Hey, I'm Spencer. My mission is to enrich military servicemembers and their families. If you want to have a chat with me, I'd love to talk. Find an appointment time below to book me for an hour. In our 1 hour spent together, we can talk about a variety of money topics. It helps to have a wingman when talking about money. I'm happy to be that person for you. Topics for discussion can include: Anything related to your money and investments Roth IRA vs Roth TSP vs Traditional IRA vs Traditional TSP questions Understanding your Thrift Savings Plan contributions and investments Financial indepen ..read more

I recently completed flying Delta One Honolulu to Atlanta (HNL-ATL), United First class Honolulu to Washington Dulles (HNL-IAD), and American Airlines first class Dallas-Fort Worth to Honolulu (DFW-HNL) from July – September. After trying 3 different US airlines first class products, I say American offers the best first class, lie flat seats from the US mainland to Hawaii. Hawaiian Airlines lie flat first class looks really good as well but I haven't tried it yet. My wife and I flew first class on all of these routes thanks to credit card miles and points I accumulated from earning credit card ..read more

All information about American Express Hilton Honors Aspire Card has been collected independently by MilitaryMoneymanual.com This was a guest post from Camouflage Perks. Follow Chelsey on Instagram @Camouflage.Perks to learn more about military travel benefits, especially for military spouses! Hotel status is a reward program designed to benefit and increase loyalty with guests who frequent a hotel brand. These benefits increase as your business with the hotel increases. Hotels want your loyalty and will reward you with great perks ranging from upgraded rooms to dinning credits. Hotel status c ..read more

American Express, or Amex, has added new “family language” in the terms and conditions of their credit card applications. The family language restriction means that if you have received a welcome bonus offer on another card in the same family, you may not be eligible to receive a welcome bonus offer on a different card in the same family. This in addition to the other Amex application rules, which include: No more than five American Express credit cards at any given time. No more than 10 American Express cards without preset spending limits at any given time. Maximum of two new cards in a 90 ..read more

The card listed on this page is no longer available, but military members can get FREE Hilton Honors Diamond Status at all Hilton properties (Conrad, Hilton, Double Tree, etc.) with the American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card. The $450 annual fee is waived for all US servicemembers on 30 day active duty orders. American Express offers a tremendous benefit to their military customers: no annual fees on all of their credit cards, including their most prestigious Platinum cards. AMEX does this under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act law, or SCRA. The most popular article on my site is a ..read more

Update 18 Feb 2024: Some people are reporting in the comments that they are falling between the cracks of SCRA and MLA. Most of the issues have been resolved now as issues on the MLA database and in the DEERS database, especially for military dependents (spouses). I recommend you first confirm that your Social Security Number is correct in DEERS and you are in fact in the MLA database here: https://mla.dmdc.osd.mil/ . If both of those are correct, leave a comment below and I will see what I can do to help. Reader “RD” reports in the : Update with success, I called and explained my situation ..read more

Update 2024: I am a happy Google Fi customer going on 7 years now. I use a Google Pixel 7 Pro. I now live OCONUS so I disabled the international data. I left the military and if you use too much overseas data, you get suspended from using the overseas data, unless you are on active duty orders overseas for the State Department or Department of Defense. I just use a local sim card in my current home country. I keep text and phone calls on Google Fi, as you can use that unlimited overseas. Original article from 2018: Google Fi blows T-Mobile's international coverage out of the water. Google Fi i ..read more

Photo Goes Here USAA Eagle Navigator Visa Signature® Credit Card Learn how to apply on our partner's secure site Must be a USAA member, or become a member, to apply. 3X points on travel purchases -triple your points on tolls, rideshares, hotels, vacation rentals, flights and more. 2X points on everyday purchases – double your points on groceries, gas, dining, bills and more. Earn 10,000 Bonus Points every year – applies after you complete eligible hotel or car booking. That's equal to a $100 travel value. Up to $100 credit towards TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry® fee every four years. Enjoy val ..read more

Listen to The Military Money Manual Podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Audible, YouTube, or Stitcher. Spotify Amazon YouTube Instagram Check out my new book The Military Money Manual: A Practical Guide to Financial Freedom where I lay out exactly how to achieve financial independence in the military. One of the first steps on the journey to FI is getting your debt under control and getting back to a positive net worth. Whether you use the debt snowball, debt avalanche, or just get it done, getting out of debt is possible! Jamie and ..read more

Is the USAA Career Starter Loan a good deal for military officer cadets and midshipman? It depends on your personal financial situation and what you plan to use the loan for. I discussed the USAA Career Starter Loan and Navy Federal Career Kickoff Loan on my podcast, The Military Money Manual Podcast. Check it out here or embedded below: The interest rate is usually low, between 0.75% for military academy cadets and 2.99% for ROTC and OCS/OTS cadets. The amount of the USAA cadet loan is usually $25,000 to $36,000. The USAA Career Starter loan program is offered to cadets and midshipmen commis ..read more