Military Saves Blog
Blog
Tips, advice, and the latest news from the savings world.

Financial Direction
Lost? Check Your GPS. Need Financial Direction? Set a Goal and Make a Plan!
By Lila Quintiliani, AFC®
Military Saves Assistant Coordinator
If I need to find a particular place, I look it up on Google maps. Or enter it in the GPS. Occasionally, because gadgets can get it wrong, I look at an actual paper map. The point is, I wouldn’t think of starting on a journey without at least some idea of where I was going. But that’s what millions of Americans are doing every day when it comes to their money. A new Planning and Progress study released by Northwestern Mutual last week found that a whopping 45 percent of Americans have no financial plan at all. Zip, zilch, nada. If you are one of those hapless folks, then it’s time to dig out your road map and at least figure out where you’re going.

Take Your Daughter to Work Day
By Andia Dinesen, AFC ®
Military Saves Coordinator
So here’s another blog about kids. Naturally, we didn’t mean this to happen, although since today is Take your Son or Daughter to Work day I thought the kid-focused blog deserved another appearance.

Case of the "I Wantas"
By Lila Quintiliani, AFC®
Military Saves Assistant Coordinator
Do you hate to go shopping with your kids? It seems like everywhere we go these days, there is STUFF to buy. When I was a kid, the check out at the grocery store might have gum, alka seltzer and a magazine or two.

Emergency Fund - Budgeting for the Unexpected
By Andia Dinesen, AFC ®
Military Saves Coordinator
Nearing the end of a long month… the 15th has passed and then there are still two more weekends until payday.How did this happen, how am I running out of money already?

TSP Rolls out Roth in May
by Miriam Darden Settles, CFP®
Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board
Roth: What’s it all about?
Simply put, Roth is all about options when it comes to the tax treatment of your TSP savings. If you decide to make a Roth TSP contribution, the amount that you contribute comes out of your pay after-tax rather than before-tax as it does now. That means that when you take withdrawals from your Roth balance, your Roth contributions come out tax-free because you’ve already paid the tax on them. Not only that, but the earnings on those contributions are also tax-free provided you meet two basic Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements.*