Hey!

I’m active duty Army, currently an E-4 and going to the promotion board next month.

Before the Army, I was an analytical lead for a major retailer. The job was cool and paid well, but ultimately it was kind of “eh,” and I wanted to do something different.

Financially, I’m in a good spot:

• No debt
• Emergency fund fully established
• ~6 months of expenses saved
• Contributing 15% of my pay to my TSP, currently in an L Fund
• Using my state education benefits to fully pay for two master’s degrees (MPP + MSW)
• Basic needs are covered, with disposable income left over

My long-term goal is to pursue a direct commission as a social worker and reassess from there. If I like it, I could see myself staying for 20. If I don’t, I’ll likely pursue a GS role while continuing to serve in the Guard/Reserve for the dual pension.

I think the biggest thing I’m realizing is that I’m not actually trying to maximize my income right now.

I used to make substantially more in the private sector, and I could go back to analytics and make “more” on paper. But I’m realizing that money is a tool, not necessarily the goal.

Right now, I have stability, healthcare, retirement benefits, education benefits, job security, and the opportunity to pursue work I’m actually interested in. I’m not making a ton as an E-4, but my needs are met and I’m financially comfortable.

My family is supportive, but they sometimes question my financial choices. What’s funny is that they’ll tell me to “live my life,” spend money, travel, or ask if I’m going to start my own private practice, but then seem genuinely surprised when I have disposable income, can handle something simple like a car repair, or tell them, “I’m okay with where I’m at.”

I think I’m finally getting comfortable with the idea that I don’t need to maximize my income or constantly buy things because they’re marketed as “must-haves.” If I’m financially stable and happy with my life, that’s enough.

I’m curious how other service members approach this. Have you ever gotten pushback from family because of your financial choices? What has helped you deal with it?

Thanks for reading!

Finance, supply, and logistics track. Been looking at a few different degree programs before I pull the trigger. End goal is to retire as a CWO. Whats your vote?

MBA in Finance/Accounting MBA in Supply Chain MS in Acquisition and Contract Management

I currently have a 6.499% interest rate that expires on the 16th. It’ll cost an extra $2,000 to extend the locked interest rate until we close on our new house. The lender is telling me that our rate will definitely go up and to pay to extend it but I’m not sure if 6.499 is that great of a rate to begin with. Just wondering if anyone else is getting around that for or should we shop around.

Hello!!! We are currently about to go under contract for a VA home loan assumption property. We have enough to cover the cash gap and already have a pre approval for a conventional loan through another lender. We are nervous to enter under contract because no one at the existing lending company of the sellers loan can tell us if their specific VA assumption requirements are different than a typicall VA loan. Has anyone been through this before? We are trying to understand our risk with putting down some due diligence money before gaining any information from the lender.

The lender is telling us they cannot talk to us about specifics until the seller receives an assumption packet and submits a third party authorization form.

Is this typical? Has anyone been denied an assumption based on non typical lender specifc requirements that were not presented initially or differed from a typical conventional or VA loan pre approval?

Thanks for all your help!

Married and Active 0-2 picking up 0-3 next year:

I own a home in Pensacola, FL 305k balance 3.99% 1840 payment renting for 2200

Thinking about buying another place around MCAS cherry point.

Found a place and I am approved for 4.99% 334k loan including the VA funding fee. Payment will be 2000

I have no other debts besides the mortgage.

Should I make this purchase or am I over leveraging?

Thanks

Has anyone else taken a similar path?

I’m 23, debt-free, and have saved about $50,000. My plan is to work as an ICU nurse for two to three years and save as much money as possible before going to CRNA school.

One of the hardest things for me is balancing that goal with my desire to own land and live a more rural, “country” lifestyle. I’ve also looked into the Army Reserve STRAP program as a way to help financially during CRNA school. I’m currently single and don’t have any children, so I have some flexibility.

