News

It's finally 2024. What should you be doing to max-perform your dollars and your life fulfillment?

It’s almost the end of the year, but there’s still time to max-perform your money!

Series I-Bonds dipped to 4.3% but now are back up to to 5.27% until May 2024. Should you stay the course with I-Bonds?

You know how to handle your money, but your parents are starting to need some help. Where do you even start?

Life Insurance-- Boring? Ghoulish? Crucial? Confusing? Yes.

College is expensive, but there are a lot of ways to save for college. Read on to arm yourself with the best tactics!

College is expensive, but there are a lot of ways to save for college. Read on to arm yourself with the best tactics!

Cars generally sink in value. The current supply chain challenges will abate. When cars depreciate, they steal your wealth!

Insurance isn't a fun topic, but you don't want to be over-insured, under-insured, paying too much, paying too little or otherwise saddled with the wrong insurance. Here's the Top Ten Insurance Mistakes to avoid.

The TSP served you well in uniform, but after retirement or separation, you can finally start jockeying the throttles with this part of your retirement savings. But is it a good idea to rollover your TSP to an IRA?

Everyone makes mistakes, but IRA mistakes might hurt more than most. Here's what you need to know...

Goals seems to be part of financial plans, but do they have to be? Would another approach work better?

If you have a military pension coming, do you still need bonds?

Some might say stocks are like fighter jet—sleek, sexy, and high-performing. Does that make bonds a C-130—generally reliable, workhorse, but maybe not as fun play around with?

The Post 9-11 G.I. Bill benefits are amazing--worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, but how do you integrate them with taxes, 529 plans, and wealth-building?

Financial advice is necessary, but where should you get it and how do you know it's in your best interest?

Indexed Universal Life Insurance is heavily sold, often as the solution regardless of the problem. Is it right for you?

Our society is infatuated with the concept of a millionaire, but does a million dollars really matter anymore?

A Bucket Strategy helps turn your nest egg into retirement income and may be Bear Market Insurance--here's what you need to know...

The best time to give depends on a lot--taxes, fulfillment goals, and competing uses for your assets. What should you consider about giving?

When it comes to Life Insurance, it's usually best to have a little too much, starting a little too soon, and kept for a little too long...

It can be difficult to choose saving versus investing. Let's take a look at the differences, similarities and how to choose.

Bear markets aren't just a good sale on stocks, they can amplify the power of Roth Conversions too. Here's what you need to know.

Series I Bonds are paying now paying an even juicier 9.62%, but is the juice worth the squeeze?

None of us would be here without Mom. How should we think about her financial value?

The best years of Roth may end in 2025. Read on to find out what you can do with the time left...

Uncle Sam knows what I make, why do I have to make estimated payments too?

The TSP is finally modernizing. Will it feel like 2022 or 1997?

Selling a rental home can bring relief, cash... and taxes! Here's what you need to know...

Investing is confusing enough, but how can you understand the impact of taxes on your investments?

Like it or not, our parents are going to need a wingman to navigate financial complexity, here's your combat brief to get your started...

Tax-loss harvesting is how investors make lemonade out of lemons--here's what you need to know...

Now Lieutenants know what to do, but WHY? And How?

Graduating from a 20-year military career with a million-dollar nest egg is well within reach for new officer. Modest savings in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) added to the traditional defined benefit pension for 20+ year military retirees can make today’s butter bars into tomorrow’s millionaire next door, but you have to act now!

Building sufficient wealth isn't the first thing on a young officer's mind, but it can't be the last either.

When news reports about stock market gloom stress you out, count sheep with these numbers...

A net worth statement is probably the single best gauge of your financial health. Here's what you need to know about net worth...

There's no shortage of confusion about Roth versus Traditional... but which is right for you?

Trapped gas can be catastrophic to your flight--what does it do to your retirement and tax bill?

Can you explain why your taxable portfolio looks the way it looks? Would you buy the same things if you were starting over today?

Does 4 - I - 4 - T still hold up as the best investment Order of Operations?

It's 2022. What should you be doing to max-perform your dollars and your life fulfillment?

The Crystal Ball says the Backdoor Roth IRA may not quite be dead yet. What should you do?

Series I Bonds are paying 7.12%, but is the juice worth the squeeze?

Podcasts are a great way to learn to max-perform your money. Check out this list for some hidden gems!

What goes in, must come out. How should you think about Required Minimum Distributions?

Life Insurance-- Boring? Ghoulish? Crucial? Confusing? Yes.

Holidays and family get-togethers create an opportunity to tackle tough financial conversations. Read on to discover how to start the dialogue!

The end of the calendar year has a stacked to-do list for you, and changes in tax law will keep you on your toes!

Emergencies aren't boring, but emergency funds can feel that way. Should you have one?

Sometimes the TSP is simple. Sometimes not so much. Here's what you need to know in order to max-perform your money and avoid leaving Aunt IRS a tip!

If you're getting an inheritance, you might have to wait until you're 60?

Why wait for the new year to start winning 2022? Taking financial lead turns today makes tomorrow easier!

