Military Saves 2014: Start Small. Think Big.

  • Published
  • By Cheryl Vedvig
  • Community Readiness Consultant
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Military Saves, a component of America Saves, is part of the Department of Defense's Financial Readiness Campaign and has been a partner with DOD since 2003. Military Saves is a social marketing campaign to persuade, motivate, and encourage military families to save money every month.

"Military Saves Week is a great opportunity to help service members and their families in our community to Set a Goal, Make a Plan and Save Automatically," said Col. Alex Mezynski, 5th Bomb Wing commander.

The Airman & Family Readiness Center will promote financial awareness as they send out helpful informational emails on various financial topics. The A&FRC is also offering a number of free events as part of Military Saves Week to encourage people to build wealth, not debt. Events include:

25 Feb (1300-1400) - ABCs to Financial Success (Class)
- Learn why everyone should set financial goals
- Learn the types of things most people should save for
- Discover why couples should work together when establishing financial goals
- Participate in an activity in which you will write a financial goal
- Learn how to calculate simple interest
- Learn the rule of 72 and why it is so important to understand

26 Feb (1530-1630) - 6 Things You Shouldn't Do with Your Money (Class)
- Learn the 6 most common money mistakes people make
- Learn remedies to correct those mistakes
- Get tools to achieve your financial goals
- Learn what it takes to master your finances
- Learn how to write a financial goal you can attain
- Obtain resources available to help stay on track

27 Feb (1130-1200) - Thrift Savings Plan - an Overview (Class)
- Learn the differences between Traditional and Roth TSP
- Learn about each of the 5 TSP Funds
- Get information on the risks and returns of each of the 5 funds
- Attendees will obtain information on the first thing they should do prior to starting the investment process

"Military Saves helped me get my finances under control. Now I have enough money saved in case there's an emergency down the line," said Senior Airman Jacob Soards.

Visitors to the Airman & Family Readiness Center from Feb. 17-20 will have the added opportunity to write a financial goal and introduce a personal savings goal. Their goal will be posted on the Minot-AFB-Airman-and-Family-Readiness-Center Facebook page. Your participation is encouraged as these photos will be a motivator to others to establish their own financial goal.

Anyone interested in attending any of the financial classes can call 723-3950 to pre-register. During Military Saves Week, we will encourage everyone to go to the following website to take the savers pledge: http://www.militarysaves.org/take-the-pledge.