MILMO Show

May is a big month for the military community. It's Military Appreciation Month, and that includes Military Spouse Appreciation Day and Mother's Day.

Military spouses are the backbone of the military community. Now, I know I'm biased, but they keep the home fires burning and households functioning through all the transitions military life includes. They're the constant in PCSing, military schools, deployments, childcare, careers, and more. For many different reasons, military spouses are often not working or are working in jobs that don't have retirement savings options through their employer.

With all the transitions and un and underemployment, retirement savings for a military spouse is often put on the backburner or, worse, not even considered. On the other side, service members are often working towards a pension, contributing to the Thrift Savings Plan, and in some cases saving in individual retirement accounts.

I want to bring military spouse retirement savings top of mind in this episode. I'll go over two ways military spouses can save for retirement.

The first MilMoneyCon is done and I'm here to tell the tale for those that couldn't make it. Here's how it went.

Show notes can be found here:

https://laceylangford.com/podcast/milmoneycon22-recap/

Past mistakes, hurt, and experiences can stay top of mind to the point we put them on replay.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. John Delony about steps you can put on repeat to create a path to well-being to improve your finances, marriages, and relationships.

Dr. John Delony is a national bestselling author, mental health and wellness expert, and host of The Dr. John Delony Show. He holds two PhDs – one in Counselor Education and Supervision and another in Higher Education Administration. Before joining Ramsey Solutions, John spent two decades working as a senior leader at multiple universities, a professor and researcher, and a crisis responder. Now as a Ramsey Personality, he teaches people how to reclaim their lives from the madness of the modern world.

Dr. John shares some awesome advice on how we can change the stories we tell ourselves, and reduce the negative self-talk to help shape a better future.

Show notes can be found here:

https://laceylangford.com/podcast/make-a-better-future/

Social Security is something we know is there but do you know what your benefits are, when you can receive them and how do you get them.

In this episode, I talk with Social Security Expert, Lizna Odhwani about the ins and outs of Social Security.

Liz is a Social Insurance Specialist at Social Security Administration. She shares the latest news on Social Security, how you can find answers to your situation, and the resource you can use.

Show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/social-security-101

There are conversations we know we need to have but often avoid them because we know they are going to be difficult. You know the convo is going to lead to a fight, or someone being hurt or even. How can you have those hard conversions in a way that is productive?

In this episode, I talk with difficult conversation experts Sheila Heen and Ivanka Diaz Canzius.

Sheila has been teaching Negotiation at Harvard Law School for more than 25 years, and now directs the Negotiation Teaching Program. She is also a Founding partner at Triad Consulting. She is a co-author of the New York Times bestsellers "Difficult Conversations, How to Discuss What Matters Most" and of "Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well."

Ivanka is an Army veteran serving for 10 years as a JAG paralegal. She is currently a Juris Doctor Candidate at Harvard Law.

Sheila and Invaka talk about what difficult conversions are made up of, how to have them, mistakes to avoid, and how to have the hard conversions when you really don't want to try anymore.

Show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/difficult-money-conversations

Taxes deductions are probably on your mind. You want as many as you can get but which ones can you take. And what deductions should military families know about?

In this episode, I talk with military spouse, Sarah Bumgardner, the Member Benefits Coordinator with AAFMAA. We talk about tax deductions and ways military families can be prepared with their taxes.

Sarah previously served AAFMAA as a Senior Veterans Affairs Coordinator, SpouseLink ambassador, and as a Relationship Manager for AAFMAA Wealth Management and Trust.

Sho notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/tax-deductions-for-military-families

Careers paths aren't always straight and easy to navigate. In fact, for many veterans and military spouses, they're almost always filled with curves or are ones you have to carve along the way. That's the case for my guest, Alex Hopkin.

Alex Hopkin, is an Accredited Financial Counselor®, Certified Financial Planner®, and is the founder of Simply Paraplanner, a job board website connecting financial planning firms with virtual hires across the country.

Alex will be the opening keynote speaker at the first-ever MilMoneyCon April 21-23 in Cary NC. I can't wait for her to share her message with fellow military financial professionals.

In this episode, Alex shares how she got her start as a financial professional, and the impacts being a military spouse had on her career. She also shares a little sneak peek into her keynote speech next month.

The show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/creating-your-career

I'm super stoked for this episode today. I'm sharing the latest and greatest details on MilMoneyCon22.

If you haven't heard, I'm putting on a conference for financial professionals that are united by military service. It's happening April 21-23 at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Raleigh Durham Research Triangle in Cary, NC. And although it's nerve-wracking doing something new, I know amazing things are going to come out of everyone coming together so that is my focus—bringing the military and money professionals together.

In this episode, I'm going to give you all the latest details about MilMoneyCon and what everyone can expect: the schedule, speakers, events, and more.

For tickets, hotel information, speakers bios, and more, visit https://milmoneycon.com

Show notes can be found here: https://laceylangford.com/podcast/milmoneycon22

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/