{"id":27038,"date":"2023-09-11T18:52:58","date_gmt":"2023-09-11T18:52:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/09\/11\/tips-for-stretching-dollars-saving-money-during-a-government-shutdown\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:56:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:56:39","slug":"tips-for-stretching-dollars-saving-money-during-a-government-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/fedlife\/financial-planning\/2023\/09\/11\/tips-for-stretching-dollars-saving-money-during-a-government-shutdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal, military credit unions offer shutdown financial assistance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><i>Note: This story has been updated on Nov. 7 to reflect new information about budget negotiations. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ask any financial planner for their best advice, and it probably involves saving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How they advise you to do that might differ, but for the most part, money experts point to the value of planning and setting aside money for a rainy day, a crisis or \u2014 if you\u2019re a federal employee \u2014 a temporary loss of income thanks to a government shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like hurricane season, it\u2019s a possible disaster that lurks every year, but not every year guarantees a category five storm or a weeks-long shutdown a la 2018. But it\u2019s something you should plan for anyway, said <a href=\"https:\/\/stephenzelcer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Stephen Zelcer<\/a>, a financial adviser who has been working federal employees since 2007.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wish people would think about this not when they have a whole shutdown [already],\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cThis is the type of stuff that forward-thinking planning helps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2022\/12\/07\/are-you-missing-out-on-interest-rate-savings-under-federal-law\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP22123454973865.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Are you missing out on interest rate savings under federal law?<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Fewer than 1 in 10 activated Guard and reserve members received an interest rate reduction on their eligible auto loans.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the beginning of the last prolonged lapse in appropriations five years ago, about 380,000 civil servants were furloughed, while another 420,000 continued working without pay. In a survey by Prudential Financial of more than 300 federal workers or contractors who went unpaid in 2018, <a href=\"http:\/\/news.prudential.com\/\/content\/1209\/files\/financialfragility_how_the_shutdown_affected_the_household_finances_of_federal_workers_prudential.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">nearly half fell behind on their bills <\/a>during the shutdown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This year, it\u2019s up to House and Senate lawmakers to reconcile differences in the 12 appropriations bills by Nov. 17 when the c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/federal-oversight\/congress\/2023\/10\/02\/whats-in-the-continuing-resolution-and-when-does-it-expire\/\" target=\"_blank\">urrent temporary continuing resolution expires. <\/a>Agencies have remained open since Sept. 30 when the stopgap bill was passed, but they\u2019ve been funded at 2023 levels, meaning new programs, hires or initiatives are difficult to get off the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If lawmakers fail to extend the CR or pass a full budget, all non-funded and non-essential government programs would halt. That could also impact <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/pay-benefits\/mil-money\/2023\/09\/07\/military-pay-could-be-a-casualty-of-looming-government-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\">military pay. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal employees are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/management\/pay-benefits\/2020\/10\/07\/opm-calls-for-narrower-rules-for-awarding-back-pay\/\" target=\"_blank\">guaranteed backpay by law, <\/a>but when that money comes is flexible. The legislation says that employees will get their paycheck on the<a href=\"https:\/\/chcoc.gov\/content\/government-employee-fair-treatment-act-2019\" target=\"_blank\"> \u201cearliest date possible\u201d<\/a> after the government reopens, regardless of the next regularly scheduled pay date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThat doesn\u2019t help when your mortgage is due or your electric bill is due,\u201d said Tammy Flanagan, another finance expert with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retirefederal.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Retire Federal.<\/a> \u201cSo if at all possible, you want to have a cushion of cash set aside for those emergency times, whether it\u2019s a furlough or anything else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The case for long-term saving<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are different philosophies about about to save, but Zelcer said a good baseline is to have several weeks or months worth of living expenses put away in the event of a loss of income. That\u2019s a way to buy yourself time when you know you\u2019re just temporarily in limbo, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSo if you\u2019re spending $10,000 a month and you need two months of time to traverse, $10,000 times two, that\u2019s $20,000,\u201d he said. \u201cYou need to have that money liquid and available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/management\/2019\/02\/12\/how-the-shutdown-negatively-impacted-feds-finances\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"157\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Screen-Shot-2018-10-09-at-2-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">How the shutdown negatively impacted feds\u2019 finances<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">Many federal employees had to dip into savings, take out loans or find a temporary job to make it through the month-long government shutdown.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Flanagan acknowledged that saving that aggressively can be hard, especially for younger, less-experienced employees and with inflation making so many other demands of paychecks. So, if employees finds themselves facing a weeks-long furlough and without accessible cash to cover the essentials like rent, food or other bills, Flanagan said to reach out to bill providers and explain the situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cCall your mortgage company, call your electric company, and tell them what\u2019s going on and they\u2019ll usually give you some leeway,\u201d she said. \u201cBut if you don\u2019t call them and just don\u2019t pay the bill, that can affect not only your credit score, but it can shut off your [utilities], so you want to be proactive on those things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Zelcer also encourages employees to diversity their income just like they would their investments. A secondary source of income, like a real estate property or a tutoring or consulting business, is not something that needs to produce the same salary as your current job, necessarily. It can be enough just to supplement it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">USAA<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">USAA members can apply for <a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.usaa360.com\/news\/usaa-to-offer-financial-assistance-for-members-impacted-by-a-potential-government-shutdown\" target=\"_blank\">a no-interest loan equivalent to one missed paycheck<\/a> (up to $6,000) if they are employed by an impacted federal agency and direct deposit their pay stubs into a USAA Federal Savings Bank account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These