One Week Cycling Vacation in North Island New Zealand
In March 2017 I set aside 2 weeks of leave and headed south for New Zealand. I can never understand military servicemembers who put themselves into “use or lose” leave situations. …
Reader Question: Roth IRA Investments, USAA vs. Vanguard
I get at least 1 email a day from my readers. I try to respond to everyone eventually with a personal email from me. I cannot afford a personal assistant …
8 Things I Did to Pay Off My Student Loan Debt Early
2016 was the first year since graduating university in 2010 that I did not have to make a single student loan payment. What a relief that was! Now our student …
Why the ‘You Just Gave Uncle Sam an Interest-Free Loan’ Argument Doesn’t Work For Many Transitioning Military
Executive Summary Every year at tax time, you see pundits talk about ‘giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan.’ While the concept of lowering tax withholdings is sound, there are several …
2016 Investment Performance: +10% Net Worth: +16%
What a roller coaster of a year! Between a rough start in January when the S&P 500 was down 5% (the worst month since 2009), Brexit, the Trump election night crash …
Blended Retirement System: The New Military BRS
Last update 17 Feb 2017 I will use this page to collect ideas, resources, and links to all things Blended Retirement System related. I will keep it continuously updated as new information …
What I Saw at USAA’s Digital Military Experience
USAA’s 2016 “Digital Military Experience,” or #DigiMilEx as it was trending on Twitter, was an annual meeting of military affiliated personal finance bloggers, affinity groups, and USAA’s team. Held at …
$10,000 and 1 Year With Betterment: Performance and Cost
After 1 year and $10,000 invested in Betterment, I am a happy customer and recommend it to family, friends, and blog readers. My initial review is here and my review …
Military Deployment Savings Challenge: $54k in 6 Months
After over two years of no deployments, I had a six month deployment to the Middle East in 2017. Note from Spencer on March 14 2021: this deployment was actually cancelled last minute. …
EZ Rack Builder Review: Easy Military Thin Ribbons
In the summer of 2015, I attended Squadron Officer School (SOS) at Maxwell AFB, AL. SOS is a five week course on leadership, management, team building, and officer development for Air Force …