Budgeting for Duty: Building Financial Readiness for Military Life

Current MSBA students Luke Robinson and Brandon Burrow, now 2nd Lieutenants in the U.S. Air Force, created their final project to tackle a challenge they knew all too well: managing finances as military members.

“We were ecstatic to move into the next phase of life and live on our own,” says Robinson. “But we quickly realized this came with an important new responsibility—managing our finances.”

Their journey began at the United States Air Force Academy, where all cadets receive monthly cadet pay, providing an opportunity to learn how to manage an income. But as the demands of a rigorous curriculum mounted, finding the time and energy to create and track a budget proved difficult.

“It was a challenge to learn about finances when we had so many other things going on,” says Burrow. “Even though we were passionate about learning more, we didn’t really know where to start.”

Recognizing that many of their peers were facing the same struggles, Robinson and Burrow decided to create a tool that could help ease the transition into financial independence. The result: the U.S. Armed Forces Budget App, a simple, effective way for military members to track their earnings, deductions, and expenses—tailored to the unique needs of service members.

Designing a Military-Centric Financial Tool

The idea for the app was born from a mix of their personal experiences and conversations with others. Both Robinson and Burrow were cadets at the Academy when they first realized the difficulty of budgeting for military members. After being introduced to the military pay process and motivated by an interest in learning how to understand budgeting, the young officers saw a large gap in available tools for managing military finances.

“We created this app to make budgeting simple, to give service members an easy way to start their personal finance journey,” Robinson explains. “The first step to financial success is knowing where your money is going, and we wanted the app to create that awareness.”

Once they graduated and moved into active-duty roles, Robinson and Burrow saw that the need for such a tool only grew. With more responsibilities and a larger income, tracking finances became even more crucial—especially for those who hadn’t had the opportunity to learn personal finance basics earlier in life.

“We want this to be a tool for everyone in the military—whether enlisted or officer—because everyone, regardless of their background or starting point, is now in a similar situation,”  Burrow says. “Many of us weren’t sure where to start after cadet life ended and our active duty careers began. This app helps bridge that gap."

A Pathway to Financial Literacy

In addition to budgeting features, the U.S. Armed Forces Budget App includes educational resources on military-specific programs like the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) and general financial literacy. The duo’s goal was simple: to provide a tool that not only tracks spending but also teaches members how to make informed financial decisions.

“We wanted to create something that could help military members thrive financially,”  Burrow says. “Not every member will serve for 20 years and earn the full retirement benefits, but they can still leave the military financially better off than when they joined.”

The Development Process: A Lesson in App Building

Building the app wasn’t without its challenges. Initially, they struggled with the R programming language before switching to Python and then Streamlit for a smoother development process.

“Building the app with Streamlit allowed us to focus on the design and functionality we wanted, without spending extensive time on the technical code aspects,”  Robinson explains. “It made the development process really straightforward."

A Focus on Simplicity and Customization

When designing the user experience, Robinson and Burrow knew they had to make it accessible and intuitive, particularly since many of the app’s users would likely be new to budgeting tools.

“We wanted to show that managing finances doesn’t have to be complicated,”  Robinson says. “Finances can be simple, and we wanted our app to break down those barriers for military members.”

Customization was also key. Understanding that many service members had already experimented with spreadsheets or other budgeting tools, Robinson and Burrow built the app with features that allow users to personalize their financial management.

“We wanted to give users control over their experience,”  Burrow says. “A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work for budgeting. People need to tailor their experience to what fits them best, and we wanted to provide that flexibility.”

The Next Steps: Expanding the App’s Reach

Looking ahead, Robinson and Burrow are determined to refine and expand the app’s capabilities. “The next step would be to get outside help to improve our app,” says Robinson. “We need to stress-test it to ensure everything works properly before full deployment. We would also need a hosting solution.”

Their vision includes partnering with established platforms to increase the app’s reach. “MilitaryMoneyManual.com is a great resource that we have both used to increase our financial knowledge,”  Robinson adds. “We hope to collaborate with them or other websites in the military finance space to help more people manage their finances.”

What’s Next After Graduation?

While the future of the app is still in the works, Robinson and Burrow are also preparing for the next chapter of their careers.

Luke Robinson will head to Hurlburt Field AFB to serve as an Operations Research Analyst. “I’m excited to apply the analytical skills I’ve acquired at Notre Dame to solve real-world problems the Air Force faces,” he says.

Brandon Burrow is headed to Columbus AFB for Undergraduate Pilot Training, where he plans to bring the business analytics skills he honed at Notre Dame to the Air Force. “I’m excited to bring my background in analytics to the flying squadrons of the Air Force.”  Burrow shares.

Though their paths are taking them in different directions, both Robinson and Burrow are committed to using their skills to serve and make a positive impact.

For any questions about the U.S. Armed Forces Budget App, please contact owl.data.research@gmail.com.

NOTE: App is not sponsored by or officially affiliated with the Department of Defense (DoD) or the Department of the Air Force (DAF)