Financial readiness for DoD
Poncho’s personal finance solution enables service members to make better, more informed decisions that increase readiness, improve performance, and save time, money, and lives.
Financial stress costs DoD $15B billion, 310 million hours, and over 200 lives each year. Digital financial readiness tools can reduce stress by giving service members control of their finances and confidence for the fight.
Financial readiness is unit readiness
“In the military, financial readiness can directly impact service members' ability to successfully prepare for and complete their missions by reducing distractions from unresolved financial issues.
With more confidence in their personal finances, service members can better focus on their missions.”
— DoD’s Office of Financial Readiness
“Our job is lethality and readiness and warfighting...Waste undermines readiness”
Financial stress harms the entire military community
Financial stress harms the entire community. Commanders seek to improve financial readiness, but lack current, actionable data.
Service members are especially vulnerable to financial stress and problem debt due to inexperience mixed with easy credit. This vulnerability lowers readiness, and hurts retention and performance, and drives suicide risk.
“Nearly 9 in 10 active service members and 84% of spouses or partners have worries about personal finances.”
Low readiness, elevated suicide risk, poor performance, low retention, revoked clearances
Service members are 4x more likely than civilians to have unsecured debt, which puts them at 8x the risk for suicide. — Clinical Psychology Review
20% of financially stressed workers report “severe or major” negative impact on their work. — PwC Employee Financial Wellness Survey
The top driver for retention is spousal satisfaction. 3 of the 5 top factors are financial. — Blue Star Families
Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency: Finances are “the most frequently cited security concern” for clearance denials and revocations — MilitaryMoney.com
Financial Wellness drives mission success
70% of large US employers offer financial wellness for their employees. Easy access to digital tools, education, and counselors boost morale, performance, and retention. Individual financial well-being improves unit financial readiness.
DoD invests tremendous resources into financial support but not in the coordinated way that can deliver a breakthrough boost in readiness and mission success.
Personal finance apps drive better outcomes
People who use personal finance apps are over 20% less likely to have problem debt. They report improved financial confidence, literacy, willingness to seek out help, resilience, willingness to avoid impulse purchases, and a sense of control over one’s finances.