Military Saves E-Newsletter... 

Welcome to the Military Saver e-newsletter. This message is a supplement to the monthly e-Wealth Coach letters and the quarterly American Saver newsletter, and is intended to keep Military Savers informed about campaign news, suggest ways you can spread the message to build wealth through savings and debt reduction, and to share inspiring stories about individual Savers and military organizations that help themselves and their members by promoting savings.

To share your story, email info@militarysaves.org. Please include your name, rank and/or title and organization name, duty location, and the name and contact information for your public affairs officer (if available). We'd like to include your photo and/or video of your savings message.

Thank you for your commitment to the movement to become a nation of Savers!
   Sarah Shirley, Director and Corporate/Association Liaison sarah@militarysaves.org 
   Julie Kyrazis, Assistant Director and Military Liaison julie@militarysaves.org

New Individual Resource Links

Visit the following link and check out MyHelpList at http://www.militarysaves.org/resourcekit/individual_resources.asp.
MyHelpList is a publication of the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Military Community and Family Policy), Personal Finance and Transition Directorate.  It is a comprehensive list that includes resources, relief societies, family service centers, pay and compensation benefits, government resources, charitable organizations, banking, consumer information, children and youth services, consumer credit information and counseling, financial education, financial assistance, employee assistance, healthcare, housing assistance for Military members.

You can also access Ways to Save by Reader's Digest.  On the spotlight page, individuals will have access to online support and priceless tips on ways to save money when buying gas, food, clothes, electronics and more. They also feature buying guides that help people get the best bargains on earth.

Military Saves Week 22 February - 1 March 2009

Get ready for Military Saves Week 2009!.  If you have not taken the saver pledge and made a commitment to spread the savings message, look for the pledge link on our website at:  http://www.militarysaves.org/ and enroll today.   

Take the Saver Pledge: I will help my self by saving money, reducing debt, and building wealth over time.  I will help my family and my country by encouraging other Americans to Build Wealth, Not Debt.

If you have taken the pledge, use the week as a reminder to make a AAA check up:

1. Yearly reminder to Assess your savings status

2. Act to improve

3. When you act, act Automatically--through automatic savings 

Sammy Rabbit Visits Promote Saving

Thanks to the Air Force Aid Society and the DoD Financial Readiness Challenge Events that are taking place at military bases throughout the U.S., Sammy Rabbit and author, Sam X Renick are on a mission to help military families get in the habit of saving.

According to Sammy, "Saving is a great habit!" It prepares us for emergencies. It helps us make our dreams come true. It helps us to help others. And it gives us more freedom and security. Those are the messages the character and author have been delivering at military bases the last two years and their visits have been a big success from Ramstein, to Ellsworth, to Ft. Lewis. 

Learn more about Sammy and his work at http://www.itsahabit.com/.

Ask Wendy
By Wendy Christiansen

Dear Wendy,

I feel like I am always behind financially.  It seems that as soon as I get a little ahead on my bills, something will come up that just sets me behind again.  Any advice?

The best way to prevent setbacks is to be prepared.  An emergency fund is one of the best ways to do this.  Try socking away a little bit every week - any little bit helps.  Put this money in a separate account.  You can even have it automatically transferred from your checking to savings account. 

Your initial goal should be to save $500 - $1000 in your emergency fund.  Then when something unexpected comes up, like your car breaking down, you can get it fixed without adding to credit card debt.  Eventually, you will want 3-6 months worth of expenses.  This will help you to be prepared should anything more drastic happen, like losing your job.  In the world we currently live in, this is a very real scenario and we all should take the necessary steps to make sure we are prepared.  

After you establish your emergency fund, start making an impact on your debt.  Put as much of the extra cash you have after you pay your essential bills into your debt.  You can create extra cash by spending less so it is very important to take a hard look at where your money is going.  Gourmet coffee? Clothes and shoes you don't need?  Dining out?

Take advantage of all of the great free financial resources that are available to you at the Army Community Services, the Airman and Family Readiness Center, the Fleet and Family Support Center and the Marine Corps Community Services.  Don't have access to any of those agencies?  You can tap into all of the free resources available 24/7 at www.MilitaryOneSource.com.

Deployed Soldiers Get Course in Financial Readiness
By Army Spc. Sophia R. Lopez
Special to American Forces Press Service

       
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Dec. 11, 2008 - Soldiers here are getting an education in personal finance that commanders say goes a long way in promoting battle readiness.

The 10th Mountain Division is rolling out "Financial Peace University," a 13-week program developed by Dave Ramsey, the best-selling author and commentator on personal finance, specifically for U.S. servicemembers. About 3,000 troops have taken the course each year since 2001, according to Ramsey.

"It is important to offer this course to servicemembers, because sound financial principles are readiness issues," said Army Chaplain (Capt.) Mike Jones, a battalion chaplain for the 10th Mountain Division, who will co-lead the course.

Jones is among many military leaders who have voiced concerns about how personal finance problems may affect readiness. A former first sergeant here witnessed how badly some soldiers need financial help.

"I spoke to a soldier who was kind of new in the Army, who was way overdrawn, and his bank had called. He said, 'First sergeant, I can't be overdrawn, I still have checks,'" he said.

"What we're finding as we are interacting with the military ... is that this money issue is becoming a readiness issue," Ramsey said. "We can put on the military face, we can be battle ready. But when, back home, [credit] cards are racking at Mom or racking at Dad, or where the house is in foreclosure, it's a major problem. We're going to come alongside ... military families as best we can in a very unique, very targeted, very specific way."

A Military Family Research Institute survey found that 56 percent of enlisted servicemembers report difficulty with their finances, and 47 percent say they are in "over their head" with their expenses. In 2006, Seapower magazine reported that financial difficulties are the main reason sailors lose their security clearances. Financial difficulties can revoke or deny security clearances throughout all the services.

Many servicemembers don't know how to rectify their situations, and end up being exploited by businesses offering loans or quick-fix solutions. The program is designed to show them the right things to do to keep their finances in order.

Ramsey's program helps military members remove debt and save for their futures by providing them with a financial plan during activation, deployment, temporary duty or permanent change of station. The program covers areas such as budgeting, paying off debt, saving for emergencies and retirement, and giving to worthy causes. It also discusses cash-flow planning, real estate and school loans.

The 13-week course typically costs $150 per person, but is free to military members. Those who enroll receive a kit that includes the DVD sessions led by Ramsey, his Financial Peace book, a workbook and a financial snapshot worksheet that monitors progress quarterly.

(Army Spc. Sophia R. Lopez serves in the Multinational Division Center public affairs office.) 
Related Sites:
Multinational Corps Iraq

Military Saves was made possible in part through the generous support of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. Please visit www.SaveAndInvest.org.  

Military Saves is also supported by Wells Fargo Bank, Chase Bank, USAA and Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Military Edition. Together, we can build wealth, not debt.