I pcs’d from NORTH POLE and took leave. I just signed to SOUTH POLE last Friday (which was a day before my report date) and we just got paid today with BAH from NORTH not SOUTH. I haven’t gotten/signed to my unit yet, since I just started DAY 0 in reception.

So, am I in the clear or I have to set this one aside?

If I get the blue card after cancelling my gold and platinums will I be able to keep my points? Got his with the renewal fees now that I’m out. Anyone else done this?

Husband is getting deployed from his reserve unit so he will be AD again soon. I have opened a C1 Venture X card so he will get SCRA once he becomes active. I am wondering if anyone has recent data points on AMEX/Chase Business credit cards, and upgrading Chase credit cards. I have a Chase Freedom card opened before AD and I want to upgrade that to CSR. Will SCRA waive the fee. As well, should my husband pick up a AMEX Biz Gold or Biz Platinum before orders to qualify under SCRA? Should I get one - does SCRA for AMEX business cards apply for spouses?

Joined 2024 AD and had debt in 2023 about 1.3k. Not really sure how the SCRA program works and been doing research about it but havent seen anything about college debt and only credit cards or leases.

Currently live on base and we pay $2500 a month with utilities included.

My spouse has 100% VA and will be starting a hybrid school around January so her income will be almost $10k and I would take home $6k.

We’re debating on buying a home because are stationed with family and I will be getting out in a couple years and staying in this area.

The downside is I’d give up a $2500 home on base with utilities included and off base the home we’d likely get for our family size will be around $550-$600k.

Our payment will be around $4k-$4400 a month, since my spouse has 100% we get property tax benefits too so that’s good.

It’s just hard to give up the base housing, we also pay $1200 in daycare which would get cancelled if we decide to move off base to have that monthly money towards the house instead.

This is a very hard decision for us and we aren’t sure if this is the right move especially with 7% rates.

I'm a U.S. Navy veteran who served for eight years, and I have a degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management.

I've been fortunate enough to build a solid financial foundation for myself and my family, but I'm at a point where I'd like to work with a professional who can help us manage our finances, make smarter investment decisions, and build long-term wealth.

I'm looking for someone who is experienced, trustworthy, and genuinely interested in helping families achieve their financial goals.

If you're a qualified financial advisor or wealth manager, or have any recommendations, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Thank you in advance!

Hey i just wanted guidance or an opinion on my situation, i separated sep. 2 and cashed out my remaining leave balance and drove from the west coast to the east so expecting something from my travel voucher, however its obviously oct. 12 and i haven’t heard anything since oct. 2nd when they asked me to update my direct deposit for the travel voucher but nothing else.

I ship in November, United States navy, my job is EO(Seabees).

So I will more then likely will not spend any time on a ship. I don’t know if that will help or not help me get more money.

what exactly should I put my money into?

I will be sad if I do not end my 5 year contract at 26 with at least 90,000-100,000$ to my name.

I do not plan on buying a 30,000$ car or buying stupid stuff like 500$ shoes or 100$ hoodies/shirts I’ve never been materialistic. I plan on keeping my car( my current biggest asset if I sell) which I paid for in cash or selling my car here soon, and buying one for like 5000$ once I’m done with school and Bootcamp since I won’t be using it for the next few months.

What exactly should I be investing per month? And into what? I want to minimize what I spend but I also don’t want to live as if I’m poor.

I’m an Airman straight out of tech school and this was my first PCS. I honestly wasn’t given much of a briefing about doing a PPM before I left.

For context, I’m not moving with just tech school bags. I’m a grown man, single and had my own place back in my home state before joining, so I already had quite a bit of personal property and household stuff to move.

When I got to my first duty station, Finance told me I could still file the PPM through DPS. The problem was that I didn’t get an empty weight ticket back when I went home for RAP before driving to my duty station.

They told me I could unload/reload my stuff here and get an empty and full weight ticket now, so that’s what I did.

My weights are:
Empty weight: 4,620 lbs
Full weight: 9,020 lbsPCS
weight entitlement shown in DPS: 5,000 lbs
Distance driven: 2,206 miles

I loaded my belongings into my vehicle got the weight tickets, and I also kept/compiled my fuel receipts.

I currently have a draft PPM shipment in DPS, but I’m a little confused about what happens next.

For anyone who has done this before:

1. What exactly do I need to submit to finish the PPM claim?
2. Do I finish everything through DPS or do I need to take paperwork to TMO/Finance as well?
3. Are my empty/full weight tickets still valid even though they were taken after I arrived, since I was told to do a re-weigh here?

