Michael Doorbal, financial readiness manager and Army Emergency Relief officer at U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, Lisa Kindsvater, Army Community Service volunteer, and Maxine Mickle, Andrews Federal Credit Union member service representative, stand at t...
CHIÈVRES, Belgium -- Military Saves Week takes place every year to motivate, support and encourage service members and their family members to have healthy financial habits and start saving money. This year, the observance was held Feb. 26 to March 3, and its motto was "Set a goal. Make a plan. Save automatically."
In addition to the classes offered by Army Community Service, different events were organized during the week to encourage people to think about financial planning. On Feb. 27 and 28, Michael Doorbal, financial readiness manager and Army Emergency officer at U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, and Maxine Mickle, Andrews Federal Credit Union Member Service representative set up a booth at the Post Exchange, or PX, Mall on Chièvres Air Base, Belgium.
At the booth, they encouraged people to take the "Saver Pledge," a pledge to commit themselves to start saving money, reduce debts and build wealth over time.
Saving automatically means having fixed amount of funds automatically deposited into your investment account at specified intervals, according to Doorbal.
"Let's say you want to save money to buy a car when you leave Belgium, that would be your goal. Then, with that goal in mind, you have to make a plan to get there, such as saving $200 each month," said Doorbal. "Finally, you should start saving automatically."
For those who missed the booth and still want to take the pledge, go to the Military Saves website at www.militarysaves.org.
It is never too late to start saving. ACS Financial Readiness Program services are offered year-round for U.S. service members of all branches, family members, retirees and civilian employees. Most of their classes are offered on Wednesdays at SHAPE and are VTC projected to Brussels and Schinnen. These classes are on financial topics of interest to the Benelux community. ACS can also offer classes at unit training days as arranged. For more information, visit www.benelux.armymwr.com.
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