Financial survey reveals need for improvement

  • Published
  • By Maj. Nicholas Bell
  • Comptroller
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  Results from a recent nationwide independent survey have highlighted the financial wellbeing of military service members. Coming from a career field where pay is both widely predictable and tax advantaged, health care universally provided and comes with a retirement plan revered by a nation, one might be surprised by what the survey uncovered.

The results...DISAPPOINTING

- In a typical month, how difficult is it for you to cover your expenses and pay all your bills? 36% somewhat to very difficult
- Have you set aside emergency or rainy day funds that would cover your expenses for 3 months, in case of sickness, job loss, economic downturn, or other emergencies? 49% No
- Have you ever tried to figure out how much you need to save for retirement? 43% No
- In the past 12 months, have you checked your credit score? 33% No
- Do you (or your spouse/partner) have any retirement plans through a current or previous employer, like a pension plan, a Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), or a 401(k)? 25% No
- How much of your (household's) retirement portfolio is invested in stocks or mutual funds that contain stocks? 29% none or don't know
- Are your (household's) retirement assets primarily invested in a life-cycle or target-date fund? 38% don't know
- Approximately how much do you currently owe in total on all your credit cards? 38% greater than $10,000

Why 'disappointing' and not 'shocking' or even just 'unsatisfactory'? It's because, these same hardworking individuals who are showing up in this data have ample access to free professional assistance, not only to alleviate but to prevent each and every one of these issues. We're talking one-on-one real financial coaching. To truly understand this fact is to see these figures again, less as simply money misfortunes, but rather as expected symptoms caused by massive financial neglect.

So where are you in these numbers? What possible 'Outs' did you internally voice while reading the results? 'I'll take care of this when I start making real money', 'My spouse handles that stuff', 'As soon as I get married, this will naturally all be taken care of', 'Whatever...my bills are paid each month, I must be doing something right'. Do you hear the horn sounding? Ladies and gentlemen, that sound indicates major fouls in financial thinking. These similar excuses are the ones that continue to land our good Airmen squarely into the lowest socioeconomic stratum (and apparently in alarming high numbers).

In large recognition to all of this the DoD has decided to take action on our behalf. From February 20 to 27 the Air Force, along with all other military services, will be conducting "Military Saves Week". It will be an all out blitz of free financial seminars put on by the Airmen and Family Readiness Center. These courses aren't just for those trying to make a recovery either, there not just for the young, and not just for the enlisted, more they are the very thing that any prudent individual might do in taking a giant step towards financial security. From credit card woes to the day you amass your first million, fellow Icemen, it's time for all of us to own the condition, and then improve it.

The Airmen & Family Readiness Center can help. Call 377-2178 to sign up today (bring a friend too). For class dates and times see page 7 under community briefs.

[Survey Source: Financial Capability Among Military Personnel (FINRA), Oct 2010]