Financial Planning
Military Money Guides
Written from active dutyThe decisions behind the calculators. PCS moves, deployment pay, and retirement elections, explained in plain English by someone who lives them.
Our calculators give you the number. These guides give you the decision. Should you do a PPM? How do you capture every dollar on a deployment? Should you take the BRS lump sum? They’re written from inside the military, not from a corporate desk, and every figure traces to an official 2026 source. No fluff, no "10 money tips," just the real math and the gotchas nobody warns you about.
FeaturedPCS & Moving
Should You Do a PPM in 2026? An Honest Profit Breakdown
A personally procured move can put thousands in your pocket, or it can cost you a weekend and a sore back for almost nothing. Here is how to tell which one your move is, before you sign for the truck.
9 min readPCS & Moving
8 guidesPCS & Moving
Should You Do a PPM in 2026? An Honest Profit Breakdown
A personally procured move can put thousands in your pocket, or it can cost you a weekend and a sore back for almost nothing. Here is how to tell which one your move is, before you sign for the truck.
9 min readPCS & Moving
DLA: The Move-In Money Nobody Explains
Dislocation Allowance is a flat payment that lands around your PCS to cover the random costs of setting up a new household. It is real money, it is tax-free, and a surprising number of people do not know how it works.
7 min readPCS & Moving
The PCS Timeline That Actually Works: An 8-Week Countdown
A PCS goes sideways when things get done in the wrong order. Here is the week-by-week countdown I follow, from the day orders drop to the day you sign in at the new base.
8 min readPCS & Moving
TLE vs. TLA: Which Lodging Money You're Owed on a PCS
Temporary lodging during a move has two different programs with similar names, and which one you rate depends entirely on whether your move is stateside or overseas. Here is the difference and how many days you get.
6 min readPCS & Moving
Getting Paid to Drive: MALT and Per Diem on a PCS
When you drive your own car to a new duty station, the military pays you per mile plus a daily allowance for the trip. Here is exactly how the 2026 numbers work so you can check that finance paid you right.
7 min readPCS & Moving
Your Weight Allowance: How Much You Can Ship and What Happens If You Go Over
Every rank has a cap on how many pounds of household goods the military will move for free. Here is how to find yours, how pro-gear adds to it, and what really happens if you go over.
6 min readPCS & Moving
Your PCS Mileage Rate Went Up Mid-Year
The MALT rate rose from $0.205 to $0.235 a mile on 1 July 2026. Here is what it adds to a real move, and which rate your voucher is actually paid at.
5 min readPCS & Moving
PCS Per Diem Goes Up October 1: The FY2027 Standard Rate Is $113 Lodging Plus $68 M&IE
GSA published the fiscal year 2027 per diem rates on August 18, 2026. The standard lodging rate rises from $110 to $113, M&IE stays at $68, and the change reaches every PCS drive, every TLE claim and every TDY on or after October 1. Here is what it is worth on our data, by distance, by rank and by duty station.
8 min readDeployment & Pay
4 guidesDeployment & Pay
Every Dollar You're Owed on a Deployment: The 2026 Combat-Zone Pay Stack
Deployment pay is not one entitlement. It is a stack of six that layer on top of each other, each with its own rules, tax treatment, and gotchas. Here is the whole stack in plain English, in the order it hits your LES.
11 min readDeployment & Pay
The Savings Deposit Program: A Guaranteed 10% You Have to Claim
There is exactly one place in American finance that pays a guaranteed 10%, and it only exists while you are deployed to a combat zone. Most people either set it up too late or miss it entirely. Here is how to not be one of them.
7 min readDeployment & Pay
The Combat Zone Tax Exclusion: Why a Deployment Can Make Your Pay Tax-Free
Serve even one day in a designated combat zone in a month and that whole month of pay can come out federal-tax-free. Here is how the exclusion works, the cap that applies to officers, and what it means at filing time.
7 min readDeployment & Pay
Family Separation Allowance: The $300 a Month for Being Apart
When military orders force you apart from your dependents, the military pays you a separate allowance for it. Here is who qualifies, the three types, and the 2026 amount.
5 min readRetirement & Transition
7 guidesRetirement & Transition
BRS Lump Sum vs. Full Pension: The 2026 Math, Honestly
At retirement the Blended Retirement System offers you a lump sum in exchange for a smaller pension until age 67. It looks like free money. The discount rate is where they get you. Here is how to actually run the decision.
10 min readRetirement & Transition
The TSP Fund Choice, Demystified: G, F, C, S, and I
The Thrift Savings Plan gives you five core funds and a set of Lifecycle funds, and that is where most people freeze. Here is what each one actually is, in plain terms, and how to think about the choice without the jargon.
8 min readRetirement & Transition
High-3 vs. BRS: Which Retirement System Are You Even Under?
There are two military retirement systems, they pay very differently, and a surprising number of people do not know which one they are in. Here is how to tell, and what each one actually gives you.
7 min readRetirement & Transition
The Transition Timeline: What to Do at 18, 12, 6, and 3 Months Out
Leaving the military well is a project with a deadline, and the people who land softly start a year or more out. Here is the countdown, from the first paperwork to your final out-processing.
8 min readRetirement & Transition
The Survivor Benefit Plan: The Retirement Decision Nobody Prepares You For
Your military pension stops the day you die. The Survivor Benefit Plan is the one chance you get to keep part of it flowing to your spouse, and you decide at retirement, often without much warning.
7 min readRetirement & Transition
Your Last Paycheck: Leave Sell-Back, Final Pay, and the Money on the Way Out
Getting out comes with a last round of money: your final pay, the leave you can cash in, and a few entitlements that settle on the way out. Here is how to make sure you get all of it.
