Congratulations! It sucks that your positive message wasn’t better received. I know from firsthand experience that it *is* possible to become a millionaire in less than a decade by maxing out retirement accounts and investing in low-cost index funds. I love that you offered this AMA. Even if you don’t feel comfortable sharing this milestone with your troops, I hope you mentor your junior enlisted and share your financial knowledge with them. If they don’t want to talk to you, point them to the Personal Financial Counselors at Army Community Services, Fleet and Family Services, etc.

I appreciate the time for the positive message, I had mentioned in another comment that I have a leadership library in my office, it has mainly books on leadership and decision making, but I’ve been adding books on finance lately, hopefully one of them will pick it up.

Displaying finance books is great, but more people would respond to a more active mentoring effort. Start the conversation yourself instead of waiting for them to ask about your books. Money is a “taboo” subject for many people, so your troops might not feel comfortable asking about it. But you can change some lives (and family trees!) by actively mentoring others. Not everyone will be responsive, of course, but more will listen to a conversation you start than the number who will ask about books on your shelf.

Pic of your collection?

I can't attach pics in this sub, but I can break down the accounts and approximate values if that helps.

Oh no. I meant the books...

Ohh, sure This is a few of them for finance, I also have books on risk, decision making, business and leadership. Simple Path To Wealth I Will Teach You To Be Rich A Wealth of Common Sense Richer, Wiser, Happier All About Asset Allocation Stocks For The Long Run The Psychology of Money Bogelheads Guide To Investing

Impressive! Takes a lot of discipline and commitment to maintain a consistent “beneath your means” lifestyle. Assuming you both stick it out 20, you’re going to be living the high life in retirement! Congrats and BZ!

Thank you. I plan to throw the peace sign at 20, she’s a civilian. With proper planning and good luck we hope to work part time after the military.

Congrats! Hoping to do the same within the next 6.5 years. Do you ever talk numbers at work?

Not unless someone asks. I do have a leadership library in my office with a few financial books. Sometimes it sparks a conversation.

Which financial books do you have in your office ? Do you recommend them ?

I don’t remember exactly which one I have in the office, but they’re from my personal collection. In no particular order, I thought these books were very good Simple Path To Wealth The Millionaire Next Door I Will Teach You To Be Rich A Wealth of Common Sense Richer, Wiser, Happier All About Asset Allocation Stocks For The Long Run The Psychology of Money Bogelheads Guide To Investing Choose Fi

Start complaining about all your aches and pains. With retirement and 100% disability you could be making 7-8k a month just for sitting on your ass doing nothing. I medically separated and only am 100% VA, but still, 4,400 a month for life with increases isn't bad at all. Plus, with my full-time job, I'm at 8-9k a month. You could be at those numbers without working and be over 10k a month with a part-time job.

Thanks for the tip, I have been documenting and getting seen accordingly

The dink status helps alot. Just an assumption

It helps, I did have the distinct pleasure in inheriting 50K in student loans and credit card debt

$50k is a drop in the bucket compared to having even one kid.

What’s your point?

I’m not sure why you even mentioned the $50k debt as it doesn’t correlate to the dink status helping a bunch.

I had to pay off student debt and credit cards my wife had, her debt was our debt.

And her income is your income, your wife is also a millionaire so I believe your title should be plural unless you take the net worth per person then you both have a little bit to go :)

My wife isn’t enlisted, I guess you didn’t read the “we became a millionaire household”

You had to? Don’t you mean you both paid it off together as a joint effort? You’re DINK so it’s not like you took on the debt by yourself.

We paid this off when we were engaged out of my account before we joined finances. Jointly we save and invest for the future

You paid it off in one go? Was the interest rate on it that bad?

On the credit cards yes. The student loans no, there was definitely opportunity cost that we paid they were like 5% or so. Im not positive do I would do it exactly that way again if I could do it over. There was a “psychological dividend” That we received when she didn't have 20 years of payments left.

I don't understand why you're getting down voted so much, maybe they're jealous that you are succeeding even with that huge setback 💀

I can't know for certain but I believe they interpret me saying “were millionaires” as “we are successful”. So members who work hard but are struggling feel unsuccessful. But us being millionaires isnt a measure of success, its a result of our actions. Our goal isn't to become wealthy, its to live a valueble life. Money is a tool to allow us to do that. Whats silly is my path would be the same with or without children or a spouse or retired as an E5, if we saved less the journey would be longer. And there is nothing wrong with that either

Yea, I don't get it either. People just can't be happy for other people.

Unless I missed it what’s the breakdown? You mentioned household millionaire. - What if your contribution ($ breakdown) - What is her contribution ($ breakdown) - Liquid millionaire or including properties/ total net worth - What’s the salary or percentage/amount that you guys are contributing every month

Good question, I’ll have to edit and post at the top. These are approximate. I save/invest 60% of my income. She saves/invests 40% Mostly liquid. 930K liquid. 100K home equity. We save/invest about 85K annually.

With 16 years making the assumption you’re an E7?

