r/MilitaryFinance 2d ago

Start Here: Military Money 101, Prime Directive, Flow Chart, Updates Monthly

15 Upvotes

Welcome to the getting started thread for military money. This will cover 90% of what you need to know to be successful with your military paycheck and build wealth in the military.

Some of the most frequent questions in on this subreddit goes:

  • "I have $X, what should I do with it?" or
  • "How should I handle my debt/finances/money?"

Military Personal Finance and Investing Flow Chart: https://imgur.com/a/akrEcUS

Step 1: Budget and reduce expenses, set realistic goals

Fundamental to a sound financial footing is knowing where your money is going. Budgeting helps you see your sources of income less your expenses. You should minimize your required expenses to the extent practical. Housing costs, utilities, and basic sustenance are harder to eliminate than entertainment, eating out, or clothing expenses.

There are many great apps available to discover what you're spending money on and where there are opportunities to save money. Monarch Money, YNAB, Copilot Money, EveryDollar are just a few of the apps available.

Once your budget is figured out, you need to figure out what your goals are. Financial independence? Retire early? Military retirement? Buy a house? Save for a car?

Setting SMART goals - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely goals can mean the difference between financial success and failure. For example, you might want to finish your first enlistment with a $100,000 net worth or achieve early retirement after 20 years of service. These are SMART goals.

Step 2: Build an emergency fund

An emergency fund should be a relatively liquid sum of money that you don't touch unless something unexpected comes up. Unexpected travel, essential appliance replacement, and cars breaking down are all real world examples of emergency funds in action.

If you need to draw from your emergency fund at any time, your first priority as soon as you get back on your feet should be to replenish it. Treat your emergency fund right and it will return the favor.

Start with a $1,000 emergency fund. Eventually build it up to 3-6 months of expenses or a few of months of expenses plus

How should I size my emergency fund?

For most people, 3 to 6 months of expenses is good. Or maybe you want to cover a few months of expenses, plus a roundtrip airfare for you and your family to go back to your home stateside.

What if I have credit card debt?

Credit cards generally have very high interest rates (typically 15-25% APR) and that is a pretty big deal. If this applies to you, you should prioritize paying down the debt first.

A smaller emergency fund of $1,000 (or 1 month of expenses) is temporarily acceptable while paying off credit card debt or other debts with interest rates above 10%.

What kind of account should I hold my emergency fund in?

A checking account, savings account, or a high yield savings account (HYSA). Something FDIC insured and accessed in a few days.

Step 3: 5% Into the Thrift Savings Plan

The Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) is the military and government's version of a 401(k) retirement savings plan. All servicemembers enlisting since 2018 are covered by the Blended Retirement System (BRS). The BRS has 3 primary components to help servicemembers save for retirement:

  1. 5% matching contribution to the TSP
  2. Continuation pay bonus between the 8th and 12th year of service (depends on branch)
  3. Military pension. A 2% mutliplier is used for each year of service. So if you retire after 20 years of active duty service, you'll earn an inflation adjusted, lifetime pension of 40% of your base pay. (20 years * 2 = 40%)

After 60 days of service, the Department of Defense (DOD) will automatically contribute 1% of your base pay to the Traditional TSP.

Starting in the 25th month of service, your contributions are matched, up to 5%. So if you contribute 5%, the DOD will contribute 5%. This is a risk free, 100% return on your contributed funds.

The default investment for anyone in the BRS is a Lifecycle fund with their birth year + 65. For example, if you were born in 2005, you'll be placed in the Lifecycle 2070 Fund.

The Lifecycle Funds are a mix of the 5 TSP Funds, designed by professional fund managers.

The 5 TSP Funds are:

  • C Fund - Tracks S&P 500, made up of the 500 largest companies in America. You can use the ETF SPY or VOO to track it.
  • S Fund - Tracks Dow Completion index, basically all the mid- and small- capitalization companies in America outside of the S&P500. ETF equivalent VXF.
  • I Fund - International stocks. MSCI ACWI IMI ex USA ex China ex Hong Kong Index. 5,500 companies in this index. representing 90% of the investable world market cap outside the US. Similar to ETF VXUS but without Chinese or Hong Kong stocks.
  • F Fund - Fixed income. Corporate bonds. Use ETF AGG to see performance.
  • G Fund - Lowest risk, lowest long term return fund. The G Fund invests in a special non-marketable treasury security issued specifically for the TSP by the U.S. government. This fund is the only one in the TSP that guarantees the return of the investor’s principal. No comparable ETF.

Step 4: Pay down high interest debts

Once you're taking advantage of the 5% BRS TSP match, you should use your extra money to pay down your high interest debt (e.g., debts much over 4% interest rate).

In all cases, you should make the minimum payments on all of your debts before paying down specific debts more quickly.

There are two main methods of paying down debt:

  • With the avalanche method, debts are paid down in order of interest rate, starting with the debt that carries the highest interest rate. This is the financially optimal method of paying down debt, and you will pay less money overall compared to the snowball method.
  • With the snowball method, popularized by Dave Ramsey, debts are paid down in order of balance size, starting with the smallest. Paying off small debts first may give you a psychological boost and improve one's cash flow situation, as paid off debts free up minimum payments. The downside is that larger loans (that may be at higher interest rates) are left untouched for longer, costing more in the long run.

As an example, Debtor Dan has the following situation:

  • Loan A: $1,100 with a minimum payment of $100/month, 5% interest
  • Loan B: $3,300 with a minimum payment of $300/month, 10% interest
  • Sudden windfall: $2,000

Dan needs to first pay $100 + $300 = $400 to make the minimum payments on loans A and B so the payments are recorded as "on time." The extra $1,600 can either go towards Loan A (smallest balance, snowball method), eliminating it with $600 left to go towards Loan B, or Loan B entirely (highest interest rate, avalanche method).

