Saving & investing is supposed to be simple math. We've all read the advice: "Spend less than you earn." "Track your spending." "Make a budget." "Save at least 15% of your income." "Learn your investing risk tolerance." "Figure out your asset allocation." "Buy, hold, & rebalance." "Put your investments on ...
Make it rain! This guest post is brought to you by Jason Hull. “A man's respect for law and order exists in precise relationship to the size of his paycheck.” --Adam Clayton Somewhere deep down inside, I had the image of turning into the next Michael Dell. I was going to do things from my garage (well, at ...
(This essay started as a simple little e-mail response to a friend's easy question. It mutated into 4600 words, but it's still simple & easy...) A reader asks: You mentioned offhand that $10K-$30K blogging was a possibility. How would you get there? Sponsored ads? Just generating scads of traffic? There are ...
I see that Reserve retirement is a popular search term on the blog again, even more popular than financial independence or military retirement. Here are the recent top three searches: Navy Reserve retirement calculator Air Force Reserve retirement calculator Navy personnel drawdown I thought I'd learned ...
In case you've been underway on a submarine missed the news, last month a NYC police officer was photographed in the act of giving a pair of boots to a barefoot homeless man. Unfortunately, the followup reporting claims that Jeffrey Hillman is barefoot once again. Even more disturbing, it appears that he's homeless ...
A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a representative of the nonprofit organization LIFE: "As more and more Baby Boomers enter their retirement years, there are new financial concerns they need to consider as they plan the rest of their lives. One that’s often overlooked is long-term care. Nearly 70% of ...
This guest post is brought to you by George Papas. As a veteran, I have taken advantage of a number of benefits that have been a huge help to me and my family over the years. You too may be eligible for some of these benefits, so I thought I’d provide a bit more information on a few of the main ...
This guest post is brought to you by Linda Forshaw. The first thing that retiring military personnel will want to do at the end of their service is to see family and friends, meet the babies that have perhaps arrived in their absence, and probably enjoy a few drinks. The next thing ...
"Should I stay or should I go?" Yeah, I know, I can still hear that Clash hit rockin' Bancroft Hall's passageways at the Naval Academy. It "encouraged" the plebes to think about their choice to quit or stay, but the tune became my personal retention anthem for most of my career. A reader asks: I was wondering ...
(You're reading today's post while I'm starting the USAA blogger conference. Sorry, I won't be livecasting to Facebook or Twitter every 10 minutes-- I'll be paying attention to the speakers and asking good questions! I'll also try to have a conference wrapup post ready to go for Monday.) A reader asks a ...
A reader asks: "When does it make sense to make tax-exempt TSP contributions (contributions while in a combat zone)? I already max out my Roth IRA ($5,000) and hit my traditional & Roth TSP contribution limit ($17,000), but I can also contribute an additional $33,000 of tax-exempt combat ...
An Early-Retirement.org reader asks: I'm researching how much cash to set aside (likely in a money market and CDs) to weather any market downturns. I've seen everything from six years to two years. I'm considering 3-4 years for enough to weather almost any large downturn but also to not keep too ...
We're military veterans, not financial advisors. We're trying to share what we've learned and to pay it forward – but you have to make your own decisions.
What worked for us will probably work for you, but unfortunately, we can’t guarantee it. Let us know if something’s not working for you, and we’ll try to figure out a better way... Continue Reading...
Doug Nordman