Episodes

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...

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 com...

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 a...

$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 foll...

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 McLe...

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 sa...