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For today’s Money Snapshot, we’re talking salary, net worth, debt, and more with reader T in Oklahoma, who works as a military officer. She noted, “The military paid for my college, based on my commitment to serve after school, and they’ve paid for most of my master's degree. It really has set me up to be financially successful.”
We got a few requests from readers to launch our own “money diary” series, so we’ve asked willing readers to fill out a form with lots of details about debt, spending, saving, and more! If you’d like to fill out the form and be considered for a future personal money snapshot, please click here to submit your response! You can see a PDF of the questions if you want to review them ahead of time. See others in the Personal Money Snapshot series here.
Please remember that this is is a real person who has feelings and isn’t gaining anything from this, unlike your usual friendly (soul-deadened, thick-skinned, cold-hearted, money-grubbing) blogger — so please be kind with any comments. Thank you! — Kat
Name: T
Location: Oklahoma, LCOL area
Age: 27
Occupation: Military officer
Income: $92,000
Net worth: $175,000
Net worth when started working: $5,000 at 22
Living situation: Rent, $850/month
Debt
How much debt do you have currently?
$25,000
What does your debt picture look like?
$22,000 is a car with 0% financing. I pay $600 a month. Then I’ve got a credit card with 0% interest that I used to purchase a home gym. It’ll be paid off before the no-interest period ends.
How much money are you spending each month to pay down debt?
$850
How did you pay for school?
The military paid for my college, based on my commitment to serve after school, and they’ve paid for most of my master's degree. It really has set me up to be financially successful. I also received academic scholarships.
Do you own or rent? How much do you pay monthly?
Rent, $850
Home debt: Share your theories and strategies with us (including any that lead you to rent rather than own).
I hope to own someday. But I’m not in a place where I’m settled yet.
Have you paid off any major debt?
I haven’t any major debts.
Savings, Investments & Retirement
How much do you save each month or year in retirement vehicles like 401Ks, Roth IRAs, and others?
$1,550 to my TSP [Thrift Savings Plan] and $500 to my IRA. It’s not enough to max my TSP, but close enough for me.
How much money do you allocate to other tax-savvy investments/accounts like HSAs, 529s, FSAs, and others?
I don’t have access to an FSA or HSA. I do have a 529, but I don’t pay state taxes so it doesn’t help for taxes.
How much do you save outside of retirement accounts?
$200 to a separate brokerage, $300 to a travel fund, $200 to an emergency fund, and $200 to a home savings fund.
Talk to us about investments. Do you have/use a financial adviser or planner?
All stocks, through Vanguard.
Do you have an end goal for saving or are you just saving for a rainy day?
I’d like to retire early, but I’m 27 so there’s a million things that could happen between then and now.
When did you start saving seriously? How has your savings strategy changed over the years?
I’ve always been a saver so as soon as I started really working I made it a priority.
What’s the #1 thing you’re doing to save money, limit spending, or live frugally?
I’m a fairly simple person. I work a lot and I’m not much of a partier or someone who goes out often.
Do you have an estate plan in place? A trust?
I don’t. I have a general will because of the military but my parents and younger sister would get everything.
How much do you have in cash that’s available today?
$500
How much do you have in cash that’s available in a week?
$10,000
How much is in your “emergency fund,” and did you include it in the previous question?
$4,000; yes
How much do you have in retirement savings?
$175,000
How much do you have in long-term investments and savings (CDs, index funds, stocks) that are not behind a retirement wall?
$25,000
If property values (home, car) are included in your net worth, how much are those worth?
My car is worth $30,000.
Spending
How much do you spend on the following categories on a monthly basis?
Groceries: $200
Restaurants, bars, takeout, and delivery: $100
Clothing and accessories: $25
Transportation: $750
Rent/living expenses: $850 rent
Entertainment: $100
Other major expenses: My dog is budgeted about $250 a month.
Health care – premiums and other costs: $0
What’s your spending range for these things? What’s your average?
Vacations – Range: $400–$2,500
Vacations – Average: $1,500
Individual items of clothing – Range: $10–$150
Individual items of clothing – Average: No idea. I wear a uniform five days a week.
Any other large personal expenses?
I save a lot. $2,100 to retirement, $200 to brokerage, $700 to general savings
Fill in the blank on this question: I could save _____ if I stopped ______, but I don’t because _______.
$50 a month if I stopped getting takeout coffee, but I don’t because I enjoy it and I have the money.
How has your family provided financial support in your adult life, if any? (Or, do you provide support to them?)
They paid for my car insurance and phone bill while I was in college.
Money Strategy
Do you have a general money strategy?
It’s just to save what I can.
Time vs. money — do you spend money to save time (e.g., cleaning service)? Do you donate your time instead of money? What else does this phrase mean to you?
I don’t yet, but I want to start.
What are your favorite resources for personal finance?
I’m a fan of some of the Reddit personal finance subs and the Money Diaries series.
What advice would you give your younger self about personal finance?
Just keep on keeping on.
Icons via Stencil.
Anon
I believe there was a Reddit Money Diary from a military officer in Oklahoma a while back, I wonder if it’s the same person?