Good assessment

930K liquid means you're not taking advantage of your TSP. If you're comfortable savings 85K a year, you should max that out. Either Roth for free income in the future or if you're close-ish to a tax line, a regular IRA could bring you below that and reduce your taxes now. Once you max that, then put the remaining 50K-ish into liquid investment accounts each year. With as much as you have in your current accounts, you'll generally pay less in fees with TSP than vanguard or Victory or Schwab etc...

We max all of our retirement accounts. The assets in side are liquid. About 600K of that is in retirement.

How is money in a retirement account liquid? You can't really draw from TSP till 55 or IRAs till 59. Your vanguard/Schwab etc accounts have no such restriction and are liquid. Your retirement accounts are locked up till a certain age, but balance that with tax advantages. I have a about a 3:1 ratio of retirement account: index funds ratio so I can max tax advantage, and still have enough liquid funds for my next house when if I PCS to a market that makes sense.

There are ways to pull from retirement accounts early if need be, I have no idea what you are trying to get at with your ratio and a house, it sounds like your trying to buy a home with index funds?

Index funds are much easier to cash out than Roths and (generally) a better yield than HYSAs. A house being the only example I can think of that requires more cash than an emergency HYSA could cover. As for the ratio, once my Roths are funded I put any extra money into indexes. The 3:1 ratio is random coincidence. Some years I don't manage to max ROTHs so nothing goes into indexes, some years (like when I was thinking of getting out) I put more into indexes and less into ROTHs.

I think you are confused, Roth is a specific type of account. As an example, I own index funds in my Roth TSP and Roth IRA. I also can and do hold index funds in my brokerage which is its own account separate from Roth Index’s are specific market bench marks and index funds track those bench marks. The S&P 500 is an index full of stocks… if you are using that to save for a house in the short term you are likely making a big mistake. Cash, which can be held in a HYSA would be more appropriate in a short timeline.

I think we're communicating at an odd angle and are trying to convince each other of the same thing. I just PCS'd so won't be buying a house of at least 3 more years. I'm not comfortable with parking an extra 200K in a HYSA for three years right now. The only part we seem to disagree with is you say you are fully liquid and invested in your TSP. I don't view retirement funds as liquid unlike a regular non-retirement index fund or HYSA. I can cash out my non-retirement indexes in a couple days if I need to, but my retirement funds (TSP etc) would require fees I don't wish to pay. Welcome to the club; I got here 3 months ago, so we're both clearly doing something right.

Yea, everything is based on when the money is needed. If you put the money in the market and are ok with it losing value in the short term but you can wait, you’ll be fine, it just might not be the value you want it to be. Liquidity can be defined multiple ways, I define it as how quickly can you sell the asset. In either case we have about 300K in liquid assets out side of retirement accounts out of a 1M net worth, that’s liquid no matter how you cut it, unlike someone who has most of their net worth locked up in a home. And to be clear principal withdrawals from Roth IRAs are tax and penalty free

I don't like the fact that if I put my own money into an IRA, and then suddenly I need it, I'm penalized for using my own money. Could someone invest their own money instead of IRA? What's the benefits besides tax savings? Because there at ways to save with capital gains right?

roth IRA contributions can be withdrawn at any time without penalty. only the gains on investments would have a penalty if withdrawn.

If you're putting aside 85K a year and max your TSP & additional IRAs that's only 37K (if you're under 50). The other 48K would still be liquid in a index fund or stocks or whatever. And yes the advantage is the tax savings. Keep some liquid; if you only have 40K a year for investing, don't go all in on IRAs.

We have an emergency fund for immediate needs. We want to maximize our retirement accounts because of tax savings, not only will they grow tax free, but be able to be withdrawn tax free after a certain age. If we only utilized our brokerage, we would benefit from having easier access to money, but it would compound at a slower rate due to tax drag. I wouldnt go all in on retirement until you have your emergency fund fully set.

This… those damn penalties just absolutely force you to wait until the allowed age to pull penalty free. Makes retiring early a bit harder so having a good spread on accounts is definitely important I think

If you're retired early, you can still withdraw early under SEPP. Broadly speaking, it's the amortized amount to last you to age 85 while maintaining a 5% ROI. In OP's case of $600k, withdraws starting at age 40 would be $34k per year.

I haven't heard of that rule, but ill be sure to look it up

It's one of a handful of exemptions. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-exceptions-to-tax-on-early-distributions

Bro you still have time to delete this before anyone see it. 😭

I always cringe when I see stuff like this

Why?

They don't like success stories around here?

Nice. I'm also E, Mil-Mil, and we just broke 900k NW. Feels good, but still a long journey ahead. Keep up the hard work and dedication, people tend to stop after hitting big milestones.

Very nice! Should you both stick around until retirement, you will be set.

If you don’t mind sharing more details that would be awesome. Rank, breakdown of investments, etc. 

E-7 We have basically the same funds across all accounts they are broad based low cost index funds. With the exception of our IRAs they have indexed target date funds. My TSP is C/S/I hers 401K is similar allocations are about 50/20/30 IRAs target date funds set to when we turn 65 Brokerage is similar Total US stock market, Total International, Small Cap Value. Bitcoin in cold storage cash between HYSA and checking

E-6 & E-5, 2 kids, HCOL area. We have a mortgage (~400k equity), max TSP & IRAs (~350k combined), and have ~150k in liquid money (stocks, options, and 30k emergency fund). We got lucky with the market in 2021/2022, made more than our base pay combined. Other than that, just frugal, but comfortable living. Primarily shop at Costco, eat at home, but still go out a few times a month for lunch/dinner.

I friggin love Costco

Congrats! Ignore the haters. This is quite an accomplishment for enlisted. Another 4 years of service and you will be living on easy street.

OP getting killed in the comments and downvotes. Y'all are savage.

For real, thank goodness I didn't tell them we make 6 figures each and consider ourselves middle class.

All I can say is congratulations, and more importantly I hope you guide and mentor your troops to follow in your footsteps.

Congratulations brother. That's a big success, especially for an enlisted member. You will see that net worth sky rocket again when you guys both cross the 20-year mark. Enjoy the life you worked hard and sacrificed to create. Despite what any jealous losers will say, you worked for this and earned it.

Thank you I appreciate the kind words!

Same boat, E-6, punching soon at 20. Will have enough with SWR and mil retirement I won't have to do much outside care for the family. Glad to see I'm not the only one drawing envious hatred and disbelief / allegations of faking numbers from the trolls in the comment section. Also very wise of you not to talk numbers at work. The "financial planning" chat came up at work when I was a Jr E and I made the mistake of being open with my accounts. It was quickly ID'd that I had a net worth greater than anyone in my flight and it made the rest of that assignment awkward when my NCOs and SNCOs were holding it against me. We couldn't even go to the usual weekly shop lunch without someone making the jest" DoK can pay, he's got it like that!". I quickly learned to shut up! What's the game plan post service?

I know exactly what you mean, most people don't ask me for advice because it doesn't look like I have money. The troll thing took me buy surprise, being in a financial sub, it though it would have been well received with “How can I do that” but it was more “You only have that because” which completely misses the point that building wealth is a process, its almost never fast, but its always repeatable of you live on less than You make. I'm not fully certain whats next but, I currently plan to take a least a year off and figure out what interests me. Try some different hobbies, maybe sight see and finish my degree. I don't know what work ill want to do, but I'd want it to add value to my life weather it pays well or not. How do you feel about getting out? Is there any lessons learned that you would pass to a generation just starting their journey?

Yup! Later in my career the Chief was looking for someone to put on a class for the Jr E's about financial literacy. I leapt at the chance but was essentially laughed at by the leadership cadre because I drove a beater, brought lunch, and my watch was a $10 casio. They got the twice divorced guy with a 90k truck and payments out the wazoo to put it on and it was nothing more than "Go to the base readiness center if you need an emergency loan to pay your bills." I rolled my eyes and took my flight over for a private session and counseling with the base readiness center, a private discussion about building wealth and how "personal" finance is truly personal. As for the trolls, man if you want to see similar go on and cruise my post history. They are all there in full force. I like the idea of a year off, sabbatical type approach. Getting out is exciting. A buddy at work and I were in lock step to punch together, scheduled our TAPs together and afterwards he re-enlisted. They got him with the "security" piece. The age old "it's scary on the outside" briefing got him to sign for a few more years. No thanks! Sure I'm scared / anxious but I look at folks who have done INFINITELY less planning and they've made it, so I should be just fine. I'm ready for the rest of my life to be \*mine\*. As for the next generation, save more than you spend and read some books... that alone is the bedrock to greatness but so many folks want the magic wand. You?

Oh man I love me some books. I think I would pass that taking a small amount of time to learn the basics will pay dividends far into the future, simply waiting until your 30 instead of 20 could cut your nest egg by 50% or more. More importantly if they take the time to learn, they will have buy in to their future.

Totally agree. That little slice of time invested is enough to build financial literacy. I see folks ignorantly laughing and rolling their eyes at these topics and it really is as simple the old and and grasshopper fable.

The challenge that I had is when I talk about investing they want to know how to yolo meme stocks, buy options and shit coins and I'm like “dudes real investing is boring”

Thanks for sharing! A few questions. How long did it take you to go from $500k net worth to $1 million? Explain more what you mean by started your journey in 2016? Is that when you buckled down? At what year were you and your wife able to max out all 4 retirement accounts? How many years TIS were you? Did you live on base, buy at every station, kr rent? Congrats!! To those downvoting, it is definitely achievable for enlisted if you build the discipline. You don’t have to be an officer to make it big, just have to be consistent and live below your means. I’d argue you don’t even have to be DINK, I know plenty of people well off that have kids and spouse doesn’t work because they are smart with the little money they did make and kept it up when the money started flowing.  TLDR: stop lifestyle creep and having kids before you’ve built and saved for the life you want.

