MILMO Show

Sometimes the goal of saving and investing isn't just to have more money later. It's to give yourself more choices along the way like leaving the military when you want, taking work sabbaticals, changing careers, or focusing on your health and your family.

In this episode, David Robinson and I talk about financial independence, mini retirements, and how to know when you may have enough financial flexibility to make a change. We also get into one of the biggest concerns around leaving the military or stepping away from traditional employment, healthcare.

David is a former Navy submariner and financial planner who works with people considering early retirement, sabbaticals, and other major career changes. We also talk about his own experience with burnout and mental health while serving, and why building financial freedom became about much more than retiring early.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/financial-independence-career-options

We have more financial information available to us than ever before, yet knowing what to do and actually doing it are two different things. And with so much attention on financial independence and retiring early, better known as F.I.R.E., it's worth talking about what financial freedom really means and what it takes to get there.

In this episode, Paula Pant and I talk about what sparked her own financial journey, why people struggle to make good financial decisions, what people get right and wrong about F.I.R.E., and the everyday actions that can help us build financial success. We also have a little fun with a would-you-rather question that involves giving up some serious privacy.

The host of the Afford Anything Podcast, an award-winning show with more than 45 million downloads. She is also the founder of Afford Anything, a personal finance brand with over 75,000 newsletter subscribers. She co-stars in the Netflix movie "Get Smart with Money," on which she was a consulting producer.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/smarter-money-decisions

There's a big difference between knowing what an interest rate is and knowing what to do when someone puts a credit card application in front of you. The same goes for budgeting, investing, choosing a career, or deciding whether you can really afford something.

In this episode, Serenity Coats and I talk about what financial literacy should actually look like for young people, where schools may be falling short, and how parents, educators, and communities can help kids build real-world money skills. We also get into teaching kids about spending, investing, career choices, and extracurricular costs.

Serenity is an Accredited Financial Counselor and National Certified Counselor with more than two decades of experience in education, counseling, military family advocacy, and training. Her work has focused heavily on helping students and military families get the support and education they need to succeed.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/what-kids-need-to-know-about-money

It's my birthday episode, so I handed the microphone over to my longtime friend and fellow podcaster Joe Crane, host of Veteran On the Move, and let him interview me.

Joe and I have known each other for years through podcasting, entrepreneurship, and the military community, so he came prepared with questions.

We talk about what I'm cheap about (and didn't realize), what I'm willing to spend money on, how entrepreneurship has changed the way I think about money, and some of the patterns I've noticed after more than 400 episodes of this show.

Joe is taking over the MILMO Show, and I'm answering the questions.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/handed-over-the-mic-for-my-birthday

Leaving the military doesn't always go according to plan. You may think you know what your next career will look like, only to have an opportunity, a setback, or a major life change send you in a completely different direction.

In this episode, I talk with Army veteran and Chick-fil-A Operator Jon Harmeling about his unexpected path out of the military, the five-year process that eventually led him to running a restaurant, and what he has learned about leading a civilian team. We also talk about how he is using AI to take repetitive administrative work off his plate, freeing up time to focus on his people.

Jon is a West Point graduate who deployed to Afghanistan and later returned to West Point as an instructor in the Department of Systems Engineering. Today, he leads a team of nearly 90 people at his Chick-fil-A restaurant in Miami Shores and speaks about AI, leadership, and how businesses with hourly teams can use technology without losing the human side of the work.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/army-veteran-chick-fil-a-operator

Going through a medical board can be confusing, and it's happening at a time when you may already be dealing with health issues and an unexpected change to your military career. On top of that, there are two disability ratings, different rules for medical retirement versus medical separation, and benefits that can depend on the details of your situation.

In this episode, Heather Walrath and I talk about the Integrated Disability Evaluation System, how the VA and DoD ratings work, and what the difference between medical retirement and medical separation can mean for your pay, health care, and survivor benefits. We also talk about questions to ask along the way and how to make sure the information you're getting is accurate.

Heather is an Accredited Financial Counselor, Financial Educator, and Military Benefits Liaison with Navy Mutual who has spent years helping military families understand complex benefits. She brings a lot of practical knowledge to a process that can be difficult to navigate, especially when there's a lot riding on the decisions you make.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/military-medical-retirement

There are more tools, apps, services, advisors, and now AI options than ever before that can help you manage your money. On the surface, that sounds great. The problem is that all the convenience can make it easy to become disconnected from your own finances and start relying on someone or something else to manage your money for you.

That matters because even if you're paying for help, using a free military resource, or letting technology handle part of the work, you're still responsible for what happens with your money. You own the outcome. If you're not paying attention, asking questions, and understanding what's going on, you can end up giving away more control than you plan on.

In episode 402, I'm talking about the difference between getting help with your money and completely checking out of the process.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/whos-really-managing-your-money

There are some expenses that are really easy to question. You look at the charge and think, why did I spend money on that?

But spending money on your kids is different. It's easy to justify because you're doing something for them. You want them to be happy and have what they need. You don't want them to feel left out. Sometimes, you just want to say yes and be the fun parent. But all those yeses can add up.

In this episode, I want to talk about finding the balance between spending money on things that make your kids happy and protecting the financial priorities that take care of your entire family.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/back-to-school-spending

Military and veteran benefits can have a major impact on your finances, but finding them is not always easy. The information is spread across federal agencies, states, counties, and different programs, which means you may qualify for something without ever realizing it exists.

In this episode, Jackson Jerdee and I talk about why he created Benefitry, an app designed to help members of the military community identify benefits they may qualify for. We also discuss some of the benefits people commonly overlook, how the app keeps track of changing information, and why even longtime veterans may want to take another look at what is available to them.

Jackson is an Air Force veteran who is the founder of Benefitry. He came up with the idea while navigating his own separation. He saw firsthand how many veterans and military families miss out on benefits they earned. His mission is to make sure no one who served leaves behind what they earned.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/military-veteran-benefits

Four hundred episodes is hard for me to take in fully. I'm proud of reaching this milestone. I love this show, I love the people I get to talk to, and I love helping the military community. But reaching 400 episodes has also made me realize how much more I want to do. What I have now isn't something I would have imagined when I began. I have a show I care deeply about, a community I am honored to serve, and the opportunity to talk with people every week who are generous enough to share their knowledge, experiences, and stories.

In this episode, I'm sharing some of the biggest lessons the MILMO Show has taught me about money, success, business, military life, and what it means to keep going and growing.