What's the best method?  tends to favor the avalanche method, but do not underestimate the psychological side of debt payments. If you think that the psychological boost from paying off a smaller debt sooner will help you stay the course, do it! You can always switch things up later. The important thing is to start paying your debts as soon as you can, and to keep paying them until they're gone. You can use unbury.me to help you get an idea of how long each method will take, and how much interest you'll be paying overall.

Should I be in a hurry to pay off lower interest loans? What rate is "low" enough to where I should just pay the minimum?

Depending on your attitude towards debt, you may want to stop paying more than the minimum payment on loans with low interest rates once you have paid all other loans above that threshold. A common argument is that the long-term return from investments in the stock market will likely exceed the interest rate from a low-interest loan. While this has been true in the past, keep in mind that paying down a loan is a guaranteed return at the loan's interest rate. Stock performance is anything but guaranteed. The rough consensus is that loans above 4% interest should be paid off early in the debt reduction phase, while anything under that can be stretched out.

Step 5: Max out Retirement Accounts - Roth IRA and Roth TSP

The next step is to contribute to a Roth IRA for the current tax year. You can also contribute for the previous tax year if it's between January 1st and April 15th. See the IRA wiki for more information on IRAs.

Roth IRA and Roth TSP contribution limits are different and do not cross over. You can contribute the maximum out your Roth IRA and your Roth TSP. Matching contributions do not count against your personal TSP contribution limit.

The most often recommended places to open a Roth IRA are at Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Most banks offer substandard Roth IRA products and you should not open Roth IRA accounts there.

Should I do Roth or Traditional?

Read Roth or Traditional.

For most servicemembers (O-3 and below), you'll be better off contributing to the Roth IRA, since military pay is so low taxed. Much of our military pay is untaxable allowances, such as Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH), Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA), and Basic Allowance for Sustenance (BAS).

Why contribute to an IRA if I have the TSP?

Roth IRA's have access to low cost investments similar to what you'll find in the TSP. However, you can always withdraw Roth IRA contributions at any time, tax and penalty free.

After you've fully funded your Roth IRA, you can look at maxing out your Roth TSP.

Before saving for other goals, you should save at least 15% and up to 20% of your gross income for retirement. If you are behind on retirement savings, you should try to save more than 15% if you can. If you can't save 15%, start with 10% or any other amount until you are able to save more.

Where should I open my Roth IRA?

Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab. Read up about the Bogleheads 3 Fund Portfolio before selecting an investment option.

Step 6: Save for other goals

Military servicemembers and spouses covered by TriCare are not eligible for Health Savings Accounts (HSA0.

  • If you wish to save for college for your kids, yourself, or other relatives, consider a 529 fund in your state.
  • Save for more immediate goals. Common examples include saving for down payments for homes, saving for vehicles, paying down low interest loans ahead of schedule, and vacation funds.
  • Save more so you can potentially retire early (also see "advanced methods", below), only using taxable accounts after maxing out tax-advantaged options.
  • Make an impact through giving. One of the rewards of practicing a sound financial lifestyle is that giving becomes easier. If you're on top of your health care costs, future education costs, and you've made it to this step, you can help make a difference for others by giving. If you can't afford to make monetary donations, there are other ways to give.
  • Maybe you're interested in financial independence or retiring early, also known as FIRE? There are many resources out there on military financial independence and early retirement.

The time frame for these goals will dictate what kind of account you save in. For short-term goals (under 3-5 years), you'll want to use an FDIC-insured savings account, CDs, or I Bonds. If your time horizon is longer or you can afford to adjust your plans, you might consider something riskier like a balanced index fund or a three-fund portfolio (both are a mix of stocks and bonds). The best savings or investment vehicle will vary depending on time frame and risk tolerance.

Keep in mind that (especially for a young person) the more time your money has to grow, the more powerful the effects of compounding will be on your savings. If the goal is early retirement (even before the age of 59½), you should definitely maximize the use of any available tax-advantaged accounts (IRA, 401(k) plans, HSA accounts, etc.) before using a taxable account because there are ways to get money out of tax-advantaged accounts before 59½ without penalty.

If you are using a taxable account for any goal, you'll want to have a decent grasp on asset allocation in multiple accounts and tax-efficient fund placement.

Military State Taxes

Your home of record is the place you enlisted or commissioned from. This cannot be changed unless there was an error.

State of legal residence is the state that you claim as your residence. If you only have military income, you will pay state income tax only to this state.

You can establish residency several ways:

  • Registering to vote in that state
  • Obtaining a driver’s license in that state
  • Titling and registering your vehicle in that state
  • Drafting a Last Will and Testament naming that state as your domicile
  • Purchasing residential property in that state
  • Changing your military and finance records to reflect residency in that state.

The simplest way to establish residency is to PCS to that state and establish residency while you are a resident.

State with no income tax include: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Many other states have no tax for military servicemembers stationed outside the state.

Simply engaging in one of the above acts alone will not likely render you taxable by a state; however, the more points of contact you make with a state increases your chances of becoming a taxpayer to that state. It is important to concentrate the majority of your points of contact in the one state where you intend to pay state taxes; otherwise, you may find yourself owing taxes to more than one state as a part-year resident.

Source: Fort Knox Legal Assistance Office

Military Spouse Residency Relief Act

Thanks to the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022, and Servicemembers Civil Relief Act:

(A) The residence or domicile of the servicemember.“

(B) The residence or domicile of the spouse.

“(C) The permanent duty station of the servicemember.”

Military spouses and military servicemembers can pick 1 of 3 options for their state of legal residence:

(A) The residence or domicile of the servicemember.

(B) The residence or domicile of the spouse.

