FFSC Yokosuka will host Moneywise in the Military at the Fleet Theatre on Sept. 23 at 9 a.m. This special Navy wide 3-hour seminar is dedicated to enriching sailors with the knowledge to build wealth and bring awareness to financial readiness in the Navy. Guest Speakers include:

• Kelvin Boston (http://www.moneywise.tv/host.html) – executive producer and host of Moneywise with Kelvin Boston on PBS;

• Peter Bielagus (http://www.peterbspeaks.com/content...ew/19/32/) – financial author of Getting Loaded: Make A Million While You’re Still Young Enough to Enjoy It;

• Holly Petraeus (http://www.bbb.org/us/cbbb-staff/ho...petraeus/) – Director of the Better Business Bureau’s Military Line, a program of the Council of Better Business Bureaus providing consumer education and advocacy for service members and their families.

Why is this not being offered at a later time of the day considering most people are at work at 9 A.M.? I am often bewildered who makes these decisions.

[quote]
This special Navy wide 3-hour seminar is dedicated to enriching sailors with the knowledge to build wealth and bring awareness to financial readiness in the Navy.
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Read above, "Dedicated to enriching sailors"

I actually went to a seminar held 3 or 4 years ago that was being held in the same fashion with Kelvin Boston.

Not bad...  Many things I knew, since I am already doing them.

I think it held new sailors to raise their expectations, think before they spend, and provided some awareness on financial planning.


These videos below were when he visited 2 years ago in Yokosuka.

10/24/2007 Kelvin Boston, Host Of "Moneywise", Holds A Financial Seminar At Naval Base Yokosuka.


 

 

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10/18/2007 Kelvin Boston visits Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.

 

"Moneywise" seminars coming to Yokosuka
Sept. 4, 2009

By CFAY Public Affairs
"Moneywise in the Military" financial experts, including Kelvin Boston, host of the PBS series "Moneywise" and author of "Who's afraid to be a Millionaire" will visit Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Sept. 21-24 to discuss money management and other financial topics to help improve the financial literacy of the Navy community. According to Boston, if Sailors set aside just a few dollars every month and made a few investments, they can become financially successful. “Between the money that you accumulate in your Thrift Savings Plan and the equity from your condominium or home, when you leave the military, let’s say that’s 15 or 20 years from now, you can become a millionaire,” said Boston. In addition to Boston, financial planners Young America's Financial Coach Peter Bielagus, Better Business Bureau Military Line Director Holly Petraeus and Defense Credit Union Council President Arty Arteaga will be providing their expertise to help attendees learn techiques to become more financially stable and independent. Military members from all branches of the service, reservists, Department of Defense civilians, family members and retirees are invited to attend the free seminars brought to you by Commander Naval Installations Command, Personal Financial Management Program and CFAY Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC). Contact FFSC Financial Educator Theron Nolen at 243- 3372/9910 or by e-mail to theron.nolen.ctr@fe.navy.mil for more information.




Financial expert Kelvin Boston, host of the PBS series "Moneywise" and author of "Who's Afraid to be a Millionaire" explains to Sailors the importance of saving money and getting out of – and avoiding – debt, during a seminar aboard USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19) October 11, 2007. Financial experts including Boston will return to CFAY for a series of "Moneywise in the Military" seminars Sept. 21-24. Contact CFAY FFSC at 243-9910 for more information.

U.S. Navy file photo by MCSN Michael Calloway

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Bryan Reckard, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West Det. Japan

YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) -- Sailors from various commands on board Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) and their family members took part in the 2009 Moneywise in the Military tour at the base's Fleet Theater Sept. 23.

Kelvin Boston, host of Public Broadcasting Service's "Moneywise", Peter Bielagus, a financial advisor who specializes in educating young Americans about their personal finances and Holly Petraeus, director of the Better Business Bureau's Military Line all contributed to the presentation.

"We're actually visiting installations all of the world to help people understand, especially military members, that while they're serving in the military they can still begin to take the steps to achieve all their financial goals or at least most of them," said Boston.

