HVAF
is partnering with Simons Bitzer & Associates to provide free financial literacy and skill-building classes. In March, more than 20 veterans learned the
basics of budgeting from maintaining a check book to retirement planning.
“We were excited to meet them and present
financial education on many issues including ways to avoid financial scams as
well as to balance a checkbook,” says Lisa Rollings of Simons Bitzer &
Associates.
Research shows that veterans are more likely to end up homeless not just
because of stress related to their military service but also because of poor
financial skills. A new report in the American Journal of Public Health found
that military members in general are less familiar with household budgets, more
likely to be targets for predatory lenders and “may not have the opportunity to
learn the skills necessary for being financially independent and managing
money.”
“The class was helpful in that it showed me ways to better
keep a budget by using an Excel sheet and keep track of what’s coming in and
what’s going out,” says Roy
E., 55, an Army veteran.
Rollings
says her company’s goal is to hold regular financial education classes at HVAF and keep them engaging and relevant so
that those who leave our transitional
housing are armed with the tools they need.
