Give Our Bird a Name!

Vote for your favorite Name for the Youth Eagle at www.militarysaves.org.

Choose from these seven great submissions: Beagle, the Eagle, Sniffs Out Savings; Earnest Eagle; Speagle, the Savings Eagle; Maxamillion; Sergeant Save; Soaring Saver; Skyler, Soaring with Savings.

Weathering Tough Financial Times:
9 Tips for 2009

The financial crisis has battered the wallets of many Americans, leaving them unable to make ends meet. While saving and investing may be difficult, it's critical to weathering tough financial times. These nine tips can help:

1. Pay down credit card debt. Banks are increasing interest rates and late fees and reducing credit limits on credit cards. That means higher borrowing costs. Lower credit limits can also mean lower credit scores if you don't pay down your credit card balances.

2. Check your credit report. With credit becoming harder to get, make sure your credit history is accurate-and correct problems that may hurt your credit score. For your free credit report, call (877) 322-8228 or visit www.annualcreditreport.com . The FINRA Investor Education Foundation-a partner in the Department of Defense Financial Readiness Campaign-is making BrightScore^® available for free to active duty military servicemembers and their spouses to help them manage their credit wisely. To learn more, visit www.SaveAndInvest.org/credit.

3. Create a rainy day fund. One in three Americans has no emergency savings. Aim for at least one month (preferably three to six months) of your current salary in an insured savings account. Don't touch it unless absolutely necessary.

4. Avoid raiding your Thrift Savings Plan. Before cutting contributions or borrowing from your workplace retirement plan, reduce spending wherever possible.

5. Diversify. Particularly if your portfolio declined more than broad market indices, make sure you are well diversified. Spread your risk by spreading your investments both among different asset classes-meaning stocks, bonds and cash-and within each asset class.

6. Open account statements. When markets are volatile-and especially during a bear market-you may be tempted to avoid the trauma of seeing losses in your portfolio by ignoring your TSP, 401(k), IRA, mutual fund or brokerage account statements. But doing so can blind you to problems in your accounts other than performance.

7. Know that fees matter. Find out what each investment costs. With mutual funds, for example, the higher the fees and expenses, the less real return you make. Compare the impact of fees and expenses on mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), and Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) using FINRA's Fund Analyzer at http://apps.finra.org/fundanalyzer/2/fa.aspx.

8. Protect yourself against identity theft. Virtually any news item, positive or negative, can become a "hook" for a new scam-and the current turmoil in global financial markets is no exception. Phishing attacks surged in October 2008 by 103 percent following stock market drops. These spams often exploited news of bank failures as a hook to obtain personal information.

9. Invest for the long term. Investors with a short-term outlook often jump ship just as a bear market bottoms out or jump in as a bull market peaks. Instead of panicking or trying to time the market, focus on the long term. Investing incrementally, in good times and bad, is a tried and true way of bearing up in a bear market.

Military Saves Has a New Look

Did you know that Military Saves is a part of the larger America Saves Campaign? Did you know that there are also other campaigns just like Military Saves that are targeting a specific segment of the population to encourage a savings behavior change -- Black America Saves, Hispanic America Saves, Youth Saves, and even Faith Saves? All over the country, different states and different cities have "Saves" Campaigns going on all year round. You can find Ohio Saves and Kentucky Saves alongside Columbus Saves and Louisville Saves. It is a great big effort to get people to simply save money!

If you did not know that all these campaigns are working together, it may be because each has a slightly different logo, the Military Saves logo being the most distinct. No longer! We're all going to look the same and our new tag line is "Start Small. Think Big". Introducing the new look of America Saves' Military Save Campaign...

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

Currency Re-Exchange
If you are coming back from a trip and have a large amount to exchange, go to a commercial bank. If you're a member, they'll generally change your money for free. If you're not, most banks charge a flat fee. It's a lot less than going to a currency exchange, and you haven't lost all of your money especially if you're planning on never going to that country again. ZS

Park Passes
We take full advantage of our state and local parks. I purchase an annual park sticker for $20 each year, which gains access to any state park. We hike, bike, and picnic to our heart's content and many areas have great playground equipment. One family favorite has an indoor activity center and winter ice skating rink for $2 admission for adults and children over two! In summer months, the same park has an outdoor aquatic center that only costs $7 per adult and $6 for children over two, which is a bargain compared to commercial water parks. Paula G.

