Military saves week encourages fiscal fitness

WASHINGTON — Now in its eighth year of partnership with America Saves Week, the Defense Department’s Military Saves Week began Tuesday to help service members achieve financial security, flexibility and confidence, a Pentagon official said in a telephone news conference here Monday.

The partnership initiatives continue to gain ground, with nearly 159,000 military members and their families taking the Military Saves pledge since 2007, said Barbara Thompson, the director of the Defense Department’s office of family policy and children and youth.

“Military Saves Week is our chance to focus on healthy financial practices that we know are important every day of the year,” Thompson said.

The DOD has a range of tools and services including personal financial management counselors to help service members and their families set a goal, make a plan and save automatically, Thompson said.

“The complexity of today’s financial environment combined with the reality of military life, including frequent moves and deployments, present special financial challenges for service members and their families,” she said. “Their personal financial readiness is vital to our national security.”

Lenders, banks and educational institutions are among the dozens of participants who will promote good financial habits and strategies with tools for military members and their families to track their savings successes.

“It allows a mission focus free of worry about things at home,” Thompson said. “In the Department of Defense, financial readiness is mission readiness.”