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JBSA News
NEWS | Feb. 26, 2010

Base launches Military Saves campaign

By Mike Joseph 502nd Air Base Wing OL-A Public Affairs

Two sessions on investing for retirement helped launch the Lackland 2010 Military Saves campaign Feb. 22. The Department of Defense campaign is designed to assist Airmen and family members who wish to learn prudent financial management skills.

Developed by Better Business Bureau Military Line, the classes focused on investing for retirement.

Holly Petraeus, director of BBB Military Line, authored the new curriculum and participated in the classes, which were sponsored by the Airman and Family Readiness Center.

"I appreciate the warm welcome at Lackland; it's been great to come here and do a little education for the Airmen and others assigned to this installation," said Mrs. Petraeus. "We want to be sure their money goes as far as it possibly can. We hope they will be smarter consumers in the future because of it."

While two BBB trainers taught the classes, Mrs. Petraeus was available after the sessions for questions.

"Investing for retirement is very important, especially if servicemembers are not going to stay for 20," said Mrs. Petraeus. "The military is one of the few places that actually have a pension plan, but even with that, it's often not as much as people think it is.

"It's half their base pay, maybe," she said. "I think it's important to have other savings.

"We want to encourage military members to save for today, to have three to six months living expenses in an emergency fund, to save for big purchases, and to think about saving for retirement," she added.

The DoD coordinates Military Saves with its financial readiness campaign to encourage saving at all levels. This year's goal is to enable service and family members to avoid common financial pitfalls like over reliance on credit, overspending and inadequate retirement income.

Jerry Jackson, AFRC personal financial management program manager, said the first-quarter emphasis at Lackland has been about retirement. He also said is an array of free AFRC financial classes available to Airmen and family members.

Among those are budgeting and spending, credit and debt management, uniformed thrift savings plan, retirement planning, Social Security awareness and Bundles for Babies, in addition to post-military employment and career opportunities.

Mr. Jackson said the most effective way to manage finances is to take the classes in conjunction with each another.

"You need to be prepared," he said. "It's not just one stand-alone item. You need a basic budget and spending plan, credit and debt management, and a savings plan."

He explained financial management consists of constructing a realistic budget and spending plan; setting specific savings goals for immediate, short range and long range needs; how to use credit management; effective and efficient debt management; and a percentage breakdown of a family's budget by category.

Preventative financial health - Mr. Jackson said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure - is an area the center tries to target.

"But it's much like medical health," he said. "Some people don't want to talk about their financial health until they have issues."

For more information and schedules of financial management classes, contact the AFRC, Bldg. 1249, or call 671-3722.