Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar signed a proclamation in support of Military Saves Week at Navy Region Southeast (NRSE) headquarters onboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Feb. 27.

Military Saves Week runs Feb. 27-March 4 and is intended to encourage service members to make responsible financial decisions to build wealth and reduce debt. The proclamation officially recognizes the week and calls on all service members throughout Navy Region Southeast to take action to improve their individual and household financial situations.

According to Bolivar, financial strains can affect anyone personally or professionally. Military Saves Week is recognized annually to provide Sailors and families with ways to stay financially sound. Bolivar has challenged the Sailors in her region to set a debt reduction goal.

"It's about creating a culture of saving," Bolivar said. "We want to inform Sailors and their families of the many ways to stretch and grow their money, including putting aside a percentage of the family's income for big changes like the birth of a child, college, and even retirement. Military Saves Week offers tools and information, whether it's for small things like buying a new laptop or computer, or saving for high-end items like a car or home. It's an attitude and a lifestyle, and it's important to encourage our Sailors and their families to start saving for their future now."

Navy Region Southeast has 17 personal financial managers (PFMs) within its 15 Fleet and Family Support Centers (FFSCs) which have educational classes and one-on-one financial planning and counseling. Their primary focus is helping with buying large ticket items, investing, and saving, such as with the Thrift Savings Plan.

"The PFM program aids retention in a major way," said Carol Lucius, NRSE Family Readiness Program work and family life coordinator. "The most significant issues addressed by PFMs doing one-on-one counseling is helping Sailors retain their security clearances, and assisting them with letters of indebtedness."

Lucius also shared some of the changes which have occurred within the Military Saves Week campaign.

"The program used to be specific to the branch of service, but now it covers all military services through the Office of the Secretary of Defense," said Lucius. "Additionally, the PFM program covers prevention, diagnostic, and counseling areas of financial stability, where saving and investing is a major part of financial stability."

Lucius shared a link PFMs use to help Sailors and their families understand how to decrease credit card debt: http://www.greenpath.com/resources-tools/credit-card-debt-calculator.

"Take a look at this link," said Lucius. "If someone is over their head in credit card debt, this agency can assist. Put the amount of credit card debt into the calculator and hit submit. It shows you how much you'd pay total if you kept on paying the cards as is, and how long it would take. Then it shows how much less you'd pay and how much less time it would take to pay it off it by paying more than just the minimum!"

The Department of Defense and the DoD's Financial Readiness Campaign have been working together since 2003 to promote Military Saves Week. Service members or dependents who would like more information about resources and services offered through Military Saves, or organizations who would like to find out how they can support the program, should contact their local FFSC. In addition, more information is available at http://www.militarysaves.org/.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Commander, Navy Region Southeast, visit http://www.navy.mil/.