MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (January 05, 2019) — Members from across the wing gathered for a lunch and learn during the unit training assembly, Jan. 5, 2019 at the 927th Air Refueling Wing Headquarters here.
Tom Valeri, a branch manager with Crediteaze Financial Services, served as the guest speaker for the lunch and learn which presented to Airmen how to better their credit so that their finances won’t hinder their opportunities for houses, cars and other purchases that require exceptional lines of credit.
Throughout lunch, members learned about managing credit, how to properly pay off debts, and how to better utilize credit.
Valeri said that there are a plethora of ways that people can get into problems with their credit, in fact just an inquiry can lower your score by a few points.
“It’s important whenever you’re going to purchase anything that requires a credit check especially cars,” Valeri said. “Always ensure that you get a soft credit check so that won’t penalize your score, if you get a hard check then you’ll likely lose points off of your score. Most people wouldn’t know that but that’s why this course is so valuable.”
Many Airmen were pleased to learn information from the course and shared how much they would like this to be offered later on.
“The course was outstanding, I felt as though I learned a lot more than before,” said Staff Sgt. Plinio Alves, 927th Mission Support Group command support staff journeyman. “Even if you have good credit or bad credit, you can still have benefit from this learning opportunity.”
The 927 ARW provides endless opportunities and outlets for service members, this lunch and learn was just another opportunity to showcase the various support and resources the wing has to offer.