I honestly never thought I’d make it to retirement from the Army. But I recently got my retirement orders and I’m so ready for it! I figured I’d share a broad overview about how I’ve been thinking about and preparing for my own retirement over the last several years.
Keep in mind, this is my story, life, and goals. Your personal situation will be different. I’m sharing to help you think about what things you might consider and how I think about these things personally. Also, I did a poll in my bi-weekly Envestor Newsletter to see what people were interested in. How I’m thinking about my retirement was the top vote. So, here we go!
I’m going to start by talking through a little bit of how I even got here. I think seeing how things have evolved will be a little amusing. You should also be able to pick up some key changes in my life and how I’ve leveraged the relative safety of the steady paychecks to do some career exploration.
Starting Early, Like Really Early
In some ways, I’ve been preparing my exit from the Army shortly after my first enlistment. I didn’t actually want to reenlist the first time, but we didn’t have a plan to get out. I had an idea, but there was no money or legitimate framework to turn that idea into an actual plan.
So, I reenlisted, went to the promotion board, PCSed to Germany, and deployed for the second time. It was on the tail end of my time in Afghanistan that I had my “epiphany” about my truck. I decided we needed to become debt free. After my deployment to Afghanistan, we started our journey to becoming debt free.
Although we loved Germany, the Army seemed to suck the life out of me at an accelerated pace once I pinned Staff Sergeant (E-6). They definitely got their money’s worth out of me. My prize for all this time was getting DA selected for recruiting duty and having my award downgraded (and mailed to me).
Becoming Debt Free
We became debt free, but then we kind of just stopped. When we were in Kansas City for recruiting duty, and we just lived life for a while. We bought a house, had fun trips, and had a baby boy (conceived on a 4-day weekend in Omaha, lol).
Life was good, but then I got selected for promotion and I had to make a decision.
Going Indefinite
Once again, we looked at everything and I was really on the fence about getting out. I looked into potentially switching to the reserves by seeing what was available in the units I liked the most. I looked at potential jobs I’d like in the area too. Also, a 15-year retirement (TERA) was still an option.
Ultimately, we hadn’t really set ourselves up to be confident enough to leave the Army. I’d also spent the last few years preaching all the great things the Army had done for me (which was all true). I reenlisted one last time. This time, I became a lifer, and I immediately got rewarded with orders to Korea.
The Big Pivot into Financial Planning – For Myself and Others
While we were in Korea, I started to get more serious about getting my crap together. I started talking to my Soldiers about their finances. We were saving up cash to buy a house and a new(er) car.
I grew accustomed to waking up early at 0430 to do my college work. When I finished my bachelor’s degree, I continued waking up early out of habit. I started to read personal finance books instead. My Kindle showed I read 32 books in the span of 5 months. I read all the personal finance books I heard of, but I wanted to learn more – not just the same “index and chill” advice in different voices.
I needed to go back to school. But I decided to explore the idea of formalizing the informal financial counseling I was doing at work. I explored coaching, but ultimately landed on financial planning. I was accepted to The American College of Financial Services on a full scholarship for their CFP® and ChFC® program.
Building a Business as a Bridge to the Outside
Fast forward and I’m running a profitable paraplanning and content writing business. All I need is more time to dedicate toward the business. My opportunities and earning power have only increased since I started.
In essence, all I need to do is turn the Army off and dial up my already successful business. The best part is the work I do fits perfectly with my intent to maximize freedom, control, and flexibility in the next decade of our lives. We’re in the last decade with my son at home, so I want to focus in on that.
The Army Gets Cut from the Cast
It feels really good to finally have the confidence and financial stability to say the Army needs me more than I need the Army. In reality, it was always this way. I just didn’t have the confidence to realize or believe it.
I’m very thankful for all the experiences I’ve had and people I’ve met along the way. I can’t say I’d go back and change anything at this point. I know that God places me where I’m supposed to be. I just might not realize it at the time.
Bottom line, it’s been a good ride, but it’s not without a lot of sacrifice along the way. Overall, I feel blessed but it’s time to call it quits.
My Wife’s Career Takes Center Stage
The untold part of any successful service member is the spouse supporting them. My wife has taken just about every job I can think of. She’s been a bank teller, job coach for the handicapped, cashier at The Home Depot and the commissary, a substitute teacher at multiple schools, and a dental assistant (her favorite).
My wife’s volunteered to compete for jobs that never materialized. She’s been a homemaker off and on throughout. My wife is my alarm clock, my assistant, my manager, and oh yeah, my best friend and companion too! She’s more than earned her right to be center stage in this next chapter. That’s exactly what we’re going to do.
The Stay-at-Home/Work-from-Home Dad
As much death and terrible things happened during COVID, the most valuable thing I learned is how much I loved being a stay-at-home/work-from-home dad. I was in a weird position because my wife had to go back to work very quickly after the initial lockdown, my son’s daycare was closed down, and I was working from home (while watching a 4-year-old). And I competed (and won) for the NCO of the Year competitions too.
It was an incredibly busy time, but I adapted well. I had my daily routine down to a science. I was a pretty dang good house husband if I don’t way so myself. Anyway, the point is that I learned how much I loved being home in the morning when my son woke up. I loved managing my own schedule. I loved being able to wake up early and work out for 90 minutes or longer.
I learned the lifestyle I want to recreate when I retire. Adapting that lifestyle is going to help us put my wife’s career and my son’s remaining childhood at the center of our lives – not the military for once.
How I’m Writing the Script for the Next Chapter
It’s with that focus in mind that we’re writing the next chapter. We’ve chosen where to retire to based on the lifestyle we want and family priorities. We’re making sure we can give our son the best of ourselves.
Topics I’m Tackling Next
Although I’ve already thought about and made preparations for many other aspects of my retirement, I haven’t written much about them. Here’s some of the next topics I’m sorting through and plan to write about (because that’s how I process things).
- My “Off-Ramp” to Retirement (Income Streams, Expenses, Lifestyle)
- Buying Our “Starter” Retirement Home
- Permanent-ish Retirement Decisions (SBP, Where to Live, Should I Wait for Another Promotion, Setting a Retirement Date, etc.)
- Staying After 20 Doesn’t Make Financial Sense
- Why I Refuse to Retire (at least in the traditional sense)
If any of those are interesting to you or you have your own thoughts, I’d love it if you shot me an email at: hello@enlistedmoney.com. Regardless, we’ve been saving up money and building streams of income to help us have a smooth transition. If I hadn’t started my business several years ago, I wouldn’t feel nearly as prepared. I think my biggest challenge moving forward will be to limit how much I do.
I’m going to try to force myself to do as little as I can stand (which is still a lot!) for as long as I can. Time will only tell how well I succeed with that. However, I feel more confident about the future than I ever have. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes (even more so if you sign up for my newsletter below, just sayin’).