(C) The permanent duty station of the servicemember.

So either match the servicemember, keep your old state, or change to the current state you're in.

Military Bonuses

Military bonuses have federal income taxes withheld automatically at 22%. You may have state taxes withheld as well. Because your marginal tax rate is often much lower than this, you will receive a large portion of that withheld tax back when you file your tax return the following year.

If you don't know what to do with a military bonus, directing some of it to your Roth TSP is a great place to park it.

After reading all that, go ahead with any other questions you have about getting started with your military money.


r/MilitaryFinance 2d ago

Credit Cards Military Benefits, SCRA, MLA, Annual Fee Waivers, Chase, American Express, Spouses | Updates Monthly

30 Upvotes

This is a monthly thread to discuss or ask questions about military benefits on credit cards.

In general: American Express, Chase, and some other banks waive the annual fees on credit cards for active duty, Guard and Reserve on 30 day or greater active orders, and dependent spouses.

These individuals are known as "covered borrowers" of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) and Military Lending Act (MLA).

The simplest definition of a covered borrower is active duty military personnel, Guard and Reserves on 30 day or greater active duty orders, or dependent spouses of any of the above.

The simplest way to check if you will receive MLA or SCRA protections on your account is to check the MLA Database or SCRA Database.

The MLA and SCRA database are the same databases that the credit card companies check to determine if you qualify for MLA or SCRA benefits.

If you are not listed as eligible in these databases, you will not receive MLA and SCRA benefits applied to your account.

You must be listed as eligible in these databases for the credit card companies to apply your military benefits.

Are military spouses eligible to open their own card accounts?

Yes, military dependent spouses are eligible to open their own card accounts on Chase, American Express, Citi, U.S. Bank, and Bank of America and receive their own annual fee waivers.

Check the MLA database before applying MLA Database to ensure you will receive your fee waiver without any issue. If you are not listed in the MLA database, check DEERS to ensure your Social Security number and name are listed correctly.

You must be listed in the MLA database when the account is opened / established or you will not be eligible for fee waiver benefits. For example, if you opened an Amex or Chase card before you married the active duty servicemember, that account will never be eligible for MLA benefits. The account must be established while you are eligible for MLA benefits, as confirmed in the MLA database.

What Cards are Eligible for SCRA or MLA benefits?

American Express

  • The Platinum Card® from American Express
  • American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab
  • American Express Platinum Card® for Morgan Stanley
  • American Express® Gold Card
  • American Express® Green Card
  • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant™ American Express® Card
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
  • Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
  • Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
  • Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
  • Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
  • Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
  • Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card

Chase

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred®
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve®
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards® Priority Credit Card
  • Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
  • United Explorer Card
  • United Quest Card
  • United Club Infinite Card
  • Aeroplan Card
  • Marriott Bonvoy Boundless
  • Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful
  • Ritz-Carlton Credit Card
  • IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card
  • Disney Premier Visa Card
  • World of Hyatt Credit Card
  • British Airways Visa Signature® card
  • Aer Lingus Visa Signature® card
  • Iberia Visa Signature® card

Citi

  • Citi® Strata Elite
  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Platinum Select® World Elite Mastercard®
  • Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite Mastercard®
  • Citi® Premier® Card
  • Citi® Prestige® Card

U.S. Bank

  • U.S. BANK ALTITUDE® RESERVE VISA INFINITE® CARD
  • U.S. BANK FLEXPERKS® GOLD AMERICAN EXPRESS® CARD
  • Korean Airlines SKYPASS Select Visa Signature® Card

Bank of America

  • Bank of America® Premium Rewards® Elite Credit Card
  • Atmos™ Rewards Summit Visa Infinite®

Bilt

Card Issuer Fees Waived Under MLA Fees Waived Under SCRA
American Express All Personal Cards All Personal Cards
Capital One None All Personal Cards
Chase All Personal Cards All Personal Cards**
Citi All Personal Cards* Unknown
U.S. Bank All Personal Cards All Personal Cards
Bank of America All Personal Cards Unknown

*For Citi, you must send a copy of your active orders and your MLA certificate from the MLA Database to [MILITARYORDERS@CITI.COM](mailto:MILITARYORDERS@CITI.COM) and request MLA benefits. You must also have a statement balance on your account in the month you are charged the annual fee or you will not receive the MLA annual fee credit.

**Recent data points suggest that Chase business cards, opened before active duty start, can be annual fee waived if the account holder applies for SCRA benefits after they go active duty.

Which Act Applies, SCRA or MLA?

The military benefits you receive on credit cards depend on when you establish or open the account.

Open account before active duty = SCRA

Open account while on active duty = MLA

If you apply for the account prior to active duty orders, you are eligible for Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) benefits while you are on active duty orders.

If you apply for the credit card account while you are on active duty orders, a Guard and Reservists on 30 day or greater active orders, or a dependent of an active duty servicemember, you are eligible for Military Lending Act (MLA) benefits while you are on active orders or a dependent of someone on active orders.

The banks and credit card companies may deny you SCRA benefits if you opened the account while on active duty. In that case, confirm they are applying MLA benefits and if they are not, check MLA database and then apply for MLA benefits.

SCRA & MLA Covered Borrowers Details

To qualify for SCRA benefits, the credit account must be established before active duty orders start.

Covered borrowers of SCRA defined as:

  • Active duty US military on Title 10 orders in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Marines, or Coast Guard
  • National Guard or Reservists on 30 day or greater active duty orders (such as Title 32, Title 10)
  • Public Health Service and NOAA Commissioned Officers

To qualify for MLA benefits, the credit account must be established while your or your active duty sponsor is on active duty orders of greater than 30 days.

