Military Saves Week 2009 Results...

Military Saves Week 2009 was a resounding success.  More than 10,000 servicemembers and their families and DoD personnel enrolled as Military Savers during the week and we are now more than 50,000 Savers strong! 

The Military Saves e-newsletter is your monthly reminder to continue your commitment to save.  Share it with a friend, co-worker or neighbor to spread the message to build wealth through savings and debt reduction.

Click here to find us on Facebook to discover more about Military Saves...

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

Money Makeover with Beth Kobliner

Beth Kobliner, a financial writer, is looking for a few military people to participate in a money makeover.  Volunteers must live in the North Eastern US and be must be willing to do a video interview to share their financial challenges.  Beth will design a recovery program and expect follow up to check on progress.  Military Saves will also require the participants to share their trials and tribulations monthly on our Military Saves Facebook page which is linked off of our home page, www.militarysaves.org. Members will need to contact Lisa Barron directly at lbarron@kobliner.com if interested.

The deadline for applications is 31 Mar 2009 and all military personnel will need to clear participation with their unit Public Affairs Officer.

Savers Tips:  Courtesy of The Dollar Stretcher
Copyright 2009 Dollar Stretcher, Inc.
www.Stretcher.com

Technology Meets the Envelope System

When setting a budget, some people don't like to carry their spending cash around with them, but that's the easiest way to keep track of what you spend and what you have left. My suggestion is to get reloadable gift cards. At the beginning of the month, put your spending money on the card. Put the money you have budgeted for fun, for take out, for morning coffees, etc. Pay for all these extras with the gift card, and when used up, it's gone until the next time you are scheduled to reload it. Remember to get a gift card that has no fees! 

Using the gift card for all the non-essential purchases is a convenient way to realize what you spend money on and where you go overboard. In fact, you could have a separate gift card for each account in your budget. That way, you couldn't overspend any of them.  DeAnna D.

Keep It Secret!

Whenever you use any of your credit cards or cards with personal information in public, hold them with all your information covered until the cashier needs them. If you lay them down face up, the people around you can take your information by taking a picture with their cell phones. My neighbor learned this the hard way. Janelle

Computer Repair on the Cheap

Recently our one-year-old decided to play with our laptop computer. He removed two of the letter keys. When I contacted the company about out-of-warranty repairs, they quoted me a flat rate of $449. They also included in their email a link to the parts section and instructions to "do it yourself" keyboard replacement. I checked it out and was able to purchase a new keyboard for $9.49 and was able to replace it on my laptop in less than five minutes. I would suggest this type of repair to anyone. It was really simple. I just had to remove five screws, replace the keyboard, and put the screws back. This saved me $439.51! HZ

Military OneSource - Free Tax Assistance

Military OneSource Tax Hotline - 1-800-730-3802
Prepare your 2008 taxes -- state and federal -- with this easy-to-use program.

Military OneSource tax consultants are available by phone by calling 1-800-730-3802 to help you with personal tax-related questions and financial planning.

TSP Hoax 

The Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB) has become aware of an e-mail and Internet hoax purporting illegal activity on the part of an individual said to manage the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) I Fund. The TSP is actively investigating the origins of the bogus web site.

The individual named, Samuel Hoeffler, and his connection to the TSP investment funds is completely fictitious. Be assured that the TSP's I Fund has not suffered from accounting irregularities and is not insolvent.

All of the TSP funds, with the exception of the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund) are passive investments. In other words, they are invested in index funds; they are not managed by an individual actively selecting securities in an effort to outperform the market. The investment objective of each fund is to achieve approximately the same return as the particular market index that it tracks. The I Fund, for example, is invested in a stock index fund that tracks the Morgan Stanley EAFE Index. The TSP's C, S, I, and F Funds are managed by Barclays Global Investors, one of the largest and most respected investment managers in the world.

Participants should always exercise caution if they receive unusual or suspect e-mails.

Sammy Rabbit Celebrates Military Saves

Thanks to the Air Force Aid Society and the DoD/MHN Road Show Sammy Rabbit and author Sam X Renick just completed a five state tour promoting financial education and celebrating Military Saves week to over 2,000 military kids and families at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, Holloman AFB, New Mexico, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, Little Rock AFB, Arkansas and Hill AFB, Utah.

"The kids loved it," said Carole Beasley, Director Airman & Family Readiness Center at Hill AFB in Utah. "We've had really good feedback!"

In addition to enjoying the author and character's interactive reading and singing performance, all of the kids received either Sammy books or music CDs that emphasize "saving is a great habit!"