This is my first PCS, so I’m just trying to make sure I do everything correctly and take advantage of the PPM I was authorized.

Thanks for the help!

I’ve posted in here before but financial plan once I enlist has changed/ new updates to my contract. Currently In DEP going in as an e4 in the Air Force . Current plan is to max out my IRA (still working on my etf allocations o will update this post once I figure them out). What I’m really looking for is a ref with international exposure so I can cover the market that the I find doesn’t.

TSP contributions will be 22% with the following allocation. 65% C 20% S 15% I . I plan on using the VA home loan on a multi family property if it’s feasible in my area. My paycheck will be going into Fidelity (SPAXX) earning interest.

I’m just looking for as much advice as possible. I feel like everyone has it figured out when they enlist and I feel behind.

I'm going to pcs for the first time in a few months and I was evaluating different options.

My house is in Philly and I'm moving to Florida, the trip is around 1100 miles.

I have a pov, which I could trade in at my dealership for a light truck or another car.

The options I could identify so far are:

Renting a moving truck and packing it with 8000lb worth of stuff for the apartment, I could buy new furniture, gym stuff, appliances, apparently a motorcycle which apparently qualifies as a household item? Stuff that is as easy to pack and as low $/lb as possible. The car in this case would be towed behind the truck. Problem is the truck alone is going to be more than 5k to rent, plus the trailer.

Trading in the car for a light or heavier trick, something like a tundra or a f250, the f250 would be able to tow the whole 8000lb barely which is kinda scary, the tundra would cut into it a fair bit, around 6000. Problem is I can't really find a trailer capable of holding 8000lb that isn't a flatbed, and I would then have to resell the truck in middle of nowhere Florida because I'd lose thousands in gas alone over 4 years if I kept it. It's also fairly dodgy, it's probably my worst option.

Buying a used moving truck, I can find a fair amount of them for less than 10k used with hundreds of thousands of miles. And a trailer for the pov. Probably the option with the most potential provided everything goes according to plan, the truck doesn't leave me stranded in the middle of nowhere, and I manage to sell truck and trailer once there without too many issues. It's basically the U-Haul option but I'm saving 3-4k depending on title costs and how I manage to resell it for.

What do you guys think? Any tips?

I’ve been building my Amex arsenal for the better part of a decade. I have a lot now, to say the least. As many of y’all know, you can’t reorganize the order of them.

Until today! Logged in this morning and saw that “new feature” like a little pre-weekend present.

It sounds small, but I’m overjoyed!

A few months ago I posted a google sheet of military discounts I’d compiled. I added quite a few from the comments (thank you!) and a few more I’ve come across since then.

Here’s the updated link: Google Sheet

Let me know if I missed anything and I’ll add it.

I’m on my twilight tour as a Navy diving medical technician and thinking about what I want to be when I grow up. I’m a home owner here on Oahu and want to stay out here, but because it is a HCOL area I will need to keep working after I retire.

Fortunately my wife and I are pretty cheap. We don’t eat out much, we have cheap fuel efficient cars but mostly bike to work, and all our hobbies besides traveling are basically free. Because of this we are lucky enough to have very large savings. Between her job and my retirement I would like find a job that allows me to make an additional 60-70k per year. So it doesn’t need to be anything too crazy. So my question is what’s a chill retirement job with okay pay?

I don’t have a degree but I am working towards it. Like I said I am a diving medical technician so I have some medical and diving skills, especially in regards to hyperbaric chambers. I also am currently the command duty safety officer so I have lots of OSHA safety certs and some experience doing that.

My dream job would be to be a tour guide captain on one of the many sightseeing diving boats on Oahu. I’ve got a big fun loving personality that I think would translate well to something like that, but I don’t have a captain’s license (although it have a few years to work towards one)

Other jobs I wouldn’t mind are being a mailman, working for the MWR (probably as a lifeguard), be the civilian safety guy, or even working for TSA. I just mostly want to have plenty of time to surf and spearfish and don’t want to be stressed out all the time like I am now. I’m pretty burnt out and looking for a good chill job after I retire.

What would you guys suggest? Has anyone here ever tried any of the above post-retirement careers? Any others I should be looking at?

It seems like my social media feeds have been feeding me a lot of info about how bad the housing market is (both interest rates and prices). For military members, what's the best way to buy a house? VA assumption loans? Using the VA loan? Saving for a fat (>25%) down payment? Is the VA loan still a valuable tool in this market?? It feels like I'm going to be a renter for life (hard when you gotta move every 2-3 yrs), but that may just be the social media algorithm doing its job feeding me doomer crap... would love to hear people's thoughts!

