KateHorrell

Helping Military Families Make The Most of Their Money

Kate Rants: TSP Is Not The Right Tool For Timing The Market


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Usually, my rants are on subjects that I know inside out. Today’s rant is going to be on a subject about which I know just enough to make an idiot out of myself, and I’m OK with that. Lately, I’ve been running into more and more people who are using their Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)… | Read More…

Life Insurance or SBP? Asking The Right Questions


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At least once a day, someone asks me some variation of the same question: “I’m trying to decide whether to get life insurance or take the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP.) What do you think?” And at least once a day, I type out a multi-paragraph answer. And honestly I don’t have that much time every… | Read More…

From The Mailbag: SBP When You Marry After Retirement


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

Want to chat with other military folks about our financial challenges?  Join the Military Money Questions and Answers Facebook Group The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) can be an important part of the income strategy for survivors of military retirees, even survivors who came on to the scene after military service was over. In some cases, marriage… | Read More…

Everything About The Survivor Benefit Plan


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

The Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is often the most important decision of your financial life, and it is also probably the most confusing. I can not emphasize enough how vitally important it is to thoroughly understand the Survivor Benefit Plan if a member of your family will remain in the military until retirement. While active… | Read More…

10+ Places To Learn About The Survivor Benefit Plan


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

The choice whether to purchase the military’s Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) coverage may be the largest financial decision of your life. As I’ve discussed extensively, it is a very individual decision and there is no best answer for every situation. While I’m trying to hit on every possible consideration, it is important that you get… | Read More…

From The Mailbag: Term Life Instead of SBP


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

The Survivor Benefit Plan is a very important topic in financial planning for the retired military family, and it’s awfully complicated. There is no single right answer, and even the exact same situation can be viewed from multiple perspectives. While this seems like a question that can be answered simply by math, there is also… | Read More…

BRS: DIEMS vs. PEBD


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

You’ve been reading everything about the military’s new Blended Retirement System (BRS), and your situation doesn’t match up with the examples of who falls into the new BRS, the old legacy system, or the choice to opt in.  How can you figure out which group you’re in? With the military’s new Blended Retirement System, there is… | Read More…

The Basics of Retirement Plans, and the Military’s Old and New Plans


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

One unexpected benefit of the introduction of the “new” military retirement system, the Blended Retirement System (BRS), is that a lot of people have discovered that they don’t understand their retirement plan at all. While it isn’t great that folks don’t thoroughly understand the system, this is a great opportunity for learning all around. First,… | Read More…

Understanding the SBP-DIC Offset


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

One frequently misunderstood issue about the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP) is the way that SBP benefits may be offset by Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) benefits provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA.) Under current law, a survivor may not receive the full amount of both SBP and DIC.  In order to receive DIC, the… | Read More…

Why You Should Rent During Retirement/Transition From The Military


This post may contain affiliate links, from which I may earn revenue to support this free site. All opinions are my own, and I only promote products that I use and love!

When leaving the military, many people want to buy a house. It’s a perfectly normal desire – for many military families, it’s been a long-term dream to put down roots and buy their “forever” home. No more crazy landlords, white walls, and unpacking every two years! I am so sick of unpacking! Unfortunately, the “forever… | Read More…

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Disclaimer

Kate does not represent the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any government agency. This blog is strictly for informational and entertainment purposes only. The content on this site should not be considered professional financial or legal advice. I may receive compensation through affiliate or advertising relationships from products mentioned on this site. All reviews on this site represent the personal opinions of the author. All references to third party products, rates, and offers may change without notice.