Soldiers and Family members will learn why it's important to start saving their money now, especially for retirement, on Tuesday from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Military Saves Week provides Families and Soldiers at Fort Belvoir advice on the benefits of opening a savings account, emergency funds account and a retirement fund during the Army Community Service Financial Readiness Program's "Reasons to Save for the Future" class.

The class is part of Military Saves Week, Monday-March 2.

"The earlier Soldiers start saving for retirement, the less they have to save in the future," said Erica Drame, Financial Readiness Program manager. "Most people don't start saving until their early 30's, so if they start saving small now, their money will grow and they don't have to save as much in the future."

With companies and organizations beginning to back out of retirement funds for employees, it's even more critical for individuals to save their money, according to Stephanie Crabtree, Fort Belvoir Credit Union Installation Liaison/Membership Development Officer.

"You have to save for your own pension," said Crabtree. "If you start young, it's a tremendous amount of money you can have, and will need, in order to maintain a certain lifestyle."

Retirement used to be a three-pronged approach, Drame said. Soldiers used to have their pensions, social security and savings. Although pensions are still provided to Soldiers who serve 20 or more years, social security benefits aren't what they were in the past. So, investing in something like a Thrift Savings Plan is critical for Soldiers, according to Drame.

"A TSP is your own personal savings account," said Drame. "You can contribute to the five mutual fund options you have available through the TSP."

Its important Families have an emergency fund so they can pay for an unexpected cost. Most emergencies cost around $1,000, according to Drame, so Families need to have three to six months of their entire income in their emergency fund.

Families need to remember their emergency funds are for emergencies only, not luxury purchases.

"Your tire blows, you need to go out of town for a funeral, or you have an unexpected home repair," said Drame. "That's what emergency funds are for, not buying a new pair of shoes or concert tickets."

When it comes to putting aside money for an emergency and savings account, Families don't need to put big sums of money in these accounts at once. Putting just $5-10 a month in both accounts will add up as time goes by, Drame said.

"A lot of people have it in their heads they need to save $100-200 a month to constitute saving," said Drame. "What if you only have $100 left? Can you still save? Sure, even if it's only $5 towards the emergency fund or $10 towards savings. If you don't pay yourself first, who's going to pay you?"

Soldiers and Families that follow a budget are more apt to save their money because they have goals for their money, according to Drame. Those people are able to go to luxurious places and enjoy lavish items because they saved their money, Drame said.

"If you don't, you are going to live paycheck to paycheck and you're always going to complain about where your money went," said Drame.

Soldiers also need to have a savings account they can live off of after they retire, according to Crabtree. It can take up to six months for a transitioning Soldier to find a job, so they need to have money for living expenses until they become employed.

"It's particularly important Soldiers have six months of their pay set aside," said Crabtree. "Every servicemember, at some point, will leave military service. So, it's important to have six months of savings for expenses, because it alleviates some of the stress of transitioning out of the service. It can take that long to get the right job."