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Hey, I'm Spencer Reese. I separated from the US Air Force in 2022 after nearly 12 years of active duty service. I help military servicemembers and their families through my:
Book, Podcast, Course, and Website
All my media channels are dedicated to enriching military families. I help them achieve financial independence as fast as possible.
When I joined the Air Force in 2010, there were no guides or books on how to achieve financial independence in the military. I conducted thousands of hours of research, writing, blogging, and asking questions. I wrote the book I wish someone had handed to me on my first day in the military.
That book became The Military Money Manual.
In this post:
How Military Money Manual Started
In 2011 I graduated US Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training or UPT and earned my wings. I had a bit of free time on my hands after graduating.
I became obsessed with personal finance, investing, and optimizing my life and money. I read every book the small base library had on these subjects. I read as many personal finance and financial independence websites as I could.
I decided to make early financial independence my main financial goal. I set my goal of investing for financial independence by age 40. It was easy convincing my wife of this goal since she has always been a saver.
I began tracking my net worth every month starting in April 2012, when my wife and I were worth -$3714. We saved, invested, and reached financial independence by age 34.
Throughout my military career I invested between 30-50% of my after tax military pay. Usually around 40%. You can see my current asset allocation and personal investing principles.
I wrote The Military Money Manual about my journey to financial independence and how you can achieve FI in the military in about a decade. The book is a letter to my younger self explaining everything 20 year old me would need to know to become financial independent in the next 10-15 years. The book was published in 2021 in audiobook, ebook, and hardcover and is available on Amazon, Audible, my site, libraries, and many other places around the web.
Today, my wife and I enjoy spending time outdoors with my family and friends. You can usually find us travelling to new places with old friends, eating at new restaurants, hiking, or trying to find the world's best gelato. We are lucky to have jobs that allow us to travel and have a good amount of free time.
Military Money Manual in the Media
Military Money Manual is featured on a number of popular websites. I am frequently quoted as an expert on military financial issues, investing, personal finance, credit cards, travel credit cards, and military credit cards benefits, especially the SCRA and MLA laws and how these Acts apply to fee waived credit cards.
Yahoo! Finance | ABC News | The Military Guide | Dough Roller | Credit.com | Military Saves | Mint.com | Zillow Blog | Military.com Paycheck Chronicles | Financial Samurai | Get Rich Slowly | Million Mile Secrets | Lifehacker | Madfientist |
Reserve & National Guard Magazine | Military Families Magazine
Market Watch
- 130,000 veterans about about to get a hefty tax refund…
- I'm a 40, single, military dad of 2; I have rental income, $100k in retirement savings and expect at least $3k a month in retirement – what am I missing?
- Why US soldiers may want to start brushing up on investing
If you'd like an article from me, a quote, to inquiry about advertising on my site, or to contact me, visit the contact page.
The Military Money Manual Value Proposition
- An author with 11 years military experience. I deployed 4 times, PCS’d 6 times, spent 1,000+ days TDY or overseas, and I received the same paycheck as you on the 1st and 15th.
- First hand experience – I achieved financial independence in less than 12 years. I found no shortcuts to financial independence. FI can be reached by anyone with time, a positive savings rate, and positive investment returns. I paid off $120,000 in USAA cadet, student, and auto loans. I max out my TSP and Vanguard IRAs every year.
- I spend 5+ hours researching and writing each article I post. Everything is original and written or edited by me, no ghost writers. If I have a guest post, I label it as such.
- Trustworthy: I only recommend products I use myself. I clearly outline my affiliate linking and advertising policy. This is unlike many sites on the web that include affiliate links without informing you of the potential conflict of interest. I have over 30 credit cards and have traveled my way around the world for years.
- A degree in economics and a graduate certificate in Financial Therapy from Kansas State University
About My Site – Military Money Manual
I started this site for three primary reasons:
- Share what I learn about personal finance for military servicemembers
- Help fellow military personnel grow wealthier
- Earn additional income online (see my advertising disclosure)
For a profit motivated worker, working for government can be difficult as there are no bonuses, no salary negotiations, and promotions are based mostly on seniority. In 2012 I was in a long unaccompanied training course. Living in the dorms on base, there wasn't much I could do to boost my income.
I started this blog in April 2012 to pass the time, write about what I was doing with my money, and to make some extra income. From 2012-2024, over 3 million visitors have visited this site. Our podcast has reached over 400,000 downloads, 500 5-star reviews, and my free military credit cards email course celebrated 22,000 graduates in 2024. My book sold over 5,000 copies.
Before I discovered the idea of financial independence, I had no definitive goal with my money. I knew that my investments could eventually support my lifestyle, but I didn't know my number. $1 million? $2 million? It seemed so arbitrary.
After discovering how simple (but not easy) financial independence can be, I needed to share it with my military community.
