personal finance « Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog

Experts often recommend keeping three-to-six months of living expenses as an emergency fund. About to get out of the military? You should probably hold more cash than you do now. While I doubt anyone in the military lost their job or paycheck as a result of COVID-19, there were many civilians who did, including some people who thought they were in recession proof professions, like medical providers. In the end, everyone should reassess their emergency fund due to COVID-19.

There are a few things to take into account when it comes to your emergency fund. First, it is for real emergencies. It is not for when your Playstation 4 breaks, but for when you have a significant and unexpected expense. Things that would qualify would include an insurance claim that requires you pay a substantial deductible (like an earthquake or flood), medical expenses, legal expenses, or loss of a job that reduces your income.

Second, you may have a larger emergency fund than you realize. You can withdraw any contributions (not earnings) you’ve made to a Roth IRA without tax or penalty. You can sell any taxable investments you’ve made. You’d have to pay taxes on any capital gains you have, but if it really is an emergency this might be a reasonable way to deal with it.

You can also use credit. If you have home equity, you may have already set up a home equity line of credit you could tap. Finally, you have credit cards you could use to fund any emergencies on a short-term basis. I wouldn’t recommend that you pay credit card interest because it could be a very high interest rate, but if it is truly an emergency this is always an option.

Third, if you are in the military you have a few significant advantages others don’t have. While you could always get yourself in trouble and get kicked out, you probably won’t lose your job. Being a TRICARE beneficiary limits the amount of out-of-pocket medical expenses you’d be exposed to. Both of these may limit the amount of emergency money you need to keep in reserve. For me, what I call my “emergency fund” is really just extra money I keep accessible for home improvements and repairs, automobile purchases, and vacations.

If you’d like to read my take on the emergency fund, go to 1st Step to Financial Freedom – Establishing an Emergency Fund.

This entry was posted in personal finance, Uncategorized and tagged personal finance.

Military Times 2020 Guide to Military Benefits

Posted on April 27, 2020 Updated on April 25, 2020

Here’s a link to this on-line guide that covers Basic Pay, BAH, retirement, family support, VA loans, TRICARE, and educational benefits. It is a great resource if you have questions about how something works:

Your 2020 Guide to Military Benefits

This entry was posted in BAH, Blended Retirement System, Education, GI Bill, Pay, personal finance, Retirement, TRICARE, Uncategorized and tagged BAH, BRS, education, GI Bill, Pay, Retirement, TRICARE.

Finance Friday Articles

Posted on April 24, 2020 Updated on April 23, 2020

Here are my favorites this week:

Back to Basics

Riding the Bear

Thank Uncle Sam

What’s The Worst Case Scenario for Diversified Portfolios?

Here are the rest of this week’s articles:

5 Examples of Bad Financial Advice from Dave Ramsey (for Doctors)

14 Reasons the White Coat Investor Doesn’t Want You to Retire Early

A $50,000 Real Estate Fund Investment, One Year Update

Acts of Congress: The Impact of Coronavirus on Your Finances

Aggressive Hours Reduction: Why Every Physician Should Chase ‘Virtual Retirement

Different Strategies For Putting Cash to Work During a Bear Market

Do We Need to Worry About Government Debt?

Financial Freedom Warriors Fired Up Over Economic Turmoil

How do we continue to diversify through this economic downturn?

How Early Retirement Prepared Us for the Pandemic

Investments in a Pandemic: The Lay of the Land

Stocks Just Took the Elevator Down & The Elevator Up

Tax Deductions for a Home Office

The Collapse of the Energy Sector

The Wild World of Yield Chasing

Which Retirement Accounts Should I Use? The Order of Investing

This entry was posted in personal finance, Uncategorized and tagged personal finance.

Thowback Thursday Classic Post – My White Coat Investor Guest Podcast

Posted on April 23, 2020 Updated on April 18, 2020

Here’s a link to my guest spot on the White Coat Investor site and podcast:

Being a Military Doctor – Podcast #92

This entry was posted in personal finance, Uncategorized and tagged personal finance.

Finance Friday Articles

Posted on April 17, 2020 Updated on April 16, 2020

Here are my favorites this week:

3 Important Financial Lessons I’ve Learned From The Coronavirus Pandemic

Income Isn’t Wealth

Monitoring your risk level & rebalancing

The Stock Market is Not Your Benchmark

Here are the rest of the articles:

5 Ways to Find Work-Life Balance While at Home

Calculating the Value of Your Backdoor Roth Contributions

How to Get Wealthy Investing in a Bear Market

How to Manage Student Loans During the COVID-19 Crisis

Is It Better to Withdraw Only from Cash and Bonds in a Bear Market?

Look Around

Making Money In Times Of Crisis – Lessons From Past Bear Markets

Managing the Transition to Attendinghood Properly

My New Theory About Future Stock Market Returns

Pandemics vs. Post-War Recoveries

Personal Finance During a Crisis

The First Step Is The Hardest

What should I do about my investments during COVID-19?

What the CARES Act means for markets and the economy

This entry was posted in personal finance, Uncategorized and tagged personal finance.

As COVID-19 Crisis Continues, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Protects Military

Posted on April 15, 2020 Updated on April 15, 2020

Here’s a link to the article, which should be read by anyone dealing with issues related to rent, security deposits, evictions, credit cards, mortgage/foreclosure, automobile leases, etc….

As COVID-19 Crisis Continues, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act Protects Military

This entry was posted in personal finance, Uncategorized and tagged personal finance.

Guest Post – COVID-19 Impact on Life and Disability Insurance

Posted on April 14, 2020 Updated on April 11, 2020

First, we would like to thank every service person who reads this for their tireless work and dedication during this pandemic. It is because of people like you we have confidence that the United States will lead the world out of this current crisis.

The impact the virus has had on the insurance industry, which usually moves at a glacial pace has been astonishing and compassionate. Under normal circumstances, all life and disability policies have a 30- day grace period from when premiums are due to when they need to be paid. Currently, this has been extended by at least 60 days for a total of 90. The procedure to obtain the extension differs by company but is very easy and accessible. Please contact us should you need assistance with your company.

Regarding underwriting, the process by which insurance policies are approved, the benefit amounts available without a medical exam or lab work have been increased substantially for both disability and life insurance. For disability insurance you can now obtain as much as $6,000 per month of specialty specific disability insurance without an exam if you are under age 51. The situation is even better for life insurance, as you can now obtain up to $1M of level premium term life insurance without an exam and have the coverage in effect within a few days if you are under age 46 (unless you have medical issues). Premiums are extremely competitive. For a male age 35 a $400,000 policy with premiums guaranteed level for 20 years, the monthly premium is $20-$40 per month depending on your risk class. For comparison, SGLI is $24 per month for $400,000. Since most individuals with a family should maintain 7- 10 times their annual income in life insurance protection, SGLI is not adequate. Hopefully these changes will become permanent but as of now that is uncertain. Please contact us for any assistance: