As you progress through your career in the Military, you can see time as your worst enemy.  Or, if you are wise and invest and save a portion of your money, time can become your best friend. There is no single subject where this is truer than retirement.  Retirement is the biggest expense that most people will ever face during their lifetime. How big an expense retirement is depends on the kind of retirement that you want. The more income you have » Read More

Military life is filled with adventure, some of which is planned, and some of which happens from unforeseen events.  Waiting for a crisis is not the best thing to do, its better to have a plan, which includes sufficient insurance for those events, you can prepare for but never plan for. It is a good idea to understand what is available to you as a military serviceperson. All military Servicemembers are eligible for group life insurance through the Serviceman’s Group Life Insurance program, or SGLI. » Read More

Knowing what you want to have in your retirement is a necessary step in planning your nest egg. You have to know things about where you want to be, and what you want to do in your retirement, as well as details about your current situation. First, assess where you are at Today. As you start the process you should be able to answer the following four questions: -When do you want to start saving? -When do you wish to Retire? -If you start later, will » Read More

Being in the Military holds several benefits besides the monthly pay and allowances that you receive.  If you are serious about savings, investing and participation in the Thrift Savings Plan gives you a chance to save for your eventual retirement.  It gives you a chance to save a little automatically every payday. But what happens when your military career draws to a close?  When you leave the military, what will be happening to your TSP savings plan?  You need to have a plan » Read More

We are a nation of consumers, and as such we are often caught up in the “bigger is better” syndrome, or feel a nagging compulsion to own the best and brightest gadget as soon as it comes out.  As a Servicemember you know the allure.  Knowing this, it is easy to make some generalized predictions about the spending for the average American.  In the spirit of this, here are some stereotypical projections or predictions: Credit- One prediction that is easy to » Read More

You can design a plan to work out your finances just like you design a workout to make your body stronger.  Both benefit from having a clear plan, a gradual build up, a workout period, and a cool down.  Here are some specific steps you can take to build your own “Financial Workout:” The Burn to Earn Hour Workout: Preparation- Ten Minutes: Write down everything you spend money on for a month.  Don’t evaluate it, just write it on a slip of paper, or » Read More

As a Servicemember you receive several types of pay.  An allotment is simply the act of taking money out of your paycheck and giving it to someone else. This process is not unique to the military, but it is in the military that it has that term affixed to it.  Two types of allotments exist, Non Discretionary, and discretionary.  Discretionary simply means it is done voluntarily and is up to the Servicemember.  Non-Discretionary is when the Servicemember has little or no choice in the matter.  A » Read More

Teaching our children that they are valuable members of the family is an important step to helping them growing up.  One of these steps is helping children learn sound and good money management skills.  It is a skill best learned when kids are young, and when the consequences are small than when a child is older and the cost is large.  Teaching the value of money and how to budget, to plan for expenditures, and how to save are very » Read More

You can compare getting out of debt to going on a diet.  We all know that food is good for us.  But TOO much food is really, really a negative thing.  It’s similar to debt.  Everyone has to carry some debt, unless you have a very rich uncle or are related to royalty.  Even then, most people have to finance something, or borrow something during some or all of their adult lives.  But if you have debt that is out » Read More

The holidays can put a damper on anyone, especially trying to make sense of it all financially.  There are parties, gifts and then events that are held that you are “expected” to attend. Secret Santa gift exchanges, the list of financial drains on the average person is huge.  There are gifts you received last year that you know you should buy for that person this year.  Then along comes the New Year, and an expensive night out.  By the time » Read More