Space A travel is one of our favorite retiree benefits! It’s the military version of ultimate travel hacking. Although most of the system is run by the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command, the Navy has a few of its own Space A passenger terminals. When you know how to use the AMC Space A system, you can level up your ...
A reader writes: "Nords, I’m an avid reader of your website and love your Reddit replies. I’m active duty with 14 years of service. I’m saving a considerable amount of my paycheck and investing in dividend growth stocks with a portfolio that yields about 3.5%. I can retire at 20 years or try for one more ...
2018 was quite the turbulent year for the financial independence crowd, and it’s just going to get busier in 2019. Let me cover a few highlights from last year and then give a personal update. I’m here to reassure you that financial independence is sustainable and life is good. At the end of the post, I’ll share a ...
Short bonus post today: the runup to the Pro Bowl continues. Thursday's pre-game event was "Marine For A Day" up at Kaneohe. I can't show it any better than this NFL player getting to try on a set of explosive ordnance disposal gear: NFL #ProBowl players get to experience a day in the life of a Marine on base ...
We're ramping up to Sunday's Pro Bowl tailgater-- and, oh yeah, the football game. Those of you who know me well are probably smirking as you read: Nords at the Pro Bowl?!? I know, "pearls before swine." For the rest of you, here's a confession: I hardly watch TV, I no longer follow football rankings or ...
If you're at the Pro Bowl events next week, please stop by and say hello. I'm the 5'10" 190-pound middle-aged balding ponytailed surfer dude who'll probably be wearing sunglasses, surf shorts, & t-shirt. And SPF50 sunscreen in the middle of winter because, you know, Hawaii. Brought to you by... Most of the ...
We came home from our second trip of the year in late November. Financial independence gives us the flexibility and time to travel as much or as little as we want, and we spent nearly half of 2015 away from Oahu. In this post, I'll answer the usual reader questions about where we went and what we did, but people ...
Earlier this year my spouse and I spent three months in Spain visiting our daughter. (She's stationed on a guided missile destroyer in Rota.) It was the longest trip I've taken since a 1991 submarine deployment. We roamed all over Andalusia and took hundreds of photos (no selfies!). We really enjoy slow travel and ...
As I'm writing this post (four weeks before you're reading it) we've been in Spain for over a month. Here are a few facts about our trip: My spouse and I are financially independent. I've been retired for 13 years, and I'm now 54 years old. We're empty-nesters again (for the first time in over 22 years). In ...
We've been enjoying life in Andalusia for the last six weeks. My spouse and I have been financially independent for nearly 15 years and now we're in our early 50s. When I retired from the military in 2002, our daughter was nine years old and we spent much of the next decade on parenting. We enjoyed the usual family ...
The Mainland weather is getting warmer and most of you seem to be thawing out. I wouldn't torture you with this post in January, but now that spring has sprung it seems to be a good time to answer the urgent financial independence question that I get several times a month: "Hey, Nords: what should we see & do in ...
Does living in the States just cost too much? Creating a comfortable lifestyle in the States can be costly. The nation’s cable bills including Internet, phone and TV run an average of $160 a month. According to the IRS, in 2013 it cost 56.5 cents per mile to own and operate a car. So if you and your spouse each ...
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