FLEACT Yokosuka kicks off Military Saves Week

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- The Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) onboard Fleet Activities (FLEACT), Yokosuka kicked off Military Saves Week with a cake cutting ceremony at the James D. Kelly Fleet Recreation Center, Feb. 25.

In it's seventh year, Military Saves Week has become an integral part of the Department of Defense's Financial Readiness Campaign. This year's Military Saves Week runs from Feb. 25 to March 2.

"We're trying to encourage military members and their families to think about saving," said Vonnita Murray, a personal financial specialist at FFSC. "We want you to look into saving more money in 2013 than you did in 2012."

The FFSC is working with Community Bank, Navy Federal Credit Union and Navy Marine Corps Relief Society during this campaign.

"The big thing is to save," said Thanh Ly-Turnbull, a family life and education specialist for FFSC. "It's not just only this week, it's year round. It's a commitment to yourself."

According to Military Saves website, less than 50 percent of Americans say they have a savings plan with specific goals, and in 56 percent of divorce cases, financial stress is cited as the leading cause of the divorce; Money is the top source of psychological stress for adults.

In addition to this campaign, one of the services that FFSC provides is financial planning. "We help sailors to come up with a spending plan," Murray said. "We help them to think about ways of investing their funds."

According to Murray, their financial planning service is not only for active duty, but also includes civilians, contractors, retirees, and their family members.

Ly-Turnbull said that the FFSC encourages Sailors to think about their credit scores and credit report. "I've seen a lot of people lose their security clearances because they didn't take care of their finances," she said.

According to Ly-Turnbull, anyone over the age of 14 can take the Military Saves Pledge, in person at the FFSC, or online at www.militarysaves.org.>
For more news from Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, visit www.navy.mil/local/cfay/.