Author name: The Enlisted Money Guy™ - Brandon Lovingier, ChFC®, MQFP®

I know the person who asked me, “Isn’t Enlisted Money an Oxymoron?” was [mostly] joking, but my reaction internally was a big F@%K YOU. People seem to think enlisted folks are supposed to be poor and act poor. It’s true many of us do – at least at one point. However, it’s not about how […]

I run across young Soldiers and senior NCOs all the time with the same things in common: they feel behind and nobody taught them about money. I totally get feeling “behind” because I was there too. I didn’t have much guidance with money growing up either, but that’s okay. I’m still playing “catch-up” myself and

Updated 29 March, 2024 It may seem a little extreme, but a simple phone conversation started what would eventually grow to $40,000 plus. All for $50/month. The Phone Call that Started My Roth IRA I can’t remember exactly why, but I called USAA while I was deployed to Iraq sometime in early 2007. I’m guessing; there was a

Don’t be afraid, just because automation is a big word doesn’t mean it’s complicated. Actually, the opposite. Once you get your good habits set up for automation, it’s very simple to keep doing the right thing. If you want to get ahead without doing a lot of work, automation is the best way to do

There’s so much I wish I could go back and tell myself when I first joined the Army. I actually decided to just write a letter to myself as if I were joining today. I hope these words find a young service member somewhere and spark some action in them. I say Army throughout, but

When you decide it’s time to get your finances under control, it can be really tough at first. All this money stuff seems complicated. It might feel like you’ll never get caught up on your finances. You’re not alone. Many of us who’ve enlisted in the military didn’t start off with a bunch of extra

This is the very first Enlisted Money Confession, and we know you’ll be very interested to hear this story! Remember, we’re a community who shares our successes and struggles so we can all learn together. Be sure to read all the way to the end where we’ll discuss the “Dairy Land Divorcee’s” story and teachable

Ever feel like you don’t quite have enough money to go around? Yeah, we know the feeling all too well. The 1st and the 15th never seemed to come soon enough – until we got our spending under control. It can be really easy to focus on only one side of the equation – how

Every enlisted service member should check their Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) amounts and beneficiaries now. If it hasn’t been checked in awhile, now’s as good a time as ever. Also, it’s probably a great time to look at coverage amounts and decide if you have enough or too much coverage. Servicemembers Group Life Insurance

Enlisted service members often feel like there’s never enough money to live on, but it doesn’t have to be that way, Enlisted Money helps enlisted service members take control of their finances and enjoy the freedom they fight so hard to defend! Enlisted Money is a “by us, for us” project. This isn’t a gimmick,