MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT, San Diego -- The Personnel Financial Fit-ness Brown Bag Lunch Seminar was held Jan. 19, aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. Several people attended, eager to further their understanding of financial management.
“I came to this class to better prepare myself for the future,” said Capt. Glen A. Ankrah, Co. B, Recruit Training Regiment executive officer, 1st Recruit Training Battalion.
The Marine and Family Service Center here hosts classes on personal finances every month. Classes are open to all depot personnel, and their families, and are limited to the first 50 people who register.
Before the class began, attendees received a folder full of financial information and a schedule of future classes from Michael A. McIsaac, personal financial manager, Marine Corps Community Services. The Marine and Family Service Center began class discussing the services they offer, from seminars to monthly brown bag lunches, or visiting McIsaac for financial advice.
“I’ve heard a lot of people say good things about the instructor and thought I’d benefit from listening to someone that is retired from the Marine Corps,” said Ankrah.
McIsaac retired with 30 years of service, has been the personal financial manager since Feb. 2000 here, teaching many different types of financial classes. The one he taught Jan. 19 was to help attendees understand that regardless of the amount of money people earn, they can still save and plan for the future.
“If there is only one thing people get from attending his class, it’s that they should spend no more than their earned paycheck,” said McIsaac. “If you start small and think big, then you will be successful.” he said. The key isn’t how much money you save, it’s starting a savings account and getting in the habit of saving,” he said.
Before one can save, he needs to get out of, and stay out of debt, said McIsaac. After he builds an emergency fund, he should start short-term goals and follow with long-term goals. “Plans make things go smoother,” said McIsaac, “Plan for what you want, and work towards it.”
“It’s good to get a (financial) refresher, and always good to learn more,” said 1st Sgt. Darryl Rush, company first sergeant, Special Training Company, Support Bn.
Educating yourself on basic financial information will help people make better decisions, said McIsaac. He cautions that someone can fool a personinto making a purchase that isn’t realistic for his income, making him fall into debt just because he was not educated on the basics of being money savvy.
“I hope the class attendees get the motivation to go out and get something started going for themselves,” said McIsaac. “The more information you have, the better decisions you can make for yourself and your family. My goal is to motivate, educate, and inform people so they can make the decisions that lead to a better quality of life.”