The GoVA Library
Budgets and Saving
Building Financial Security Beyond an Emergency Fund
Less than half of military families have $500 saved. Build your emergency fund, protect your credit score, and invest for long-term security…
May 15, 2026
Reduce Your Financial Stress, Military Members!
Learn how financial stress affects military families and explore free tools like Mindfulness meditations and stress scores to build financia…
Jan 25, 2026
Military Families, Maximize Your Tax Refund
Learn how military income affects your tax refund and explore smart ways to save, invest, and pay down debt to make the most of your refund …
Jan 20, 2026
Vacation Discounts for Military Families
Discover the best vacation discounts for military families, including ITT office deals, amusement park passes, and Department of Defense lod…
Jan 2, 2026
Real Military Families, Real Budget Wins
Real Edge members share budget wins and money-saving strategies that helped them pay off debt, navigate PCS moves, and reach their financial…
Nov 26, 2025
Veteran Financial Stress: Suicide Risk and What to Do
4 of the top 20 veteran suicide risk factors are financial. Discover your Financial Stress Score and get free tools to help reduce financial…
Aug 8, 2025
Contest Winner Success Story: The Edge Empowers This Family
How Fresh Start 2025 runner-up Suzanna used The Edge’s financial tools for college savings, mortgage planning, and giving back to her commun…
May 21, 2025
Military Car Buying: How to Buy, Insure, and Ship a Vehicle
Navigate military car buying: how to get affordable financing, choose PCS-friendly vehicles, and find insurance and warranties for military …
Mar 20, 2025
Building Your Family's Financial Education Foundation
Build your military family's financial education foundation with guidance on banking, savings, auto insurance, and identity protection resou…
Jan 30, 2025
Win $500 in the Fresh Start 2025 Contest for Edge Members!
Enter The Edge's Fresh Start 2025 Contest for a chance to win cash prizes by sharing your financial goals and how The Edge can help you achi…
Jan 9, 2025
5 Ways to Protect Your Wallet This Holiday Season
Protect your wallet this holiday season with five tips for military families: budgeting, monitoring credit, avoiding scams, and tracking deb…
Dec 11, 2024
Holiday Spending Tips for Military Families GoVA
GoVA CEO Phil Jawny shares holiday spending tips for military families, covering budgeting, credit card strategy, and staying on track throu…
Nov 20, 2024
Military Family Financial Tools: Our Contest Winner
This Army Veteran uses military family financial tools on The Edge with personalized learning paths for goals like budgeting & credit monito…
Nov 1, 2024
Financial Professionals: Coaches, Counselors, and Planners
Learn the differences between financial coaches, counselors, and planners, and how military members can connect with a free session through …
Sep 19, 2024
TSP vs. IRA: Military Retirement Savings Options
Compare TSP and IRA options to maximize your military retirement savings, covering Roth vs. Traditional accounts, contribution tips, and div…
Aug 28, 2024
Back to School Discounts for Military Families
Find back-to-school discounts for military families, from ID.me deals and store discounts to tutoring programs and GI Bill education benefit…
Aug 13, 2024
High-Interest Savings Accounts for Military
Learn how high-interest savings accounts work, what features matter most for military life, and how to compare rates to grow your savings fa…
Aug 9, 2024
Credit Repair for Military: How to Boost Your Score
Learn what factors affect your credit score and explore free credit repair resources and tools built for military members working to boost t…
Jul 31, 2024
GoVA - VA Mortgage Loans, Resources and More
Which credit card is best? What is the SCRA? How do credit cards affect your credit score? Get these credit card tips for military families.
Jul 10, 2024
Military Childcare Challenges for Young Military Families
Explore military childcare challenges like CDC waitlists and high costs, plus resources and financial strategies to make quality childcare m…
Jun 25, 2024
How to Avoid Military Family Overspending
Apply lessons from "Your Money or Your Life" to avoid military family overspending, with tips on values-based budgeting and smarter money ch…
Jun 6, 2024
The Edge: A Financial Education Resource for the Military
The Edge is a digital platform with free financial education for the military community, powered by GoVA. See our popular tools and courses.
May 7, 2024
Military Families, Master Your Homeowner Budget
Master your homeowner budget as a military family with tips on affordability, comparing mortgage rates, closing costs, and improving your cr…
Jan 10, 2024
How to Budget for Military Life Changes
Learn how to budget for military life changes, including PCS moves, deployments, having a baby, spouse unemployment, and military retirement…
Jan 3, 2024
BAH Changes: A Military Family's Guide to Budgeting
Learn how to adjust your military family budget when BAH increases or decreases, with tips on savings, debt, rent negotiation, and SCRA prot…
Dec 20, 2023
Why You Need Emergency Savings as a Military Family
Learn why military families need emergency savings for PCS moves, deployments, natural disasters, and paycheck delays, plus steps to start s…
Sep 21, 2023
Military Family Budget
Learn the basics of building a military family budget, staying flexible through PCS moves and deployments, and reaching your household's fin…
Sep 18, 2023
Summer Fun Money Saving Tips
Five simple ways military families can enjoy summer fun on a budget: free outdoor activities, library visits, matinee movies, and home enter…
Jul 14, 2023
5 Tips for Summer Savings – Home Edition
Five practical home tips to help military families cut summer expenses, covering thermostats, LED bulbs, water use, airflow, and fans to boo…
Jul 10, 2023
Budget & Military-Friendly Vacation Ideas
Vacations don’t have to be costly to be great. If you’re saving money this summer, here are low-budget, military family-friendly vacation id…
Jun 30, 2023
3 Tips for Financial Spring Cleaning
Spring is a great time to clear out your home, but also to evaluate your finances and find places where you can reduce spending and save mon…
May 17, 2023
Military Appreciation Month: The Best Deals & Discounts
To kick off May, we cover the history behind Military Appreciation Month and spotlight popular benefits offered to military members and fami…
May 2, 2023
Reduce Your Debt and Reach Your Savings Goals
Saving while carrying debt can feel impossible. With the right financial management, most people can pay down debt and save for the future a…
Apr 24, 2023
Preparing for the Unexpected and Saving for an Emergency
More than half of military and veteran families are unprepared for a financial emergency, and a third of serving families have under $500 sa…
Apr 6, 2023
Start Your Savings Journey with Military Saves Week
Military Saves Week 2023 runs April 24-28, dedicated to helping service members, veterans, families, and caregivers build financial confiden…
Apr 4, 2023
Financial and Mental Health Go Hand and Hand
Self-care is now a marketable catchphrase and the wellness industry keeps growing, but one area is left out of the conversation: financial h…
Oct 6, 2022
Weekly Budgeting 101
One of the best ways to get used to budgeting is to start weekly. A weekly budget is a valuable tool, and here are simple steps to get you s…
Sep 21, 2022Ready to act on budgets and saving?
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