Have you had the financial independence talk with your parents? (No, I don't mean the one about college costs and student loans, or the one about helping out with your down payment on your first house.) I'm talking about the one where you hope they'll talk about their health and tell you how to manage their ...
Now that the 2013 tax planning is over, let's talk about 2014. A reader asks: I think you mentioned before that you set up an IRA for your daughter. How did you account for wages and a W-2? Did she work for you or earn income from someone else? I've set up a Roth IRA for our teen for work done around the house, but ...
It's been a few months since I posted about Dad. He's still happy and healthy in the care facility, and he's a little deeper into mid-stage Alzheimer's. (In his mind, he's consulting on-site about their electrical engineering needs-- just as he did in his career for nearly 30 years. He says he's happy that they ...
A reader writes: "In my divorce decree I was awarded part of my husband's Reserve "disposable military retirement pay". My portion is 50% of the time for which we were married, and only for the Reserve points that he earned during our marriage. But the problem is not only figuring out how much I'll get in dollars ...
A reader writes: My husband was commissioned after ROTC in August 1966, placed on an educational deferment, and did not start active duty until February 1968. How many retirement points did he earn over that period and where is a regulation that addresses this? After some more questions, I learned: The time from ...
A reader writes: "If my ex husband was active duty for 10 years and 20 years Reserve and he has 5300 retirement points at the rank of O-6, how much will he receive? I will receive 50%." After exchanging more e-mail, we learned that her ex-spouse is under the Final Pay retirement system (for those starting their ...
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