Personal Financial Readiness

The Personal Financial Readiness program provides support toward financial stability through FREE financial education workshops on a wide variety of financial topics. We also offer FREE one-on-one appointments to provide personalized services to meet your financial concerns and goals. Many of our Personal Financial Counselors have multiple designations and are Accredited Financial Counselors through the Association for Financial Counseling and Planning Education (AFCPE).

• Money Management
• Budgeting
• Debt
• Credit
• Investing
• Thrift Savings Plan
• Military Retirement
• Car Buying
• Student Loans
• Home Buying
• Identity Theft

PROGRAM COMPONENTS AND WORKSHOPS/CLASSES:

PERSONAL FINANCIAL READINESS WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

SAVINGS AND RELATIONSHIPS

New Year’s Resolutions Savings – New Year – New You? Come prepared to develop short-mid-long term saving goals for your New Year’s Resolutions. Learn the best techniques for saving so that you stick to these goals throughout the entire year!

Money Talks – Date night on us! Bring your spouse or significant other to learn effective communication skills and specific money issues that each couple should be regularly discussing.

Talking to Your Kids About Money – Learn effective communication skills to help facilitate conversations with your children. Age appropriate topics and activities related to money will be provided to help you facilitate “money conversations” with your children at home.

Grow in Love & Wealth – Are finances a current stressor in your marriage? Let us help you improve communication and build trust with your spouse. By identifying shared values with your partner, you can make a commitment to agreed-upon financial goals.

Achieve Your Savings Goals – We all have things in life that we want – let’s set you up for success financially to achieve them! Come prepared to develop short-mid-long term saving goals and learn the best techniques for saving to achieve those. Should you be saving or investing your money?

Just Married? – Finances pay a big role in the success of your marriage. Financial intimacy starts with strong communication. Let us help you ask start marriage off on the right foot by asking the right questions and learning what financial pitfalls to avoid!

BUDGETING

Be Financially Prepared for the Holidays

– Sticking to a holiday budget can be tough! Let the holidays be a joyful time, not a long-term financial burden! Develop a realistic savings plan to account for travel, gifts and extra family time during the holidays. Receive tips and tricks on how to make it through the holiday season without using your credit card.

Be Financially Prepared for PCS Season – Don’t let PCS season take you by surprise. Be knowledgeable and realistic on common costs and reimbursements associated with PCS-ing. Receive tips and tools on how to budget and save money prior to the PCS to have the financial means to cover for the additional expenses that are associated with moving. Great for if this is your first PCS or your 10th!

Military Money – When was the last time that you looked at your Leave and Earnings Statement? Learn how to read your LES, navigate MyPay and understand all aspects associated with your military pay.

CREDIT & DEBT

Building Credit & Paying Off Debt – Learn about the true impact that credit has on your life. What is the true total cost of your debt? Topics include ways to build or increase a credit score and development of an action plan to pay off debt.

7 Things to Know About Your Credit Card – Learn about how to responsibility use your credit! Topics covered include building credit, credit limits, minimum payments, budgeting, “teaser” rates, and the true cost of interest.

Get Smart About Student Loans – There are a plethora of resources available to service members for federal student loans to include forgiveness and relief programs! Come learn how to best take advantage of these resources, to improve your financial readiness. Additionally, topics related to deferment, default and Powerpay will be discussed.

PURCHASES

Buying Your New Wheels – Don’t make an uneducated decision about your upcoming car purchase. Learn how to make a financially wise decision through building an effective budget and establishing credit – BEFORE you go car shopping. Additional topics include financing, sales tactics, negotiation techniques and the process of trading in a current vehicle.

MANDATORY

My New Space – Mandatory PFR workshop that must be attended prior to Airman moving out of the dorms (ideally at the 2 year mark or prior to getting married). The goal is to financially prepare the Airman for living off base. Topics include house vs apartment, roommates, lease agreements, budgeting, credit and saving.

FTAC – Mandatory PFR workshop for First-Term Enlisted Airman. Scheduling is done by the Professional Enhancement Center. Topics covered include budgeting, credit, debt management, savings, BRS/TSP, car-buying and insurance.

INVESTING/WEALTH BUILDING

How to Invest When You Don’t Know Where to Begin – Come learn investment 101 techniques! Is this the right time financially for you to invest? What avenues are out there for you to take advantage of when investing? Topics covered include the concept of investing, risk vs. reward, the importance of investing, assets, portfolio development, risk management … and most importantly – HOW TO INVEST!

Investment Fluency – Explore investing from an advanced perspective. (Recommended to attend How to Invest When You Don’t Know Where to Begin prior to attending this workshop.) Learn how to utilize investment options to secure a strong financial future. Tools of investing (mutual funds, money market accounts, ETFS, certificate of deposits, stocks, bonds, hard assets, commodities) will be discussed in depth in addition to investment strategies, asset diversification and tax implications.

TSP & You – Retire a Millionaire! – Do you have questions about saving for retirement? Learn the ends and outs of the Thrift Savings Plan. Topics covered include DoD matching contributions, contribution elections, Roth vs. Traditional, account allocations, investment options, index funds and lifecycle funds.

Understanding Life Insurance & SGLI – Don’t get taken advantage of when purchasing life-insurance! How much coverage do you really need? Learn the difference between term and life/whole life insurance, in addition to fully understanding your coverage with SGLI.