Episodes

64% of veterans will leave initial first post-military job in the first two years! Repeat guest Kate Horrell joins us again to discuss her thought-provoking post on this topic . Of course there are always outliers and unique ...

As an optimzer, Jamie was concerned about how to perfect his family's GI Bill strategy. In the middle of a discussion (after we wrapped up last week's podcast recording with Daniel), we hit record for this non-standard format...

How to teach your military kids about healthy and positive money habits, set expectations for college, use the GI Bill, and leverage 529s and other investment accounts for your military family. With today's guest, Daniel Kopp...

Making your money more focused on your future expenses, goals, and desires. We were inspired by the updates to the YNAB method to share these powerful questions and help your family become more intentional and proactive. Main...

"What's the mission for this money?" "Wealth is what you DON'T see." "Go find something you're really excited about." "Contributions, Conversion, Characterization." "It's OK to follow your curiosity!" This episode is full of ...

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 do...

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 ...

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...

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 l...

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 credi...

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 ...

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...

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 eve...

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 ...

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 Thin...

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 ex...

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 & Questio...

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, explaini...

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 Syste...

"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 approa...

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 ...

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 ti...

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 ...

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...