Photo By Spc. Ethan Valetski | Pvt. Sergio Ramirez, a mechanic at I Corps on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, ponders...... read more read more
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Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. – The anxiety is setting in. You’re sweating and starting to get nervous. The stress is starting to overwhelm you, and there is a slight feeling that you are being watched. You’re not in a horror movie right now; you’re at a car dealership.
Purchasing a car is a major investment. To make the right decision, service members and their families should do their homework before buying a car.
Fortunately, on Joint Base Lewis-McChord and online, there are a number of outlets and websites to assist service members with the car-buying process.
One resource readily available to service members, their family members, retirees, and Department of Defense civilians, is the JBLM Armed Forces Community Service.
“Were here to help our Soldiers and their family members sustain a healthy lifestyle,” said AFCS Financial Readiness Program Manager, Donna Gotel.
She said counselors can assist service members via one-on-one meetings and through regularly-scheduled classes.
With AFCS’s financial readiness counselors, Soldiers can get help creating budgets and have their credit scores pulled for free without penalty.
“If service members can come to one of our financial counselors, we can break it down for them,” said Gotel. “We’ll create a budget by looking at their leave and earning statement, and assess what their appropriate price-range should be.”
Gotel said there are other budget issues that must be taken care of before sealing the deal.
“Something that sneaks up on a lot of people is the insurance payment,” she said. “A new (service member) buys a new Mustang and now all of a sudden they are paying more in insurance than the actual car payment. That isn’t even including gas or various maintenance and repairs they will pay for.”
Every three months the AFCS counselors host a car buying class, with the next one scheduled Sept. 7 at the AFCS classroom on Lewis Main. Topics will include negotiating, financing, high-pressure sales tactics and common practices at dealerships.
“We want people to realize there isn’t a stigma with coming to a financial help class, and most importantly it’s free,” said Gotel.
Gotel said the AFCS offers several classes including Better Banking, Being Financially Fit, Home Buying Basics and Managing Debt & Credit.
Military.com is another resource for service members seeking car buying tips. It is designed to appeal to current and former service members with information on the special factors that come into play buying a car in the military.
According to Military.com, lenders realize that military service requires you to keep your finances in order. Service members are easy to locate, which makes it is easy to collect, and many military car-buyers are first time buyers with little experience making big financial decisions.
Further, it is recommended on the website that service members consider the unique risks that they are faced with when taking on a car loan, like an overseas deployments, or a change of duty station that can create financial stress and unique financial difficulties.
To schedule an appointment with AFCS, visit their website at http://jblmfrp.checkappointments.com/ or call their appointment line at 253-967-1453.
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2017 17:35 |
| Story ID: | 242124 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 78 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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