Boston said they visit between 15 and 25 military installations a year. Bielagus explained his drive to help others become financially successful comes from the personal lessons he learned throughout his life.

"This is important to me because nobody took the time to educate me about personal finance and I didn't take the time to educate myself, and what happened is I learned the hard way by getting into debt way over my head and realizing that I owe money to people that I'm not able to pay," Bielagus said. "Through a series of extreme sacrifices I was able to get control of my debt and eventually pay it all off and I realized that I did this and I made it through it but all of this was totally unnecessary with a just a little bit of education and just a little bit of planning."

More than 100 Sailors attended the presentation which was only one of several events planned during the three-day visit.

Petraeus, a former military daughter and spouse says she feels compelled to be a part the Moneywise in the Military tours to warn service members of the scams that seem to target the military.

"It's important to arm them with the education they need to prevent somebody from taking advantage of them," said Petraeus "It's easy for me to be enthusiastic about my job because it's important to help service members hold on to their money."

The purpose of the 2009 Moneywise in the Military tour is to support mission readiness in assisting military personnel and spouses in managing personal finances and improving their overall financial fitness.

Story and photo by Mark Elrod, CFAY Public Affairs


Moneywise Military Tour Executive Producer Kelvin E. Boston speaks to CFAY personnel about ways to effectively save for their futures during the Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) sponsored Moneywise seminars held at the Community Readiness Center Sept. 23 - 25.


In an effort to help personnel prepare for their futures and navigate the current economic downturn, Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC) hosted Moneywise seminars in the Community Readiness Center Sept. 23 - 25.

The Moneywise seminar, which is an extension of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television series bearing the same name, is an informative seminar aimed at preparing people for their financial futures.

“Our purpose is to help people understand how to use their resources effectively and we do that through education,” said Moneywise Military Tour Executive Producer Kelvin E. Boston, who is also the host of the PBS series. “Our focus is more on basic financial strategies that will help individuals and families increase their net worth over time.”

According to Boston, some people in the military are doing well at saving or investing for the future, yet some are not.

“What we learn from those who are doing well is they basically do three things, all the time,” said Boston. “They always try to reduce their debts; they always try to save and they all use all their military benefits. They don’t leave anything on the table.

Boston and the other speakers at the Moneywise seminars encourage military members and their families, as well as Department of Defense civilians, to systematically reduce their debt by taking advantage of the resources available to them on base.

“One of the things I suggest that people do, especially members of the military, is go down to your Fleet and Family [Support Center], go down to your community resources center and make an appointment with a financial counselor,” said Young America’s Financial Coach Peter Bielagus, who was a guest speaker at the seminars. “In the civilian world you can do that [but] it’s going to cost you somewhere between $100 and $350 an hour. [However] in the military world, it’s completely free of charge and they can take you step by step through a financial plan.”

According to Boston, one thing that some financially successful military members do is make a commitment to save just 25 to 50 percent of their annual pay raise.

“That way it doesn’t impact the family’s current income… that’s how they increase their savings,” he said. “Sometimes they put it in their Thrift Savings Plan, some times they put it in a credit union, but just by doing that, it helps them increase their net worth over time.”

In addition to the programs offered through FFSC, military benefits play an important role in helping people secure themselves financially.

“Right now we can’t talk enough about the G.I. [Bill] benefit, about the V.A. (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs) mortgage… and also about the pension benefit that military members have,” said Boston “Those three, if used effectively, can help families.”

The path to financial security lies in having the tools to pave the road to success and empowering individuals with those tools is the main goal of the Moneywise seminars. However, simply having the tools and knowledge is not enough. It takes motivation.

“Don’t kid yourself that there is going to be a good and convenient time to focus on your financial life,” said Bielagus. “So many people do; they say once I get back from overseas, once I finish my deployment, once I get my next pay raise, once I get through this divorce… then it will be a good time to focus on my financial life. I’m hear to remind everybody that’s not true. There is never going to be a good time. So, you might as well get started today.”