January - Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station

8 January 2007 The FlyoverMoney MattersVisualize a wealthy future to guide financial decisions10 percent savedtoday equals finacialsecurity in retirementBy 911th Family Support OfficeIn America we often look atbuilding things from the foundationup. In other cultures they look attheir vision and find the ingredientsto reach the top. Budgeting, andlittle debt are foundation items to“avoid” problems. Visualizing awealthy future will help guide yourdecisions.One of the ancients’ keys towealth building is not only to avoid“bad debt,” like today’s revolvingcredit accounts, but also to live onless then you earn.Today we have far moreopportunities to get a return on ourinvestments then the ancients did.For example in the twentieth centurycompound interest was “invented”which allows us to obtain interest onthe interest we earn. According toAlbert Einstein that was the greatestinvention of our last century.If you set aside 10 percent ofyour income for savings andinvestment, you are likely to havea chance at great wealth if youhave enough years to accumulatecompounded interest. Here’s anexample of how it works: A 19year old male plans to retire at age65. His goal is to have a milliondollars. If he earns a 10 percentreturn compounded over time heneeds to only invest $2,000 per yearin a tax deferred IRA for eightyears to achieve that goal. On theother hand, a 27 year-old whoinvests $2000 per year until age 65would only have a little over$800,000 accumulated.Both of the above scenarios arepositive ones compared with thechoices many Americans make asthey mortgage their futures byheavy debt and a lack of savingsor investing. As Reservist the ThriftSavings program is an easy tounderstand road to take to investing.Try their website at: http://www.tsp.gov/ and learn more aboutyour options.Charles E. Kelly CommissaryOakdale, Pa.724-693-2463PROMOTIONSAirman Antonio Y. CaroAirman Timothy R. WoodyAirman Matthew O. WolfeAirman 1st ClassBrett A. SchuringSenior Airman Emily R. HeimSenior Airman Melanie A. VilkTech. Sgt. Chris B. Stotler