First Command Reports: Military Families Keep Halloween Spending in Check

The First Command Financial Behaviors Index® reveals majority of middle-class military families expect to spend the same or less than last year

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The spirit of frugality is alive and well in America’s career military households this Halloween, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index®.

First Command’s annual Halloween spending survey reveals that 74 percent of middle-class military families (commissioned officers and senior NCOs in pay grades E-5 and above with household incomes of at least $50,000) who plan to celebrate Halloween will spend the same as or less than last year.

The Index reveals that the majority of military families (54 percent) expect to spend less than $100 on Halloween, statistically unchanged from last year. Their top cost-saving methods for 2016 are:

• Purchasing less expensive candy (55 percent)
• Spending less on decorations (54 percent)
• Sticking to a set budget (43 percent)
• Giving out less candy to each child (35 percent)
• Reusing costumes from a previous year (34 percent)
• Making costumes rather than buying them (25 percent)
• Canceling their Halloween party (10 percent)

The Halloween spending trend is similar in the general population. Among middle-class civilian families with household incomes of at least $50,000, 64 percent are planning to spend the same as or less than in 2015. Seventy-nine percent expect to spend less than $100. That’s about the same spending level as last year.

Halloween frugality in military families comes at a time of continuing fears over how defense spending cuts will impact their household finances. The Index reveals that concerns over sequestration prompted 42 percent of military families to cut back on everyday spending in September. In contrast, just 35 percent of general population families say they are cutting back.

“Concerns over sequestration and defense downsizing have been prompting military families to cut back on everyday spending at a rate that outpaces their civilian counterparts,” said Scott Spiker, CEO of First Command Financial Services, Inc. “We see that same trend reflected in our Thanksgiving survey results, which indicate that three out of four families are planning a frugal holiday celebration. Frugality in both holiday and everyday spending represent a justifiable approach to the ongoing financial uncertainties facing career service members and their families.”

About the First Command Financial Behaviors Index®

Compiled by Sentient Decision Science, Inc., the First Command Financial Behaviors Index® assesses trends among the American public’s financial behaviors, attitudes and intentions through a monthly survey of approximately 530 U.S. consumers aged 25 to 70 with annual household incomes of at least $50,000. Results are reported quarterly. The margin of error is +/- 4.3 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. http://www.firstcommand.com/fbi/

About Sentient Decision Science, Inc.

Sentient Decision Science was commissioned by First Command to compile the Financial Behaviors Index®. SDS is a behavioral science and consumer psychology consulting firm with special vertical expertise within the financial services industry. SDS specializes in advanced research methods and statistical analysis of behavioral and attitudinal data.

About First Command

First Command Financial Services and its subsidiaries, including First Command Advisory Services, First Command Bank and First Command Financial Planning, assist American families in their efforts to build wealth, reduce debt and pursue their lifetime financial goals and dreams—focusing on consumer behavior as the first and most powerful determinant of results. Through knowledgeable advice and coaching of the financial behaviors conducive to success, First Command Financial Advisors have built trustworthy, lasting relationships with hundreds of thousands of client families since 1958.

First Command Financial Services, Inc., is the parent of First Command Financial Planning, Inc. (Member SIPC, FINRA), First Command Advisory Services, Inc., First Command Insurance Services, Inc. and First Command Bank. Financial planning services and investment products, including securities, are offered by First Command Financial Planning, Inc. , a broker-dealer. Financial planning and investment advisory services are offered by First Command Advisory Services, Inc., an investment adviser. Insurance products and services are offered by First Command Insurance Services, Inc., in all states except Montana, where as required by law, insurance products and services are offered by First Command Financial Services, Inc. (a separate Montana domestic corporation). Banking products and services are offered by First Command Bank. In certain states, as required by law, First Command Insurance Services, Inc. does business as a separate domestic corporation. Securities products are not FDIC insured, have no bank guarantee and may lose value. A financial plan, by itself, cannot assure that retirement or other financial goals will be met. First Command Financial Services, Inc. and its related entities are not affiliated with, authorized to sell or represent on behalf of or otherwise endorsed by any federal employee benefits programs referenced, by the U.S. government, or the U.S. armed forces.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161024005863/en/

First Command Financial Services, Inc.
Mark Leach, 817-569-2419
Media Relations
[email protected]

Source: First Command Financial Services, Inc.

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