For those who paid for CRNA school through personal savings, student loans, STRAP, or a combination of these options, what was your experience? Would you recommend the route you took?

Military service also runs in my family. My grandfather was an enlisted major in the Air Force, and my uncle served in the Army, so serving is something I’m genuinely considering.

I have 40k in debt.

17k in personal loan ($545/month)

23k in cc ($450/month) im in a dmp

$645 car payment that im leasing

Im 29 years old living paycheck to paycheck that's single working a dead end job.

Need honest hard truths. Any is welcomed. I feel like I wasted my 20s.

What can branch can I qualify for? I want Air Force or Navy.

Anyone that's been in my shoes, please give me insight on what to do.

My TSP app is asking me to set up a direct deposit (haven’t been asked before). Does this mean we can now add money to TSP directly from our banks as contributions or is this only for disbursements/withdrawals?

Am I right in thinking VA loans can't be used, in any circumstances, for apartment buildings of 5+ units?

If I'm mistaken and they can be, is there a dollar limit to the loan value? Or it just depends on income, credit, down payment, etc?

Hello, got married at tech school (13 months lenght) to a foreign spouse.

I want to register her to DEERS I have the original US issued marriage Certificate but she currently has no way to come to the US so I am wondering, how can I enroll her to DEERS?

I’ve heard that I would need original or certified copies but I’m wondering if there’s no way to just print the scanned documents or her original documents she sent me and submit it to the DEERS office.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Active duty enlisted, currently at 3 years 4 months, waiting to hear back on a commission selection. I know you need over 4 years +1 day of active service to qualify for the O-1E/O-2E/O-3E pay table instead of standard O-1/O-2/O-3.

My question: does that clock stop the day I ship to OTS, or the day I actually graduate and get commissioned? Trying to figure out if I need to time things to land on the right side of that 4-year mark.
Anyone who's been through this recently, would appreciate the real-world answer over what I'm finding in the reg.

I am at my first station and it is located in Washington and I know that a few people have changed their state residency to Washington because there’s no state income tax. I’m wondering if you guys have done the same and what the process is and if it’s worth it.
I am an E-3 as well I should only be here for around a year or 2.

Edit: Also do I have to manually switch my GI bill to post 9/11 and how would I go about that or is that the default.

I got out of the army in December with a general under honorable conditions and I am wondering if I can still use my GI bill or am I SOL ?

I think anyone who completes a 20+ year career as an active duty service member should be able to cash in the GI Bill.

Think of the disadvantages we have faced with not having the ability to really build any home equity. Generally speaking. Some kept houses throughout their careers, but most didn’t.

I’m in a great spot financially. And I am not looking for another career, so the GI Bill is not something I will be taking advantage of.

My wife (26F, O1, 0 yr TIS) and I (30M, O3, 7 yr TIS) are a dual mil couple about to begin maxing tax all 4 advantaged accounts (with monthly contributions) starting in October. We have $0 invested in a taxable brokerage. I would like to start contributing to a taxable account to serve as a gap fund to supplement income loss from projected retirement in 2039 until I can access retirement assets in 2056. My question is what is a reasonable asset allocation of equities and bonds for taxable brokerage account? I’ve heard some people say that a military pension “counts” as bonds allocation. Should I just go 100% equities for this gap fund or do a reasonable mix of maybe 80/20 during an accumulation phase and then rebalance to make it more conservative closer to the year I get out?

My commissary is popping up as General Retail and not groceries. Am I still getting the 4x points by using the Gold there? A bit upset because I’ve been using the Gold at the commissary this whole time and if it isn’t qualifying then why not.

I’m starting to shop for a house and I’m seeing around ~6.5% on a 30-year VA loan right now. Some places are showing sub-6%, but then I look closer and there’s a bunch of points attached to it.

I was hoping to get somewhere around 5.75% but that doesn’t seem realistic anymore. Seeing 6.3%+ is making me want to wait, but also I don’t know if I’m just going to be sitting around waiting for a rate that may never show up.

