Smart Military Money
Personal finance tips andadvice for the military lifestyle.
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Passive income sounds like a sweet deal. You set something up, then you sit back and let the money roll in. You can be an author and collect royalties. You can invest and make money off of interest. You can set up an ad campaign on your blog and earn income every time someone clicks on one of the ads. You can be a landlord and rent out property, and this is one of the more popular passive income options.
These are only a few ways in which you can generate passive income, but they all have one thing in common. Do you see it? They all require some form of initial investment. The author has to write the book. The investor has to have money to invest. The blogger has to build a high trafficked, well-maintained blog. Finally, the landlord has to have property to rent out. This means you have to buy property (and probably fix it up). If you want to pursue this popular form of passive income, you should take the time to learn what is involved.
Have you checked your finances lately? Are you financially fit? If you feel like money is going out at a faster rate than you can bring it in, you may be living beyond your means. Here are five tell-tale signs that could spell trouble for your financial health. See More
It seems like only yesterday when Apple released the iPad 4 and the iPad Mini. Now, there are rumors that they will soon be joined by an iPad 5 and even an iPad Mini 2. But if you have an iPad, especially one of the newer ones, do you really need a new iPad? Some people feel like they always need the biggest, the newest, and the best. If that’s your philosophy, and you like Apple products, that can be a pretty expensive habit. With new Apple products rolling out each year, you could easily spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars just to stay up to date.
This doesn’t just apply to Apple products either. Computers, phones, and other electronic devices seem to be out of date just as soon as you bring them home. You turn on that new TV or log into that new computer just to see advertisements extolling the virtues of this exciting new technology that your new device does not have.
For this military personal finance roundup, we focus on spring. In less than a week, the blooming season will have started. Not everybody welcomes spring with open arms. Allergies annoy some of us, while other consumers plan on spring cleaning. Young consumers entertain the idea of racing to warm climates for spring breaks.
But there’s certainly no reason you can’t do some financial spring cleaning. Whether you find you need to trim your expenses or you’ve saved enough for that special vacation, spring is nearly here. Check out this roundup for blog posts about what spring means in the personal finance world.
If you’re going to take the time to do something, you should do it right. For example, take a look at the recent debacle concerning Maker’s Mark. In order to meet increased demand, the company proposed the idea of watering down its whiskey. Now, if you drink whiskey, you might find such an idea to be quite offensive, and you wouldn’t be alone. A large number of Maker’s Mark fans protested this solution, eventually causing the company to change its mind.
What these people told Maker’s Mark was that if you’re going to do it, you had best do it right! The same idea holds true for a variety of things in your life. For example, if you are going to take control of your finances, you shouldn’t take a watered-down approach. Instead you should invest the time that you need to create a comprehensive plan, and the best place to start is with a budget.
Travel is a common answer when you ask people what they want to do during retirement. While they’re in the workforce, Americans often feel too busy or too strapped for cash to travel. At the same time, you’re more energetic when you’re young and when you have work, you have money to save for and spend on vacations. So why wait?
Well, we asked Army National Guard veteran Jeff Rose what he thinks about retirement and travel. He’s also a certified financial planner who manages Good Financial Cents, a blog packed with tons of personal finance knowledge. Take a look at what he had to say.
Well, it’s Military Saves Week so why not theme the military personal finance roundup in saving money? It’s a no-brainer even if it’s a topic that gets tons of attention across all personal finance blogs.
There’s no bad time to save and there’s hardly a wrong reason to save. In fact, you should be budgeting to save money. Ideally you’ll at least have an emergency fund and retirement account(s) set up. But you may also want to save for college if you have young children. As Military Saves Week comes to a close, give these blog posts a read. Tell us, why are you saving money?
In this week’s military personal finance roundup, we take a look at financial fitness. It’s a little more obscure than measuring physical fitness, but numbers are still involved. No two consumers will be in the same situation. For instance, some of you might be measuring the amount of debt you have to pay off. Others of you might be focused on building an emergency fund or saving to move to a new location.
Whatever your metrics may be, it’s a wise to take a look at your financial fitness. This week’s posts relate to your financial fitness in some way. Give them a read and think about how well you’re doing in some areas and where you could improve.
Here’s a military personal finance roundup all about cell phones.
I’m betting you spend a lot of minutes every day looking at your cell phone. These digital devices have secured a niche in so many Americans’ lives. It’s hard to remember what life was like without them. Think about it for a second.
How many phone numbers did you have memorized in 1995 compared to today? What did you do if you got lost driving somewhere in 2000? Cell phones are wild, aren’t they? So this week let’s take a look at all things mobile. See More
A new retirement investment option for military members — the TSP Roth — continues to gain popularity since its creation last spring.
By December of last year, 24,695 military members had Thrift Savings Plan Roth accounts. That figure is almost quadruple what it was in November 2012 when there were 6,364 enrollees in the TSP Roth, according to the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.
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