Financial Assistance

Army Community Service Financial Readiness Program: DSN 314-531-2850/DSN 314-541-9014 or commercial 0611-143-531-2850/0611-143541-9014.

Financial Readiness provides a variety of services from crisis management to wealth building. You can work with Accredited Financial Counselors at your departing location to start financial planning for your PCS and continue to work on your financial goals when you arrive at your new duty station. Financial problems can be addressed with the Army Community Service Financial Readiness Program staff or Army Emergency Relief representative. Our monthly financial classes may include topics such as Required Common Military Trainings to reach milestone training requirements and Weekly Financial Readiness In-processing with all kinds of need-to-know information for a successful tour in Rheinland-Pfalz Germany.

Set up an individual appointment for help with money management, budget development, debt liquidation assistance and financial planning for military lifestyle and retirement. All self-referral financial cases are treated with strict confidence; no information is released without the knowledge and consent of the client. Units can request financial readiness training, which includes various topics on financial readiness for mission readiness and self-sufficiency.

Permanent Change of Station Moves

Permanent change of station moves are expensive and, although the Army will reimburse you for some expenses, including pet shipping, there will be non-reimbursable costs, and the reimbursement will not happen until all paperwork is filed upon arrival. Be prepared for the unexpected by saving some money before your move. You will need to have enough money to cover your daily expenses when you arrive in Kaiserslautern. Plan on spending at least $200 to $400 a day for lodging, plus food and transportation expenses. You will also have to continue to make payments to your creditors, so try to pay a month in advance of your move to avoid late fees. Ensure that you notify them of your overseas move and provide your forwarding address as soon as possible. Make a list of your creditors and account numbers, along with their addresses and telephone numbers, to ensure that in the event you run into problems, you can easily contact them.

Newly arrived personnel may be entitled to draw advance pay when relocating; but remember that repayments are automatically withdrawn from your monthly pay and can reduce your monthly income in some cases drastically

Keep a detailed record of your permanent change of station travel; include all stops including leave en route, arrival and departure dates, and times to complete your DFAS SMART Travel Voucher (DD Form 1351-2) within five days of arrival. It is also important to keep receipts and/or records of expenses associated with your move. It is a requirement to turn in a copy of any military travel accounts and/or travel records with your travel settlement voucher; therefore, you must maintain printed or digital copies of all airline tickets. Finally, pick up your military pay and travel pay records before you leave your present duty station. Without a record, payment must be held pending confirmation of the advances. If you receive advance travel pay, ask for a copy of the voucher to file with your PCS settlement claim. It can also be found on your myPay account.

Your payment for travel will be a direct deposit into your checking account on file with DFAS, so remember to pay off your Government Travel Card in full before spending that money. Some charges may be delayed in posting to your GTC, so check to make sure you’ve paid off the full balance as required. When filing DFAS Smart Voucher online, you can indicate what expenses you charged to your GTC, and DFAS will directly reimburse those expenses (if authorized) to your GTC account.

It is advised that you visit the Financial Readiness Program at your current installation to check into budgeting for your upcoming move. A little financial planning before your move can save a lot of headaches later.

Army Community Service Financial Readiness Program

Call DSN: 314-531-2850/DSN 314-541-9014 or commercial 0611-143-531-2850/0611-143541-9014.

Financial Readiness provides a variety of services from crisis management to wealth building. You can work with Accredited Financial Counselors at your departing location to start financial planning for your PCS and continue to work on your financial goals when you arrive at your new duty station. Financial problems can be addressed with the Army Community Service Financial Readiness Program staff or Army Emergency Relief representative. Our monthly financial classes may include topics such as: Required Common Military Trainings to reach milestone training requirements and Weekly Financial Readiness In-processing with all kinds of need-to-know information for a successful tour in Rheinland-Pfalz Germany.