The trait that I find myself talking with my kids about the most is to “begin with the end in mind.” It’s the second habit cited by renowned author, Dr. Stephen Covey, in his famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Before my kids had entered a military public school at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where…
“If there’s ever anything we can do for you, please let us…” “Yes, there is. When is Congress going to fix the Widow’s Tax.” It was a familiar refrain from me masquerading as a question about an unfair system that penalized approximately 65,000 surviving spouses of military members. This time my statement was truncating the same…
Eighteen months ago, I was approached to write an article about personal finance for the first issue of the revamped The Army Lawyer publication. Given that military members must move frequently, buying versus renting a home seemed like a natural topic. I thought the article could be thought-provoking, especially since I am often, but not always,…
A few years ago, an attorney came to me with a dilemma that had clearly been weighing on her mind for a long time. She sat in the back of one of my tax and estate planning classes and had heard me discuss the analysis paralysis that I had seen many of my clients face…
What do large inheritances (or any size monetary inheritance for that matter) and retirement account (IRA/TSP/401K etc.) contributions have to do with one another? On the surface, not that much, but when confronted with planning for either event, they raise the debate about whether it’s best to dollar cost average over a period of time or…
… Unless you’ve been saving for your heirs using your retirement plan, then this Act is a fairly legitimate disaster. I was planning to publish an article on optimal contributions to retirement plans, but Congress has “gifted” America a new set of retirement regulations. The SECURE Act, which stands for Setting Every Community Up for…
As we approach the end of the year, today’s note is more practical than critical analysis because the basics are, in many ways, as or more important than all the nuances in financial planning. Financial blogs love hot takes to generate more clicks and advertisement revenue, but I believe it’s critical to address the basics.…
Going back centuries, military commanders have sought to position their troops on the highest ground possible in battle. From the teachings of Sun Tzu to the actions of Joshua Chamberlain and the 20th Maine Infantry Regiment at Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg, history demonstrates that holding the highest ground possible affords the…
