One way or another, you will leave military service, and your finances will change when you do. 

In this episode, I talk to Clay Stackhouse, about how you can prepare your finances long before you leave the military. 

Clay Stackhouse is a Regional Outreach Manager at Navy Federal. Clay previously served in the Marines for 25 years, having been a Navy Federal member for 34 years. He is passionate about interacting with military families on all things personal finance.

Clay shares tips on when to start preparing your finances to leave the military, the things you should not do, and how to keep your finances strong long after you leave the military.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/finances-for-leaving-the-military/

There are two ways you can increase your financial situation. Make more or spend less. Geoartbigae is a way to reduce your living costs and make your income go further. Have you heard of it?

If not, in this episode, Stephanie Montague shares her knowledge and tips geoarbitrage. She explains what it is, who it’s for, and how it works best.  

Stephanie is the founder and President of Poppin' Smoke, a website dedicated to helping members of the military community take advantage of their travel-related benefits. She has been traveling and living abroad with her husband since his Army retirement in 2015. They fly Space-A on military aircraft and use military facilities worldwide. Before her life of travel, Stephanie was a management consultant and marketing professional.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/geoarbitrage/

Managing your money goes beyond spending less than you make and saving money. You also want to get the most out of every dollar you work your butt off for. Using tax advantage accounts is one way to squeeze the most out of your money. But how do you know where to put which dollar? 

In this episode, I talk with Sean Mullaney about picking the best tax basket for your different types of assets. 

Sean is a financial planner and CPA licensed in California and Virginia. He operates a solo financial planning firm in California. He blogs about the intersection of tax and financial independence at fitaxguy.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/best-tax-basket/

What you do right now can have a positive impact for your future self. The planning and actions you take now can mean a better retirement for you and your family. But what should you be doing and when?

In this episode, I talk with my friend and fellow podcaster, Wes Moss, about habits you can practice right now to become a happy retiree.

Wes Moss is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, managing partner and chief investment strategist at Capital Investment Advisors, an Atlanta-based RIA with $4 billion in assets under management. He’s the host of Retire Sooner, a nationally recognized podcast dedicated to helping 1,000,000 people retire sooner. Moss hosts Money Matters, the country’s longest-running weekly call-in financial show on 95.5 WSB Atlanta’s News and Talk. In addition to What the Happiest Retirees Know, Moss is the author of three other books, including 2014’s bestselling You Can Retire Sooner Than You Think. Moss served as the financial columnist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution for over a decade, is editor of WesMoss.com; and is a frequent resource for journalists across all mediums.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/happy-retiree/

Investing is for the future, but you’re still spending your money. We invest in funds but do you really know what you’re investing in or how it works? When you’re putting money on it, it’s good to know how your dollars are being invested.

In this episode, I talk with Julie Cane about how we can better be aware of how we are investing our dollars.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/knowing-what-youre-investing-in/

You all know, I’m a big fan of free financial help. It’s a major benefit service members receive while on active duty and in retirement. It’s also a benefit available to their family members. Just like anything in life, sometimes the information isn’t relayed correctly. 

In this episode, I talk with Lieutenant General (retired) Raymond V. Mason, the director of Army Emergency Relief, about some of the misconceptions about military aid societies and the resources AER provides. 

General Mason became the ninth Director of Army Emergency Relief on 1 January 2017. General Mason retired from the United States Army in October 2014, after serving 35 years on active duty, the last 12 as a General Officer. Following retirement, General Mason joined VT Systems in Alexandria, VA, as the Chief Operating Officer. VTS is a US-based company with global commercial and government/military-focused capabilities in Aerospace, Shipbuilding, Ground Systems, and Electronics; including over 5,000 employees and $1.2B in annual revenue.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/military-emergency-relief/

November is Veteran’s Appreciate Month. It’s a whole month to support the veteran community. A special part of this month is veteran business week. In honor of the special week. I want to talk about some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned in business in hope it will help other veterans and military spouses in the entrepreneurship journey. I also reached out to some past Military Money Show guests and asked them all:

1. What is the biggest mistake you've made in business that you learned the most from? 2. What is the best decision you've ever made in business?

In this episode, I share their responses and my top 10 business lessons.

So you have a TSP account that you’re putting money into each month. Now what? Deciding what to put your money into can feel like an overwhelming decision.

In this episode, I talk with Patrick Elliott about strategies you can use to invest in your Thrift Savings Plan.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/tsp-investment-strategies/

Separating or retiring from the military is a big undertaking that encompasses your world. It causes many shifts in your life, from finances to location to your identity. It’s a lot for one person or family to take on alone. Getting a helping hand can go a long way to ensuring a successful transition out of the military.

In this episode, Jodi Vickery breaks down the Partnership for Your Success program, how it can help with your transition out of the military, and how the Armed Forces Bank is assisting.

Jodi is the Executive Vice President and Director of Military Consumer Lending at the Armed Forces Bank. She is also a military spouse with over 23 years of experience serving the military community in the consumer finance industry. In addition to her professional career, Jodi has been recognized as the Volunteer of the Year for the U.S. Army’s Kansas City Recruiting Battalion and USAREC 5th Brigade.

Jodi shares more about their strategic partnership and how it allows serving Armed Forces members to serve their country while they prepare for their future.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/beyond-transition-assistance/

It’s still happening. Inflation is high. In fact, it’s at a 40-year high and impacting service members and their families in a big way. With the increase in inflation comes an increase in interest rates, making people feel it from groceries to cars and homes they buy.

In this episode, corporate economist Robert Frick is back to give an update on the state of the economy and how you can take steps to protect yourself from high inflation. 

Robert is Navy Federal’s corporate economist. In addition to economics, Bob is an expert in personal finance, having worked as an editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine for 15 years, and also an expert in behavioral economics, or the study of people’s behaviors surrounding money. In addition to Kiplinger’s, Bob was a newspaper reporter and editor for 15 years.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/high-inflation/