GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Worrying about money is no fun! In this unique economic time, the military community is encouraged to make wise financial choices to meet the special challenges of the military lifestyle. The Goodfellow Airman and Family Readiness Center is participating in a campaign called Military Saves. Military Saves is a Defense Department-wide financial readiness campaign to persuade military service and family members, as well as the wider military community, to reduce debt and save money thereby ensuring personal financial readiness and positively impacting the nation's personal/household savings rates.
Tough times are here. There is no better time than the present to secure your financial future for whatever the economy throws your way. Being in the military amplifies your challenges when it comes to saving, investing or just paying the bills. Frequent deployments, changing jobs, PCS'ing, and separation from your family, can lead to challenging our financial needs. It is evident how these struggles impact your personal finances; however, sometimes we overlook the impact on the mission readiness as a military community. When military members struggle with their finances at home, there is no doubt they carry that stress to work. While financial stress impacts work, it can be worse if the member is deployed and feels powerless to resolve the issues. Additionally, excess debts can jeopardize a security clearance. If your clearance is suspended, you can't do your job; directly impacting the mission. Financial readiness promotes mission readiness.
Part of the national America Saves campaign, Military Saves' strategies include "The Saver Pledge," a commitment to exercise good financial habits. Savers who enroll online at www.militarysaves.org receive electronic newsletters and e-Wealth Coach advice. Military Saves encourages:
· Developing a personal financial plan
· Establishing good credit
· Saving a portion of each paycheck
· Enrolling in SGLI, TSP, and (when eligible) SDP
Military Saves Week is Feb. 20-27. During this week, the Airman and Family Readiness Center has coordinated special activities and events to encourage the military community to take control of their finances. On Tuesday, they will start the week by encouraging families to start a spending plan and close unnecessary credit card accounts. Blank spending plan worksheets can be found on the A&FRC website at
www.familysupportgoodfellow.org. As families close their credit card accounts, they should cut up their cards. Each first sergeant will have a jar to collect cut up credit cards and at the end of the week, the A&FRC will collect the jars to see which Group collected the most cards. Tuesday through Friday, the A&FRC will sponsor lunch time seminars focusing on current financial issues. The seminar schedule is as follows:
House Buying - Feb. 22 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Event Center. Sponsored by First Community Credit Union.
Saving and Investing - Feb. 23 from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Event Center. Sponsored by USAA.
Credit Management - Feb. 24 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Event Center. Sponsored by the National Endowment for Consumer Counseling.
Car Buying - Feb. 25 from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, building 145. Sponsored by A&FRC.
For more information about Military Saves Week, call (325) 654-3893 or register for classes at
www.familysupportgoodfellow.org. For more information about Military Saves Campaign and to take the "Savers Pledge", visit
www.militarysaves.org.