Military Money Manual Podcast

Listener Brian joins us today to share how he used annual-fee waived credit cards to save about $6,000 on his honeymoon by saving big on his flights and hotel.

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

Big take-aways:

• If you're expecting a big expense, open a new credit card like we recommend to easily meet your minimum spend requirements for your welcome offer
• The perfect military travel redemption can be hard to do unless you have a very flexible schedule
• How to research big redemptions and balance hotels vs flight redemption options including using transferable points to partner airlines

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

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 rewards cards 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.

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.

New officer's guide to personal finance! In this episode, Spencer and Jamie share all the financial advice they'd share with a new officer in their unit. You CAN become rich on active duty as a military officer!

If you're an enlisted servicemember, go check out episode #131 covering all the personal finance advice for an enlisted member.

Topics include:

• Career starter loans
• Tracking your expenses
• Balancing enjoying your new life with keeping expenses down
• Buy a car (use the lemon lot to look for a ~$10,000 used car)
• Focus on easy plans to focus on learning your job and being the best officer you can be. Learning to be an officer and do your job well is your #1 priority for now.
• Emergency funds
• Picking the right bank without fees
• Starting your credit history (pay off your card every month!)
• Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
• Insurance
• Real estate investing
• Security and two-factor authentication

Total stock market index fund options Spencer mentioned:

• VTSAX at Vanguard or
• VTI (ETF version)
• FZROX at Fidelity
• SWTSX at Schwab or
• SCHB (ETF version)

Links mentioned:

• Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom by Spencer Reese
• Episode 9 on Career Starter Loans
• Monarch Money
• YNAB
• Wise

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Coaching 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.

New enlisted servicemember's guide to personal finance! In this episode, Spencer and Jamie share all the financial advice they'd share with a new enlisted troop in their unit. It is possible to accumulate and save while on active duty as an enlisted service member!

If you're an officer, go check out episode #132 covering all the personal finance advice for a new officer!

Topics include:

• Money mindset
• Banking
• Tracking spending
• Debit vs Credit
• Emergency Fund
• Keeping up with the Joneses
• Prioritizing what matters to you
• Temporary sacrifices bring long-term gain
• Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
• Roth IRAs
• SGLI and insurance
• Account security/two-factor authentication
• Why you shouldn't buy a house while on active duty

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

Links mentioned in today's show:

• The Confident TSP Investing Course (free for E-4 and below- just send us an e-mail for a promo code!)
• Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom by Spencer Reese
• Monarch Money
• YNAB
• Wise

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.

Taxes can be complicated. Military families have a number of unique concerns when thinking about their taxes- which state(s) to file in, how to withhold taxes, how a gig economy or side hustle affects the plan, how to handle rental property, etc.

Today's main points include:

• Common tax problems for military families
• Important tax implications for families with a rental property or side hustle
• Warning signs when looking at financial advisors
• Filing in multiple states
• Filing wholly on your own or wholly through a CPA are not your only options

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

Links mentioned in today's show:

• PIM Tax Services
• MFAA- Military Financial Advisors Association
• Military Tax Experts Alliance
• MQFP search
• Nectarine service for financial advisor hourly meeting
• MilTax via Military One Source
• Paul Allen on LinkedIn

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.

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

Real-estate returns, disability insurance, time-blocking techniques, and more! Erik Baskin is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Air Force veteran. He's a fee-only, fiduciary financial planner and entrepreneur. Main points:

• Separating from the military and lessons learned during the transition
• Military veteran entrepreneurship
• Knowing if real estate investing is good for you
• IUL policies- the math doesn't work out
• Why it's good to invest at all-time highs
• Holding onto too much cash

Links:

• BaskinFP.com https://www.baskinfp.com/
• BLUFfinance Podcast https://www.baskinfp.com/podcast
• Personal Finance Club Detailed Review of IUL Math https://www.personalfinanceclub.com/is-iul-a-scam-yes/
• Just Keep Buying book by Nick Maggiulli https://www.amazon.com/Just-Keep-Buying-Proven-wealth/dp/0857199250
• Erik Baskin on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikbaskin/

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.

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

Confused about continuation pay? Join the club. Unfortunately, too many servicemembers and their leaders are confused about the continuation pay benefit in the BRS. In today's episode with Brandon Lovingier, ChFC®, MQFP® aka The Enlisted Money Guy™, we share all you need to know to understand the benefit.

For active duty, it's currently:

• 2.5 times your monthly base pay in either a lump sum or up to 4 equal, annual payments.

For example, a monthly base pay of $4,252 x 2.5 = $10,630 bonus or $8,684 monthly base pay x 2.5 = $21,710 bonus (pre-tax)

Other important points from the episode:

• When am I eligible for continuation pay?
• Does it come automatically?
• Does the program vary by service?
• How does the payment come to me?
• Does it reduce my pension?
• What is the service commitment after taking the bonus?
• Does it impact my eligibility for other bonuses like a re-enlistment bonus or aviation bonus?

