MILMO Show

October 26 is Day of the Deployed, a day to recognize the service members who have deployed or are currently deployed and the families supporting them back home. Having experienced deployments myself, I know there's a lot that happens during that time that people don't always see. Life keeps moving, unexpected things happen, and families find ways to manage it all while they're apart.

In this episode, I'm doing something a little different to recognize Day of the Deployed. I talked with four military spouses about their experiences, the challenges and unexpected moments they've faced, and what deployment has taught them about family, community, and supporting one another. Each has a different story, but together they offer a look at what deployment really means for military families.

You'll hear from Christine Fallon, a Navy veteran, Accredited Financial Counselor, and active duty military spouse who's experienced 10 deployments; Carol Pittner, a Navy veteran, active-duty military spouse, and personal finance professional; Tonya Skelly, who grew up in an Air Force family, married a career Army officer, and spent 35 years working with children and families; and Laura Voyles, an active-duty Army spouse of 16 years who works with soldiers and families on wellness, resilience, and family readiness. You can find more about each of them and links to connect in the show notes.

For information on all our guests today, visit the show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/what-deployment-means-for-military-families

Military life has a way of changing your career plans, especially when you're the spouse. Between moves, deployments, and raising a family, it's easy for your own goals and interests to take a back seat. But finding your way back to those things can open up opportunities you never expected.

In this episode, I'm talking with Jessica Cunningham, the military spouse behind the social media brand CAPT + Jess, which she built with her husband, retired Navy SEAL Brian Cunningham. We talk about how a simple video turned into a business, finding your identity outside of military life, and why military spouses shouldn't undervalue their skills.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/social-media-strategy-military-spouses

Social media can create opportunities to make money, grow a business, and build a personal brand, but that doesn't mean you need a massive following or should start chasing brand deals right away. In fact, sometimes focusing too much on monetizing can get in the way of building the trust and community that make those opportunities possible in the first place.

In this episode, Kendall Mariah and I talk about how she built her social media following, what she thinks people get wrong about becoming a content creator, and how to know when you're actually ready for brand deals. We also get into practical ways military spouses can use social media to support a business, what brands are looking for, and why your follower count may not matter nearly as much as you think.

Kendall is an author, content creator, entrepreneur, and military spouse who has built an audience across social media while using it to support bigger goals in her work and life. We recorded this conversation live on Podcast Row at the Military Influencer Conference, so you'll hear some of the conference happening around us in the background as we talk.

For more information, visit the full show notes at https://milmo.co/podcast/build-social-media-following-business

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