Investing in dollars is necessary, but not sufficient. To solve for happiness, we need to invest in other ways too.

With the tax year closing, you may still have time to separate basis from an IRA or 401(k) for one last after-tax dollar Roth conversion.

Congress has key Roth strategies in it's sights. The Roth IRA isn't quite dead, but some of his friends might be very short-lived.

The No-Plan Game Plan might be good for CT Fridays and your fantasy football league, but it's not good for your estate plan.

There are so many important topics in the military personal finance world. Which ones are critical? Which merges can you blow through, at least for now?

Conflicts of interest are part of every financial relationship. Period dot. How do you recognize and mitigate them?

Your Traditional TSP balance is booming, but is that such a great thing? What if you want to convert it to Roth? How will your taxes explode?

How do you defend against all of the threats to your financial life? This list is a great start!

What fun would IRAs be without rules? Read on to learn about the many 5-year rules of Roth IRAs!

If Roth IRAs are good, and Backdoor Roth IRAs can be better, are Mega Backdoor Roth IRAs the best?

The 4% safe withdrawal rate is a popular number in retirement planning. What is it all about?

The market is too high to invest in, right? Wait, how do you know? When do you jump in? All at once, or a little at a time?

Tax planning shouldn't wait until December and April 15th is way too late! What can you do to max perform your taxes before the calendar starts winding down?

Budget can be a four-letter word in some homes. Lumpy expenses, those that don't occur in the same amount each month, or happen sporadically throughout the year can wreck the best budget. What if there was a better way?

Buying a house can be four dimensional chess. How much should you put down? Should you put anything down? Where should the down payment come from? What are the tax impacts?

Summer jobs are great for teaching kids to work hard and save for the future, but the 9-Level lessons come from teaching them about compound returns and 0% income tax rates...

Retirement sneaks up fast and complex financial issues creep into your life overnight. Here are a few issues and how you might think about them...

Markets do go down too. What will you do the next time a bear comes to town?

Discussions about life insurance can either feel ghoulish or like an impending hard sales pitch, fighter pilots need to know how to do this math.

Diversification is good, but how much of a good thing do you need? Can too much diversification harm your portfolio?

Everything has its place, but do you really need separate accounts all over the place? How many IRA's are enough?

Death and Taxes... who doesn't love a good cliché? But what federal taxes do you really need to know about and what can you do about them?

You know how to handle your money, but your parents are starting to need some help. Where do you even start?

Financial advice is usually an informed opinion, but it can be fraught with problems. Chief among the potential pitfalls are the definition of advisor, compensation models, and conflicts of interest.

New car smell is intoxicating, but it can be toxic to your financial goals...

Should you rent? Should you buy? How do you know?

The TSP has been your retirement workhorse. Should you let it ride or switch to an IRA?

Nose position versus energy. Rate versus Radius. Risk versus Return. How do does a fighter pilot makes sense of it all to max perform?

Are fighter pilots allow to carry umbrellas? Maybe there's a case for it...

Inflation sneaks up from behind and steals your money, so does $1 Million still matter?

You have a military pension, do you still need bonds?

Roth is usually superior due to low tax cost in the early years, likelihood of a high tax bracket later, insulation against future tax hikes, no tax bill to heirs, and forced high tax bracket floor from Social Security and Military Pension.

Lieutenants, like all military officers, are endowed with the power to lead and potentially end the lives both the enemy and the women and men in their charge. There is no greater power. Born of this power is the responsibility to wield it in good fashion.

Graduating from a 20-year military career with a million-dollar nest egg is well within reach for new officer. Modest savings in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) added to the traditional defined benefit pension for 20+ year military retirees can make today’s butter bars into tomorrow’s millionaire next door , but you have to act now!

Graduating from a 20-year military career with a million-dollar nest egg is well within reach for new officer. Modest savings in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) added to the traditional defined benefit pension for 20+ year military retirees can make today’s butter bars into tomorrow’s millionaire next door , but you have to act now!

In addition to walking on water and being uniquely lethal, fighter pilots all have another common trait: a bachelor’s degree. But ask any two fighter pilots about paying for their own kids’ degrees and you might get seven different opinions. This article helps fighter pilots think about unique opportunities that come from saving for college.

There’s a saying that trapped gas and runway behind you are two frustrating and useless things. Untouched limits in your TSP and IRA should be on the same list for fighter pilots. Here’s why:

Are you on glidepath? How do you know? Does a credit score matter? Maybe tracking net worth could answer some important questions for you...

Happy New Year! I’m writing to announce that today I’m officially launching my Financial Planning firm, Winged Wealth Management and Financial Planning LLC.

There’s a saying that trapped gas and runway behind you are two frustrating and useless things. Untouched limits in your TSP and IRA should be on the same list for fighter pilots. Here’s why:

Many pilots with working spouses realize that investing, taxes, and retirement planning get pretty complicated as income approaches $200K. Unfortunately, few take advantage of the Back-Door Roth IRA

4 – I – 4 – T and this article are about Investment Location.  The importance of investment location is inversely proportional to how adroit most of us are at making investment location choices.