One of the tropes of financial independence is the perpetual question about leaving the workforce: "But... but... but what will I do all day?!?" It's by far the most popular question. Oddly enough, it answers itself. When you're saving and investing, you're worried about decades of inflation and rising ...
A group of Army O-3s will finally be paid the pensions they've earned. However, their story is also a cautionary example of why you should be saving and investing for financial independence. Last month the Army announced that this blog helped a few officers keep their pensions. Well, sure, the press release ...
A reader asks some very good questions: "I came across your book and am interested in purchasing it, but I have a few questions. I'm an E-6. I'm married, with no children, and currently only have a retirement savings account via TSP. Is is realistic to assume that someone in my situation can read your book, apply ...
I read another good question on a Linkedin group: I am a Marine O-4 who has been passed for promotion and is looking for some advice on early retirement. I will have 17 years of active duty by the time I am eligible for the early retirement next year. I am a pilot with experience in operations and ...
Long post today: I have 2400 words of real-life examples for a reader's question. When I started thinking about a book, I wasn't writing "just another job-search manual". I wanted to talk about early retirement and frankly, I was scared of the competition from other career-transition authors. However, I get ...
"The Military Guide" blog has reached 100 posts! Thanks to everyone who's read and commented over the last eight months. I think my military skills & discipline will keep this going for another year or five, so tell your friends! On with today's post: One of my shipmates mentioned a few weeks ago that ...
This earlier post describes the SBP and its options, as well as the pros and cons of buying it for your survivors. If you landed here from a search engine or some other link then I'd recommend reading the previous two posts before proceeding with this one. Some of the references and links in this post include ...
Let me disrupt the posting schedule for a day with some additional SBP information from Monday's post. One of the book's contributors forwarded me not one but four separate SBP briefs put out by the Air Force Personnel Center. With the gracious permission of Mr. Dan McCullough, who added some clarification slides, ...
Here's the second part of a three-part post to answer the nitty-gritty details of the following question: If you're receiving a military pension, then how should you invest the rest of your portfolio? One noted economist compares an investor's portfolio against their lifetime income. Moshe Milevsky's book "Are You ...
Veterans entering the service after July 1986 are eligible to choose between two different retirement systems. The first system, High Three, offers a multiplier of 50% at 20 years of service and raises it 2.5%/year to 75% at 30 years of service. Each year after retiring, the pension is raised by a cost of living ...
Let's consider some of the details behind a military pension and its COLA. First, just like active duty pay or drill pay, the pension is paid in arrears. In this case it doesn't show up until the first of the month and it's only paid once a month. The first payment may even be delayed a week or two if the computer ...
The last post described the long-term effects of inflation and explained how a COLA pension (plus a portfolio of equities) can stay ahead. One of the issues with the COLA system is its reference: the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. Critics claim that the government manipulates the CPI to make each COLA as small as ...
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