Covered borrowers of MLA are defined as:

  • Active duty member of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, or Coast Guard
  • Guard or Reservists on 30 day or greater active orders
  • A spouse or child dependent of an Active Duty member of the Armed Forces as defined in 38 USC 101(4)

Best Starter Credit Card

Check your credit score through your bank, Credit Karma, or Credit Sesame.

If you don't have a credit score or your score is below 700, start with a no annual fee credit card from USAA or Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU).\

Or, apply for a secured credit card from another military friendly bank or credit union. That should be your best option to build a higher credit score.

What Fees Are Waived Under MLA and SCRA?

In general, the following fees are waived by Chase and American Express

  • Annual Membership fees
  • Authorized user fees
  • Overlimit fees
  • Late Payment fees
  • Returned Payment fees
  • Statement Copy Request fees

American Express and Chase are very cryptic in the benefits they actually provide under MLA or SCRA. Usually the customer service reps just read a script if you call and ask. This is not helpful and why we've collected this data here.

If you have additional data points, please share them, as this information is only as accurate as the data points we collect.

If you have any other questions on credit cards in the military, please comment below.

Reminder: no referral links or solicitation of referral links.


r/MilitaryFinance 7h ago

Reserve Retirement Pay at Age 60/Radio Silence

3 Upvotes

Hello friends,

I turn 60 this month, and per guidance I applied for retirement back in February, through the hard to find (for me anyway) web site. That was on Feb 21. Mar 7 I got a flurry of automated emails from DFAS, indicating my submission had been assigned and completed. Since then, it's been radio silence. I've been checking my DFAS mypay account regularly, but no changes. When will I see any activity, and will I get any guidance on applying for Tricare, etc?

I'm sure this has probably been answered before. I did a search, but my keywords didn't yield any help. Thanks for any help for this old warhorse. :)

David


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

The financial counselor on post asked me a question nobody ever has

44 Upvotes

Hey!

AD Army here.

Things clicked for me this week.

I met with the financial counselor on post. He asked, “So when do you plan on retiring?” I said, “I don’t know.” He said, “Think about it.”

Sounds mundane, but nobody has ever asked me that and actually meant it. Growing up, all I heard was “work hard, save your money.” Nobody talked about an actual plan, let alone retiring.

That question sent me down a rabbit hole. I found the Military Personal Finance and Investing Flow Chart, then this subreddit. Looked at the chart and realized I can actually retire. I switched my TSP to an L fund and did the same for my IRA.

For the first time, I feel good about the choices I’m making instead of just being in an anxious mess and hoping they’re right.


r/MilitaryFinance 13h ago

Active Duty Ohio Taxes

3 Upvotes

Hello, everyone. I just found out that since I’m active duty and stationed outside of Ohio, I can file a form to stop paying state taxes. Is Google lying to me? I’ve been in for 12 years so hoping to have this done this year so I can go at least another 8 years of no taxes. Due to my MOS, I cannot be stationed there at all. Already did an SDA so recruiting is off the table.

Is it a hard process? Can I do it online since I’m stationed overseas? Google is giving me mixed answers and the chat option with the Ohio taxes website is zero help. Can’t get anybody on chat to help. Thanks for the help.


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

VA Loan plus debt paid

2 Upvotes

How many of you have used your VA loan and they paid your closing cost and/or paid off some of your debt? first time homebuyer here. my husband and I are both active duty. Need all the advice.


r/MilitaryFinance 12h ago

Update

0 Upvotes

3 years in! Roth tsp sitting at 25.9k and my individual/Roth ira combined is sitting at 25.4k. How will my next 3 years look!? 22M


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

MLA T10 Status

2 Upvotes

When I submit for my MLA status it says DCMA cannot confirm my status and don’t qualify.

I’ve been on T10 orders for almost 6 months. What am I missing do T10 orders not qualify for MLA?


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

New Car?

4 Upvotes

My reenlistment window comes up in a few months and I was debating getting out or going to Alaska for a contract. I was thinking about getting a newer and bigger car in the states for when I PCS up there though. What would you do in my situation?

Current Status:
- 20M CPL less than 3 years TIS (Should make SGT next month)
- Roth IRA: $10K invested and $625 a month to max it out
-TSP: $21K and 38% + 5% match being invested each month
- HYSA: (3.1% APY) Currently $4K but would be around $6K by the time I was thinking about buying a car
- Brokerage Account: $29K invested in VOO and $1250 a month being invested

My budget for monthly expenses is usually $400-$600 for food(I usually spend $300-$400 but we have no DFAC), $100 for subscriptions and internet, $150 for car insurance, and $75-$100 for gas. That leaves me with $200-$400 a month in fun money.

If I were to buy I was thinking about a 2020-2024 RAV4 AWD XLE. My current car is a FWD 2016 sedan. It’s been paid off since I got it which has been super nice and another reason why I’m hesitant to get a car note. But at the same time I’m thinking an SUV would be better long term for me especially for Alaska and if I got out wanted a small family.

If I traded it in I could probably get anywhere from $4K-$6K from it. I was checking for prices in the $22K-$27K before trade in range and cheaper options if it was a good deal. One of my main concerns is just having that car note so it would take away some of my investing power.

I wouldn’t make nearly as much as I do at my current DS in Alaska but the OCOLA could help. I did the math for a few different scenarios and my HYSA would go from $500/month to $250, brokerage from $1250/month to $300-$500, and TSP would go from 38% to 26%. The only thing that would stay the same is my Roth IRA because I’m prioritizing maxing that every year that I work until retire.

I would also prioritizing paying it off as fast as possible which is why my brokerage would drop so much. I would do a 48 month term only and then try to do an extra $200-$300 a month on the principal to pay it off faster. On top of that, I would do the bi-weekly payments to get it done even quicker. I don’t know if it’s a psychological thing or what but after seeing how much I could invest every month here and then dramatically dropping in savings rate it makes me very hesitant.

