Rising Beyond for Veterans and Military Families: Why Financial Wellness Is A Critical Need This Veterans Day

ByBeyond Finance Team

As we wrap up the week of Veterans Day, this is a time to say “thank you” to those who have sacrificed and served America. But too many service members, veterans, and military families shoulder unique financial challenges that often go unseen. Through Rising Beyond, our new philanthropic initiative, Beyond Finance expands the heart of our mission to support three organizations doing essential work in this space: Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP), Blue Star Families, and Hiring Our Heroes.

Military Families Face Unique Strains

Serving in the military can bring matchless rewards — but it also involves financial stressors that most civilians rarely encounter or understand. Frequent relocations for new deployments, employment disruption for spouses who remain at home, housing costs, and delayed reimbursements all work to create financial instability. According to data from Military Families Advocacy Network,

  • Three quarters of military households are burdened by debt.  
  • 36% of military families carry four or more credit cards.
  • Among veteran households, 38% have less than $500 in emergency savings or no savings at all, and more than 80% report stress about finances over the prior 12 months. 
  • Worst of all, some 27% of currently serving military families experience some level of food insecurity. 

Spouse employment is another persistent challenge. Blue Star Families’ 2023 Military Family Lifestyle Survey found that housing and relocation costs remain a top source of financial stress as spouse underemployment or unemployment erodes household income. As military families navigate through different deployments, spouses can lose access to prior career tracks and see their household budgets destabilized by even minor setbacks.

Worrying about finances and overwhelming debt are proven to negatively impact one’s mental and physical health, whether in the military service or not. Service brings sacrifice, and too often that commitment results in financial fragility. Beyond Finance has more than 20 veterans on our team who bring these insights and lived experiences to supporting our clients.

Why Our Philanthropy Partners Matter

When Beyond Finance launched Rising Beyond, we sought partners whose work reflects resilience, support, and systemic empowerment — and these three organizations deliver:

Wounded Warrior Project
Supports the total well-being of injured veterans through life-changing services in mental and brain health, physical health and wellness, career counseling, and long-term rehabilitative care. 

Blue Star Families
This nonprofit strengthens the well-being of military families through research, advocacy, community building, and direct services. Their work helps connect military families with support networks, improves policy awareness, and develops localized solutions to close gaps in care. 

Hiring Our Heroes
HOH focuses on economic opportunity by connecting veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses with meaningful employment. Their programs include hiring fairs, fellowship placements, career services, and employer engagement programs like the 4+1 Commitment, which encourages companies to adopt policies favoring spouse employment continuity. 

The Rising Beyond initiative reinforces Beyond Finance’s broader purpose of delivering support — not just for debt — but for real and lasting financial wellness for all.