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It would be close to a year's pay.

My youngest daughter is approaching senior year at West Point and USAA is offering the Career Starter Loan ($25,000 - $35,000 at .5 to 2.5% interest) https://themilitarywallet.com/usaa-starter-loan/ She has no debt, and is thinking of taking the loan to buy a used car and invest. We've talked...

I'm a few (2-5) years away from permanently retiring, and I personally regret not investing earlier in life. As for now, since I retired from the military in 2018, we are living well below our means, but splurging whenever we want. That's one thing I don't regret, which is knowing that even...

Talk to them about it. Talk to them about everything. Most importantly, talk to them about being adults, the value of time and family over money, and how people and happiness are the goal, not the means.

Quick update. Mostly no change, however, I accepted a position and we're moving to Hawaii. IF I totally love the w*rk, we may push full retirement for the time it takes to participate in a charter catamaran program or save more for our boat. We'll most likely sell the property in Colorado.

Welcome! I'm going to be brutally honest. You're in better shape than I was when I retired from active duty! (Which might not be saying much) As long as you have a good handle on your expenses and keep your income estimates conservative, you are on the right track. Make sure you start the VA...

Yep, didn't say they did.

I'm still not sure you can import kobe wagyu, but possibly. It's gotta be super expensive. The costco is kagoshima, which is almost "as good" as kobe. Or so "they" say.

Well, it's wagyu, but the best way to cook it as simply as possible is to ensure your cooking surface is hot enough to properly sear it quickly and leave the inside fully medium to medium rare (i do prefer medium rare to rare). We usually sear them and yes, cook with a bit of butter and sliced...

Take the pension per year. Use a portion of it to pay for life insurance to replace the yearly amount (at least) should you pass early. The end. My military pension and disability are my FI. Haven't RE yet, but we will once my investment and savings cushions are larger.

True, apologies. That model only has a US cellular module. I use the world-phone version: https://store.gl-inet.com/products/mudigl-e750-travel-4g-router

Thanks, I forgot which were which.

Make sure your TSP is in the right fund. Ensure it's in the more aggressive funds. I can't remember the exact funds, but I believe the G and F are better/more aggressive, which is better for your age. Max your ROTH, then TSP, then put any remaining money you have available into ETF, etc.. My...

I recommend this model: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082X2DLMY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_XFF9TQDEM2QR276M7FEP

The best models have 2 wifi radios (one to connect to the public/hotel network and one to make a personal network) and a 4g/LTE/5g radio as well. They also include the ability to run the entire personal wifi network through a VPN for privacy.

DW and I have agreed on December 2023! We've been FI since my military retirement in October 2018. I'm working as a government civilian dog of the military for now. We will use 2024 as a sabbatical/trial run, but we currently expect it to be the start of our retirement. We'll be 49 1/2.

That's right. My apologies for using TFL in this instance.

Tricare For Life doesn't require you to use a VA facility. It IS suitable medical insurance. That said, there are excellent VA facilities, and poor ones, just like private medical facilities.

I didn't realize we were SI when I retired from the military, and we want(ed) to wait until our kids were out of High School before deciding when to RE. We're looking at 49 1/2 in Dec 2023. If I am working somewhere I love, we may wait even longer. It really depends on our view of how "free" we...

Income/4% is a good base. It does provide me some confidence in planning. My DW keeps talking about just going back to work if/when I hit the DZ for the last time, but I'm going to make sure that's not necessary. We're still planning to settle down in Malaysia/Thailand/Asia. We miss it quite a...

I agree, my only problem is I still don't trust it at this point. I've only been "retired" and receiving pension for 2 1/2 years while I'm w*rking as a govvie to pad the emergency and fun money banks. My pension and disability is easily enough for my wife and I to live on for good, but I'm...

We aren't expecting to make money or even break even as far as the catamaran is concerned. We're also proceeding cautiously concerning our abilities and enjoyment of the lifestyle before dropping a lot of money on the depreciating asset. As far as the pension and disability, as well as our net...

Almost at 47, with less than 2.5 years to go. DW and I have agreed that we will at the very least begin a sabbatical to gage our (and our kids) position, start using our GI Bill and my additional VA benefits, and rest/recharge in December 2023. We're still saving at the same rate, and we...

I retired from the military almost 3 years ago after 26 years w/ pension and va disability. Combined equal more than my active base pay by a good bit. Both have historically been sufficiently cola'd.

Welcome! DW and I are also looking at retiring overseas (Preferably Asia) and hopefully on a catamaran around 2024-2025! We're looking at cutting our teeth cruising along the ICW/East Coast/Caribbean and possibly South America first. We've lived overseas for almost 16 years total (10 in Asia, 6...