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Be smart and save or be a debt slave

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Zachiah Roberson
  • 319 Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Military Saves Week, a time to remember correct use of a person's money and learning to save, invest and most importantly, avoid debt.

The Airman & Family Readiness Center annually offers a week of programs to reiterate financial stability, including a financial fair during one of the year's largest base activities, Winter Bash.

Classes such as "Budget Boot Camp," "Mixing Money" and "Thrift Savings Plan & Retirement" served as building blocks for the base populace to learn how they can take charge of their money and their life better.

The amount of money that can be saved with working through financial issues is staggering according to Thomas R. Slaughter, Airman and Family Readiness Center community readiness consultant. His job is to not only handle financial problems with Airmen, but to also help them see where they can save and where they can put their money to safely invest and earn more in the future.

"I've seen Airmen who are financially stable and I've seen some that aren't, and it isn't just Airmen either," said Slaughter. "Sergeants all the way to officers have come to me with financial issues, and I've been here to help them figure out a way to fix their situation."

The A&FRC offered a Financial Open House to everyone on base with activities such as bingo and free hot dogs and popcorn. With this also came a slew of information on financial assistance. Information such as free credit reports and free CarFax , both programs offered by the A&FRC, were discussed.

"Not only can we look up your credit score for free, but it is also a good idea for people to do not only for reassurance but also to assure security clearances are not affected by your credit score," said Slaughter. "Should it fall below a certain number, you can actually have a clearance revoked which is a big deal to some people because it is basically your job to have this clearance and maintain it."

The A&FRC also offers a free budget program to help customers see where their money is going. Not only is it free, but it typically takes less than an hour.

"Single airmen can probably get in and out of here in 45 minutes, it's not a long time for something such as a budget," said Slaughter. "Even with married couples it may only take about 30 minutes longer but you will be much happier seeing where your money is going after you leave."

During the 2015 Winter Bash, Slaughter assisted with having nine booths set up for the Financial Fair as well as an Arts and Crafts corner set up to talk to kids about simple savings with use of piggy banks.

"Children aren't going to care about saving for retirement or managing investments, but with a piggy bank we can at least introduce them to the concept of saving and show them what putting money away can become in the future," said Slaughter.

With all of these programs in place year-round, Slaughter feels this week is extremely important to reiterate their importance to the base community. The A&FRC is ready and available whenever someone needs it and it should be utilized simply because it works and can relieve financial stress to some degree for those who seek it.

"I love what I do; I never thought I would go to the finance side of the A&FRC but I truly love it," said Slaughter. "The 'feel good' for me is when people come back to me after making a budget plan here and thank me for helping them get out of debt entirely. It can be done, and people are doing it all the time."