The Military Money Manual Podcast

Military servicemembers and their spouse can get annual fees waived on personal cards from top banks such as American Express and Chase! Today's episode covers: What's the big deal about these cards? Why are they good? How does this waiver thing work? What order should I open my cards in? How far can I take this? Is it going to be complicated? How can I learn more about credit card strategies? Rem...

The 2025 Air Force pilot bonus is out!  This episode is specifically for USAF pilots (or anyone else oddly interested in the numbers). There are also bonuses for CSOs/Navs, RPA pilots, and ABMs, although we focus specifically on the pilot bonus. There are a few types of bonus money available this year for those who UPT ADSC expires in FY25, FY26, or FY27. You can get a preferential assignment, a f...

Money doesn't have to cause stress. It doesn't have to be complex. It doesn't have to require a lot of time to build wealth. Learn how to simply your: Budget Bills Investment Tracking Links: Money for Couples podcast w/ Ramit Sethi LADS Philosophy, episode #158 Money Scripts episode #82 w/ Daniel Kopp YNAB app  Monarch money For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one  Military Money Mentor...

Low-cost, Automatic, Diversified, Simple (LADS). Consistent, automatic savings poured into my simple and diversified index funds at low costs have been the cornerstone of my successful investment portfolio. Low-cost: Select low-cost index funds with low-cost expense ratios. All of the funds in the TSP meet these criteria and many Vanguard funds do as well. Automatic: Set up automatic contributions...

Protect your credit, protect your identity, and keep your money safe online. You can easily freeze your credit with each of the 3 credit bureaus to ensure no one can open accounts in your name. You don't need to pay for credit monitoring service in most cases or pay to know your credit score. It's very simple and easy to quickly unfreeze your credit before applying for a new credit card or mortgag...

Roth is the way to go for almost all military families. Because of the unusually low taxable income military families have (since allowances like BAH and BAS aren't taxable income),  we're going to take a hard stance on this one and show the benefits for Roth: You can always access your Roth contributions tax free and penalty free (can help with gap fund, emergencies, first house purchase, etc) Al...

Dissect your money stories, the traditions you've adapted from culture and your family of orgin to understand WHY you make the money decisions you make each month? What are money stories you tell yourself? Money is _____. Why do you value what you value? Why do I think ____ about money Does this belief still serve me? Links: Our podcast episode on Rewriting your Money Scripts with Daniel Kopp (Ep...

Merry Christmas from the entire Military Money Manual team! What a year... We hit 250,000+ total downloads this year. Not bad for two pilots who didn't know how to podcast when we started. We're looking forward to helping everyone with their military money next year.

Spencer and Jamie explain how to maximize TSP contributions under the Blended Retirement System (BRS), including calculating monthly contribution percentages and avoiding common mistakes that could result in missing matching funds. They break down the 2025 contribution limits and discuss strategies for both BRS and legacy retirement system participants. Here's the TSP BRS maximizing chart . Questi...

Biggest financial lessons from The Alamanc of Naval Ravikant 3 biggest decisions: where you live, who you're with, and what you do Does money make you happy? How to get rich Outsourcing 3 way to retire Cultivating wisdom Things money can't buy Links:  The Almanack of Naval Ravikant on Amazon Don't buy a house on active duty (episode #134) Money mindset podcast episode #148 For a limited time, Spen...

Tax advantages, confusing tax brackets, marginal vs effective tax rates, and more! Spencer and Jamie discuss how military service members benefit from unique tax advantages, including untaxed allowances and combat zone tax exclusions. They also break down real examples of effective tax rates for different ranks and locations, explain tax brackets, and discuss investment implications, particularly...

Spencer and Jamie address a listener question about where to save money for a house down payment, which leads to a broader discussion about short-term savings strategies based on different time horizons. Main Topics & Questions Covered: Where to save money for a house down payment How to handle proceeds from a home sale while waiting to buy another property When to keep money in cash vs. when to i...

