Air Force Wives help Military save at Lunch & Learn Class

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Luis Loza Gutierrez
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. - --   Two Air Force wives hosted a Lunch & Learn Financial Class on saving money Feb. 22 at the Airman & Family Readiness Center here on Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.
Jennifer Hemphill, an accredited financial counselor from the Military Spouse Fellowship Program, and Bree Estrada, a former tax specialist with five years experience at H&R Block, teamed up to teach the one-hour-long class.

"This was the first time ever that I can remember that we (the A&FRC) have had two military spouses teach one of our financial information classes during Military Saves Week," said Thomas R. Slaughter, Military Saves Week campaign coordinator and A&FRC community readiness consultant.

According to the militarysaves.org website, "Military Saves is a social marketing campaign designed to persuade, motivate, and encourage military families to save money every month, and to convince leaders and organizations to be aggressive in promoting automatic savings."

The first 15 minutes of the class consisted of Hemphill teaching 5-Easy Money Saving Strategies. She tailored to the strategies to military members and their families from the base, by identifying money saving options and services locally available such as the commissary, the Exchange and the A&FRC.

The 5-Easy Money Saving Strategies transitioned into next 15 minutes of the class, which consisted of Estrada providing guests with financial advice about filing taxes and how to best file and utilize your tax return.

The last 30 minutes of the class featured an open-forum discussion where students could ask questions and share their own money saving ideas. This teaching technique was appreciated even by the few guests who silently yet attentively listened in the back of the class.

"I think Airman (1st Class Joshua) Hoffman and I ended up with more than just points for the Leadership Pathways Program," said Airman 1st Class Merlin Abril, from the 319th Civil Engineer Squadron. "There was a lot of good information provided and I definitely liked hearing the story about the how an Airman saved about five thousand dollars in one year just by using coupons and military discounts."

Hoffman agreed with his coworker.

"There was a lot of good info and I would recommend this class to other Airmen because they could benefit from this as well."

Positive feedback didn't just come from service members attending the class.

"Having one of our financial classes taught by military spouses appears to have been a great hit with several of the guests," said Slaughter. "We even had one Airman stand up and thank Mrs. Hemphill and Mrs. Estrada for volunteering to teach the class because it made his wife feel more comfortable about having the information presented by other Air Force wives like her."

Military Saves week continued today with an open house featuring financial information table displays. Guests enjoyed hot dogs, popcorn and beverages. The open house will also included a credit card cut-up jar along with help for creating family/single budgets, and free FICO scores by appointment.

Guests will have more chances to participate in Military Saves Week as the base continues its local campaign, to include:

· Feb. 28, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Understanding your LES (Leave and Earning Statement) Class for military spouses, facilitated by members of the base finance office.
· March 1: Free FICO scores and assistance with creating a family or single person budget by appointment.
The FICO score is a type of credit score that makes up a substantial portion of the credit report lenders use to assess an applicant's credit risk and whether to extend a loan.

Call 701-747-3241 for more information.