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Military Retirement: A Blessing and a Curse

I lost you, didn’t I? You said “this guy is completely insane! Half my pay for the rest of my life is a curse?” While I am prepared to concede your first point, gentle reader, allow me but a few paragraphs to elaborate on the second. Retirement from the military...
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Your Rich Uncle Wants to Help You Save for Your Retirement

Your rich Uncle (Sam, that is) wants to help you save for your retirement. In fact, through the tax code the US Government has done several things to help pick up the tab for your retirement savings. I’ll review a couple that you may already be familiar with and then...
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Annuities 201: Do They Belong In Your Financial Plan?

Annuities are some of the most heavily marketed investment vehicles available. And as I said in Annuities 101, annuities are neither good or bad. It depends on what your financial goal is. Once you set the financial goal, you’ll be able to determine if an annuity is right for you. Since...
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Annuities 101: What Are They?

With the stock market “crash” of 2008, annuities have gained a lot of attention in the last few years. But what is an annuity? First of all, annuities are a life insurance product. Second of all, annuities are complicated and difficult to understand. Let me see if I can help clear up...
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The Goldman Sachs Letter and You

The letter from a resigning Goldman Sachs executive has become quite the Internet rage. Most of us will never deal with Goldman Sachs and the letter may seem to be nothing more than an interesting “rant”. But, is that necessarily true? Maybe not. The letter spends a fair bit of time...
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Should You Take Advantage of the TSP’s G Fund?

Are you invested in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)? If so, did you realize that you have access to an investment vehicle that others can’t access? You do. The humble G Fund is unique and it is only available to those who invest through TSP. Let me explain… The Treasury Department issues...
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The 9th Wonder of the World

I’ve been told that Albert Einstein stated that compound interest was the 8th wonder of the world. My 6th-grade teacher, Mr. Rast, helped demonstrate that to me more than a few years ago. He asked me if I would prefer $100,000 or one penny doubled every day for a month....
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The Thrift Savings Plan: What Is It and Why Do You Need It?

What is Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)? TSP is an account similar to a 401(k). Federal employees (including those in uniform) may participate in the TSP. Military members put pre-tax money into an account, and have the right to take the money out of the account at a certain point in...
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Doing Some Last Minute Shopping? Don’t Buy a Tax Bill

As the year comes to a close, there are a lot of different reasons why you might be considering investing in (buying) a mutual fund. Perhaps you got that Christmas Bonus…o.k. I know you’re on Active Duty and Uncle Sam hasn’t found it in his heart to give Christmas bonuses yet,...
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Introduction to Investing

As discussed in the Banking & Savings section, it is essential to put away as much money as possible. The younger you are when you start saving, the easier it will be to grow a nice nest egg. Once you have established a saving routine, you should consider investing some...
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