Service members separating and retiring from the military face a unique set of financial challenges. Challenges that can have lasting financial ramifications unless you prepare for them.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ann James about the financial challenges veterans face, how you can better prepare for them before you get out, and resources you can use now.

Dr. Ann James is a fellow Air Force veteran, Accredited Financial Counselor, and podcaster. She’s the founder and CEO of Financial Freedom Battle Buddies, with the mission to educate and equip military service women and veterans to renew their mindset, regain control over their behavior, and reclaim confidence in their ability to manage money so that they can live life freely.

Show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/financial-issues-veterans

Making money as a military spouse is a mission in itself. We all know milspouse un and underemployment takes its toll on a military family’s budget. To tackle the challenge many milspouses are thinking outside the box to create their own earning power. My guests did just a thing but on a big scale.

In this episode, I talk with Lisa Bradley and Cameron Cruse the founders of the uber-successful handbag company, R. Riveter about creating income through entrepreneurship. Saying they’re a handbag company is an understatement of their brand. Cameron and Lisa not only created a company to solve their own income and employment struggles, but they also created a company that helps hundreds of other milspouses earn a living wherever the military sends them.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/r-riveter/

Do you know a millionaire? If you said no, you’re probably wrong. According to a 2021 report by Credit Suisse, there are almost 22 million millionaires in the U.S. That means you probably know a millionaire or two and they may even be in your neighborhood.

In this episode, I’m talking with Brian O'Neill, CFP and Air Force veteran about the actions you can take to start working towards millionaire and financial independence status.

Brian retired in 2020 after 23 years of flying the F-16, F-35, and commanding up to the Group level.

Brian began the path to become a CFP mid-career and started his firm in January 2021. As a fee-only fiduciary, Brian’s focus is on military pilots but helps families across the military and veteran community.

He is part of the VA's Beneficiary Financial Counseling Services program and works with survivor families as well.

Separate from his firm, Brian moderates a private Facebook group called "Fighter Pilot Finance" with over 1,000 members.

Brian will also be speaking at MilMoneyCon in April.

Show notes can be found here:

https://laceylangford.com/podcast/military-millionaire-next-door/

For most of us, buying a home is the single biggest spend we’ll ever make. Buying a house costs a lot of money but do you know how much the house you’re buying really costs?

In this episode, Danetha Doe shares some of the costs that come with homeownership that you’re probably not aware of until you’ve signed on the dotted line.

Danetha is a writer and financial wellness educator for Clever. Clever’s expert advice, reviews of service providers, and data-driven research help more than 12 million readers make smarter real estate decisions each year.

Danetha is also the creator of Money & Mimosas, a wealth education company for folks that move to the beat of their own drum.

Show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/costs-of-homeownership/

Taxes can be intimidating. There’s a lot to understand. There are different types of income incomes to consider, different deductions, credits and a whole bunch more.

In this episode, we talk about what you should know about the Advance Child Tax Credit. How it’s different from the Child Tax Credit, the impacts of advance payments, what divorced couples should know, and how to plan and get help with your taxes.

My guest, Jerry Zeigler is a 20 year US Navy submarine veteran and a military spouse, who has experienced both sides of deployments. Jerry completed his MBA, is an Accredited Financial Counselor®, and an Enrolled Agent. He was a 2010 FINRA Foundation Military Spouse Fellow. As the owner of JZ Financial management, he provides virtual tax preparation, tax consulting, and financial counseling. Jerry is also a member of the Better Financial Counseling Network. Jerry is a SaverLife Tax Coach and who has authored several articles about taxes for them. SaverLife is a non-profit with the mission to create prosperity for working families by helping them save and invest in their futures. They do this by encouragement and gamification.

Jerry gives us all a heads up on the Advance payments for the Child Tax Credit so we can be prepared.

Show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/advanced-child-tax-credit/

Blindly managing money isn’t a good idea. Being mindful of your money can help you make smart financial choices, reduce stress, and reach your goals.

In this episode, I talk with Tyson Koska about why having a mindful financial plan is important, how you can become more mindful and tools and resources to help.

Tyson is an Army veteran where he served as a helicopter pilot. He is the founder of OnTrajectory, a personal finance planning tool for individuals and professionals. After separating from the military, Tysons used his GI Bill to pursue his Bachelor's and Masters degrees and then spent the next 25 years in software development, working for large corporations in banking and insurance. Now Tyson is bringing easy-to-use and accurate financial modeling to the masses with OnTrajectory.

Tyson shares a lot of great advice on the power of being mindful and creating a plan that’s adaptable with software.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/mindful-money-plan/

Life is going to happen. And when it does, there’s usually a financial ramifications for it. When you know challenges and opportunities are going to come up in life, how do you keep your finances flexible enough to adapt to those times?

In this episode, my guest, Anne Lester talks about ways you can develop and sustain financial flexibility to keep your spending, saving, and investing on track during those times.

Anne is a keynote speaker and moderator that helps Millennials and GenZs save smart and retire happy.

Anne spent 20 years as Head of Retirement Solutions for JPMorgan Asset Management. Her media coverage includes CNBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, NYT, and Barron’s which featured Anne on their cover. With AARP, Anne co-founded Aspen Leadership Forum on Retirement Savings to find breakthroughs to the far-reaching problem of inadequate savings.

The show notes can be found here:

https://laceylangford.com/podcast/financial-flexibility/

Teaching money skills is something many people can do. That’s what this episode is about, how to teach money skills to your family and community and the resources you can use to do it.

My guest today, Rhonda Ashburn shares how military families can teach their children and communities about personal finance, tips to get your family interested in learning personal finance, and how their education curriculum can help.

Rhonda is a milspouse who leads the American Financial Services Association Education Foundation (AFSAEF). Their mission is to educate consumers of all ages on personal finance concepts and help them realize the benefits of responsible money management through their free financial literacy education curriculum MoneySKILL. To date, nearly 1.3 million users have enrolled in the program, comprised of 37 different modules.

Show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/teaching-money-skills/

There’s more to real estate investing than you think. Did you know you can invest in mobile homes? I didn’t. In this episode, we talk about what mobile home investing is and how to invest in them.

My guest, Rachel Hernandez is an author, Air Force milspouse, and real estate investor. As a former business-to-business sales executive for various Fortune 500 corporations, Rachel has extensive training in the area of sales and marketing. With over a decade of experience, she spent several years as a landlord before taking the leap to specialize in mobile home investing. She’s the author of Adventures in Mobile Homes: How I Got Started in Mobile Home Investing and How You Can Too! and the Real Estate Investing Sucks series of books.

Rachel breaks down what investing in mobile homes looks like, how it’s different from traditional real estate investing, and tips on how to get started.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/invest-in-mobile-homes

Your financial plan and money management can’t be a carbon copy of what your neighbor or your best friend is doing. They aren’t you, it’s not your life. The plan you create and practice needs to be centered around your life and your realities to be successful. Even if you do that, there are going to be some mistakes along the way. We all make them. How you plan and approach your money makes all the difference. A little humor goes a long way when things get serious. The military community knows better than anyone else about finding the funny in frustrating situations.

In this episode, my guest Joe Saul-Sehy shares advice on modernizing your money management in a way that works with your goals and real life.

Joe is the creator and co-host of the Stacking Benjamins podcast and co-author of STACKED: Your Super-Serious Guide To Modern Money Management. He’s a former financial advisor and represented American Express and Ameriprise in the media.

The show notes can be found here:

https://laceylangford.com/podcast/money-planning-and-practices/