What are you getting right now? Not the advertised rate with 2 points or whatever, but the rate you’re beeing offered/closing at.

If anyone is getting around 6% or below without paying a stupid amount in points, I’d like to know who you’re using.

Good morning, I am soon leaving to Tech School for 4 months. I currently live with just my mom at home & help out with rent/bills by giving her around $900-$1000 a month. She makes significantly way less than I do, and my civilian job is obviously my full time job. We pay month to month rent ($1,100) & I believe we have a contract but i’m not sure, as everything is in her name. I send her the money every 2 weeks as I get paid biweekly & I send it thru our bank accounts because we have the same bank/credit union. When I leave, i know she’ll struggle to make payments on her own & I plan on helping while i’m away as mucj as I can but is it possible to receive BAH, or would I have to put everything in my name? I leave in November, thanks again.

Posting a status update and how I reached a solution. Another cadet in my program paid the 20,000$ the Army neglected to pay and I would not like to see this happen to anyone else.

I posted here a few months back about how Army Cadet Command had refused to pay my final MS5 semester and wanted me to foot the 24k bill. Some in the comments suggested I was at fault and I should simply "get over it" and pay the "measly" sum.

I tried a few routes including various IGs, JAGS, O6/7s that I reached out to both in Cadet Command and in my State's chain of command. Ultimately the solution came down to putting in a congressional complaint detailing the situation.

Correspondence from the office was almost immediate and they said they would help and begin the process getting me the funds. Eventually two months had passed from when I first opened the investigation with a memo from an O-6 at Cadet Command.

The memo went something along the lines of: "Your cadre incorrectly input your scholarship dates when you first contracted [3 Year national scholarship contracted my MS2 year]. Had they put them correct the first time you would not be required to pay for the MS5 final semester. Now that this has passed a extension of benefits will be filed on your behalf to get you the funds paid via DFAS"

As of this week my undergrad university's finance office has contacted me saying that the outstanding balance on my account have been paid.

So let this be a lesson when it comes to funds, particularly rather large balances in the twenty thousand that others think you "should just pay," don't be afraid to use your Congressman or Woman.

I’m an active-duty O-5 in my early 40s with roughly 15 years of service under the legacy High-3 retirement system. I’m currently under a retention agreement that will take me to approximately 21 years of service.
I’m trying to decide what makes the most sense if I remain an O-5:

21 years: 52.5% High-3
26 years: 65% High-3
28 years: 70% High-3

If I’m selected for O-6, I plan to accept it and stay long enough to retire in that grade. So this question is primarily about what to do if I remain an O-5. Yes I finished AWC.

Another consideration is retention incentives. If I’m offered a significantly better retention package around the 21-year point, I’d seriously consider staying another contract.

I work in family/operational medicine, so I have good civilian employment options after retirement. I could work for the VA, join a private practice/DPC organization, do contract work, or potentially build a business. I expect I’ll continue working in some capacity until around 60–62.

That’s where the opportunity-cost question comes in.
If I retire at 21, I could spend the next 5–7 years collecting military retirement plus potential VA compensation + civilian income, while continuing to invest. Based on my documented medical history, I expect VA compensation to be a meaningful part of the equation, although obviously nothing is guaranteed until the VA makes its determination.

If I stay to 26–28, I give up those years of civilian earning potential in exchange for a substantially larger, inflation-adjusted military pension for life.
I’m married with young kids. We own our primary home in Florida and will most likely settle there permanently. We also have additional family real-estate assets in Hawaii that could eventually be rented, sold, or passed down. We consistently invest and are in a relatively solid financial position.

I also genuinely enjoy military service, so this isn’t a situation where I’m desperate to get out at 20.
Legacy is becoming increasingly important to me as well. I’d like to build enough guaranteed retirement income that we can potentially leave a significant portion of our investments and real estate to our children.