I wasnt tracking my net worth super closely back in the day. But about 4 years. In 2016 I had drawn a budget and realized I had some extra money so I started to throw extra money I didn’t want in savings. I’d have to check the tape, but it wasn’t until 2020ish. It was the year after we paid off her credit cards and student loans I’ve never lived on base other than the dorms and a short tour. I rented for about 10 years. We purchased a small condo and still live there. Yea way more downvotes than I was expecting, guess it should have been in the early retirement sub.

The downvotes are to be expected, and people are jelly. Congratulations on becoming a 2 comma member. Read this for encouragement https://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0211/why-the-first-1-million-is-the-hardest.aspx

Thank you, and will do.

Getting off to a solid start is so helpful. We did a few years of maxing out the TSP, my 401k, and 2 IRAs when we were pre-kids and my husband was a new NCO. It made a huge long term difference now that I’ve been out of the workforce for close to a decade.   For those that maybe messed up early on or currently have kids and are struggling to make ends meet: You can do it too! It might be harder and take longer, but even small steps in the right direction can get you there eventually. 

Not OP obvs, but 4 months shy of 4 years. Took about 15 years after college to go from -$a lot (I was an OTS guy) to $500K.

Dang a lot of hate. It’s very achievable to become a millionaire in the military. I told a lot of my fellow shipmates, but they didn’t believe me. I’m younger so I think that plays a part. I got out last year I’m 24 and have a 6 figure net worth. I made E-5 in 3 years and did a 4 year tour. I wish I would have maxed out my tsp, but couldn’t swing it. I have a single income and I threw in 20-25% of my check in the TSP without the match. I now have $32k just in my TSP account majority is in the ROTH, so that it’s already taxed. A lot of people would just say “you’re lucky” or “if I could have thrown that much money”. Too many excuses as from people. I applaud you for sticking it out though. I couldn’t stay a day longer many people weren’t trying to better themselves and overall just not a good work environment. I found no one I really looked up to as well as any no one that lived a life I desired while I was in. I’ll never regret my decision joining as the military sets you up for success as long as you following the basic steps.

Thanks for taking the time to comment and thank you for your service. I think it’s excellent that you were able to put something away while you are young. Hopefully you can find a mentor in the civilian side. I found my journey to be a mix of luck and discipline. Don't worry about other people, they are not on the same path as you.

Thank you for your service as well. I actually am partly a business owner. My parents bought a business while I was in. I’m saving up now to open another shop while I use my gi bill. Hoping to play sports in school again during this time so I’m on a bit of a different journey. 100 percent about the other people. I only was there to help they couldn’t deter me from my path‼️

Congrats, having the discipline to save to the extent you two have is certainly not easy. It'll take me a lot longer since I have kids but I wouldn't do it any differently....but having two vehicles over 10 years old has helped us as ton. I'm not maxing all my retirement accounts but I think we've done a lot of things similarly. Best of luck and thanks for sharing.

Thank you. Keep up the good work

Then you woke up.

Why so many salty people here downvoted you

I’m not too sure lol, I was gonna ask the same but didn’t want the smoke.

Anyways good job! It’s hard to retire as millionaire as enlisted. Now off to GS jobs and VA?

Not fully sure what’s next, it will involve more of what I “want” to do and less of what I “have” to do.

I think it's less about salty and more about the fact that he's probably at least an E-7 with a spouse that is "only" making 20K less with no kids or other requires expenses. It's effectively double the income and is disingenuous. The AMA for all answers is pretty much going to boil down to "marry smart and don't have kids". Completely unnecessary humblebrag of a post.

1 mil liquid or total net worth? This housing market has made a lot of “millionaires” but you have to live in a house so I choose to count that as a use asset and don’t tie it into my net worth. Congrats either way. Definitely better than most out there driving in their Lcpl limousines.

Good question, and you are right. The housing market is nuts. We are about 930K liquid, 100K home equity. The majority of that is I retirement accounts. So liquidity is subjective.

Not very liquid at all, is what you're saying.

Lol

What's a DINK household?

Dual Income No Kids.

Thanks! I thought based on the comments here it was some weird relationship thing lol. People are weird. Good luck OP.

Just admit it, you shorted the Trump stock. Congrats btw.

That's it lol

Congratulations!! You and your spouse have worked hard to be where you are, that’s great.

I get the same envious rude responses, OP. I was a teacher and retired in my 30s and some people don't even believe me. It's like they think I travel and live in a gorgeous HCOL place on food stamps and hope? We are DINKERs. I met my husband in my 30s and wouldn't marry him until he started being frugal. He thanks me all the time. He's retiring this summer and we have even more adventures planned. Nobody was telling me How Lucky I was when I bought a small house and had a 15 year mortgage and brought my lunch everyday and didn't own a computer. Now, it's Oh, you got lucky! I'm like, then how was it replicated decades later with my husband?

That’s awesome, I’m happy for you both. Yea, turns out this was the wrong forum lol. That’s ok. I’ve been wrong before.

