can also keep track of your account online, through your bank\u2019s website.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s no military secret that soldiers\u2019 salaries are tiny. How can a soldier pay the bills without going into debt? Lt. Gal Zerihan, a service conditions officer in the Galilee Division, helps soldiers manage their salary and cover their regular expenses. For young adults, army service is the peak of their transition from teenagers reliant on their parents to independent adults responsible for making their own decisions. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[282],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12136","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12136"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88990,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12136\/revisions\/88990"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12136"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12136"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nbn.org.il\/nbnlsp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12136"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}