Shows
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 86 Cyber SecurityCyber 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 https://www.moneypilotadvisor.com you can download for free with more details and tips.Do you use the same password to log into multiple websites? Or use common phrases or personal information in your passwords? If someone gets your login for one account they may be able to log into other important accounts, like your bank account or investment accounts. I k...2022-05-0710 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 85 Join the PartyThis 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. Attendees can expect inspiration and actionable advice and connecting within the personal finance community. Here's all the information https://milmoneycon.com/register/ Today I'll talk about some of the different career options related to personal finance. First, personal financial planning and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. https://www.cfp.net/why-cfp-certification/why-get-certified CFP’s meet with clients to explo...2022-04-2009 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 84 21st Century TSPYou 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.According to TSP, it is launching its official mobile app that will give you access to your TSP My Account. You'll be able to log onto your account using biometric identification software on your mobile device, like fingerprint access and facial recognition which will add an extra level of security. They ar...2022-04-0209 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 83 529 PlansThere 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 are set up by each state. You to invest your savings in the plan, where your investment grows tax-free. And when you withdraw the money for approved education expenses, that distribution is also tax-free. You can use it to pay for higher education tuition, mandatory expenses, room and board at any college or university, and some vocational schools. N...2022-03-2411 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 82 Crypto CorrelationMost 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 different investment options, you diversify. You likely already started do this by investing in mutual funds or exchange traded funds through a workplace retirement plan like the Thrift Savings Plan or a 401k. If you have a portfolio of stock and maybe bond funds, what happens if you add in VERY volatile digital assets in the hopes of earning a bigger return (profit)? Wi...2022-03-0614 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 81 Tax ReturnI'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 information also should help you prepare your return. If you take the standard deduction and made cash contributions to qualifying charities you can deduct up to $300 if you single or $600 for married filing jointly. A deduction reduces the amount of income we have to pay tax on. Be sure to have your donation receipts.If you recently married or divorced, review your filin...2022-02-2414 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 80 Maslow's SailboatHello 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 are able to address the next level up the pyramid. The most basic needs, at the bottom of the pyramid are physical like shelter and food. Then the next higher is safety and security. Above that is love and belonging, then the next up is esteem and respect. Then at the very top of the py...2022-02-1105 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 79 Mortgage PayoffI’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 investing that cash in a moderate risk portfolio. But YOUR decision to keep or pay off your mortgage depends on a lot more than just a spreadsheet. First do you have the cash available to pay off your mortgage or some extra income now that you can use to make extra payments and pay i...2022-01-2908 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 78 Transition HealthcareWhen 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 Tricare if you separate without a retirement you qualify for the Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP). The deductibles and cost shares are relatively low, but premium for individual coverage about $6,000 a year. For a family it’s a little over $16,000 a year. https://www.humanamilitary.com/beneficiary/benefit-guidance/special-programs/chcbp/If you are a separating federal civilian employee, you can...2022-01-2117 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 77 Combat Pay TSPToday 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, ever. This applies to all of the pay our enlisted and warrant officers earn in a combat zone. For commissioned officers combat pay is tax-exempt up to $107,868 for 2022, your pay above that is taxed as normal.Pre-tax, also called tax-deferred - Contributions to Traditional TSP are pre-tax or tax de...2022-01-1309 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 76 Change TSP ContributionsWhen 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 limit does not apply to Traditional TSP contributions made from combat pay. The next limit is $6,500 on additional catchup contributions for those turning age 50 or older in 2022. So if that's you, can make total TSP contributions of up to $27,000. For military in a combat zone, your contributions toward the catch-up limit must be Roth. And you can't contribute toward the catch-up limit fr...2022-01-0515 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 75 Christmas Easy GiftMerry 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. We love you and we’re thinking of you. Thanks for being there for us.Today’s podcast is a short one. It’s a time for rest, fun, and joy. So believe it or not today’s podcast is on how our military service members can change their income...2021-12-2605 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 74 I BondsIf 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: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/research/indepth/ibonds/res_ibonds.htm#irate The I Bonds you buy between now and April 22, 2022 will earn you at least 3 1/2 percent interest over 1 year. After that you should reevaluate and consider redeeming them if other cash savings rates are better.The interest that the I Bonds pays has two parts. The first part is based o...2021-12-1711 minMoney Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 73 TSP QuirksToday's content comes directly from Brian O'Neill’s recent blog post Top 10 TSP Quirks You Need to Know. Brian is a fellow Military Financial Advisor Association member , former Air Force fighter pilot, and Certified Financial Planner who writes a great weekly blog with a fighter pilot twist. Thanks, Brian.If you’ve ever compared the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) to a civilian 401(k), you probably noticed the TSP has quite a few quirks:1. Minimum balance: As long as you leave at least $200 in your TSP when you seperate from service, you can keep your TSP...2021-12-1015 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 72 Required Minimum DistributionsFor 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 https://www.tsp.gov/publications/tsp-775.pdf The simplest way to calculate an RMD is to go to investor.gov's online RMD calculator