Take advantage of some special incentives, promotions, financial education seminars and other activities to jump-start your savings this week.

Military Saves Week is part of America Saves Week, aimed at motivating people to shore up their finances. The campaign provides a variety of information and tips on how to do that and calls on those in the military community to take the pledge to save. "We're hoping to make every week Military Saves Week," said Scott Halliwell, a certified financial planner who is the financial readiness program manager for USAA Educational Foundation. The foundation is one of the sponsors of this year's Military Saves campaign.

"Americans in general struggle with making good financial decisions," Halliwell said. "Layer the military lifestyle on top of that," with frequent moves, uprooting spouses from their jobs, and other aspects, and it becomes even more difficult, he said.

This year, Military Saves is offering a new goal-based text messaging service that will provide tips and reminders to encourage and motivate members of the military community to save toward their goal. Research shows that those who receive these text message reminders save more money than those who don't. The text message service is available to those who make the Military Saves pledge.

"Keep your personal finances top of mind," he said. Too often, people think of finances in the way they think of dieting. If something happens and they "fall off the wagon," he said, it's sometimes hard to get back on track. "But if you're on a roll and something happens, it's OK to start over again. And you're better off than if you hadn't started at all," he said.

For example, you might have wiped out your savings to cover a car repair bill — but if you hadn't had that savings, you might have gone into debt to pay the bill. And that debt would have cost even more money.

Halliwell and the educational foundation are taking part in Military Saves by presenting seminars at two Air Force bases on "investing as an extension of saving."

"Unfortunately, so much of investor education comes from people trying to sell them something," he said. He aims to provide investors with knowledge to help them determine if that person is acting in their best interest.

Participating organizations are holding financial education activities. At Fort Knox, Kentucky, for example, Armed Forces Bank, in partnership with Fort Knox Federal Credit Union and Army Community Service, has developed a "Leap Into Savings" campaign, providing a booklet to help savers track their spending. An event is being held where experts will be available to go over individuals' booklets to help them understand their spending habits.

Some military banks and credit unions are offering incentives to save, such as providing matching funds or special interest rates. Check with your bank or credit union.

A few examples:

Pacific Marine Credit Union: a savings certificate with a 4 percent annual percentage yield for 12 months for active-duty service members who open a Military Saver Certificate by Feb. 29. (The fine print states that retired service members are also eligible.) Minimum deposit of $100, up to a maximum of $500. Additional minimum monthly automatic deposits of at least $10 are required. For comparison purposes, the current annual percentage rate on a one-year certificate of deposit is, on the average, between 0.7 and 1.3 percent, according to Bankrate.com

Navy Federal Credit Union: adds a $100 bonus when you open your first Individual Retirement Account and deposit at least $100 in the new IRA within 45 days of opening it. In honor of Military Saves Week, Navy Federal is offering a 2 percent annual percentage rate on an IRA Special 20-Month Certificate. The certificate has a $20 minimum deposit requirement.

Armed Forces Bank: offers two incentives for savers who go to a branch and take the Military Saves pledge by Feb. 27. New savers who take the pledge can open up a savings account and earn up to $30 in incentives over the course of a year. Those who already have a savings account can take the pledge and make a deposit of at least $25 into their existing account, and the bank will add $10 to that, said Amy Mauton, senior vice president at Armed Forces Bank.

Other types of incentives are out there, too — for example, if you open a 12-Month Add-On Military Saves Share Certificate (1.5 percent annual percentage yield) at Marine Federal Credit Union, you'll be entered in a contest to win an Xbox One and a 50-inch TV. It's open to active-duty service members who visit a Marine Federal branch to open the certificate, with the contest ending Feb. 27.

Karen Jowers covers military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times. She can be reached at kjowers@militarytimes.com.

Karen has covered military families, quality of life and consumer issues for Military Times for more than 30 years, and is co-author of a chapter on media coverage of military families in the book "A Battle Plan for Supporting Military Families." She previously worked for newspapers in Guam, Norfolk, Jacksonville, Fla., and Athens, Ga.

Share:
In Other News
Load More