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Military Finances 101: How Golf Can Relate to Your Finances Thumbnail

Military Finances 101: How Golf Can Relate to Your Finances

Managing Your Finances

By Joseph Brown, PhD, CFP®

I love playing Golf.  Every time I think I have it figured out, I learn that that there is a new level to the game that brings new complexity, strategies, and ultimately improves my score and enjoyment of the game.

A Game of Misses

As I reflected on the newest level of golf for me - a game of misses - I was struck by the similarities to financial planning. For those of you who don’t play golf, the game of misses strategy means that you don’t always aim at exactly where you want to end up. Instead, you aim where your dispersion of shots will land in areas that all put you in a good position - you minimize the downside and maximize the upside. Which is exactly what we help you achieve with your finances.

Finding Your Aim Point for Your Finances

So how do we do that for you?  Well, we start with determining your needs, wants, and wishes.  After we do that, we begin modeling those 1000 futures and building out that dispersion of outcomes - the probability that you will achieve your needs, wants, and wishes. We then use these simulations to map out those 1000 different futures to balance optimizing your current and future life. We want you to enjoy today and tomorrow! With that information in hand, we can determine an aim point - an amount to save, an investment strategy, a spending plan for today, a risk management strategy, an estate plan, tax planning, and maximizing your military retirement and benefits. Putting these elements together into a personalized financial plan gives you the best chance of maximizing your money to live out your values!

Military Finances are Different

Many people like golf. Not everyone has the same military retirement and benefits as an Active or Retired Senior Military Officer or NCO. And those benefits will change all parts of your financial plan and therefore your aim point to live out your values. That's why we think you should work with a financial advisor or planner that deals with military-related benefits and special tax treatment every day. If you'd like to find out how we do things use the button below to schedule a free initial consultation.

If you found this article useful, you might like the following blog posts:

Military Finances 101: Focus on What You Can Control


Military Finances 101: 8 Step Summer Financial Checklist


So, You Want to Be a Military Landlord


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