Next Base Visits/Schedule

Sammy Rabbit and author Sam X Renick will next be visiting the following bases and will be highlighting the Month of the Military Child - April:

March 20  Dahlgren Support Facility, Naval District Washington
March 20  Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Naval District Washington
April 7      Scott AFB, IL , Air Force Aid Society
April 9      Altus AFB , OK, Air Force Aid Society
April 15    Fort Sill, OK, ACS Financial Readiness Program/Morale Welfare and Recreation
May 1      Vanderberg AFB, CA, DoD/MHN Financial Road Show

Ask Wendy
By Wendy Christiansen

Dear Wendy,

My wife and I are on a budget and are saving money every month.  I know this is good, but because we don't make a lot of money, our savings isn't growing as fast as we would like.  We are trying hard to set up an emergency fund, contribute our retirement and save for our kids future education.  Even though we are young, I have a hard time seeing how we will be able accomplish all our goals.  How do we keep motivation despite all of this?

The biggest thing you have going for you is your age.  The younger you are when you gain control over your finances, the better off you will be.  But just because you might be older, that doesn't mean it is too late to start.  Doing something is always better than doing nothing, especially when it comes to your money. 

A great motivational tool is the "Rule of 72".  The Rule of 72 is an easy way to approximate how long it will take your savings to double.  Simply divide 72 by the interest rate you earn to determine the number of years it will take your money to double.  For example, if you have savings account with an interest rate of 3%, you would divide 72 by 3.  By doing this, you will learn that if you never touched that account, the amount in it would double in 24 years.  If that account had an interest rate of 6%, your money would double in 12 years.  This is a great way to see how what you are doing now will affect where you are  financially in the future. 

Rule of 72 and how it works? The Rule of 72 is an easy way to approximate how long it will take your savings to double. Just divide 72 by the interest rate you earn to determine the number of years it will take your money to double. It shows the way money can grow so much faster with a higher rate of return.* By using the Rule of 72, you can see why it pays to fight for every extra percentage point of interest you can get. Once you know your rate, use the Rule of 72 to compute how fast YOUR savings will double.

FINRA Investor Alert, Online Tools Help Investors Protect Themselves From Financial Fraud

Washington, DC - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) today issued an Investor Alert and unveiled two new online tools designed to help investors spot and resist investment fraud.

The Alert, Avoiding Investment Scams, clearly explains the characteristics of the most commonly used securities frauds, including Ponzi and pyramid schemes, pump-and-dumps and offshore scams. Drawing on ground-breaking research supported by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, Avoiding Investment Scams lays bare the psychological persuasion tactics used by fraudsters to lure in their victims. These persuasion tactics are constant across a wide variety of frauds.

The online tools - a Scam Meter and a Risk Meter - will help investors evaluate the investments they're being offered and determine whether their own personality characteristics make them more vulnerable to investment fraud. The Scam Meter asks the user a series of questions about the investment he or she is considering to determine whether that investment might be too good to be true; and the Risk Meter asks 12 questions about the user's behavioral traits to determine if he or she shares characteristics that have been shown to make some investors vulnerable to investment fraud.

The Alert examines in detail specific tactics con artists employ, including the "Phantom Riches" tactic, which dangles the prospect of wealth, and the "Scarcity" tactic, which creates a false sense of urgency by claiming there is a limited supply of the investment product available. In addition, the Alert provides links to online tools investors can use to check the background of investment professionals (including brokers, investment advisers or insurance agents), investigate investments they are considering and file a complaint if a problem occurs.

"Recent financial frauds have robbed victims of their life savings and livelihoods," said John Gannon, FINRA's Senior Vice President for Investor Education and President of the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. "FINRA Foundation fraud prevention resources have been proven to reduce susceptibility to investment fraud. Using these tools can help investors shut the door on any con artists who might come knocking."

The Alert also outlines a series of red flag warnings, advising investors to be suspicious of investments that: 

·         Offer guarantees that the investment will perform in a certain way;

·         Are not registered, including unregistered stocks, bonds and hedge funds;

·         Deliver overly consistent returns, regardless of market conditions; or

·         Credit complex investing techniques for their unusual success.

FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through comprehensive regulation. FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business - from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms; writing and enforcing rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities; and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and firms.

For more information, visit www.finra.org.
Avoiding Investment Scams:  http://www.finra.org/Investors/ProtectYourself/InvestorAlerts/FraudsAndScams/P118010
Scam meter:  http://apps.finra.org/meters/1/scammeter.aspx
Risk meter:  http://apps.finra.org/meters/1/riskmeter.aspx

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.