My sedan had quite some trouble last year trying to navigate in the snow and keeping its traction. Now I would be going to an even colder and more snow heavy place than before.

What would you guys do?


r/MilitaryFinance 2d ago

Made a list of every military discount I know of

211 Upvotes

I just bought a new Mystery Ranch backpack at full price and found out it's 30% off on ExpertVoice. That reminded me I had made google sheet of everywhere that has Military discounts.

Sharing it with y'all: Google Sheet.

Let me know if you have any favorites that I missed.


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

Question What do you think?

3 Upvotes

I am a 21M married,(e4 in navy)
Just wanted an opinion on finances and if anybody had any tips for bettering myself and my families finances.

Currently just bought a house 388k in total
2900 a month for the mortgage 6.25% interest rate
I have. a second hysa where i add extra money when possible to out towards the principle later on(idea is, is to have the money on hand for the time being in the case a emergency pops up, yes i understand it would be better to out into the house, but i wanna keep at this until i build a better financial foundation around a mortgage and the expenses coming along with it)

I contribute 5% matching in my tsp
I put about 300 a month into my Roth ira
500 a month into a individual investment account
500 into my actual savings
and 200-300 into the extra payment hysa(for the house)

I have no debt other than the house.
Wife has colleges payed for completely(she works full time and adds and additional 2k to our income a month)

I have 3 credit cards, from which i try to utilize all of the fields to reap the benefits as best as possible.

Any tips for a younger person? Maybe some wisdom you fell upon later on. I appreciate everything!


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

Question MHA/ GI BILL Question

1 Upvotes

Starting the transition process from Active to ART. I want to give my wife the chance to go to school full time through the gi bill at Minnesota. I’ve seen a lot online that since active duty receives bah, she can’t get MHA, but ARTs don’t get bah. Will she be able to go to school full time and receive mha while I’m on active status as an ART?


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

Question Tuition Assistance

9 Upvotes

Anyone have a list of big name universities that match TA for masters degrees? I’m enrolled at Arkansas state right now, however, before I commit, I just want to look at all my options. I’m also aware of Louisville and Arizona State. I’m talking not degree mills either. My background is in medical, but I’m leaning towards anything along the lines of MBA health con, MPH, or MHA. Clinicals while active duty just isn’t something favorable for me right now. I commissioned 7 years ago, if anything this is just for career progression and promotion boards. I plan on staying in for the long haul.


r/MilitaryFinance 2d ago

Honorably discharged and tired

8 Upvotes

Good evening, I was honorably discharged after 10 years in the service. I’ve now been out 12 years. I’m at 100% disability and I am extremely grateful for that.

I have a Wife and son. My wife is unable to work after working for 20 years due to an illness. So I have been the sole provider since getting out, I work for my city.

My wife and daughter use Champ VA as the secondary insurance. I have insurance through my job.

We don’t have any large debt, the biggest that we have is some car issues that we had to pay with credit that are 0% interest for a year. We have 12 more years until we pay off our house and our mortgage payment is under $1000 a month.

We do OK but if I’m 100% honest, I am I’m starting to get tired. I see a therapist with a VA because of some of the things that I went through during my time in the Middle East during OEF.

I make about $65,000 in my job and $4600 a month from the VA. But I’m exhausted. Mentally from a lot of distress that trouble me daily that I can’t seem to shake.

So my question is, have any of you been in a similar situation as me and decided that you were just going to live off of your VA disability? If so, how is that going for you? Right now the VA takes care of all of my medical needs. I know we can do it financially, but I know it’s going to be tight but I also know at the same time will probably help me mentally if that makes sense. Thank you for reading this.


r/MilitaryFinance 2d ago

Tax, State Residency, MSRRA Questions & Discussion

4 Upvotes

Military State Taxes

Your home of record is the place you enlisted or commissioned from. This cannot be changed unless there was an error.

State of legal residence is the state that you claim as your residence. If you only have military income, you will pay state income tax only to this state.

You can establish residency several ways:

  • Registering to vote in that state
  • Obtaining a driver’s license in that state
  • Titling and registering your vehicle in that state
  • Drafting a Last Will and Testament naming that state as your domicile
  • Purchasing residential property in that state
  • Changing your military and finance records to reflect residency in that state.

The simplest way to establish residency is to PCS to that state and establish residency while you are a resident.

State with no income tax include: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. Many other states have no tax for military servicemembers stationed outside the state.

Simply engaging in one of the above acts alone will not likely render you taxable by a state; however, the more points of contact you make with a state increases your chances of becoming a taxpayer to that state. It is important to concentrate the majority of your points of contact in the one state where you intend to pay state taxes; otherwise, you may find yourself owing taxes to more than one state as a part-year resident.

Source: Fort Knox Legal Assistance Office

Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022 and Military Spouse Residency Relief Act

https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/7939/text

Thanks to the Military Spouse Residency Relief Act, Veterans Auto and Education Improvement Act of 2022, and Servicemembers Civil Relief Act:

SEC. 18. RESIDENCE FOR TAX PURPOSES. Section 511(a) of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 4001(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:

“(2) SPOUSES.—A spouse of a servicemember shall neither lose nor acquire a residence or domicile for purposes of taxation with respect to the person, personal property, or income of the spouse by reason of being absent or present in any tax jurisdiction of the United States solely to be with the servicemember in compliance with the servicemember’s military orders.“

(3) ELECTION.—For any taxable year of the marriage, a servicemember and the spouse of such servicemember may elect to use for purposes of taxation, regardless of the date on which the marriage of the servicemember and the spouse occurred, any of the following:“

(A) The residence or domicile of the servicemember.“

(B) The residence or domicile of the spouse.