The ultimate reason to save and invest is to achieve financial independence, so that you can live life as you choose.
Military personal finance can be quite different from civilians. There's the constant moving across the country or the world (PCS). There's deployments and temporary assignments (TDYs). There are entitlements, basic pay, incentive pay, tax benefits, BAH, and everything else that makes the military financial community different from the civilian sector.
That's why a site like this one, specific to military personal finance issues, is needed.
Thanks for reading,
Spencer
February 2026
Thank you for writing out the ‘About My Site’ section, I really enjoyed hearing your overall journey from AF Cadet to Financially Independent business owner.
It’s also great to see the stats you posted, from 2012-2024 – I didn’t realize you’ve been posting this long.
As a service member with 13 years of tenure, at the rank of E-6, it’s still inspiring to see others contributing towards other members success. I’m 80% towards my financial goal ($400,000 of $500,000 invested by age 39), but I’m only 32 years old. Now I’m aiming a bit higher, to have a goal that’s just out of reach ($750k by age 39). We’ll see if I make it, with all of life’s little bumps and changes.
Thank you Spencer for continuing to inspire me!
-Michael
Hi! Been following y’all since I EAD’d on 15 October 2023 and bought the TSP investing course soon after as well. Thank you for all the content that you’ve made. I’m currently at 16 credit cards and I’m so excited about continually expanding!
I had a question about waivers for being added as an additional user. Specifically, I got married recently and was wondering if I got added as an authorized user on my husband’s Chase cards from before we got married, would he now get those annual fees waived? I know spouses are not covered under SCRA (?), but wanted to double check if being added as an authorized user in this way could help waive the annual fee, or if he should just close down the cards and then reopen that way his account opening date can fall under MLA.
Your wisdom is appreciated!
Hello,
I hope life finds you well this Holiday season. I just wanted to get in contact with you regarding your podcast on 15 December. As a military and a post civil servant retiree I would like to get your impression of what you DON’T like about TSP. When I participated in TSP I felt that participants weren’t being fully served by those that manage TSP and what I felt was that TSP needed to offer ETF’s to its participants. I felt then as I do know that TSP no longer provides the lowest fees in the industry. Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard offer excellent ETF’s at equal or lower fees than TSP. Incorporating these types of investments could allow participants to management their contributions better with more choices, possibly better performance, and without restrictions of getting your sell or buy request in before noon as TSP requires. When I fully retired I moved my TSP to Vanguard and I don’t regret it a bit. Overall I believe Schwab, Vanguard, and Fidelity offer greater investment flexibility, broader fund choices, and account portability compared to TSP’s limited, locked-in options.
When I looked into TSP during my civil service time period I found out that TSP was managed by Blackrock which really is no different from Vanguard. I also found out that you cannot communicate with those that manage TSP with questions or ideas. TSP at times seemed like it was managed by a secret entity that was never told what share holders wanted, requested, or even had recommendation to make it better. Though TSP has made improvements it take time, and I mean a lot of time, for TSP to implement change. I know Life Cycle Funds are part of various investment houses today but they are something I’ve never been a fan of. I’ve always felt that TSP could be better for its participants but getting them to implement those ideas is like moving a mountain. I don’t know if you agree with my comments but I wanted to message you all the same. Thanks for taking my email and maybe you could make this topic a future podcast. Thanks again, and have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Joe Cochran
Michigan
Hey guys, thanks for continuing with the podcast. I love opening up Spotify and seeing a new episode. Great stuff!
I was wondering if you could do an episode the USAF pilot bonus and staying in to 20 vs getting out and going to the airlines. I’m financial independence-focused, and I know staying to 20 is the sure way to that end given a high savings rate the last 10 years. However, I’m burnt out and don’t see O-4/O-5 jobs as desirable.
If you guys could break down the financial side of airlines vs. staying in military flying until 20, with a special consideration for FIRE, that would be awesome. Either way, keep up the great work.
Episode 160: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0pV3CYL736FesIGwVoI54h?si=QJG0hJNBQlGNMSeTWTIC3w
And episode 34.
Jamie ran through his pilot bonus math here.
You’ll always make more in the airlines. The pilot bonus just softens the pain a bit. If you get hired, I’d get out of the idea of staying in to 20 is too painful. Also look at Guard and Reserve, can keep the door open to earning a full active duty retirement.
Good morning, Gentlemen,
My name is JP, I commissioned in 2005 and left AD in 2013 to pursue anesthesia school. I decided to stay in the USAR and work on the civilian side where compensation is great. However, after the reallocation of slots (spaces) from USAR MED to combat arms, a lot of us found ourselves in an overstrength position and failing to promote. To include having to serve CPTs (some at 12-14 years of service) pink slips due to being 2x non-selects. I found myself if in the same boat as a MAJ (with 16 years, they say you finish out 20 but..) and decided to leave my lucrative practice and jump back on AD (a higher sense of service, I suppose, or mere idiocy). And now on the ramp deck to deploy, my questions are should I have opted in for BRS? or stay Legacy (high 3), and how do I maximize my TSP with my deployment income? I know you just had that recent podcast with the military wallet, but that additional investment to the traditional TSP, that taxable upon withdrawal yes? Any advice would be great! Thanks!