members may also be eligible for a variety of payment relief options across USAA banking and insurance products, a spokesperson for the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">PenFed<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson for Pentagon Federal said members may qualify for an interest-free loan in the amount of their net pay (up to $6,000) through its government furlough Direct Deposit Assistance program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">PenFed also offers an emergency relief loan at the lowest available rate for a personal loan product. Members do need to qualify for that loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And lastly, members who do have existing PenFed loans can take opt into skip-payment assistance if it\u2019s expected to be short-term. Interest does continue to accrue on these loans, but a payment is not required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Thrift Savings Plan<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If there\u2019s a lapse in federal appropriations, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/federal-retirement-academy\/2018\/06\/07\/tsp-201-how-to-allocate-contributions-to-your-thrift-savings-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\">TSP<\/a> will continue its normal daily operations and the ThriftLine will remain open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe TSP will give participants with an outstanding loan a way to notify us that they are impacted so we can keep their loans in good standing through the shutdown,\u201d spokesperson Kim Weaver said. \u201cThis includes new loans taken by affected participants during the shutdown, which are allowed based on an exception provided for in TSP regulations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The TSP will post additional information on <a href=\"https:\/\/nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tsp.gov%2Fshutdown&#038;data=05%7C01%7Cmolly.weisner%40federaltimes.com%7C7c2fc1a7c6a94691637108dba5854e8c%7C1d5c96e57ee2446dbed8d0f8c50edea5%7C1%7C0%7C638285764216151129%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&#038;sdata=rk5tnzBXGPPoKgCXVwACcEys2JiPIt8Roy3fU5c442g%3D&#038;reserved=0\">www.tsp.gov\/shutdown<\/a>, if a lapse in appropriations occurs. Members can also <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tsp.gov\/publications\/tspfs04.pdf?TSP-FS-04\" target=\"_blank\">review this fact sheet for account holders <\/a>who enter administrative furlough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Security Service Federal Credit Union<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SSFCU, originally opened to serve employees of the U.S. Air Force Security Service Command and today serving more than 800,000 members in the Southwest, does not offer a no-interest loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cHowever in the event of a government shutdown, we work directly with our members impacted to find beneficial solutions for their individual circumstances,\u201d a spokesperson for the company said, which could include adjusted payment due dates or the refinancing of a loan, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Navy Federal<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A spokesperson for Navy Federal said it is closely monitoring the ongoing government funding negotiations and will provide members additional information as events unfold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The spokesperson did not offer any current guidance about what kind of assistance may be offered to account holders. However, in 2019, it did circulate guidance on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.navyfederal.org\/content\/dam\/nfculibs\/pdfs\/membership\/nfcu_300.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">a zero-percent loan program. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As for other lenders who may be advertising low- or no-interest sums in the event of a shutdown, be sure that they are trustworthy, Zelcer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/fedlife\/financial-planning\/2023\/01\/11\/what-the-secure-20-act-means-for-your-federal-retirement-planning\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1015413264.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">What the Secure 2.0 Act means for your federal retirement planning<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Secure 2.0 Act passed as part of the $1.7 trillion 2023 omnibus spending bill on Dec. 29.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Sources of emergency cash<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you need to come into emergency money quickly to keep the lights on, Zelcer said employees can look into promotional credit card offers that will cover transactions with 0% interest for the first year or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That can work, Zelcer said, so long as \u201cyou enter that with the recognition that you\u2019re just doing this temporarily, and you are very strict with yourself that you\u2019re not going to start building credit card debt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some employees may also look to borrow against their home equity line of credit and then immediately pay it off as interest will accrue, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every agency also has an employee assistance program that can offer legal or financial advice, Flanagan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Employees can also pause largely monthly contributions to a retirement account, like a Roth IRA, if they need to keep that money to tide them over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wouldn\u2019t take out less than the 5% because you don\u2019t want to lose that matching agency money,\u201d Flanagan said. \u201cBut if you\u2019re putting in 10% of your pay and you don\u2019t have an emergency fund, maybe drop it down to 5%.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Democratic leaders and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., face a looming Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":79044,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":56,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","pay-benefits","mil-money","your-military","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"4":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","pay-benefits","mil-money","your-air-force","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"5":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","pay-benefits","mil-money","your-army","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"6":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","pay-benefits","mil-money","your-marine-corps","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"},"7":{"categories":["pentagon-congress","newsletters","daily-news-roundup","pay-benefits","mil-money","your-navy","news"],"primary_category":"pentagon-congress"}}},"categories":[65,38,11,56,31,15,33,69],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3269],"class_list":["post-27038","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-budget","category-congress","category-fedlife","category-financial-planning","category-home","category-management","category-newsletters","category-pay-benefits"],"acf":{"subheadline":"Plus tips for stretching dollars, saving money if you find yourself in a government furlough due to a shutdown","legacy_arc_id":"GZG2VQDJY5DNRGIP7XUNHJSKAQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/fedlife\/financial-planning\/2023\/09\/11\/tips-for-stretching-dollars-saving-money-during-a-government-shutdown\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Federal, military credit unions offer shutdown financial assistance - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Senate Democratic leaders and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., face a looming Oct. 1 deadline to avoid a government shutdown\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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