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We've been on Oahu for over 35 years. We get this question All. The. Time. from family & friends. I'd suggest that the young couple browse the options on the 101ThingsToDo website for their chosen islands and tentatively plan to stick to one island. (And one airport, and one passenger...

@motley, about 15 years ago on this forum we military veterans put together an entire book on leveraging your military benefits for financial independence. You've mentioned that your finances seem to be enough. That's math & logic. I could point out that your military pension rises with the...

If he’s interested in college now, then as he works through his enlistment he’ll become intensely motivated to get his degree or other certifications. Overall the military is a good place to be… from.

If you haven't already read it, @ugeauxgirl, I recommend a library copy of "You're On Your Own (but I'm here if you need me)." In this case "here if you need me" is more emotional & cheerleading support than being physically present. When you see a new recruit after graduation, they're...

Every community has their own vocabulary for this, and you’d want one who lives near your parents. You could search for that exact phrase, or try terms like “eldercare services”, or take a look at community services from the town or county government. In some areas you can call 211 to ask the...

@JBTX, just to make sure the vocabulary is correct, you want to get a durable power of attorney. A regular power of attorney becomes invalid when the grantor is no longer mentally competent. You might be able to get things done with a POA, but as soon as the financial corporation knows that...

Congratulations on getting the VA to compensate for your already paying the price! And my condolences for joining the 100% category. It looks like you got good help if you were able to persuade the raters after three tries. Ideally DFAS handles everything correctly with your pension, your...

Our work here is done!

The dollars (or the lower income taxes) are not the root issue. It's not even about veterans hiring preference or vocational benefits. It's about documenting your health (and your possible disability rating) with the VA now so that your family doesn't have to do it for you (possibly years from...

The Redditor’s drama aside, we feel very strongly about gifting our progeny. We can share a little of their inheritance now while we’re all still around to enjoy it together. It also facilitates many wealth-management discussions (which I find more valuable than the gifts) about whether we’re...

Why yes, yes we are doing that. The spreadsheet has just reached its 20th anniversary. For those who've joined here after 2014 (or for those older longer-term members who'd enjoy a stroll down memory lane), here's the original 2004 thread...

Welcome to the forum, @ParaDoc82. If you and your spouse are both retired, with monthly military pension + Concurrent Retirement and Disability Pay greater than your expenses, then you're financially independent. You could also spend from your investments at the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate, but...

Thank you!

For those who are wondering if we've seen @friar1610's charity before, the royalties from The Military Guide are donated to Fisher House. The grand total of the charitable donations from the book (and blogging, and public speaking, and other revenue) is $30,432.47 since June 2011. About half...

There's a very good reason that the Navy (and the boat's commissioning crew) "invites" the shipyard contractors to attend sea trials. To be fair to the contractors, some of them are submarine veterans. They also routinely do sea-trials checks with advanced gear on obscure features (like...

Well phrased on the homes... and ouch. The DoD Actuary report used to list the oldest living retirees, and they were at age 110. Today they just have a row at "100+", and there's 879 people in that category: https://media.defense.gov/2023/Oct/06/2003315292/-1/-1/0/MRS%20STATRPT%202022%20V999.PDF

Thank you for the tags, Gumby & JDarnell!* I’m counting roughly $2.3M (not including 529 accounts) and $8100/month pension with expenses of $6700/month. You’re also going to earn another two years of O-6 pay & allowances. With the numbers you’ve listed, the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate on $2.3M is...

Do you happen to have a link to where you read that, @msanniee? Writing as an active-duty military retiree who receives VA disability compensation and who is also eligible for Social Security, this is not correct. There have been a number of historical federal laws against dual compensation...

It's very hard to prove a negative, @wrigley, but I spend way too much time reading through the VA's website. I've never heard of this either. I can understand someone starting SS at age 62 explicitly because they're 100% P&T and don't expect to live long enough to reach break-even on their SS...

Here's the details, @rodi: https://militaryfinancialindependence.com/2012/06/25/forensic-geriatric-finances/ I've posted this link before, but we've planned extensively for our family disability. (Comparatively, death is easy.) Our daughter holds our co-trustee powers, our DPOA, and our...

Congratulations, @Bimmerbill, and it's good to be more focused on your remaining time than your remaining money! You can tinker with OpenSocialSecurity to see whether it makes much difference either way. Mike Piper has a good post on the lifestyle questions beyond the financial...

Sorry about the theft, Terry. The vehicles with those Vietnam plates & frames are slowly disappearing from the parking lot at my favorite surf break. If the frame is from a unit or command then their reunion site almost always has someone who either makes the frames or who can put in a bulk...

Well, I’m subscribed to this thread, and I usually stop by every week or so to search for keywords. To be clear, I stopped drinking when I realized that alcohol was a lethal combination with my father’s early-stage Alzheimer’s. When he showed signs of early dementia, he refused all help from...

Clickbait or not, it got the clicks. It's been over a decade since I've had an interview go from a major publication (like the NYT) to the homepage of Yahoo!, after traveling through a bunch of their smaller syndicators. Paula can't share the NYT website details like pageviews, but I got the...

"My drinking days are behind me. Can I get a cup of coffee?" And, if pressed, "I've already drunk my lifetime quota of alcohol, and most of your quota too. Can I have a glass of water?" At the time when my father's Alzheimer's/alcohol crisis convinced me to stop drinking, my daughter was in...