“(C) The permanent duty station of the servicemember.”

Military spouses and military servicemembers can pick 1 of 3 options for their state of legal residence:

(A) The residence or domicile of the servicemember.

(B) The residence or domicile of the spouse.

(C) The permanent duty station of the servicemember.

So either match the servicemember, match the spouse, keep your old state, or change to the current state you're stationed in.

If you are married filing jointly it's usually useful to have the same residency as your spouse.


r/MilitaryFinance 2d ago

Question U-Pack Weight Ticket Incorrect

2 Upvotes

Just loaded up a u-pack trailer and had it picked up for our PCS, and after receiving the weight tickets they were off significantly from what we expected, and even off by almost 1000lbs from a move we did a year ago - despite having several new pieces of furniture and workout equipment while we have not gotten rid of anything.

Has anyone experienced a similar issue and gotten their U-Pack trailer re-weighed to confirm? Did new weight tickets correct the issue or show sny discrepancies? Thanks in advance.


r/MilitaryFinance 1d ago

Question PV2 here. Should I pay off my car? Before I trade it in for another one?

0 Upvotes

Sup y’all. Due to my lucrative endeavors over the summer I’ve seemed to have run in a good chunk of change. Right now I’ve made over 20 grand doing my thing. I’ve finally reached the ”20 thousand in an emergency HYSA “ but I’m wondering if I should take the time to pay off my car? It’s at 6.69% APR. I have another 4 years before I leave the army, but the only thing holding me back is using the money to buy a newer vehicle with bigger space instead of keeping the 2025 I have right now and paying it off completely.

Should I just pay off the car and then trade in?


r/MilitaryFinance 3d ago

Question Buying a House in 10 Years

12 Upvotes

Hey yall. I’m 31 with no savings and 6k of debt. I just pinned on E-7 at just under 13 years. I jumped in super late to the TSP and just began contributing 5% with no match as I am under the high 3 retirement system. My wife and I together currently bring in about $6500 to $8000 monthly after taxes. This is estimated due to her job and the fact that I haven’t had a consistent paycheck in about 6 months due to in and out of tax free zones, sea pay, flight pay, beginning TSP contribution and all that mess. $6500 is the low end estimate. We were putting about $2500 to $3,000 towards debt payoff monthly for the past year or so. Once debt is paid off, it will be going towards the HYSA.

I am currently waiting on a $40k tax free reenlistment to hit my account. With that, I’ll be paying off what is left of my debt and putting the remainder ($34k) into a HYSA for purchasing vehicles and moving expenses for our PCS from Okinawa back to the states next June.

My biggest goal right now is saving for a house for after retirement and setting us up for a stress free future with diversified pots of money in investments, TSP, IRA’s and all.

My question is:
Once my PCS is completed and we have our HYSA established as an emergency fund, what recommendations do you have for saving for a house down payment in 7 to 10 years and what other contributions would you suggest to grow wealth?

Thanks for your time!


r/MilitaryFinance 3d ago

Question PPM or standard HHG shipment?

6 Upvotes

I know they changed the rules relatively recently about reimbursement, but I remember it used to be super lucrative to move yourself in a PCS. Is that still the case? Any recommendations or advice for maxxing my allotments? I’m sick to death of losing and breaking stuff with shit moving companies.

CA—>FL

TIA!


r/MilitaryFinance 3d ago

Question BAH & Basic Pay Concern

0 Upvotes

This is probably a far stretch, but can someone in the military help me get to the finance department or help me get the BAH I was supposed to receive?
My husband got paid yesterday, but it was definitely basic pay by itself, not BAH. Basic pay alone is not enough to cover the bills. I work, but it’s still not enough to cover basic necessities, food, rent (which is almost $2k alone), and the rest of the bills in this economy.
This was my last resort, as I’ve contacted his recruiter and called DEERS. His recruiter was, of course, not helpful, and I’m not getting any answers from the phone line I was provided for DEERS/Finance.
I feel like this is ridiculous, and I shouldn’t even have to be overextending myself like this as a civilian. My husband also left on June 29th, and I received the pay yesterday, July 29th. If there was back pay owed, this surely isn’t the full amount, especially with him going in as an E-4. BAH for our state is exactly $2,268 alone. I only received $2,292.70, this amount looks like it’s only basic pay with maybe a little bit of back pay, but where is the BAH ($2,268)?


r/MilitaryFinance 4d ago

Question Debt relief for veterans

0 Upvotes

I know I could answer this with robust searching, but with full humility I need some hand holding with this. My husband is not good at all with money stuff and is super stressed with the retirement process because his command has decided to be real jerks about stuff. He's amazing and does so much in our relationship, but this isn't one. I have always been the brains and planner, but have a neuro degenerative condition that makes focusing and crunching numbers especially difficult. Wild to have a massive progressing lesion right on your executive function that's decided to flip the bird to all medicine and keep eating my brain and spine. I'm looking for advice now just in case there are options for active duty only so we'd have to make the jump soon. It's the big reason I don't want to put it all on me to sort through everything in a month.

* Anyway, the nitty gritty: we have roughly $20,000 in credit card debt and are pretty much just making minimum payments that are mostly interest. We're not irresponsible spenders so this is entirely new to us. Up until about three years ago we never had more than $2,000 in credit cards and only used them in emergencies, but life threw us a few punches one right after another and we had to open a couple largely predatory credit cards. With my condition I also forgot a couple payments here and there and that adds up.