2025 contribution limits are out!  In this episode, Spencer and Jamie discuss the newly announced IRS contribution limits for retirement accounts in 2025. They break down the changes for 401(k), TSP, and IRA accounts, explaining the limits for both standard and catch-up contributions, while also highlighting an important opportunity for military families with non-working spouses. What are the new...

Do you still get a pension under the BRS? YES! We can't believe this myth and misinformation is still spreading around the military. Spencer and Jamie break down the three components of the military's Blended Retirement System (BRS) and address common misconceptions. They explain how the pension calculation works, discuss TSP matching benefits, and detail continuation pay options across different...

"I'll always be broke." "I can't build wealth with this salary." "I'm just a spender- I can't help it." In this episode, Jamie and Spencer discuss how adopting a growth mindset versus a fixed mindset can transform your approach to personal finance. Drawing from Carol Dweck's book "Mindset: The New Psychology of Success," they explore how changing your perspective from "I'm not good with money" to...

This may surprise you! Want to experience an easier and simplified strategy for military credit cards? That's fine! We'd ask "why" you don't want more, but in today's episode we share which cards we'd recommend for listeners who reach out wanting smaller numbers.  Links: Ultimate Military Credit Cards course (free) Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR) Amex Gold Card Amex Platinum Amex Hilton Aspire Amex P...

A new benefit for military families! How good is it? In fall of 2024, SecDef announced a new Healthcare Flexible Spending Account (HCFSA) for military families. In March 2025, you'll be able to sign up for it for the first time. It may give you a minor tax savings but also may complicate your situation a little. We break down the details of this pre-tax benefit, explaining how it works, who's elig...

Did you know Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) will be a factor in your future that you may not be tracking?  If you have any traditional TSP or IRA money, you'll be required to take a portion of that money starting at 73 (as of 2024, scheduled to go up to 75), and that distribution will be taxable income. This can affect how to withdraw from accounts in retirement and how you decide to contri...

How do you finance the life between possible early retirment and 59.5 years old when you can access you retirement accounts? A gap fund is one common approach. Today we discuss: What is a gap fund? Is it necessary? Where does it fall in priority order when saving for early retirement? How do you invest a gap fund? For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one  Military Money Coaching sessions...

Dependent care flexible spending account- is it even worth your time? (note: this is different than the HEALTHCARE FSA which was announced in Sept 2024- we have an episode coming out on that in a few weeks) Open season is coming up in mid-November to mid-December!  For a limited time, Spencer is offering one-on-one Military Money Coaching  sessions! Get your personal military money and investing q...

In this mailbag episode, Spencer and Jamie answer various listener questions about investing, credit cards, and military-specific financial topics. They provide insights on compound growth, TSP options, Roth vs. Traditional accounts, credit card strategies, and investment return estimates. Questions discussed: - Is there a benefit to combining multiple investment accounts? - Should I move out of T...

$85,000 in debt and a brand new truck to a wealthy and generous life?! In this episode, Air Force officer Garrison shares his financial journey from $85,000 in debt to working towards financial independence. He discusses following Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps , buying a home in the military, running a crash pad rental business, and helping his Airmen with financial education. Spencer and Jamie explore...

The May 2024 Military Family Financial Readiness study from Armed Forces Bank highlighted unique financial challenges military families faces due to the nature of their service. Today, Spencer and Jamie are joined by Tom McLean and Jodi Vickery, hosts of the Militarily Speaking podcast , join us to discuss the financial challenges military families face, identifying good banking product, avoiding...

Enlisted Airmen with half a million dollars invested?! Meet Darren Thedieck, US Air Force E-7 who was recently featured by CNBC . and Stripes . We talk very practical tips with Darren about how he learned to save, where he saves, speicific ETFs we like, and handling his family's journey from debt to financial independence. How to handle debt Where to park my savings? How much am I actually paid? (...

What's the point of building wealth if you're not healthy enough to enjoy it? Today, Spencer and Jamie explore the connection between physical health and financial health. Although this is a slight diversion from our money-focused podcast, we want to encourage you to keep both portions of wellness in balance as you grow towards a wealthy life that you can enjoy. Links mentioned in today's show: Th...