At the time of writing this I have an interview scheduled for a federal position in a culture rich and historical location in Europe. One of the primary reasons I decided to pursue federal employment was for the opportunity to live in Europe and have that experience. That was over 10 years ago. The position…

Spend less than you make and invest the remainder. Simple but hard. It sounds easy but its not. It takes getting a lot of things right to get this one thing right. You need to understand the power of investing. Without a good reason to artificially limit your lifestyle then you won’t. Without study and…

I like to brief young military on finances and the part I try to overstate is how important it is getting started. Young people are abundant in time and less abundant in income and financial knowledge. I try to help in increasing their financial knowledge and though they have little income it may be a…

Often when budgets and finances are talked about then the room becomes quiet and eyes divert from the source. Budgeting can be restraining, but the truth of is that it is liberating in the end. A famous personality who I often disagree with promotes the idea of intentionality. This is the idea of telling your…

The military is very hierarchical, but until we are in positions of power then we don’t know how we will handle them. Often the people who struggle internally the most and are unsure of themselves make the best leaders. Situations are pondered by second guessing when a stronger personality may force through their instinct or…

North Carolina adopted Esse Quam Videri as their state motto in 1871. It is a Latin phrase translated as ‘to be, rather than to seem.’ The earliest iteration of a similar phrase was from the playwright Aeschylus making the idea almost as old as western society. Unfortunately, it is a very foreign idea in American…

Seneca was the richest person in the Roman Empire when he wrote this quote. Salaries fit into a bell curve with tails extending into the stratosphere on the positive side. The majority of americans can expect to fit firmly in the middle. You may receive promotions but you can be waiting decades in some sectors…

Pensions have become less and less prevalent over the decades and are solidly outnumbered by their defined contribution (401k, TSP, 529, etc.) cousins. Many people view this change as just another sign the world is getting harder for the average worker. However, if you plan to retire early, then defined contribution plans I think are…

Something I have learned is that talking about money can be very off putting to most people. i can think of few other topics that while not lewd or violent can evoke such a strong reaction. There are a plethora of reasons for this and acknowledging some of those reasons may help us be able…

I was listening to a podcast a couple of weeks ago and the gentlemen being interviewed said that the common person thinks personal finance is 90% math and 10% everything else. After spending a lot of time reflecting on personal finance, I think it more appropriate to say personal finance is 10% math, 20% rules…