Money talks to Barksdale Airmen

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Alexandra M. Longfellow
  • 2d Bomb Wing Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  Barksdale Airmen will have the opportunity to listen to Peter Bielagus, Young America's Financial Coach, from 1-3 p.m. Feb. 25 at Hoban Hall.

The speech is mandatory for all active- duty Airmen ages 18 to 26 and other base personnel are highly encouraged to attend.

Mr. Bielagus travels the country and shares his financial tips in workshops and seminars. He makes more than 100 presentations a year to high school and college students as well as various military members.

According to Mr. Bielagus's Web site, www.peterbspeaks.com, there are many reasons why it is important to teach personal finance to young adults. Additionally, more than 1 million personal bankruptcies are filed each year and about 100,000 of those are by people under the age of 25.

According to the Airmen and Family Readiness Center staff, they have seen less than a dozen bankruptcy cases in the last three years at Barksdale.

"Most bankruptcy cases occur with divorced Airmen between the ages of 26 and 35," said Clark Millar, 2d Force Support Squadron, A&FRC financial specialist.

The website also states very few schools require courses on personal finance, and this lack of education makes students a prime target for financial companies.

"The financial world is getting more and more complicated and woe to those who don't keep up," said Mr. Bielagus. "Thirty years ago, one could not borrow more than 80 percent of a home's value. Now lenders will loan you over 100 percent of the value of the home.

"Credit reports once enjoyed the fairness of human evaluation," he said. "Now credit reports are all electronic and the computers don't care about your personal problems. In short, it is tougher now to have good credit. What's worse, the credit reports are being pulled by the most unlikely people, most notably employers, using them as a character judgment tool."

The A&FRC offers a free budgeting class, Finance 101, for Airmen and their spouses. The class is held the second Wednesday of every month. It offers a budget plan and counselors will make recommendations for the attendees.

"Ultimately it is the Airmen's choice for where their money goes," said Mr. Millar. "We can't make them stop spending money they do not have or start a savings account, but we are here to help them."

For more information on managing finances, call the A&FRC at 456-8400.