https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/required-minimum-distribution-calculator You need two key pieces of information. How old will you be on December 31st and what was the value of your Traditional TSP, 401k, and/or I...2021-12-0115 minMoney Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 71 Real Financial PlanningToday 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 heart of everything they do. The Certified Financial Planner Board describes financial planning as “looking at a client's entire financial picture and advising them on how to achieve their short- and long-term financial goals. From saving for education and planning for retirement to effectively managing taxes and insurance, financial planners develop valuable relationships with their clients to provide them with...2021-11-2509 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 70 Year EndToday 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 gain when you sell an asset, like property, stocks, bonds or mutual funds, for more than you paid for it. So this may be an opportunity to sell assets that have grown in value, pay 0% taxes on that profit and reinvest into something else. For more info on the capital gains tax check out Episode 44.If yo...2021-11-0513 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 69 Military BuybackIf 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 reserves, including your annual active duty training, count. However, National Guard active duty only counts if it was Title 10, section 233(d), or under a call by the president. Service must be honorable. And a deposit has to be received before you retire (that’s the buyback). You need to qualify for a FERS or CSR...2021-10-2613 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 68 Open Season 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 open season, you can enroll in a Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program and the Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) plan. You can also change plans, change plan options, you can change enrollment type between self, self plus one, or family coverage, or cancel your enrollment. Do nothing and your current coverage will automatically continue. You also have cho...2021-10-1915 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 67 PSLF RebootThe 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 eligible, as well as those of you working full time for state governments and most non-profits.What is PSLF? It's a Loan Forgiveness program. If you work for a qualifying employer, have qualifying loans, work full-time, and make 120 on-time monthly loan payments, you can apply and have the remaining balance of your student loans forgiven. Why? Why has there been a...2021-10-1212 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 66 Normal Retirement AgeToday 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 amount you will received each month will depend on whether you start before your normal retirement age, at that age, or after. If you were born before 1937 your Normal Retirement Age is 65. If you were born in 1960 or later, your Normal Retirement Age is age 67. Everybody else, yours is in-between age 65 and 67. Check out your exact Normal Retirement Age in years and...2021-10-0910 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 65 TRICARE For LifeAt 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 with 20 or more employees. In that case, you would need to enroll in Medicare Part B within 8 months of stopping work or losing your workplace health coverage, which ever is sooner in order to avoid penalty. The penalty is 10% increase in premiums for every 12 months you delay, for the rest of you life.If you are...2021-09-2910 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisosode 64 Vacation 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 talk about saving for a bucket list vacation. Since I’m a financial planner, It shouldn’t be a big surprise that I recommend you start your trip with planning. The first step is to decide what kind of trip you want to take, and think about what it is a...2021-09-2107 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 63 CrytocurrencyToday 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.investopedia.com/cryptocurrency-4427699 Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for secure payments online directly between individuals without middlemen. Cryptocurrencies use virtual tokens which are created, called mining, on a network of dispersed computers that randomly record blocks of cryptocurrency transactions, called blockchain technology. Bitcoin and Ethereum are two well known cryptocurrencies.You can make money directly by mining cryptocurrency, but that takes massive computing power. Or by bu...2021-09-1412 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 62 Retirement BudgetTwo 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 current cash flow, also called a budget, in detail. Spend some time envisioning the kind of lifestyle you want in retirement. Then make adjustments from your current cash flow to build a retirement budget.Let’s start with income. Pull out your Leave and Earnings Statement and pay stubs. Military look for your total enti...2021-09-0719 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 61 PSLF ForbearanceThe Department of Education announced it will extend federal student loan forbearance, again. Forbearance is the temporary suspension of loan payments. This newest extension which the Department called “final” will carry through to the end of January 2022. And notifications to borrows have already started going out.During this forbearance program, federal loan borrowers are not required to make loan payments AND interest does not accrue on those loans. For our active duty military and federal employees going for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), this extension is more great news. This time in forbearance still counts toward your 120 months of pay...2021-08-3108 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 60 Reserve RetirementToday were celebrating episode 60 by talking about Guard and Reserve retirement. If you find trying to figure out what your retirement pay will be and how to qualify, you are not alone. Here's a link to the online DoD retirement calculator https://militarypay.defense.gov/Calculators.aspx and Doug Nordman’s blog post in The Military Guide at https://the-military-guide.com/reserve-retirement-calculator/ Doug gives you the numbers and formulas written out more background. First, to determine if you will be eligible for retirement you need to look at the number of points you build up and the num...2021-08-2511 min
Money Pilot Financial Advisor PodcastEpisode 59 Happy 59 1/2When your reach 59 ½ years old you can withdraw money from your qualified retirement plans like Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), 401k, and IRAs without paying the 10% early withdrawal penalty tax. There are some exceptions to the 10% tax penalty. In particular if your separate from service after you reach 55 years old, you can begin withdrawing from that employer’s retirement plan penalty free. And there are a just a few other exceptions to the early withdrawal penalty.You also need to know if you make withdrawals from a ROTH IRA, ROTH TSP, or ROTH 401k, you can withdraw your cont...2021-08-1708 min