Finance Friday Articles
- 10 Steps for 2023
- 2022 Was One of the Worst Years Ever For Markets
- After the Swan Dive
- Average Medical School Debt
- Crypto Was Always Smoke and Mirrors
- If You Want More Money, You Should Root for 2023 to Be Just Like 2022
- It’s Time to Work
- Mutual Funds That Consistently Beat the Market? Not One of 2,132.
- My Experience with Check Fraud – And What You Can Learn From It
- SECURE Act 2.0: Later RMDs, 529-to-Roth Rollovers, And Other Tax Planning Opportunities
- Should Servicemembers Have Access to Flexible Spending Accounts?
- The 4 Rules I Followed to Get Wealthy
- The Homeownership Society Was a Mistake
- The White Coat Investor Philosophy: 12 Timeless Financial Principles for Doctors
- VA Releases Details on VGLI Coverage Increase
- What’s in SECURE 2.0
- Why Markets Were Down in 2022
- Year-end planning: Topics to keep in mind, research to reference
Maj Gen Crosland Becomes DHA Director
Here’s an article on the change:
https://www.ausa.org/news/crosland-becomes-defense-health-agency-director
Here are her remarks from the change of command ceremony:
What is a “Don’t Pick Me” Promotion Board Letter? Why Would You Send One?
If you go to the Navy Active Duty Officer Promotions Page, you’ll find this at the bottom:
Sample “Don’t Pick Me” Letter to the Board
Removing the introductory portion, here is what the meat of this letter says:
- Per reference (a), please do not select me for promotion by the FY-[XX] [ActiveDuty Navy/Navy Reserve] [Grade] [Line/Staff Corps] [Competitive Category] Promotion Selection Board.
That’s it. All it says to the promotion board is, “Don’t pick me.”
Why would or should a physician send a letter requesting NOT to be considered by a promotion board? Here are a few reasons:
- You know that you are resigning and will not be joining the Reserves – If you are just paying your time back and getting out, do your fellow officers a favor and remove yourself from consideration. It is hard enough to promote nowadays. Having one less person to compete with helps out those who are willing to stick around. Yes, if you are picked and get promoted soon enough you could get some extra pay for a little while before you resign, but I’d say the general karma of letting someone else get the promotion outweighs that small financial benefit.
- You are an O4 or O5 who is retiring but you know that if selected for promotion you won’t accept it – Why would someone not accept a promotion? Because a promotion to O5 or O6 obligates you for 3 more years if you intend to retire. And the Navy still isn’t letting anyone get out early. If you want to get out as fast as possible with a 20 year retirement, taking a promotion to O6 in year 18 means you must stick around until year 21 at least.
So…if #1 or #2 above are applicable, consider sending a “Don’t Pick Me” letter. Make sure, though, that you are 100% POSITIVE that nothing in your situation will change. Lots of people who think they are going to get out, not join the Reserves, or want to retire right at 20 years later change their mind.
And remember, they are now due 10 days before a board convenes (not 24 hours like before).
State of the Blog at the Beginning of 2023
Here is the annual blog post detailing the state of the blog as of the beginning of 2023.
Financial Report
Blog Profit = $135 loss!
As you probably realize, I pay for this and make no money from it, which is undoubtedly what has allowed me to keep doing this.
Blog Traffic
As of 12/33/22, we have just over 1,371,000 page views. Here is the blog traffic as measured by page views since I started it in 2015. See a pattern? In 2022, we topped out at over 319,000 views.
Top Posts of 2022
Here are the top 5 posts/pages of 2022, excluding promotion board results or anything which is clearly old news:
- Joel Schofer’s Promo Prep
- How Much Do You Get Paid as a Navy Doctor?
- LCDR Fitreps – Language for Writing Your Block 41
- Joel Schofer’s Fitrep Prep
- CV, Military Bio, and Letter of Intent Templates
Top 5 Videos Watched in 2022
- FY23 Promotion Boards – What are They Looking At and How Can You Get Ready?
- Personal Finance for the Military Physician – A 2022 Update
- Throwback Thursday Classic Post – Basic Anatomy of a FITREP
- Fitreps in 18 Minutes
- Throwback Thursday Classic Post – How to Read Your Performance Summary Report (PSR)
Top 10 Posts/Pages of All Time
- Joel Schofer’s Promo Prep
- LCDR Fitreps – Language for Writing Your Block 41
- Useful Documents
- Joel Schofer’s Fitrep Prep
- CV, Military Bio, and Letter of Intent Templates
- Useful Links
- Joel Schofer’s Finance Guide
- How Much Do You Get Paid as a Navy Doctor?
- What are AQDs and How Do You Get Them?
- About Me
Updating the Phased Rollout of the Government Travel Charge Card (GTCC) for Permanent Change of Station (PCS) Moves
BLUF
Implementation of Phase III of the mandated use of the Government Travel Charge Card (GTCC) for
Permanent Change of Station (PCS) for Sailors in all paygrades, originally due to go into effect on Jan. 1,
2023, is on hold and will be announced in a future Naval Administrative (NAVADMIN) message. Enlisted
Sailors in paygrades E-7 to E-9 and officers O-4 and above are still required to use the GTCC for PCS, and
all service members are still required to use MyPCS Travel Voucher, regardless of whether they utilize the
GTCC. While not required for those outside the above paygrades, the GTCC remains authorized for all
others and can be used for authorized PCS expenses.
Joint Senior Medical Leaders Course
Who: Senior officers who have a potential nomination as a JTF Surgeon or JTF senior medical leader
What: Joint Senior Medical Leader Course (JSMLC)
When: March 20-24, 2023 (In-person – Medical Corps is allowed 3-4 seats)
Where: DHHQ, Falls Church, Virginia (funded by applicant’s command)
Course Description: JSMLC is a five-day, CLASSROOM-ONLY course designed to enhance preparation of medical leaders (senior O-5s to O-6s) who have a high probability of being named as a Joint Task Force (JTF) Surgeon, JTF senior medical leader, or occupy a senior medical planning position in a joint environment. In addition, the course would be valuable for those serving in senior departments, training and preparing forces for joint operations and deployment.
Course Prerequisite: 11 on-line modules found at the link below and completed on JKO.
Additional details here: https://health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Education-and-Training/DMRTI/Course-Information/Joint-Senior-Medical-Leaders-Course
The nomination process has changed. Prospective applicants should complete the attached form (DRMTI COP1) and email it directly to dha.jbsa.dha-metc.mbx.jmop@health.mil NLT January 20, 2023. Questions can also be directed to dha.jbsa.dha-metc.mbx.jmop@health.mil or 210-221-9231.
Joel Schofer's Career Planning Blog 