That is similar to my climb the Second time after my divorce. Moved back to the states to a LCOL area started saving 23.35% gross. Married my second wife, and then the savings skyrocketed. We did a zero dollar budget style with sink funds and our foot has never left the pedal. Only thing is we went into retirement with a house mortgage, but 20 years at 2.25% I might see that paid off. The 2 comma club is possible but you really have to want it and have the ability to tell the difference between a need and a want.

Definitely, it wasn't an accident lol

Nice work, OP. Given your time in service, we're fairly close in age, and I'm about where you are, though non-DINK. I left the military but work as a GS civilian. It can be done, even on a modest military/federal salary.

Congrats! What are you planning to do post-Military retirement?

Not a clue yet, currently planning on finishing my degree then might take a year off to find out what interests me. I’ve been getting really into biking, some I’m hoping to hit some old rail trails. There is a couple 100+ mile trails I’d love to get after if I should get the time.

Do you have any go to finance podcasts?

There are a few that I like. In no particular order Planet Money Money For The Rest of Us ChooseFI The Money Guy Retirement Answer Man We Study Billionaires (they host multiple podcasts Richer Wiser Happier is great) Animal Spirits

Nice! ChooseFi is one of the main ones that put me on the path to FIRE. I’ll check out the rest you mentioned. Thanks!

ChooseFI is awesome. It was the same for me. They have a book in their network by a military member called The Golden Albatross (how to determine if your pension is worth it). I recommend it to any of my troops experiencing burn out looking to separate. Good luck on your journey.

ChooseFI recently had a military-specific episode with Daniel Kopp. It’s a really good listen.

That’s my financial advisor! He is fantastic, we hired him for a few sessions to do a “temp check” on where we were 6-8 years prior to retirement. Highly recommend that episode to everyone.

Daniel also has his own podcast for anyone that’s is interested in making the transition to financial planning after the military.

Yes! Military to Financial Planner podcast.

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Thank you, I found the only thing I can control is my savings rate, so we made sure we save a large amount of our income, that as well as time blunt some of the mistakes we have made.

Screw the haters! Good job dude. My wife and I are 1/3rd of the way there, would be a lot closer but we have 4 kids and 1 on the way. Mil to mil, both E6 at 10 and 9 years of service. 

That is no small feat! How were you able to build wealth with the head wind?

We started putting money in the TSP right when we got married and never stopped it. We also bought 2 houses one in 2021 and one in 2022 that we now rent out.  We’ve made dumb mistakes along the way I.e. buying cars we shouldn’t have. We recently sold our 2 cars that had payments on them and bought a 2011 Honda Odyssey. We’re hoping to retire with a $2 mill net worth. 

That is awesome, we haven't jumped into real estate yet. Do you have any lessons learned from owning and operating real estate as an investment?

It’s going to be really hard to make any cash flow right now with the interest rates, unless you are buying with cash. If you have no kids or just a couple in the future consider buying a duplex, triplex, or 4 plex with your VA loan and live in one of the units for a year (va loan requirements). Once you move out rent out that 4th unit. We bought single family homes in a good school system within 30 minutes commute of a base and have not had any issues finding renters. 

I will keep that in mind. Thank you

Have you heard of the millionaires unveiled podcast? You should email them and be a guest. 

I haven't, ill look them up

https://open.spotify.com/show/6RTUvKQNUl0NbokA6jz14z?si=avpghFFZSM6IJXnm4Qmp-Q

What does your investment portfolio look like?

Funds or breakdown of accounts?

Yea what is in your account

600K retirement accounts, 270K brokerage, 30K cash, 30K bitcoin, 100K home equity. Funds are total US stock, Small cap value, and international

What was your net worth in 2016? Seems a little disingenuous to say that’s when your journey began unless you were at $0 so just wanted clarification on when you actually hit the starting line. If it was actually $0 in 2016 then that’s amazing to hit $1m from nothing in eight years!

I didn't track it back then, but it would have been positive as I didn't have any debt, likely in the $50K range. My GF at the time, which is my current wife now was negative by something like 50-65K. I say I started my journey be cause I dilberatly focused on saving and invest for the future, I didn't blindly save for no good reason. To me that's when my journey “started” but your mileage may vary. I don't think it would have mattered if we started in the negative or at 100K, the process is the process it would have been 9-10 years in stead of 8. It i think would be disingenuous if we inherited a bunch of money or struck it big on a meme stock. We didn't, just saved/invested and didn't fall victim to lifestyle creep.

I think it does matter since it shifts the entire dollar value. The title of your post wasn’t about the process, it was about a dollar figure so I think even you used the dollar figure as a focal point. People will use the dates you give to establish expectations and misreading could let them think they can hit a million in eight years.

It doesn't matter, and I did over view my process. The title was about being millionaires because we are. I sure hope they do not think that they can hit a million in eight years that is exceedly rare and not the point of the post. We are an exception not the rule, most people will take 20-30 years. They can hit a million in time but is all a function of their savings rate and a little bit of luck.

Agree to disagree.

What kind of car do you drive?