Links discussed:

• EnlistedMoney.com http://enlistedmoney.com/
• Brandon's Continuation Pay article https://enlistedmoney.com/continuation-pay-benefits/
• Air Force link (CAC restricted)
• Financial Readiness flyer on Continuation Pay https://finred.usalearning.gov/assets/downloads/FINRED-ContinuationPay-FS.pdf
• EnlistedMoneyGuy on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/enlistedmoneyguy/

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.

For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Coaching sessions! Get your personal military money and investing questions answered in a confidential coaching call! 12% annualized return in my TSP?? Take an inside look at Spencer's actual TSP numbers to show exactly how quickly your account can grow once you start contributing to your TSP and then eventually maxing it out. Spencer and Jamie both got off to a slow start and didn't max out their TSP accounts right away. But now, compounding interest is taking off and the future is looking bright. It's ok to not max it out right away. You don't need to get it right every time, every year. Find a strategy that works, back-test your plan, and contribute automatically. Bottom line- investing in the TSP is a long-term win for you! PortfolioVisualizer.com https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/ Compound Interest Calculator on Investor.gov https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator A Random Walk Down Wall Street book https://www.amazon.com/Random-Walk-Down-Wall-Street/dp/0393330338 The Little Book of Common Sense Investing https://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Common-Sense-Investing/dp/0470102101 The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins https://jlcollinsnh.com/books/ Personal Finance Club's chart of average stock market returns https://www.personalfinanceclub.com/heres-why-the-sp-500-doesnt-return-10-per-year/

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're an E-4 or below, e-mail us at [email protected], and we'll send you a promo code to use for a FREE course.

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.

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

You can easily explore flight upgrades on your TDY travel flights. It's 100% legitimate and in line with government regulations and JTR. After using government contract flights and booking on your GTC in DTS, you can check your upgrade options. On this flight, Jamie was able to see United upgrades on an 8-hour flight for only 20,000 United miles or ~$1300 each way. He was able to transfer credit card points instantly to his United account. 40,000 points for round trip, lie-flight, first class experience is a great redemption! You can easily earn well over 40,000 points with the welcome offer of just ONE annual-fee waived credit cards for military servicemembers AND their spouse. Remember, you can EACH get your OWN account and each enjoy the benefits.

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.

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

Finance advise doesn't have to be confusing and depressing. Most of the "financial advisors" are actual salesmen. (Check out the 4 types of financial advisors.) So how does a military family find good help? Well Jeremy Schneider of Personal Finance Club (@personalfinanceclub on Instagram), Shane, and Vivi, the minds behind Personal Finance Club, have a new product called Nectarine. Nectarine provides one hour, no strings attached appointments with advisors for a flat fee- no subscription costs or recurring charges. You can book one hour and stop, or schedule more time. And one of our favorite parts about it- they even have a military filter to help you find an advisor that understands the unique challenges of military life. At certain times in your life, getting some professional help could literally change the trajectory of your life. The 2 Rules of Jeremy's Personal Finance Club:

• Spend less than you make
• Invest early and often

(This is not an ad or paid episode- we're just fans of what the Nectarine team is doing.)

Links:

helloNectarine.com Nectarine on Instagram Personal Finance Club on Instagram Our podcast episode #57 where we talked with Jeremy Schneider Military Financial Advisors Association (MFAA) Our podcast episode with Sean Gillespie about MFAA Personal Finance Club's courses (use code "militarymoney" for $20 off!) - How to Money Like a Millionaire - Build Wealth by Investing in Index Funds

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.

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

How to maximize your GI Bill, save using 529 accounts, and explore the Yellow Ribbon program? Kate Horrell tells us all about it in this episode where we discuss:

• 529s are more flexible than most people realize (transfer to other family member, transfer $35,000 to a Roth IRA, other uses than just college)
• Scholarship awards allow you to take money out of the 529 (up to the amount of the scholarship)
• No one's ever been mad about having too much money saved in a 529
• In general, you can buy into a 529 from any state (doesn't have to be your state of legal residence or where you child may go to college one day)
• 529 Prepaid Plans are also available but not as good of a fit for most families
• When might you have "enough" saved for college?
• Yellow Ribbon program only applies to a semester where you're using GI Bill benefits. You can't use Yellow Ribbon benefits without using the GI Bill.

Remember, you can't be great at the big financial decisions like college if you've never done it before. Ways to prepare for college decisions:

1. Transfer your GI bill as soon as you can
2. Evaluate which benefits are tied to an individual and which can be transferred around
3. Look for scholarships
4. Consider a 529 for your children after your basic needs are met
5. Research Yellow Ribbon program options
6. Consider working with Kate for 1-on-1 coaching the maximize your college options

Links:

• KateHorrell.com
• Kate's Military Family's Confidently Prepared Life Binder
• Yellow Ribbon program
• Find a participating school for Yellow Ribbon program
• Coaching with Kate Horrell

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.