7 min readRetirement & Transition
Reserve and Guard Pay: Drill Points, Good Years, and the Age-60 Pension
Part-time service runs on a different system: you get paid by the drill and you retire on points. Here is how drill pay, the points system, and the age-60 pension actually work.
7 min readPay & Allowances
11 guidesPay & Allowances
How to Read Your LES: The Four Things I Always Check
Your Leave and Earnings Statement is the receipt for everything the military pays you and takes from you. Most people glance at the net and move on. Here is the five-minute check that catches the errors that actually cost you money.
8 min readPay & Allowances
BAH 101: How It Is Set, Rate Protection, and the Moves That Cost You
Basic Allowance for Housing is one of your biggest entitlements and one of the least understood. Here is how the rate is actually set, the rate-protection rule that quietly protects you, and the decisions that leave money on the table.
7 min readPay & Allowances
Roth or Traditional TSP: The Choice That Quietly Decides Your Taxes
Every dollar you put in the TSP goes into one of two buckets, and the difference is just when you pay taxes on it. For most service members, and especially anyone deploying, one side has a clear edge.
7 min readPay & Allowances
Your First Military Paycheck: What You Actually Take Home
A military paycheck is not one number, it is a stack of base pay and allowances, and a big chunk of it is tax-free. Here is how the pieces fit together so you understand what really lands in your account.
7 min readPay & Allowances
The Reenlistment Bonus: How the SRB Is Actually Calculated
A reenlistment bonus can be a serious chunk of money, but the number is not random. It comes from a simple formula tied to your pay, your years, and a multiplier your career field sets. Here is how it works.
6 min readPay & Allowances
BAS: The Food Allowance That Confuses Everyone
BAS is the tax-free allowance for your meals, and the rules around it trip people up, especially the difference between getting BAS and being on a meal card. Here is the 2026 picture in plain terms.
5 min readPay & Allowances
COLA: The Two Different Cost-of-Living Allowances People Mix Up
There are two military allowances both called COLA, one stateside and one overseas, and they work differently down to whether they are taxed. Here is how to tell them apart.
6 min readPay & Allowances
The 2027 Military Pay Raise Is Not Settled — What 7% vs 3.6% Is Worth to You
The House passed a defense bill with a 7-6-5 tiered raise. The Senate's version pays a flat 3.6%. Both are still proposals, and the gap between them is worth $1,200 to $2,200 a year depending on your rank. Here is the real math on your paycheck.
8 min readPay & Allowances
The Army Replaced the Tape Test With One Number — and a Flag K Now Costs Real Money
Army Directive 2026-13 made waist ÷ height under 0.55 the only body composition standard, and every Soldier is measured by September 29. Here is the rule as written, what happens at 0.55, and what an ABCP Flag blocks — priced from the 2026 pay table.
9 min readPay & Allowances
SCRA and MLA Credit Card Benefits: What the Law Guarantees, What Issuers Add, and the Timing Rule That Decides Both
Two federal laws govern your credit cards on active duty, and they do not overlap: the SCRA caps everything on accounts you opened before service at 6%, fees included; the MLA caps credit you open during service at 36% and says nothing about annual fees. Here is the statute text, what Amex, Capital One and Chase publish, and how to file.
9 min readPay & Allowances
The Stopgap Is Law Through 11 December. Here Is What a Lapse Would Do to Military Pay.
Updated 8 September 2026: H.R. 6500 became Public Law 119-103 on 2 September, funding the government through 11 December. The 1 October cliff is gone and the next one is 11 December. Here is what a funding lapse legally does to your paycheck, what one missed payday is worth by rank once BAS and BAH are counted, and what history says actually protects military pay.
7 min readFamily & Spouse
3 guidesFamily & Spouse
Where a Military Spouse Pays Taxes: MSRRA in Plain English
Every PCS drops a military family into a new state with its own tax rules. A federal law lets a military spouse keep one home state for taxes and voting instead of changing it every move. Here is how it works.
6 min readFamily & Spouse
SGLI and the $500,000 Decision You Make When You Get Out
While you serve, you have up to half a million dollars of life insurance you barely think about. When you separate, you get one short window to keep it, and missing it can cost your family the coverage entirely.
6 min readFamily & Spouse
MyCAA: The $4,000 Education Benefit Many Military Spouses Never Use
There is a federal scholarship worth up to $4,000 for eligible military spouses pursuing a license or certification, and a surprising number of families never use it. Here is what it covers and how to know if you qualify.
5 min readVeterans Benefits
3 guidesVeterans Benefits
The VA Disability Claim: How the Process Actually Works
A VA disability claim is one of the most valuable things you can do before and after you separate, and one of the most misunderstood. Here is how the process really works, from filing to a rating.
8 min readVeterans Benefits
The Post-9/11 GI Bill: Three Benefits in One, and How to Use Them
The GI Bill is not just tuition. It is three separate benefits bundled together, and understanding all three (plus the option to give it to your kids) is how you get the full value out of what you earned.
7 min readVeterans Benefits
The VA Home Loan: No Down Payment, No PMI, and the Fee Nobody Explains
The VA loan is one of the most valuable benefits of service, and one of the least understood. Here is what makes it different from a regular mortgage, and the one-time fee you should plan for.
7 min readHow these guides are sourced
Every figure comes from a primary 2026 source: the Joint Travel Regulations, DoD Financial Management Regulation, DFAS pay tables, IRS publications, or U.S. Code. Each guide lists exactly which. Worked examples are clearly labeled illustrations, never real-person claims. Read more about our research methodology and update cadence.
REF: Military Toolkit Guides, effective 2026
Official 2026 DoD, DFAS, DTMO, IRS, and VA sources
Results are estimates. Always verify with your finance office.