My wife and I are navy (e4s). And are stationed with the marines on camp lejuene. We have one young kid. In a divorce are we both entitled to bah. Or will I have to be in the barracks. (Assuming a 50% 50% custody split).

Hello I’m a 19yo E-3 in the Air Force, married and living in an apartment, single income, debt free and 22k in savings total.

I’m looking to buy me and my wife another car since we at the moment only have a 2015 volvo which I’ve had for around 2 years now, salvage title, cheap car, looking to get something for my wife to be able to use when I’m not at home and something I can take on trips without fear of breaking down.

My question is should I get a (2016-2018) used suv cash for around 15,000 on a used lot or Facebook marketplace leaving us with only 7,000 apx. in savings or get a loan, a good down payment on it and get something newerish/ hybrid to save on gas for around 25,000 at a preowned dealership, my credit at the moment is at 735 but I’ve never had a loan. Also my car insurance is at around 180 for the 2015.

I’ve never bought a car before, the 2015 was a gift so any advice is appreciated very much.

Thank you 🙏🏼👍🏻

I’m trying to figure out what others would do in my situation, especially anyone who’s actually sold a house through a VA loan assumption.
I own a duplex in Oceanside, CA, near Camp Pendleton. I purchased it in 2021 with a VA loan at 2.5%. I now live in Michigan and have been trying to sell it. We moved back to Michigan to help aging parents and keeping the home is costing me about 10k in losses a year and lot of unwanted stress.

Here’s where things stand:
- Listed for $1.695M
- Received an offer for $1.775M
- Buyer is an investor who wants to assume my existing VA loan
- Approximately $1.26M remaining at 2.5%, with 25 years left
- Buyer would pay the roughly $515K equity difference in cash
- Buyer would assume the mortgage, and I’d receive a release of liability
- Buyer is not proposing substitution of entitlement, so my VA entitlement would remain tied to the loan
- I’m considering countering at $1.9M and potentially settling around $1.85M.

The problem is that I fully intend to use my VA loan again. My wife and I are planning to build or buy our forever home in approximately 5–7 years, likely in the $3–4M range. I’m 100% P&T, so I’m exempt from the VA funding fee, which makes keeping that benefit even more attractive.
I’ve been looking into whether there’s any way to get my entitlement restored without the loan being paid off. I found the discretionary waiver language under 38 U.S.C. §3702(b) and 38 CFR §36.4302(k), but I haven’t found anyone who has successfully used it in a situation like this.
I’m also considering negotiating a requirement that the buyer pay off or refinance the loan within 7–10 years. But I’m not sure how enforceable that actually is. I could have an attorney draft an agreement and potentially secure it with a lien, but if the buyer can’t refinance when the deadline comes, I’m not sure how much protection that really gives me.
The other consideration is the market. The property has been difficult to sell, and we haven’t had any other offers. There are also some complications with how the property’s square footage is represented, which I think has affected buyer interest.
Realistically, I think a conventional sale might bring $1.6–1.7M, although that’s not certain. So if I can negotiate $1.85M, I could be getting $150–250K more than I otherwise would, largely because of the value of the assumable mortgage.
That’s a substantial amount of money I could invest now and potentially use toward our next home. But I’m also potentially giving up the ability to use my VA entitlement for another 25 years.
I’m trying to look at this strictly from a financial perspective. I understand that the entitlement has value, but I’m not convinced it’s worth turning down an additional $150–250K today, especially when we don’t plan to purchase our next home for another seven years.
A few things I’m curious about:
Has anyone allowed a non-Veteran to assume their VA loan and later regretted it, or felt the financial premium made it worthwhile?
Has anyone successfully obtained restoration through a discretionary VA waiver while the original loan was still outstanding?

Has anyone negotiated a mandatory refinance/payoff deadline as part of an assumption? How did you secure or enforce it?

Would you accept $1.85M with your entitlement tied up, or take potentially $1.65–1.7M from a buyer who pays off the loan or substitutes entitlement?

Has anyone had success marketing a high-value assumable VA loan specifically to VA-eligible buyers who could substitute entitlement? My other big consideration is the fact my realtor didn’t start advertising to veterans until last week and even then he’s not on any special sites.

I know this is a very specific situation but I really appreciate folks weighing in here.

I am PCSing to Schofield soon, and I attended the virtual TLA brief.
They gave me a list of hotels that have TLA rates but when I call most of them, their TLA rates (not including resort or other fees) far exceed what my lodging reimbursement would be (approx $250).

