I'm planning on joining the US Navy, will debt play a factor?

Question

I'm 19 years old and I am planning on joining the US Navy i made a mistake of getting a credit card i cant afford I'm about 1000 dollars in debt with them. i can't afford to pay it because i pay for my apartment and my truck. Will they accept me even if I'm in debt? I'm sort of embarrassed to ask my recruiter...if anyone has a definite answer please let me know would be excellent if you're in the military as well.

Answer 1

You can't hide that. They will eventually do a debt to income worksheet on you and if your debt to income ratio is too high they can keep you out. You will have to be able to pay ALL of your bills on your E1 pay and have so much left over after that. If you cannot do that then you won't be able to enlist. The Navy is not going to allow you to be in default with any loans at the time of enlistment. Best bet is to take your truck to CarMax if you live near one and sell it. You won't need it in the Navy at all and it will save you tons of money in payments and insurance. If you try to enlist without disclosing it youl will be caught when they start your security clearance screening. Just be honest with your recruiter and ask them for help. They are not bad people and they have lots of experience with stuff life this. If you are serious about enlisting your truck is what needs to go. It will be 4 to 24 months before you will be allowed to even have it on base with you anyway so why pay for something your don't need or will be able to use. Good luck.

Answer 2

I was 17 when I joined the Navy; I didn't turn 18 until after I finished boot camp. It was the best decision that I could have made at the time. I had been accepted to several colleges (USC, UCSB and CSUN). I had some scholarship money, but my parents and I would have had to scrape to cover tuition. I knew, however, that I wasn't ready for college. I pulled decent grades in HS with minimal effort. I had no idea what studying really entailed. I suspect that I would have lasted about three semesters before failing out. Instead, I went into the Navy and served four years on active duty. I travelled to places that I had never heard of and was given significant responsibility within a year. When I went to college at age 22, I knew what I wanted to do and how to go about doing it. It's only four years of your life. You'll grow up a lot and have some great memories when you're "old". You'll have the opportunity to see and do things that most people never get to do. Make the most of your time, have fun and good luck!

Answer 3

Bad debt is not something that any of the military is very lenient about. Not only that but it can also keep you from getting a security clearance for a job that you may want down the road. While they are also somewhat understanding in that everyone makes mistakes and you are younger and this is your first experience with a credit card you don't want this problem to follow you to basic and get in legal hotwater where and when you can not manage your personal affairs. Not only that but there is a brief period of time where you don't get your full amount of pay; it is deposited for you and you get it later. I would strongly urge you to borrow some money from somewhere like a realtive and get a few months breathing time so that you are not in hot water as a new recruit. That would be very bad for you. To avoid that I would sell my household items since you won't need them for the next several months and also consider selling the truck.

Answer 4

weeelll. A thousand bucks is NOT that much..HOWEVER, yes, it can affect your eligibility. If you are in arrears and the matter has gone before court, you may not enlist.
If you are merely in arrears, you will NOT be eligible for any type of security Clearance. You basically need to,make arrangements NOW and show the recruiter that you are working on it, because ignoring it completely means you don;t take responisbility and you could find yourself Disqualified altogether.

Something to consider: if you are looking for a bonus to help make this go away, one, not everyone gets a bonus, and at bare minimum, you must finish BootCamp and possibly even A school before you see a dime, depends on which type of bonus you get. That means, at minimum, 10-12 weeks. Additionally, if you are single, you will be giving up the apartment, and you may have to give up the truck too. Junior enlisted pay is like $1500/month. if your car payment is too high, you cannot live on that salary, even with room and board provided.

Oh yeah, it you can expect 8 weeks before you even see your first paycheck.

Answer 5

Everyone in America has some kind of debt LOL. They dont do a debt check when you join unless you are trying for a security clearance. I had a girlfriend I was in bootcamp with who got hers revoked because she had to much debt. But continue to make payments. Once you are active duty, get ahold of those you owe money to and let them know you are active duty military and many creditors are more than willing to help establish some kind of payment. Also there is a document that you can get from the legal department on your base that you send to your creditors explaining that you are active and they must decrease your interest rate on somethings due to some federal law. (I dont remember what they drop it down to though) Good Luck

Answer 6

I don't know about joining but i know it can affect where you can be stationed. We had to have our debt to income in line when we went overseas. But i don;t think it does cause my brother owes a good amount in student loans and he just join the air forcw, well a yr ago

Answer 7

Yeah, they will accept you, as long as you begin/continue to pay off your debt. You might not get a certain security clearance because of debt, but, you can get in. Ask your recruiter, the more he knows, the more they can better prepare you for you entering the Navy.

Answer 8

Do not tell them youre in debt, its none of their business, just when you get paid pay it off as soon as you can.