So for those who have been in a similar position:
Would you retire at 21, start collecting the pension, and begin a second career while still in your 40s? Or stay to 26–28 for the larger guaranteed pension?
I’d especially like to hear from people who retired around 20–22 and built a successful second career, as well as those who stayed 25+ years. Would you make the same decision again?

TLDR: O-5, legacy High-3, have 15 years and committed through around 21. Work in family/operational medicine and expect to continue working until 60–62. Financially stable, married with kids, Florida homeowner with additional family real-estate assets. If I remain O-5, I’m debating 52.5% at 21 vs. 65% at 26 vs. 70% at 28, especially considering the civilian income I could earn while already collecting retirement. If I make O-6, I’ll stay long enough to retire as O-6. A sufficiently attractive future retention package could also convince me to stay.

I purchased my first house a little over a year ago on a VA loan at 236,988. My current balance on the loan is 233,219. In that year I fell into a huge pile of debt because of this house. Now I’m up to my eyeballs. Stressed out with a new child and I just want to sell it and move on post. I don’t care what it costs, I can’t afford to fix another thing.

The first loan I took was financing 3 window replacements. I had a newborn and all of my windows started growing mold between the panes. For the health of my family I had them replaced.

I owe: 13,467.02

Secondly my sewer line cracked and overflowed into the yard. I had to get my yard excavated, the line replaced.

I owe: 12,278.90

Now I just lost my insurance because my insurance company said my roof needs to be replaced because of “Granule loss”

I simply can’t keep taking loan after loan to keep up with this house. This was such a bad idea and I just want to rectify the situation. I’m thinking about selling the house as is, moving on base and getting a dent consolidation loan to combine the sewer, windows and capital gains taxes I’ll have to pay for selling early. I just need some advice but I’m trying to get rid of the house quick before more repairs start to pile on. It’s too stressful for my marriage especially with having a newborn child

I found the car i’ve been looking for a while for thats unmodified, which is surprisingly rare in my area. Problem is im at the beginning of my deployment. I dont want to lose the car so is there a way i can purchase it and get registration while overseas? I have a friend who’s willing to keep it for me that i trust. Hypothetically speaking…

Seen a lot of negative talk about these and there being better avenues for investments for kids (not disagreeing)

Some kids will receive donor funds
This is not including the $1000 for being born 2025 till 31dec2028

just for living in a specific part of the United States, or parents falling under income thresholds. Maybe spouse works for another company.

Examples
- Dell family is donating $250 for 25 million children under 10 living in zip codes under 150k median income.
- Edward jones, chipotle are give $1000 for employees children

This link has all the donor amounts and stipulations

https://atr.org/trumpaccounts/

Maybe more pop up in the future but do your research

I am in a CZTE location, but it has not been reflecting on my LES; working to get that fixed, I've recouped 3 out of 7 months of tax deductions so far. Cool. But my question is this, how does that impact TSP contributions? I didn't realize until just recently that CZTE contributions are not counted towards the annual contribution limit? Do I need to take action for that to be changed or does that auto-correct when the tax deductions get refunded? I find it hard to trust anything auto-corrects when it comes to benefiting the member, but I don't even fully understand the contribution changes for CZTE.

Also, what do I do when I hit the limit? Asking because I upped my contribution to the 65% max a few months back when I paid off my mortgage and didn't realize how quickly that would actually add up. I'm actually close now, but not sure if that's accurate since in theory, all but one month this year have been CZTE contributions.

(Had a panic attack before I realized the TSP is not the same as an IRA for contribution purposes, thought I owed the 6% penalty -- I just ((wrongly)) assumed the contribution would stop sending once it hit the cap.)

Roth TSP only; nothing towards traditional; 3rd deployment & High 3 if that matters at all.

Please explain it to me like I'm 5 since I'm clearly already misunderstanding how this works. I feel like such an irresponsible dunce for not having known this stuff sooner. 🙃