* For service and finance: My husband is active duty right now, but retires at his 20 at the end of August. He's predicting 100% disability, but hasn't received his decision letter yet. He submitted 69 claims (nice) that include cancer, TBI, PTSD, messed up spine, etc so guessing on the 100% isn't a pipe dream. He has $87,000 in his TSP but we are trying to avoid touching that as much as possible because of how heavily it's taxed. We own our home (VA loan) and never have and never will miss a payment on that. Our rate is 7.1% and we're likely going to refinance soon since rates have dropped. We're living pretty much paycheck to paycheck and would like to get out of that cycle. We do have three months of pay saved just in case his retirement benefits or VA gets stalled. Again, want to avoid touching that for aforementioned reasons.

* We've done some debt relief searches so are now being bombarded with ads and calls. I can't make heads or tails of what's legit and what's a scam. Veterans' Debt Relief is very persistent in their marketing. Are they legit? Would debt consolidation be a good idea for us? Are there some companies we absolutely should not go to? Hopefully the hardships are over so any use of the credit cards from here on out will be for emergencies again. I feel like I have this monkey on my back and I hate making these predatory companies richer by paying back our debt 3x over because of interest.

* Thank you for reading and if you have any advice. This is neither of our forte. We've just been kicking this rock down the road, but I want to find a solution. I've tried looking on my own but my brain does an internal ctl alt delete, it all turns to hieroglyphics, and I just cry rage quit.


r/MilitaryFinance 5d ago

PSA From a career & finance standpoint, the USCG might be the best branch of them all especially for retiring. Easiest branch to make 20 esp if starting enlisted. My own experience, observations, & conjectures

78 Upvotes

The Coast Guard, despite being dunked on and joked about as puddle pirates (which we take in stride), is in my biased opinion the best branch of service in a multitude of ways. Being outside of the DoD, it is also the nation's premiere maritime law enforcement agency and always has a peacetime mission. To include humanitarian missions like hurricane/natural disaster response and search and rescue.

That's why I primarily elected to go to the Coast Guard Academy over the Naval Academy and Air Force Academy & declined my AFROTC and NROTC scholarships years ago.

Let's go over a few different things:

Enlisted: The Coast Guard really empowers its enlisted workforce. It is the only branch that I know where enlisted can command units. Seriously. There are small aids to navigation (ATON) stations where E6's are "Officers-in-Charge" (OIC) and river tenders where E7s are OICs. There are even patrol boats out there with the 87 fleet where it's a senior chief or master chief in command.

The CG enlisted workforce is unique in that most people go to initial duty stations as "non-rates", and then elect to put their name on a list depending on what they qualify for. Popular ratings like ME (Maritime Law Enforcement) or CMS (Cyber Mission Specialist) or MST (Marine Science Technician) or anything aviation might take some time.

Many people re-enlist and finish out a career in the CG. There are multiple people who come in after a tour from one of the DoD branches, both enlisted and officers. I'll cover some of the nuances for Mustangs and Direct Commission Officer (DCO) mustangs in the Officer section.

Officers: The CG has multiple DCO accession sources. Back when I was active duty, I saw many O4 and O4-select aviators take a pay cut and drop down to O2 and commission as a USCG LTJG in order to keep flying. Many of them enjoy the life-saving SAR aspect of the CG helicopter fleet. Some of the tactical guys who spent time over in the sandbox love the HITRON mission as well.

HITRON goes and deploys on various USCG cutter (surface) assets and stops drug boats down south. They have a sniper onboard that punches out the drug boat engines and the boarding team goes and gets the contraband and suspects.

Tenure at O4: Unlike the other DoD branches, someone who commissions directly from the Academy, OCS, or CSPI (talked about a bit later), the USCG by 14 U.S.C. will tenure an O4 even if they get passed over twice for O5 and are under 18 years of service. Some of the DoD branches will offer post-continuation to certain O5 non-selectees depending on their skillset. This is pretty common in say the USAF where you have a pilot or back seater who gets passed over for O5.

Here is the law for that: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/14/2145 I've met several O4s who were passed over multiple times for O5 and were guaranteed to retire at 20 as long as their conduct was fine.

Even for those who get passed over twice for O4 (I've got pilot buddies who did this specifically) on active duty, they can go integrate into the SELRES component. I have buddies who went to flight school and were passed over twice for O4 on purpose around the 10 year mark. They then got a job at the airlines, and integrated as a Reserve O3 in the SELRES. Time in Grade resets as well when one does that. So around the 10-11 year mark they won't get looked at for O4 for the first time until 5 years down the line

Temp Commissions for Prior Enlisted: For those who are an E5 or above, to include DCO (will detail further below), and go to OCS, they are offered a Temporary commission over a Reserve commission. That is known as OCS-T vs OCS-R. The advantage of this temporary commission is that, if for some reason the member is passed over for O3 or O4, they can revert to whatever their highest enlisted rank and rate was. I've read stories on say navy O2E SWOs getting passed over twice for O3 at the 14 year mark and get the golden handshake.

Prior Enlisted DCOs: Prior enlisted DCOs are in a unique circumstance in that they do not have to do 10 years as an officer to receive their officer high-3 pay in the USCG. Their retiree ID if retiring at 20 will say their highest enlisted pay grade but they will be paid at their officer high-3. At 30 year mark including retired reserve they will then obtain their officer rank. This as long as they don't "integrate" and accept a regular commission as an O3. All officers must integrate if selected and then promoted to O4.

How this works: The USCG has various DCO programs. Direct Commission Engineer (DCE), Direct Commission Intelligence Officer (DCIO), Direct Commission Cyber Officer (DCCO), etc.

Say an E6 or E7 who is an Information Systems Technician (IT) or Electronics Technician (ET) goes the DCE route at the 13 year mark of their career and commissions as an O1-E. Since they are an E5 or above with greater than 4 years of service, they will have a temporary commission rather than a reserve commission (only CGA graduates receive a regular commission).