If you’re going to do 20 years active duty, Legacy High-3 is probably the way to go. The additional contribution to Traditional TSP would be marked as tax free, but the growth would be subject to income tax when withdrawn after age 59.5. However, you can convert the contribution to a Roth TSP starting in the next few years. Just not yet. So could be worth getting some money in there.
Hi Spencer! We are currently stationed in HI and are looking to take advantage of some of the great AMEX hotel cards. Currently I myself have AMEX Platinum, AMEX Blue Cash, and Chase Sapphire Reserve. I’ve had the AMEX cards for 3 years. I was declined for the welcome bonus offer for both the Hilton Aspire and Marriott Brilliant card. Any idea how to get out of this AMEX “jail”? I haven’t opened or closed any credit cards. I am sitting on about 370,000 reward points (I know the depreciate.. I need to use them) on my Platinum so I’m wondering if this is part of it.
I only put a few hundred a month on my platinum now but will try putting more on it. Won’t be hard to do with childcare cost! $$$
A little extra background: I am a spouse and my husband is an O3. I am a full time NAF4 employee.
Thank you for all you do for our community!
Thanks for the kind words!
The 370,000 Amex points do not effect your “jail” status. I know people with 1,000,000+, some in jail, some are not. It’s frustrating while you’re in Amex jail. Here’s my advice for getting out of Amex jail. My best advice is while you’re in Amex jail to work on your Chase cards instead. Hyatt and IHG have great hotel credit cards.
Gentlemen,
I’m Nitro, a fellow USAF aviator of 8 years. Between a cross-country TDY back-to-back with a PCS, I’ve spent approximately 69 hours driving in the past month. I happened upon your podcast and instantly got hooked. After hearing a couple of your later episodes, I determined the value was worth starting from the beginning. In a crash course manner, I managed to plow through every episode of the Military Money Manual Podcast and your audiobook over the past few weeks, mining so many precious gems along the way. I’m now going back and listening to the episodes I starred along the way that were especially relevant to me. I’ve learned so much about personal finance and the credit card Points Game from you two and your team. To pay it forward, after rating and reviewing on Apple Podcasts and Spotify and graduating The Ultimate Military Credit Card Course at militarymoneymanual.com/umc3, I’m gradually teaching my Airmen the lessons I’ve learned from you and vectoring them toward the podcast. I’m also going to purchase a few extra copies of the Military Money Manual to leave around the squadron and let organic curiosity work its magic.
Thank you so much for your consistently relevant and valuable insight to the unique world of Military Money. I’m looking forward to your 100th podcast milestone and beyond.
-Nitro
Nitro, that’s amazing. Thanks for indulging us and listening to us prattle on for 69 hours. Comments like your’s make all the work worth it. I’d be interested in what those starred episodes are. Makes us super proud to hear you passing on the lessons to your airmen. Cheers!
Hey there, I published a book on mental health after leaving the Army in 2022 (combat engineer). I had a Soldier in my platoon who survived his suicide attempt and this inspired me to write a book to educate incoming leaders on the importance of proactively strengthening mental health & resilience.
Please let me know if you or anyone you know is open to putting me on their podcast!
Dan Z Joseph, M.S.
COMBATPSYCH [dot] COM
Author of “Backpack to Rucksack: Insight Into Leadership and Resilience By Military Experts”
Hi, just discovered your podcast and I’m learning a lot. What are your thoughts on student loan debt with PSLF as military. Is it worth it to put money in TSP Traditional to lower income for income driven repayment? Especially higher loans, at O3 now.
Thanks for any direction on how to maximize this. I know in episode 27 you were saying don’t step over dollars for pennies in not paying off loans, just wasn’t sure if that applied with PSLF too
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) is a mess. I wouldn’t count on it at all. I would much rather be debt free years earlier and choose what happens with my paycheck, rather than wait 10 years for a forgiveness program from the government that may not even work. However, if it’s part of your plan, then go for it. Income based repayment and driving your income as low as possible with tax free deployments and Traditional IRA and TSP contributions could be a good way to go. Remember that Public Service Loan Forgiveness is only for government backed loans. If you have private loans, it doesn’t work.
Just booked a free night at a hotel in Seattle thanks to your awesome info. Thanks Spencer!
You are very welcome Ben! Enjoy Seattle!