Those "Free" Vacations
A huge way people get taken advantage of in travel scams is to get a free vacation to visit a potential vacation investment. People are wary of the hard sell tactics used by these hucksters. What they frequently don't realize is that the "free" air travel and three-night stay will result in a Form MISC-1099 to the IRS for the full value of the air fare (not discounted) and hotel stay that will create a large federal and possible state income tax liability. I have had clients owe taxes in excess of what they would have paid out-of-pocket for a nice vacation if they had shopped for bargain fares themselves and not had to waste a vacation day listening to the hard sell of condo investors and time-share sellers. Arlene C., CPA

Better Cheap Sunglasses
Do you need very durable and highly protective sunglasses? I found them at my local home improvement store for less than $9. Ask for "eye protection," not sunglasses. I took mine to my ophthalmologist and he said that they are made of polycarbonate and are 99-percent UVA and UVB protective. They are sturdy and wrap around close to my face to keep out those rays. H.M. in Orlando, FL.

For more information on Military Saves, visit www.militarysaves.org. Send us your savings tips and your success stories! Email us at info@militarysaves.org,

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How do I figure out what to do with the money in my Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) account once I start making contributions?
By Miriam Darden Settles, CFP®, Communications, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board

You've enrolled in the TSP and you've started making contributions. Do you know what to consider when deciding how to invest the money that's in your account?

This month's article is the first of a multi-part series to help you better understand the TSP investment options that are available to you. If you've just enrolled in the TSP, all of your contributions will be invested in the Government Securities Investment Fund (G Fund). It will remain there until you direct the TSP to make an interfund transfer to a different fund using the TSP Web site or ThriftLine. You can also use the website or ThriftLine to change how your future contributions are invested.

Determining how to invest the money in your TSP account requires some thought and a certain amount of introspection. This article aims to guide you in that process. Start by asking yourself the following questions:

What is my investment objective?

When answering this question, think about the extent to which you expect to rely on your TSP account for your retirement income. It may be your primary source of income, or it may be one of several sources that could include a pension, an annuity, an IRA, your Social Security payments, and/or other savings. Consider all of your income sources when determining what role your TSP account will have in meeting your retirement needs. If you have other sources of income, you may want to take more risk in your TSP account.

What is my time horizon?

Determine how many years you'll have before you need to start withdrawing money from your TSP account. For example, if you are 35 years old today and you don't expect to start withdrawing from your TSP account until you are 65 years old, your time horizon is 30 years. But keep in mind that you will likely spend many years - possibly decades - in retirement. So you'll probably want your TSP account to provide income for you during all of those years. If you have a longer time horizon, you may want to take more risk in your TSP account.

How do I feel about risk?

Financial markets tend to reward higher returns to those investors who are willing to accept greater risk of losses. Conversely, less risky investments are generally associated with the potential for smaller returns. Only you can determine how comfortable you are with risk. Just remember that over a very long time horizon, you have a better chance of recouping short-term losses. But if your time horizon is short, you'll want to consider less risky investments to protect your assets.

How much diversification do I need?

You've heard it before: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. By diversifying (spreading your money among different investments), you reduce the likelihood that your entire account will be severely affected by dramatic fluctuations in any single asset or fund. Although diversification does not insulate you from losses on particular investments, it can reduce the risk of incurring large losses on your entire portfolio. When deciding how to diversify your TSP account, you should take into consideration not only your TSP investments, but also the mix of assets in your other investment accounts and the risks associated with them.

Once you've answered these questions, you can look at the investment options that the TSP offers and determine how best to invest the money in your account. The TSP has a selection of individual funds that offer broad diversification, from short-term U.S. Treasury securities, to domestic and international equities. It also offers Lifecycle Funds (L Funds) which are a professionally designed mix of stocks, bonds and Government securities geared toward a specific time horizon.

Next month's article will discuss each of the TSP fund options in greater detail. In the meantime, you can find more information on the TSP Web site, www.tsp.gov, or in the Summary of the Thrift Savings Plan, which you can obtain online or from your TSP service representative.

Next month: How do I compare the different TSP funds to determine which are right for me?

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, and Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Military Edition. Together, we can build wealth, not debt.