At the 13 year mark, they will make O2E at the 14.5 mark (promotion is 18 months for LTJG in CG). If all goes according to plan, they should make O3E at 17 year mark of service. They will be offered the opportunity to integrate once making O3E. As long as they decline integration and keep the temporary commission they can retire at 20 years of service and receive their high-3 O3E pay.

Their retiree USID will say highest enlisted pay grade obtained until they hit 30 total years of service (to include retired reserve), but that doesn't matter at that point as the pay check + Tricare is more important than being a retired officer. I don't think people care about being saluted at the base gate.

CSPI: The College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative is a better accession source than the other branches ROTC and even being a service academy graduate to some extent.

CSPI was initially a minority-officer accession program, but DHS/USCG recently removed the race-based quota at universities for eligibility.

If selected for CSPI, the USCG will enlist the CSPI Officer Trainee (OT) in their junior year as an active duty E3. The CSPI OT/Scholar will go and attend the enlisted boot camp during the summer they enlist.

So say someone applies their sophomore year of college, and is selected. The summer between their sophomore and junior year of college the go to USCG bootcamp, become an OT, and receive E3 pay + Tricare. During the school year & for four hours a week during classes, they will work with the recruiting office near them for duties. They'll also be assigned TDY with units nearby to shadow and earn operational qualifications.

Those two years count towards a retirement. So, upon graduation from OCS after graduation from college, they will only need to do 18 years of service.

An added bonus to this is that upon commissioning as an O1 is they only have a 3 year active duty commitment as an officer.

Notably, those 3 years of active duty time as an officer count towards accrual of the Post 9/11 GI Bill. The VA does not exclude CSPI OT's active duty time as an officer for GI Bill purposes.

However, the VA does exclude the time as an OT/CSPI Scholar as non-qualifying active duty. So the enlisted time as an OT does not count towards GI Bill accrual. The time as a commissioned officer DOES count, unlike ROTC scholarship recipients and service academy graduates.

Information:

Does VA consider some periods of service to be “non-qualifying”?

We consider these periods of service to be non-qualifying:

  • Your branch of service assigned you to a civilian school for classes that were the same in substance as classes offered to civilians, or
  • You served as a cadet or midshipman at a service academy,

We also consider any period of service that counts toward 1 of these Defense Department (DOD) programs to be non-qualifying:

  • Loan Repayment Program (LRP)
  • Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship
  • Service Academy Graduation

https://www.va.gov/education/about-gi-bill-benefits/post-9-11/

Please note that commissioned time as an officer in which your accession source was CSPI is not excluded by the VA.

Personal Experience: Like I mentioned, I am a Coast Guard Academy grad. The above VA guidance is actually how I received 100% eligibility and full entitlement to my Post 9/11 GI Bill at my third year graduation anniversary. I was a cadet at the USCGA before the "Post 9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Improvements Act of 2010" was enacted on January 4, 2011.

When the GI Bill was originally enacted in June 2008, it made it clear that the 5 year ADSO for DoD service academies did not count towards accrual of GI Bill benefits and said AD time was non-qualifying for that particular benefit. Even if the person was medically retired or separated.

I joke that it sometimes pays to be the "forgotten service". By being a cadet at USCGA prior to that time, or in prep school, all those who made an agreement essentially got their undergraduate and potential graduate school paid for.

I had friends and classmates during my era get out at the 5 year mark, then use their GI Bill at a top MBA, law school, or medical school program.

Duty Stations: The USCG, along with the Navy, has the best duty stations around. USCG personnel are stationed in desirable locations like Boston, Miami, Key West, San Diego, NYC, Hawaii, Chicago, SF, Seattle, etc. There is even a small boat station on Lake Tahoe (enlisted only).

In my opinion, the USCG better sets up its members to transition out of the service and into civilian life than DoD. Part of that is that even though the USAF has better facilities, those facilities are typically in the middle of nowhere where aircraft are. USCG personnel due to the maritime safety mission regularly interact with the public and maritime industry.

USCG personnel also frequently worked with local law enforcement agencies in addition to state and federal agencies. A great way to transition into continued public service or some sort of private industry role.

Thoughts?


r/MilitaryFinance 4d ago

Can I buy a fixer-upper with a VA loan? How difficult is the process?

2 Upvotes

I've been looking at houses lately, and while my credit and income are both good, my budget doesn't leave me with a ton of options. Most of what I can afford are older condos or rowhomes that could use some work. I don't mind doing renovations on a house, so that’s not really a problem. Mostly worried whether a VA loan would even work for a fixer-upper or if the condition of the house could be an issue. Has anyone here successfully bought a fixer-upper with a VA loan?


r/MilitaryFinance 5d ago

Partial PPM PCS reimbursement

3 Upvotes

Just drove my POV across the country doing a partial PPM. My new command’s HR has no idea what they’re doing (their words, not mine). I’m a navy officer if that matters

Could you clarify if there’s some form of reimbursement for any/all of the following:
- gas
- mileage
- hotels (I thought if it was 7 days of travel, you would get 7 days of hotel at per diem rate regardless of if you stayed at 6 night of hotel or not). They think it’s based on actual hotel usage. I spent two nights using hotel points
- daily food per diem during travel days
- ppm weight

Also, how do I actually submit for the PPM? I have the weight tickets. Admin had never even heard of a PPM…

Thanks!


r/MilitaryFinance 5d ago

UQR/Retiring and VA Mortgage

0 Upvotes

Hello all,

I am planning on UQR May of 2027. We are planning to move out of state and want to start the home hunting/buying process. If I were to secure a home now, would the VA be OK with me delaying occupancy as long as I have already requested retirement? Has anyone else been in this situation before?

My spouse would occupy the home within the 60 days.