Spencer,
Thanks for the information. I am an ANG Title 32 – 502 (f) AGR, so I believe that SCRA and MLA both apply to my situation. I am on continuous AGR orders (renewing every 6 years). I am currently an O-4 and have a wife and two kids. We live modest lives, but do enjoy to travel and see new things with the kids. I don’t have the luxury of going TDY as much as I’d like (family obligations) and my wife does not work, so we do not have financial independence by any means. I am already 40 years old also, so I missed the boat on that. I got in late to the military at age 30, so I am a little behind the curve. With that said, just looking for your recommendations not so much for financial independence, but to maximize benefits from these credit cards. I already have the Hilton Aspire and Marriot Bonvoy Brilliant card from awhile back. Can my wife apply for these cards as well even if she is not military? Thanks again for the info.
You can double check the MLA database here: https://mla.dmdc.osd.mil/ to ensure that you are eligible for MLA. Also check for your spouse and if she is in the database and eligible for MLA benefits as a military spouse then she can apply as well and get the fees waived. Let me know how it goes!
Hi Spencer,
What is your suggestion for those in the military that don’t plan on being in much beyond their 5 year commitment with regards to AMEX charge cards (Plat, Gold, and Green) with no means of downgrading to a no-fee card? Would you still get several platinum cards and cancel a few once out of the military? If so, is cancelling a few cards at the same time not a great idea? Or try to stay away from getting multiple platinum cards?
I highly recommending getting as many cards as you possibly can during your 5 year commitment! You can either close the accounts if you’re not getting value from them or keep them open. Here’s what I recommend doing when you leave the military with your credit cards: https://militarymoneymanual.com/credit-cards-retire-separate-leave-military/
Amex apparently doesn’t check very often but Chase does, so you may get lucky and get to keep the cards open with annual fee waivers. Cancelling a few cards all at the same time should not effect your credit all that much. I would definitely recommend getting as many Platinum cards as you can while you are active duty.
Hi Spencer,
This is Yvette from a Norwegian small financial website. Congratulation on making such a great website especially tailored to the military. Think that also non military people can learn a lot from you. Thanks for sharing.
Spencer,
Any insight on the AvIP and how to minimize tax burden? Also, do you know if we (BRS babies) can take both BRS Continuation Pay and AvIP?
I believe the answer to second question is yes, you can take Aviation Incentive Program bonus and the BRS Continuation Pay bonus. Let do some more research and I will write up a post about it. Ideally you’d want to be deployed when you take the bonus to minimize taxes.
Spence,
What’s your take on High Yield Savings accounts? And if you use them, who do you recommend?
Hey Strap…High Yield Savings Accounts (HYSA) are great if you need to hang on to cash for a year or 2…otherwise get that money invested in an asset that going to pay you more than 2% annually. I’ve used Ally, CIT, Personal Capital, Betterment, and others. As long as they are FDIC insured, I just search for many of the review articles out there that list the best interest rates on cash accounts. But typically I don’t like to hold on to cash for more than 1 year as the returns are so low. I like to get my cash invested ASAP.
That being said, I am saving up for a Tesla so I will be looking for a HYSA to keep the cash in until I’m ready to buy that.
Spencer, I appreciate your posts, and often link to your articles on my blog: militaryintransition.com. I wish you the best of luck as you go through your Air Force career, and please feel free to touch base with me if there’s anything I can ever help you with. -Forrest
Thanks Forrest!
I’ve got no doubt you can achieve financial independence by 40 given you’ve started this site and are focused. I didn’t start my site until I was 31. If i started at 25, dang….. maybe I would have been done even earlier!
Good luck!
Thanks, Sam! I’ve been digging your recent posts about betting big in the stock market. It’s exciting to see the opportunities you get to take advantage of when you’re financially independent and don’t have to work for the “man.” I’ll be there one day!
Hi Spencer, it is Kate from The Paycheck Chronicles. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve put my personal site live at katehorrell.com. It will probably contain some similar info as The Paycheck Chronicles, but no payday posts and more personal and/or controversial subject matter.
Hope all is well there!
That’s great Kate. I’ll be sure to check it out. Good luck!
Spencer, your style , content and message are right on target. I worked as a CPA at major accounting firms for 25 years, and now I am a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual. Your USAA is the best firm, we are a close second with NY Life and Mass Mutual. Congratulations on your clarity and mission definition.
Regards, Bob
Hey Spencer,
Thanks for taking the time to blog, love your work.
Do you have any advice on trading between USD and the wonderful currency of New Zealand, the New Zealand Dollar? Would appreciate it as I am looking to purchase goods over an extended period of time.
Cheers
Hey Juan, I’ve found USForex is an excellent site to do currency trading and foreign exchange. If you were transferring money into USD from NZD, I think you need to use NZForex. Cheers!
How can i get the military to pay for a stutdent laon i had before i got into the military