It's that time of year again: Congress is debating the annual federal budget proposals. My e-mail and social media have exploded with outraged commentary on the proposals to overhaul the military retirement system and to get rid of Tricare Prime. How does that affect your retirement? How does that affect your ...
Question: I have a total of 5 tattoos that fall below my right elbow. My Commander determined that my tattoos are not in compliance with AR 670-1, 3-3c(2). I've been counseled, and I understand that I've been grandfathered (which I'm extremely grateful for). Prior to the release of the new policy, I was preparing ...
Is the Army Air Force Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA), Career Assistance Program Loan (CAP) worth it? I’m going to have to say YES! Back in the day as a young Staff Sergeant I needed some extra cash during a tough financial period. I was introduced to AAFMAA by a fellow Soldier. He informed me that AAFMAA offered an ...
The two biggest obstacles to financial independence are inflation and healthcare -- yet military veterans and retirees seem to have more options for dealing with inflation. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act gives the American medical system a strong incentive to reduce expenses. The military Tricare ...
Members of the Military are charged not only with protecting their country, but their families as well. A life insurance policy helps do this by providing financial stability in case of an unforeseen tragedy. However, military life insurance policies are much different from civilian policies. Civilian life insurance ...
A reader writes: My ex-spouse has in the divorce decree that they're the sole beneficiary from my VGLI. Do you know if I can get another policy under the VGLI for my new family? The answer is complicated because there are so many limits on how much VGLI coverage you can have and when you can buy it. Please keep in ...
(Mahalo nui loa to alert reader "Ben" for providing the resources and links to this post!) Americans are concerned about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Those of us with military experience and heading toward financial independence are even more concerned about military benefits. How will the ACA ...
A reader asks: I will be retiring from the Reserves later this year and reaching age 60 a month after that. Which Tricare will I be under? Will it cost me anything? I am still employed in a civilian job with a city that offers Blue Cross insurance. I also have an HSA-- will this work with Tricare when I retire? ...
[As this post goes live, Tropical Storm Flossie is approaching the Hawaii islands. It's borderline hurricane strength, and despite that wussy dental name it's still going to dump 6-10 inches of rain on us. It's quite possible that Oahu electricity & Internet will go out. My tiny little share of a Bluehost server ...
Lahaina, Maui You know you want some of this... --> I haven't been doing many linkfest posts on financial independence, but some interesting news and events have piled up over the last few weeks. Instead of trickling them out one post at a time, I'll summarize them here and turn you over to the sources. ...
I've been a healthcare "past due" delinquent since April. Even worse, I risked losing our family's health insurance due to a bureaucratic glitch. It wasn't my bureaucratic glitch, but we would've been without health insurance. One of the most common concerns among retirees is "But... but what will I do all ...
A reader asks: What do you know about the 40 mile rule for Tricare Prime? Does it look like that circle will continue to shrink? Since a main reason we moved to our retirement location was for health care, I am concerned that the circle will force all of us to Tricare Standard. What is the word? Great question. This ...
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 
Curtez 
The Military Guide