ACS and credit union team up to help combat money management problems

Fort Belvoir's Army Community Service conducted a series of seminars last week during Military Saves Week, as part of a joint effort with Belvoir Federal Credit Union, to help raise financial awareness for Soldiers and their families.

Topics for the classes and information sessions included "Thrift Savings Plan," "Score More with Good Credit," "Investing Basics" and "Navigating Your Way to Better Money Management."

Belvoir's Financial Readiness Program Manager Erica Drame outlined the week's focus for those who attended the classes.

"This week is all about helping Soldiers and their families to better manage their money on all levels," Drame said. "We have the Army Emergency Relief program to help Army families in emergency situations. But, we want to be able to prevent those types of situations as much as possible.

"We are hoping to educate our customers on ways to help manage their finances better," Drame said.

During "Navigating Your Way to Better Money Management," Kathy Whatley, a financial counselor with ACS, focused on establishing a plan for spending your hard-earned money.

The group discussed credit, credit card debt, resources people can use and using budgets. "We are providing these customers an opportunity to ask questions and interact with us, to help them prepare for the future," Whatley said.

She focused on several topics during her presentation, including highlighting the BFCU Financial Coaching Program; establishing needs vs. wants, such as vehicles; making smart financial goals; dealing with unplanned financial detours, such as vehicle maintenance; different money-management tools; and America's average household credit card debt.

To close out her presentation, Whatley provided worksheets to help patrons organize their finances and establish obtainable budgets and spending plans.

"People need to understand where their money is going. And, one of the keys to success in this is developing a way to monitor their spending," Whatley said. "One of the handouts I gave out is a daily and weekly expense tracker that allows patrons to write down what they spend during the course of a day and week.

"The key to good financial management is to know where your money is going and setting aside that money for its use, whether it be for lunch or groceries," Whatley said.

Additional information on financial readiness classes is available at Fort Belvoir's ACS or by calling 703-805-4590.