If you’re serving in the military, it’s important to finish out your service honorably and to make your country proud. Too many people quit because it gets challenging, and they end up missing out on a lot of benefits. Don’t make the mistake of giving up but instead, stay focused on your career and complete your tour of duty, and even extend it. That’s because you can get some pretty amazing benefits that will make this experience well worth your time and energy.
Retirement Pay
The amazing thing about military service is that, when you retire, you can qualify for lifetime retirement pay. Many people retire from the military at young ages, some as young as their late 20s. The longer you serve, the more pay you can get, but even a 10-year service can earn you great benefits.
Think about that from this perspective: if you sign up at 18 and serve 10 years, you’ll be 28 when you retire. You can then use your free education benefits to start a career and, at the same time, get military retirement benefits. That’s a huge win for your pocketbook and a great way to improve your finances.
Furthermore, you can also get free or greatly reduced healthcare costs, meaning that you can save even more money after retiring. As a result, savvy military veterans often live a comfortable life and can even learn how to invest in various low-cost options like stocks and bonds.
Family and Child Care
If you have a family, you deserve benefits that can help your children after you retire from the military. Thankfully, the various branches provide many programs and unique bonuses for your children, such as the Call for the Arts Program. This program helps military children get support for their art skills and much more.
Other programs include Child Care Aware, which provides support for affordable child care for military veterans, and the Family Advocacy Program to support various child problems. All of these programs can provide your little ones with the help that they need to grow into healthy adults.
Respect From Peers
Now, this isn’t necessarily the biggest or most important benefit you’ll get from military service. However, it’s worth noting that you’ll likely get more respect from your peers if you complete military service, meaning that you can feel better about yourself and be more competent as a person.
That’s nothing to laugh at because more respect could mean that you’ll find better jobs after you complete training. For example, your co-workers at a job might tell potential employers that you’re a great hire and help you get a job simply because they respect your military service so much.
Great Prices on Homes
If you’re looking to buy a home after service in today’s rather overpriced market, military service might be a great first start. For example, you’ll get access to VA loans that can provide low credit lending for homes. That’s a huge advantage in a world where home prices have become out of control.
So even if you still have to pay these high prices, you’ll get a loan with a rate that’s far below what civilians can receive. A difference of five percent can mean thousands of dollars during the life of your loan, which is a huge advantage that can reduce your home’s costs considerably.
Reduce-Cost or Even Free Education
So, you’re not a career military person but instead want to use it as a springboard for greater things in your life. That’s not unusual and is honorable. After all, putting your body in harm’s way definitely deserves compensation. For example, the GI Bill can help you get reduced costs or even free education after you retire.
The benefits of this bill are obvious. You can take whatever courses you want at whatever school you want and walk away with little to no debt. That gives you a huge head start in life and should make it easier for you to find a civilian career that makes sense for your needs as a person.
Discounts at Restaurants
While not every restaurant offers this option, many will provide greatly reduced prices for military veterans. You can also find this in other types of stores, particularly from owners who served. It’s sort of like a senior discount, except it’s open to an even smaller and more select group of people.
It’s nice to find a restaurant you like and visit regularly with reduced rates. Note that these rates will typically apply to your whole order, so you can bring in your family and enjoy low-cost food. When you get older, you might even be able to get a senior discount to reduce your prices even further. That’s a big win-win.
Don’t Ignore These Fantastic Military Service Benefits
These many advantages make military service a great choice and something well worth your time. Though the exact range of benefits will vary slightly based on which branch you served, it’s important to know that you’ll always get some kind of bonus or advantage when serving in the military. As a result, it’s important to stay focused and complete your duty. If you’re on the fence about service and still talking to a recruiter, let them know, and then they can help you better understand your potential benefits.