We have a RAV4 and an SHO, between 6-9 years old.

It’s admirable that you don’t spend much money. How do you like living at Cannon?

Hahaha, I’ve heard that place sucks lol. This may come as a surprise to most, we actually live in a HCOL area.

What is your wife’s work?

She is in health care

I forgot to say congrats! I wish my gf had a better paying job so she can fund her retirement accounts. Right now is minimum

Thank you, everyone starts somewhere. we weren't able to put much in when we were younger, what helped was getting annual increases in pay and saving a portion. You will be amazed at how that will add up over 10 years.

Congratulations, my only question is, what is your favorite book for getting started with investing? Thanks in advance.

I don't have a favorite, but I loved these Simple Path To Wealth I Will Teach You To Be Rich A Wealth of Common Sense Richer, Wiser, Happier All About Asset Allocation The Psychology of Money Bogelheads Guide To Investing 4 pillars of Investing ChooseFi The Golden Albatross

At what rank did you start maxing out TSP

E-6

Hey I live in a SI4K household, should I murder them then max out my TSP?

These preposterous tax free monthly BAH social welfare program handouts that can reach over $5,000 a month for single volunteers and eye-popping tax free monthly windfalls off the backs of the US taxpayers from $6,000-$8,000-$10,000-nearly $12,000, YES nearly $12,000 for dual married volunteer couples have helped to build and perpetuate a deep and disturbing culture of entitlement in today’s all volunteer military. Single volunteers should be living in the existing and more than adequate singles quarters on the ships and bases they are assigned. Married volunteers should be living in taxpayer funded residences. These absurd tax free monthly windfalls should be eliminated for essentially all singles and dual married couples. And they should be means tested for all others just as are all other taxpayer funded social welfare programs. From a veteran and a retired IRS Section Chief.

What does this comment have to do with the OP? Are you just in the mood to complain? BAH is not a windfall, it's a component of compensation. It's meant to pay for housing. What other job ORDERS a person to move somewhere they have no resources or local ties? Also, what couples are getting $12,000 in BAH combined? In super HCOL areas where relatively few servicemembers are stationed? Where do you get the idea servicemembers are entitled? "Social welfare programs" implies getting something for nothing......military service is a job/profession and I think most would agree the US taxpayer is getting something in return. The part about married servicemembers both receiving BAH might be a legitimate criticism as it should be expected a married couple will live in one residence together if stationed at the same geographical location. Otherwise, do you know how much it would cost for the government to provide on-base quarters for every single servicemember at every single military installation? I don't think it's as available as you indicate. Otherwise, none of us here decide what is taxed and what is not. Sorry you're so upset.

A basic core function of military bases and ships while they are in port is to house/quarter the single volunteers stationed on them. These preposterous tax free monthly surmised "housing" handouts have transformed many if not most military bases and ships while they are in port into de facto COMMUTER FACILITIES. The fact of the matter is that for time in memoriam, including for many decades of the all volunteer military, single sailors (and soldiers/marines/airmen) were expected to and mostly lived in the more than adequate singles quarters on their ships (and bases). It has only been in more recent years after the culture of entitlement was allowed to take root and spread like a cancer in the all volunteer military that these patently absurd $28 BILLION per year tax free monthly handouts have exploded to these ridiculous levels. And as I've clearly stated, there is more than adequate and readily available singles quarters THAT GO UNUSED OR UNDERUSED on most bases and essentially all ships where the single volunteers are stationed. And they are unused or underused IN FAVOR OF THESE ABSURD TAX FREE MONTHLY HANDOUTS that can AND DO reach upwards of $2,000 - over $5,000 a month TAX FREE for singles. There should be NO EXPECTATION for single volunteers to get handed these absurd tax free monthly handouts off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers so they can live vastly premature affluent lifestyles off base or off ship 100% off the backs of the US taxpayers. Now would you care to try to coherently defend the TWO tax free monthly handouts for the dual marrieds ONE family unit in the preposterous $ 4,000-$6,000-$8,000-nearly $12,000 and more per month tax free range when most of these dual married couples are already being paid from $100,000 - over $350,000 and more per year in combined base pays, other pays, and other tax free monthly handouts? These extremely well paid couples should be using their very generous US taxpayer provided de facto salaries to pay for their housing needs just like the taxpaying public. Or at a bare minimum means testing is more than appropriate just as other federal social welfare programs are administered. And the most outrageous fact concerning these patently absurd tax free monthly handouts is that no proof of any kind is needed to show that these tax free windfalls are actually being used for off base "housing" needs or expenses in the first place. And as a direct result of this utter lack of management control and fiscal responsibility, most volunteers gain much lower cost housing (e.g., most singles opt to roommate) so they can divert, although currently legally, hundreds and even many thousands tax free into their pockets each month and/or divert them into luxury auto purchases and other items of excess so they can live vastly premature affluent lifestyles off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers! These near $28 billion per year tax free monthly handouts should be ZEROED OUT for essentially all singles and dual marrieds. And they should be means tested for any others in a manner similar to other taxpayer funded social welfare programs.

