Military Money Manual Podcast

• "What's the mission for this money?"
• "Wealth is what you DON'T see."
• "Go find something you're really excited about."
• "Contributions, Conversion, Characterization."
• "It's OK to follow your curiosity!"

This episode is full of gems of wisdom from ALF. Some major questions include:

• Do political changes adjust my investing strategy?
• How do I fight against the pull to get a car that's more expensive?
• What's a backdoor Roth IRA? Who needs to do it?
• Is there an income limit for Roth TSP contributions?
• Do I need to make quarterly estimated tax payments?
• Any advice for career changes after the military?
• How do I find a fulfilling career after the military?

Links we mentioned today:

• MQFP (Military Qualified Financial Planner)
• MilMoneyCon (next event is May 15-17, 2025 in San Antonio)
• Our previous episode w/ ALF on Survivor Benefit Program (#89)
• Erik Baskin's newsletter
• Personal Finance Club post about performance during Presidents
• Daniel Kopp's Military to Financial Planner podcast
• Military Financial Advisors Assocation (MFAA)
• Winged Wealth blog post on Risk
• Brian O'Neill on LinkedIn
• WingedWealth.com

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

Military servicemembers and their spouse can get annual fees waived on personal cards from top banks such as American Express and Chase!

Today's episode covers:

• What's the big deal about these cards? Why are they good?
• How does this waiver thing work?
• What order should I open my cards in?
• How far can I take this? Is it going to be complicated?
• How can I learn more about credit card strategies?

Remember, NO credit cards if you're already in credit card debt, living paycheck-to-paycheck, or struggling to make ends meet. This is a more advanced personal finance benefit.

Links:

• Free Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course
• Military Lending Act (MLA) explained
  • How to check the MLA database
• Credit card strategy podcast episode
• Amex family language changes episode
• Past epsiodes on:
  • Amex Platinum
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Hilton Aspire
  • Bonvoy Brilliant
• Military Money Manual card recommendations and benefits posts

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

The 2025 Air Force pilot bonus is out!

This episode is specifically for USAF pilots (or anyone else oddly interested in the numbers). There are also bonuses for CSOs/Navs, RPA pilots, and ABMs, although we focus specifically on the pilot bonus.

There are a few types of bonus money available this year for those who UPT ADSC expires in FY25, FY26, or FY27. You can get a preferential assignment, a financial bonus, or both! We'll discuss the legacy bonus (ADSC expiringing in FY25), the demo program bonus (ADSC expiring in FY26 or FY27), and the contract expired bonus (ADSC expired before FY25, never took a bonus, or ADSC from taking a bonus earlier is done.)

Refer the official PSDM on MyVector (CAC required) for full details and source document guidance.

Links:

• Jamie's article on the pilot bonus
• Podcast episode from 2022 Pilot Bonus (#34)
• Military Bonus and Windfall episode (#32)

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

Money doesn't have to cause stress. It doesn't have to be complex. It doesn't have to require a lot of time to build wealth. Learn how to simply your:

• Budget
• Bills
• Investment
• Tracking

Links:

• Money for Couples podcast w/ Ramit Sethi
• LADS Philosophy, episode #158
• Money Scripts episode #82 w/ Daniel Kopp
• YNAB app
• Monarch money

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

Low-cost, Automatic, Diversified, Simple (LADS). Consistent, automatic savings poured into my simple and diversified index funds at low costs have been the cornerstone of my successful investment portfolio.

Low-cost: Select low-cost index funds with low-cost expense ratios. All of the funds in the TSP meet these criteria and many Vanguard funds do as well.

Automatic: Set up automatic contributions from your military paycheck to your TSP. Then, set up automatic withdrawals from your checking account to your IRA. Invest monthly or after every paycheck. If you receive a lump sum payment, like a bonus, invest it as soon as possible.

Diversified: Don't buy one company's stock. Buy stocks from many companies through index funds.

Simple: Never invest in anything you don't understand. If you can't explain it to a five-year-old, it's too complicated. Buy income-producing assets like stocks, bonds, and real estate.

Links:

• Military Money Manual book (promo code "podcast" for discount)
• Our favorite financial independence books blog post
  • Random Walk Down Wall Street
  • Little Book of Common Sense Investing
  • Simple Path to Wealth
  • Psychology of Money
• SPIVA Scorecard from S&P Global
• Chart to show how much to invest to max your TSP this year
• Projection Lab (military discount)
• Jack Bogle's post on stock market vs funds vs investor returns
• Military Financial Advisors Assocation (MFAA)
• Nectarine (military discount)

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

Protect your credit, protect your identity, and keep your money safe online. You can easily freeze your credit with each of the 3 credit bureaus to ensure no one can open accounts in your name. You don't need to pay for credit monitoring service in most cases or pay to know your credit score.

