SUCCESS STORIES

Airman Succeeds Through Dedication to Building Wealth Not Debt

I came into the Air Force at 23 years old in 1993 with about 12 outstanding bills (hospital bills, car loan, car insurance, school loans, credit cards, etc.). You name it, I had the bill. Thanks to the Family Support Center, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, and many other sources, I now have no outstanding bills. I only have rent and utilities (no even a car payment). I want to help other military members get out of debt. I was able to pay off all my bills by year 1999. I used money from TDYs and deployments to pay off my bills from the least to the greatest principal. At the same time, I started building an Emergency Fund. Now I have the following:

• A Good Basic Need Budgeting Plan
• Money Market Emergency Fund
• Roth IRA
• TSP

I hardly use credit cards and I access my credit report annually through www.annualcreditreport.com. This website is free unless you want your credit score along with it. The credit score costs about $5.00. I take whatever financial management information the military has to offer and apply them to my own financial management and it works. I am always willing to learn more and help other people get a handle on their finances.

TSgt Shaunta Hopson
43^rd Logistics Readiness Squadron
U.S. Air Force

We want to brag about you! If you have a story to tell about your organization's Military Saves activities, please contact us.

Tell us about:

• How you got the campaign going in your unit or other organization;
• What you've done to involve children and other family members;
• How much money your members have saved since getting involved in Military Saves;
• Particular individuals and families whose lives have improved because of saving money; or
• Whatever you're especially proud of and want the rest of the military community to know about!