Email   Print   Share By Bridget Sanders, Financial Readiness Branch

Facebook Digg Delicious August 2, 2012 | Editorial

Personal financial readiness is like a toolbox. It can be disorganized and cluttered or neat and every tool in its proper place. Army Community Service, Financial Readiness Branch has all the tools needed to fine tune an individual’s finances, which can lead to financial organization.

In the first drawer of a financial tool box is education. The Financial Readiness Branch provides consumer information and personal financial management training in the form of scheduled classes, workshops and briefings for units, Family Readiness Groups or the community. Classes include banking, budgeting and debt management, credit booster, savings and investing, couponing, home buying, consumer awareness and identity theft. In addition, there is an online vehicle-buying class located on the Financial Readiness Branch website. For individuals who want a more comprehensive strategy, the FRB offers the Financial Peace University course. This is a 13-week DVD tutorial facilitated by a Personal Financial Readiness Specialist.

In the second drawer of a Financial Tool Box are various individual financial services. Each battalion has a command financial/Family advocacy specialist assigned who can assist individuals in creating a budget, establishing an adequate emergency savings and guidance on how to become debt free and financially fit. Additional services are provided by personal financial readiness specialists who are located at the Financial Readiness Branch and are available to conduct one-on-one sessions to assist with creating a financial spending plan, review credit reports, establish debt reduction strategies and explain the Thrift Savings Plan.

In the third drawer of a financial tool box is the Consumer Affairs and the Solicitation Office. Pre-purchase information and advice is available to assist individuals in making wise consumer choices and avoid being ripped off. To increase consumer awareness, the Consumer Affairs Office publishes a Consumer Affairs Tabloid and can be found on the FRB website. Virtually everyone who seeks assistance in resolving complaints sought no pre-purchase information or advice. In many cases, it is evident that most consumers do not do the research or read the fine print. The Consumer Affairs hotline is 287-CITY (2489).

The second half of this drawer is the Solicitation Office. Any person or business wanting to sell/solicit products or services on Fort Hood must have a commercial solicitation permit. This does not pertain to persons or activities doing business with the installation, Family and MWR, AAFES or the commissary. Forbidden solicitation practices include: Solicitation of “mass,” group, or “captive” audiences, door-to-door sales and oral or written representation which suggests or appears to imply that the Department of the Army sponsors or endorses the company or its agents, or the goods, services and commodities offered for sale. Individuals who require a solicitations packet can stop by the Financial Readiness Branch located at the Rivers Building.

In the fourth drawer of a financial tool box is Army Emergency Relief. Army Emergency Relief provides financial assistance to Soldiers, active or retired, their Family members and the spouses and orphans of deceased Soldiers during periods of valid emergencies. Approval of an AER loan is based on the need created by an emergency beyond the control of the individual, i.e. POV repair, emergency travel, eviction and foreclosure.

The Financial Readiness Branch has two locations. The main office is in the Rivers Bldg, Bldg. 121, 761st Tank Battalion Ave. The second office is located on the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Training Facility, Bldg. 12020, 31st Street and Battalion Avenue, Suite 400. The Financial Readiness Branch webpage is www.hoodmwr.com/acs/frb.html.

For more information or to schedule a class, contact the Financial Readiness branch at 287-8979 or email usarmy.hood.imcom-fmwrc.list.ACS-FRB@mail.mil.