It's very simple and easy to quickly unfreeze your credit before applying for a new credit card or mortgage.

Also use unique passwords, stored securely and two-factor authentication (preferably on an Authenticator app over receiving a text code) for all your accounts.

Active duty alerts on your credit report is NOT as helpful as actually freezing your credit.

Links:

• Annual Credit Report (free report, no cost, no catch)
• Freeze your credit w/ Experian
• Freeze your credit w/ TransUnion
• Freeze your credit w/ Equifax

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

Roth is the way to go for almost all military families. Because of the unusually low taxable income military families have (since allowances like BAH and BAS aren't taxable income), we're going to take a hard stance on this one and show the benefits for Roth:

• You can always access your Roth contributions tax free and penalty free (can help with gap fund, emergencies, first house purchase, etc)
• All of the money you'll have in your Roth IRA or Roth TSP will be non-taxed upon withdrawal at retirement age (no big tax bombs or complicated strategies required)
• No taxable RMDs as you age
• No taxable RMDs for whomever receives the Roth account after your pass, in most cases (big win for your beneficiaries)
• No concern about future tax rate, tax laws, or tax bracket changes

Remember, almost all of the million+ you'll have in retirement accounts as you age will be GROWTH- and that's not taxed.

In a few cases (mil-to-mil senior officers, high income families, complicated tax situations, extreme FI/RE types, etc.) traditional may be better for you. As you get more advanced and learn more about personal finance, you can make the decision. If unsure, go Roth!

*Not financial advice. Do your own research and make your own, informed decisions.

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

Dissect your money stories, the traditions you've adapted from culture and your family of orgin to understand WHY you make the money decisions you make each month?

• What are money stories you tell yourself?
• Money is _____.
• Why do you value what you value?
• Why do I think ____ about money
• Does this belief still serve me?

Links:

• Our podcast episode on Rewriting your Money Scripts with Daniel Kopp (Ep 82)
• Brad Klontz's Money Script Test
• Useful Not True book by Derek Sivers

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.

Merry Christmas from the entire Military Money Manual team!

What a year... We hit 250,000+ total downloads this year. Not bad for two pilots who didn't know how to podcast when we started.

We're looking forward to helping everyone with their military money next year.

Spencer and Jamie explain how to maximize TSP contributions under the Blended Retirement System (BRS), including calculating monthly contribution percentages and avoiding common mistakes that could result in missing matching funds. They break down the 2025 contribution limits and discuss strategies for both BRS and legacy retirement system participants.

Here's the TSP BRS maximizing chart.

Questions discussed:

• What are the TSP contribution limits for 2025?
• How do Roth TSP and Roth IRA limits differ?
• How should you calculate monthly TSP contributions under BRS?
• What happens if you front-load TSP contributions under BRS?
• How do you handle mid-year pay increases?
• What should you do if you over-contribute?
• How do you adjust contributions if starting later in the year?

Resources mentioned:

• MilitaryMoneyManual.com/tsp
• TSP.gov
• MyPay
• r/MilitaryFinance subreddit
• Military Money Manual Instagram (@militarymoneymanual)
• TSP contribution calculator/chart on MilitaryMoneyManual.com
• NDAA 2025 proposed pay increases
• Blended Retirement System (BRS) overview

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Mentor sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call.

Our new TSP course is live! Check out the Confident TSP Investing course at militarymoneymanual.com/tsp to learn all about the Thrift Savings Plan and strategies for growing your wealth while in the military. Use promo code "podcast24" for $50 off. Plus, for every course sold, we'll donate one course to an E-4 or below- for FREE!

If you have a question you would like us to answer on the podcast, please reach out on instagram.com/militarymoneymanual or email [email protected].

If you want to maximize your military paycheck, check out Spencer's 5 star rated book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom on Amazon or at shop.militarymoneymanual.com.

I also offer a 100% free course on military travel hacking and getting annual fee waived credit cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card in my Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

Learn how to get your annual fees waived on premium credit cards from American Express in the Ultimate Military Credit Cards Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3.

The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card waive the annual fee for active duty military servicemembers, including Guard and Reserve on active orders over 30 days. The annual fees on all personal Amex cards are also waived for military spouses married to active duty troops.