Cyber criminals have many motives and goals, but separating you from your hard earned cash is one of the most lucrative for the criminals and potentially devastating for you.  I've put  a checklist on my website at

This week I'm speaking at Military Money Conference near Raleigh, NC. It's the biggest gathering of the military and money community ever. If you've ever thought about a career in the personal finance field, this conference is for you.  At...

You may have heard that the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) may finally be joining us in the 2st century. There are some good and important changes coming, and there's going to be a transition period when you won’t be able to access to your TSP.<...

There are two types of 529 plans: prepaid tuition plans and education savings plans. Today I'm only focusing on the 529 Education Savings Plan which is an investment account you use to save for future education tuition and expenses. The plans a...

Most of you already know that digital assets like Bitcoin, Etherium, and Nonfungible Tokens (NFT) experience huge price swings or volatility. Today's focus is diversification of your portfolio and digital assets. When you choose from among diff...

I've put a small, tax season gift for you on my website moneypilotadvisor.com. You can go there and download a free checklist “What Should I Consider When Reviewing My 2021 tax return”. This infor...

Hello and welcome back to the podcast. I was listening to something this week about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. You may remember this from school or reading. It’s basically a pyramid where one need has to be met before you are motivated and ar...

I’ve had clients close to retirement to asking, “Should I pay off my mortgage before I retire?”  The bottom line up front is that in the long run, dollar for dollar its very likely you would much better keeping a low interest mortgage and ...

When you separate from military or federal employee service without a retirement or a family member leaves a current job, you lose your healthcare associated that employment. For active duty military and reservists covered under Tri...

Today we’re talking about combat pay and the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). I’ll be throwing around some tax terms terms, so let me take a minute to go over them.Tax-exempt - You don’t pay any state or federal income taxes on tax-exempt pay,...

When changing your Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) contributions. three dollar limits that apply The annual limit  is $20,500. This limit is to the combined total that you can contribute in 2022 to your Traditional and Roth TSP combined. This li...

Merry Christmas and welcome back to the podcast. I hope yo’ve a had a bit of a break to spend time with the ones you love. Here’s a special shout out to our military and civil servants that are spending another holiday far from home and family....

If you have cash savings that you will not need for at least a year, consider investing in US Government I Series Savings Bonds. Check out the Treasury Direct information page for Series I Savings Bonds:

Today's content comes directly from  Brian O'Neill’s recent blog post Top 10 TSP Quirks You Need to Know.  Brian is a fellow

For you military and federal employees out there, TSP has a detailed notice that provides great info and includes a chart and explanation of how to calculate your RMD yourself. I’ll put a link in the show notes

Today I we're talking about real financial planning.  It's not hard to find financial advice. You can read books, look on the Internet, rumors, ask that crazy uncle.  But I'm talking about a professional that has your best interest at...

Today we’re looking at things you should consider before the end of this year. If you single and have less than $40,400 taxable income in 2021 or $80,800 if married filing jointly you’re in the 0% capital gains tax bracket. You have a capital g...

If you served on active duty in the military and then become a federal civilian employee, that military time may count as time in service for calculating your FERS or CSRS pension. Periods of active duty while in the any of the military reserve...

 The Federal Benefits Open Season starts November 8 this year and goes through December 13. This is the opportunity for our federal employees out there to re-look your benefit choices and explore your options for 2022. During the annual op...

The Department of Education recently announced some significant temporary changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program called the Limited Waiver Program. Who? Full time service members and federal employees are all ...

Today we’re talking about the Social Security Normal Retirement Age, also called the Full Retirement Age, which is between ages 65 and 67 depending on the year you were born. When you begin drawing Social Security retirement benefits, the amoun...

At age 65  Americans are eligible for Medicare and most  must enroll Medicare Part B or face a stiff premium penalty. You can delay enrolling in Part B if you or your spouse are working and covered by a workplace group health plan wit...

By the time you hear this broadcast, I should be on a vacation adventure with my husband Rob in Yosemite National Park. I love visiting new places and it seems like a lifetime since we’ve taken a big trip. So I thought I take a few minutes to ...

Today we’re going to talk about Cryptocurrencand I’ll try to cut through some of the hype. If your new to crypto, check out Investopedia’s cryptocurrency page. https://www.investoped...

Two of the biggest questions I get about retirement are “How much do I have to save” and “Do I have enough?” But first we have to step back and answer the question “How much will I spend in retirement?”  I recommend you map out your curren...