Military Saves Week Offers Something for Us All

While much of the country watches snow mounds build, a coalition of nonprofits, government agencies and financial services firms are working to help the military community build wealth. Military Saves Week—February 23-28, 2015—encourages military service members, retirees and family members to evaluate and set goals for saving, and take steps to reach those goals.

Managed by the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America (CFA), Military Saves involves a network of participating organizations. The initiative uses simple, but powerful techniques to encourage and support service members and military families to save money, reduce debt and build wealth.

The beauty of Military Saves Week is that it offers a valuable savings blueprint for us all. But especially if you are in the military, you can make a personal commitment to save and pay down debt. Start with the Military Saves Pledge, then follow these three simple steps:

1. Set a Goal. Decide what you want to save for, and how much you need to save to achieve the goal.

2. Make a Plan. This can be as simple as making a pledge to put $20 per paycheck into a savings account.

3. Save Automatically. Contact your bank or credit union to make your saving automatic, and recurring.

The genius of Military Saves—and its civilian counterpart programs America Saves and Young America Saves—is that personal commitment (taking a pledge or setting a goal) combined with simple behavioral “nudges” like putting your savings on autopilot really works.

It certainly has for Allison Mecadon. She’s a Youth Coordinator with the Virginia National Guard Youth Program, who offers a firsthand account of her saving success on the Military Saves website.

Allison set the following goals prior to her husband’s deployment to Afghanistan: start an emergency fund, save to purchase a truck with cash and save for a down payment on a house. Allison kick-started each of those goals with one simple tactic: She set up a separate savings account for each of her goals and gave each one a name. Then she automated savings into those accounts.

The result? Allison and her husband met their savings goals, and learned a lot about personal finance along the way though the information and resources provided on the site and through helpful newsletters.

When it comes to preparing for a sound financial future, saving is where to start. Whether you’re a member of the military or not, this week is a perfect time to set savings goals and start meeting them.

For more information about saving for the future visit SaveandInvest.org.

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