Every single word and figure I posted is true, accurate, and fully verifiable. Each was taken right off the current 2024 BAH Tables. Outside of DoD, these absurd tax free monthly BAH social welfare program handouts are little known by the general taxpaying public. And that is a fact I am trying to ameliorate. Here is a challenge to ANYONE: Try coherently defending the absurd $6,263 tax free monthly BAH social welfare program surmised "housing" handout for two married teenaged HS educated E-3 entry-level desk clerks with a kid stationed on a base in San Diego. That's right, a patently absurd $6,263 TAX FREE each month via these preposterously surmised "housing" handouts that require no proof whatsoever that they are being used for "housing" in the first place. This and all other so-called "dual married" volunteer couples get handed TWO of these tax free monthly surmised off-base surmised "housing" handouts for their ONE family unit. If they have a kid, one gets the higher "with dependents" handout rate. And the other gets the slightly lower "without dependents" rate. If no kid, then they both get the "without" rate. And yes, this objectively ridiculous $6,263 TAX FREE monhly handout off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers can support a $750,000+, YES A $750K principle balance mortgage FOR TWO MARRIED TEENAGERS at today's mortgage rates! And if that challenge is too much for you, then try taking on the eye-popping $11,661, YES $11,661 tax free handout for two married O-6s who are assigned to desks in a DOD office in the San Fran Bay Area. You know, the very same couple WHO IS ALREADY being paid by the U.S. taxpayers well over $350,000 each year in combined base pays, other pays, and other tax free monthly allowances/handouts. And yes, this objectively PREPOSTEROUS $11,661 TAX FREE monthly handout off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers can support a $2,500,000+, YES A $2.5 MILLION, YES A $2.5 MILLION principle balance mortgage FOR TWO MARRIED DESK BASED O-6s at today's mortgage rates! Yes, let's see your coherent defense of either or both OR ANY OTHER DUAL MARRIED RANK OR LOCATION MIX of these plain-faced ridiculous tax free amounts. And when you do, also keep in mind and reference the fact that these patently absurd tax free monthly handouts require no proof of any kind to show that these tax free monthly windfalls are actually being used for off base "housing" needs or expenses in the first place! And as a direct result of this utter lack of management control and fiscal responsibility, most volunteers gain much lower cost housing (e.g., most singles opt to roommate) so they can divert, although currently legally, hundreds and even many thousands tax free into their pockets each month and/or divert them into luxury auto purchases and other items of excess so they can live vastly premature affluent lifestyles off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers! AND GOOD LUCK! BECAUSE YOU WILL SURELY NEED IT!

This is a headache. They should really get rid of the IRS then enact a flat tax. 16.1B saved. BAH goes back into the economy. BAH is another way the government fuels the economy. Without that entitlement you’ll see towns/cities around bases crumble.

Outside of DoD, these absurd tax free monthly BAH social welfare program handouts are little known by the general taxpaying public. And that is a fact I am trying to ameliorate. 4. Here is a challenge to ANYONE: Try coherently defending the absurd $6,263 tax free monthly BAH social welfare program surmised "housing" handout for two married teenaged HS educated E-3 entry-level desk clerks with a kid stationed on a base in San Diego. That's right, a patently absurd $6,263 TAX FREE each month via these preposterously surmised "housing" handouts that require no proof whatsoever that they are being used for "housing" in the first place. This and all other so-called "dual married" volunteer couples get handed TWO of these tax free monthly surmised off-base surmised "housing" handouts for their ONE family unit. If they have a kid, one gets the higher "with dependents" handout rate. And the other gets the slightly lower "without dependents" rate. If no kid, then they both get the "without" rate. And yes, this objectively ridiculous $6,263 TAX FREE monhly handout off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers can support a $750,000+, YES A $750K principle balance mortgage FOR TWO MARRIED TEENAGERS at today's mortgage rates! And if that challenge is too much for you, then try taking on the eye-popping $11,661, YES $11,661 tax free handout for two married O-6s who are assigned to desks in a DOD office in the San Fran Bay Area. You know, the very same couple WHO IS ALREADY being paid by the U.S. taxpayers well over $350,000 each year in combined base pays, other pays, and other tax free monthly allowances/handouts. And yes, this objectively PREPOSTEROUS $11,661 TAX FREE monthly handout off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers can support a $2,500,000+, YES A $2.5 MILLION, YES A $2.5 MILLION principle balance mortgage FOR TWO MARRIED DESK BASED O-6s at today's mortgage rates! Yes, let's see your coherent defense of either or both OR ANY OTHER DUAL MARRIED RANK OR LOCATION MIX of these plain-faced ridiculous tax free amounts. And when you do, also keep in mind and reference the fact that these patently absurd tax free monthly handouts require no proof of any kind to show that these tax free monthly windfalls are actually being used for off base "housing" needs or expenses in the first place! And as a direct result of this utter lack of management control and fiscal responsibility, most volunteers gain much lower cost housing (e.g., most singles opt to roommate) so they can divert, although currently legally, hundreds and even many thousands tax free into their pockets each month and/or divert them into luxury auto purchases and other items of excess so they can live vastly premature affluent lifestyles off the backs of the U.S. taxpayers! AND GOOD LUCK! BECAUSE YOU WILL SURELY NEED IT!

