Defense Department officials want service members and their families to be aware of in-house programs that can help them better manage their money and stay out of debt.
For example, the 2-year-old Military Saves program is designed to teach service members and families how to save and invest their hard-earned dollars and stay out of debt, said Army Maj. John Johnson, director of the Defense Department's Armed Forces Tax Council.
“The whole idea behind it is to encourage people to save,“ Major Johnson said, noting this year's Military Saves Week is Feb. 24 through March 2. Military Saves is part of the nationwide America Saves program, he noted.
During Military Saves Week, installations across the country will offer money-management seminars and distribute information to encourage people to save money, Major Johnson explained.
On a related subject, the major noted that service members this year can opt for a split disbursement of their tax refunds, with one portion going into a checking account and another into a savings account.
The military's Thrift Savings Plan program, he said, is another method service members can employ to fatten their savings accounts.
TSP “is really an underutilized benefit,“ Major Johnson said.
Non-deployed service members can earmark up to $15,500 annually for tax-deferred TSP accounts, he explained, while service members deployed in combat zones can contribute up to $46,000 into their TSP account.
“Everyone should be saving money, anyway. TSP is another option,“ Major Johnson said. Starting a TSP account, he said, also provides a lower-cost method of investing, compared to investing in a traditional mutual fund.
The department's financial-management programs assist service members so that they don't have to worry about money issues when they deploy, the major said.
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