Thank you for your service!
Do you plan to stay in the military for your career? If not, do you have an idea of what you’ll do when you get out?
As someone who works in public safety, I often think I should have started my career in the military. I’m in a work-sponsored Master’s degree now (so I have no free time), but I’m very seriously considering joining the National Guard after I finish for mostly personal reasons but also professional and financial reasons. It sounds like you’re active duty but do you have any perpective on the reserves/guard?
Anon
Not the OP. I posted below and was in the NG after I left AD. The Guard as an officer is tough because there’s so much on your plate. Those advertisements talking about “one weekend a month, two weeks a year” are for the junior enlisted. There are a couple full-time folks who keep the unit going, but you’re still responsible for planning training, writing personnel evaluations, handling issues when your joes get a DUI or have a DV charge… There is so much to it that it can’t all be done in a weekend. A good friend of mine who’s a LTC in the Reserves now says it takes about 15 hours per week of his time. He’s counting the seconds down until he can retire. Buuut the healthcare’s a fantastic deal you can’t get anywhere else. Just know that it really is a second job, not just a little weekend thing. I left because I had enough on my plate with my FT job that I didn’t want a PT job in addition and I had TRICARE through my husband and didn’t need the hassle.
FWIW, one thing to consider is whether you’d prefer Guard (controlled by each governor) or Reserve (controlled by the President). At the time, I chose the Guard because I liked the idea of serving my neighbors. In today’s politically charged world, think about whether you’d like to be called out for things like riots or border duty in addition to storms. Federal troops have a pretty narrow mission scope.
Anonymous
I’m the OP. I did post a Reddit Money Diary awhile back. I don’t plan on staying in for 20. I’ve had some serious injury issues in the past year, so I’m definitely planning on getting out soon. My goal is to go to Law School and let the GI Bill pay for it.
I don’t really have a good perspective on the Guard/Reserves. I’ve got some friends who love it and some who hate it. It’s definitely more of a commitment than one weekend a month.
Anon
Just curious, OP – do you plan to stay in the full 20 years for your pension and then switch to the private sector, or leave the military prior to that? Given they paid for your masters too, I assume there’s more than the typical 4 year commitment, but would be curious how you think about that?
Anon
This is really interesting! I’m curious what kinds of education and supports the military provides for service members as there’s so many young people that go in, probably with all sorts of levels of financial literacy.
Anon
Not the OP, but a vet married to an active duty officer. Officers (college graduates) are expected to have some basic understanding of personal finance, and I don’t remember there being financial training offered for officers when I was in (in the aughts), but that may have changed. Enlisted members (no college degree required) do have to sit through some basic financial literacy courses at basic training and when they arrive at their base. You also get special pays when you deploy to a combat zone, and you’re sitting there on a bench in a tent in the Kuwaiti desert waiting to go into Iraq or Afghanistan and there’s someone from Finance giving you a powerpoint presentation on all the new pays you’re entitled to, ha.
There are also a million and one free classes available on financial literacy through community support offices on every base. These are offered, say, every couple weeks and anyone, spouse or member, can sign up to learn more about how to be financially savvy.
In the Army at least, mid-rank enlisted members have historically served a paternalistic role of guiding young soldiers in financial decisions. If you’re very junior, you’re supposed to get permission before renting an apartment or buying a car – they want to check that you’re in a safe neighborhood, that you’re paying a fair interest rate, etc. (A local military commander can also blacklist local businesses for unscrupulous business practices. These lists are published annually at each base and are big deal.) How much oversight any junior soldier gets depends on his or her command climate; it’s something I always encouraged my mid-rank enlisted to do for my young enlisted because you don’t want an 18 year old making a financial mistake that will hamper them for years…but they’re also 18 so they’re going to make mistakes.
Anoneighmys
It’s been many years, but lemon lots selling mid 00’s Mustangs at 25+% interest rates are totally a thing. There are all kinds of businesses around bases that exist solely to separate junior enlisted from their money. While I wasn’t financially literate when I joined, and didn’t have NCOs or anyone else to show me the way, I knew the whole reason I joined was to get the hell our of the crap town I grew up in and save money for college.
Women, I think, are a little less likely to go out on liberty and come back married to a stripper, too.
Anonymous
Yeah, when my husband was in, he had lots of stories about people with crappy muscle cars and wives they’d met, married, and divorced in six months.
Anon
Oh god, my nephew married a girl he barely knew. She seems sweet and honestly I’m more worried he will break her heart rather than the other way around, but it was definitely on impulse. They’re about a year in so far.
Anon
My neighbor in the barracks and I used to joke about getting married just to get the hell out of the barracks. Being single means absolutely crappy quarters, treated like you’re a little kid, and getting stuck with every manner of garbage extra duty that the married folks don’t have to deal with. It sucks.
InHouse Anon
Milspouse/comedian Ashley Gutermuth on Insta has some hilarious takes on this.
OP
Fascinating! Thank you!
Hamin
great post
Anonymous
Impressive strategy and values. Nice job saving at a young age. Thank you for sharing