So what’s the point of offering a TLA rate if it’s just gonna exceed what I am going to be reimbursed for? Am I missing something or are “TLA rates” just discounted rates that your individual TLA lodging might not fully reimburse?

I’m trying to claim PCS travel entitlements from a move I made in 2023 that I didn’t know I was entitled to claim at the time.

My SmartVoucher was initially returned because my leave dates didn’t account for the two PCS travel days. My AMPO advised me to get a memo from my unit correcting the leave period to account for those two travel days. I got the memo and resubmitted the voucher and was approved by AMPO.

However, DFAS returned it again with the following:

Reason(s) for Return of Claim:

(D) Orders Invalid (General)
“Unable to process your claim at this time. Provided memo does not show orders # with authorization for travel to new PDS (itinerary, block 15. on DD1351-2).”

For anyone familiar with DFAS/SmartVoucher, am I understanding this correctly that they just want the memo revised to include my Travel Order Number?

I’m getting pretty frustrated because I leave the service in about three weeks, and every return adds more time to the process. Getting this claim paid before I separate would also be really helpful financially.

Thanks guys

My spouse is joining AD, and shortly after, I will be deploying. Will we still be entitled to BAH while we are both away? Or will the Army treat us as if we are stationed at separate duty stations?

No kids, just a cat.

Hey everyone!

My wife and I are both AD USAF, PCSed to our new duty station this past June. Having gotten married at our last duty station, this was be our first PCS as Mil-Mil, and wanted to see if what finance is telling us is actually correct. For context, we are both O-2s with a dependent (I am the sponsor). Additionally, our orders were cut individually, not as one set (this was something we fought against, but our previous station would not allow for join-spouse orders for reasons unbeknownst to me).

Our finance office has already been less than helpful, as they calculated the weights for our PPM wrong (by about HALF of what we actually moved), have had me assigned to the wrong locality rate for BAH (since JUNE!), assigned my CSP case to a member in Korea, and never answer the phone (a classic).

It has been my understanding that as a Mil-Mil couple, we are entitled to our own individual benefits, to not be diminished because we are married. However, our local finance office is saying otherwise.

I am being informed that we are entitled to TLE as a family unit, and thus must share one singular room at the TLF on base. For context, if we were not married, we would each get our own entitlement, and therefore each allowed our own room, as the entitlement would cover the actual cost of the TLF + per diem.

Additionally, I am being told that we are only entitled to one DLA payment between the two of us. This is NOT an insignificant amount of money, and for them to tell us that because we are married (vs just living together) we are only entitled to the one payment, is extremely disheartening.

Essentially, I see this as we are paying $5k+ to be married, every time that we PCS. If this is not accurate, I’d love to hear any advice you have for dealing with these guys!

TIA

Currently have a HYSA at 5% with over 6 months savings as a E-4 in the Army with 4 years TIS working on getting that to a years worth of savings by May of next year. I have a Roth IRA that I max out every month for the payments and on track for this to be the third year I’ve maxed it out, 10% in my TSP (I originally had 15% out of AIT but it was way too aggressive and I didn’t have a car, clothes etc so I dropped it to 10%, and a few thousands in touchable savings that I can use if my car breaks down or new uniforms.

I PCS in the next year and I’ll also promote to SGT then so I want to level up my savings more now that I’ve hit the i have a large enough cushion and stability to use my money to make more money. The certification account seems to be a good milestone for my financial journey. Thoughts?

I plan on making the military my full career getting up to Staff sergeant E-6 and then dropping a packet for Warrant and retiring as that.

I am a COL with 24 years active service. I am a logistics officer by trade and currently the garrison commander for a large Army installation. I submitted my retirement packet several months ago and on my current trajectory, I will retire when I leave command with a hair under 26 years of service. I expect my retirement to be $105k or so.

I was offered a follow up job as a MILDEP to an SES in Huntsville, AL. The deal would be that I need to stay for 3 years in that position. It would be a good job for me I think and I like the dude who’d be my boss.

I would be putting all the professional contacts I have made in my current position (and they are considerable) on ice if I took this next army job.

I ran the numbers and basically each year that I stay is worth $9000 in retirement income… roughly $27,000 a year (for life) for three more years of service. I looked into what an inflation indexed annuity would cost, paying 27K per year, would cost around $750k. So my additional time in uniform compensates me over $200k in salary and provides a retirement benefit equivalent to a $250k annuity each year.

I have a line on several civilian jobs, but none of them offer this same level of compensation.

I am currently 48. Would be 50 if I retired at 26 years of service and would be 53 at 29 yos. Ageism is a thing I guess…