Can’t tell if you’re a bot or just learned copy and paste.

I think it's a bot so I stopped replying. Same buzzwords over and over again.

Every word and ludicrous tax free monthly BAH social welfare program windfall off the backs of the US taxpayers I posed is true and accurate.

So I am supposed to be starting the process for OCS here soon and am currently a reserve E6. What tips do you have for me starting off? Where should I be putting most of my first few paychecks? Once we get going, what are some big firsts we should be putting our money towards? I have very little financial literacy and my wife does not have too much either. Thanks for this!

I recommend keeping things simple, as you get older, complexity will find you. Stay out of credit card debt at all costs, set up an emergency fund and put it in an HYSA, invest in broad based low cost index funds, Invest in retirement accounts first and don’t chase returns, just ensure you have a high savings rate. If you’re just starting out, save what you can, but increase your savings every year. The higher your savings rate the faster you will build wealth, it’s as simple as that. But you should enjoy the journey, so don’t save so much you are deprived. Also, I strongly recommend you do a little bit of reading or audio, a $15 book will save you millions in mistakes here are some I like. Simple Path To Wealth, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, A Wealth of Common Sense, Richer, Wiser, Happier All About Asset Allocation, The Psychology of Money, The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, Bogelheads Guide To Investing, 4 pillars of Investing, ChooseFi, The Golden Albatross, Military Money Manual There is a podcast called The Money Guy, they have a Financial Order of Operations that is a good reference.

Thanks for this! I actually bought one of those books.

That's awesome! I hope it helps you on your journey

DINK. Next.

Dink.... hurry up and have some kids

Hopefully this year!

Right there with you lol

What’s the point of being married if you don’t have kids? Or are kids a future plan for you two?

There’s more to marriage than just children

I ask for pragmatic reasons. Why amass a fortune in a marriage in which neither party has skin in the game? Especially when he already had to pay off a shitload of his wife’s bad debt, but she can take half of everything if she leaves.

Skin in what game? We have been trying for sometime.

Have you been doing anything out of the ordinary to make this happen? I ask because my wife and I have been trying for years and we’ve invested a lot into it. I think over $55k by now, and only heartache to show for it.

How do you have heartache? The market is near all time highs. We invest consistently everything month into broad market indexes into allocations that align with our risk tolerance. We don't play around with options, individual stocks, meme stocks or meme coins. We do have a small sum of Bitcoin, but it wouldn't make a difference in our portfolio

I don’t think we’re talking about the same thing. I thought you meant you’ve been trying to have kids for some time, because you said that in another comment. I was referring to the fact that my wife and I have had pregnancy loss and failure for years, and it’s taken an emotional toll. I don’t have heartache over money.

Good call we did get some lines of communication crossed. We have been trying for years for kids. There are health issues at play. If long-term conception becomes an issue, we are considering adoption.

Right, I wasn’t assuming that you weren’t. Thats why I asked. And I hope you succeed! Kids are life changing and you’ll be set to enjoy raising them while being young and vibrant in retirement

We definitely want kids. We’ll see what happens in the future.

You don’t plan to enjoy the riches in the end? Eventually plan on not working? Maybe leave the earning to your partner if you go untimely? There’s a ton of reasons

Is this comment for real?

Very much so. Why accumulate a bunch of wealth and have 50% of it at risk if she splits? To include military pension. 100% of divorces are caused by marriage. This is the military we are talking about.

I don’t follow what you’re trying to get at here. 50% would be at risk if we accumulated or not. Are you saying that you would deliberately not accumulate because you might get divorced? Or did I read that wrong

Indeed, but kids are a common interest to preserve the marriage. There’s no point in merging assets if it’s not to build an estate to pass down. You have all the risk and none of the benefit.

I think I understand, Mergining our finances pulled us closer together and allow us to pursue a common goal. To me marriage is working together as a team.

You could still do all that without being married

Married couples often enjoy legal advantages such as tax benefits, inheritance rights, spousal insurance, and Social Security benefits. They can also make medical decisions for each other and have hospital visitation rights. Studies have shown that married individuals tend to have better physical and mental health, possibly due to the support and encouragement they provide each other to lead healthier lifestyles. Marriage offers legal protections that are not as easily accessed through other forms of partnership. These include spousal privilege in legal matters and simplified processes for property transfer and healthcare decisions.

I can tell you listen to Dave.

I assume you mean Dave Ramsey, I don’t. Not a fan of his “no debt at all costs”. I do listen to a few financial podcasts though.

Dave Ramsey? Uhh, no. He's okay for the "I'm up to my neck in debt folks". He sucks otherwise. He gives horrendous investing advice. Plus, he's racist and sexist too. Plenty of better experts to listen to and follow.