personal finance
Finance Friday Articles and the Government Shutdown
First, everyone reading this needs to look at the government shutdown and the fact that the Coast Guard wasn’t getting paid and come up with their own plan for how they’d handle a financial emergency. Here are some articles I’ve written on the subject:
1st Step to Financial Freedom – Establishing an Emergency Fund
Here are this week’s articles:
Personal Capital’s 2019 Tax Guide
A Rough, General-Purpose Retirement Plan
How Will Tax Law Changes Affect Me in 2019?
Official Explains Federal Tax Changes for Military, Spouses
Planning For The Predictable & The Unpredictable
Saving for college now could help you avoid financial pitfalls later
VITA Connects Service Members to Tax Support
WASHINGTON (NNS) — The 2019 tax season is underway, and, once again, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program is open to eligible Navy personnel, dependents, and retirees at select locations around the globe.
VITA links active-duty and retired service members and their dependents, as well as deployed civilians, to free self-service tax software via Military OneSource.
“VITA is designed to accommodate the increasingly busy lives of Sailors and their families,” said Lt. John Schwietz, the Navy’s VITA program manager at the Office of the Judge Advocate General in Washington, D.C.
As the trend toward self-service tax preparation gains more momentum, VITA has evolved, and the Navy no longer requires Region Legal Service Offices (RLSOs) to stand up brick-and-mortar tax centers. Therefore, Schwietz advises those interested in filing their taxes in-person to first consult the below list of VITA tax centers, and also contact their local RLSO for more information about availability and hours of operation.
“While VITA tax centers are an excellent resource, many find it more convenient to simply access the very same tax filing software used at the tax centers and file on their own,” Schwietz said in reference to the software provided via Military OneSource.
“Customers can securely file their taxes from anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection,” he added. Users in need of assistance also can call the Military OneSource helpline to reach tax counselors seven days a week.
The following VITA tax centers are offering self-service VITA services to eligible customers. Customers eligible for VITA under 10 U.S.C. section 1044 can locate the nearest RLSO.
RLSO Midwest VITA Tax Center
Great Lakes
RLSO Southeast VITA Tax Center
Guantanamo Bay
Key West
Gulfport*
Meridian*
Pensacola*
RLSO Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia VITA Tax Centers
Bahrain
Naples
Rota
Sigonella
RLSO Japan VITA Tax Centers
Guam
Sasebo
Yokosuka
RLSO Northwest VITA Tax Centers
Bangor*
Bremerton*
Everett*
Whidbey Island*
RLSO Southwest VITA Tax Centers
Lemoore*
San Diego*
Ventura*
* A site that limits VITA services to E1 to E6 service members and their dependents.
Customers are advised to have the following items on-hand when preparing their taxes:
Valid identification for taxpayer/s
Social Security Numbers (including spouse and children)
Child care provider tax I.D. or Social Security Number and address
2016 adjusted gross income from last year’s tax return (if you have a copy, VITA volunteers can show you where this amount is)
IRS E-filing PIN (you can get one at irs.gov or call IRS at 866-704-7388
Income data (W-2s)
All end-year tax documents (1099s)
Student loan payment information
Receipts for child care payment
Receipts for educational expenses
For more information about VITA and tax preparation, read frequently asked questions at http://jag.navylive.dodlive.mil. For more news from Navy Judge Advocate General, visit www.navy.mil/local/jag/.
Get more information about the Navy from US Navy Facebook or Twitter.
For more news from Navy Judge Advocate General, visit www.navy.mil/local/jag/.
TurboTax® Deluxe Online Federal Free Until 15 MAR 2019
LIMITED TIME OFFER
USAA active-duty military and reservists can get TurboTax Deluxe Online Federal at no charge until March 15, 2019. Read about the details here:
Personal Finance for the Military Physician: A 2019 Update
I updated my Personal Finance for the Military Physician talk for 2019 and have this week’s articles listed below:
Here are this week’s articles:
1 in 3 eligible active-duty troops signed up for DoD’s new retirement system
10 Ways To Know You Are Competent to DIY Your Investments
12 Things You Should Know About Choosing a Financial Adviser
Diversification is (Almost) Undefeated
Here’s How the Stock Market Has Historically Performed After a Down Year
Mil Money: Here’s how you can get the most out of the new military retirement system
MILTAX: FREE TAX SERVICES – THE ESSENTIALS
My Money Is Worth More Than Your Money
Nursing Dollars (a discussion on long-term care insurance)
The Gift of Life (a discussion of life expectancy and the financial implications)
Finance Friday Articles
Jonathan Clements has a free, comprehensive, and continuously updated financial guide. He just announced the updates were made for 2019. It is a great resource for any financial topic, which you can find here:
This is also a great page to check out if you are looking to do a quick self-assessment of some portion of your financial life:
Here are this week’s articles:
10 Things Investors Can Expect in 2019
Celebrating Ten Years With The Backdoor Roth IRA
Student Loan Refinancing – Advice From the Trenches
Updating My Favorite Performance Chart for 2018
2019 Military Pay Tables and the Finance Friday Articles
You can see the 2019 military pay tables here:
2019 Military Active & Reserve Component Pay Tables
Here are this week’s articles:
5 Thoughts on the Market Downturn
5 Things To Know About Volatile Markets
Do I need a Financial Advisor? Four Reasons to Use a Financial Advisor
First Principles Thinking: Should You Invest in a 401(k)?
From 28 Funds to 3: Simplifying to a Three Fund Portfolio
How to Retire Early as a Doctor
Mil Money: Here are 10 money moves for the new year
Struggling to put a financial plan together?
The Frugal Physician: 5 Steps to Becoming Debt Free
The Wall Street Physician Blog in 2018, And An Announcement
Finance Friday Articles
Here are this week’s finance Friday articles:
5 Reasons To Invest In Choppy Markets
7 Ways the IRS Supports Your Charitable Desires
Avoiding the Hedonic Treadmill
Buying When Stocks Are Down Big
Here’s how much money to save if you want to retire ‘rich,’ according to wealth manager David Bach
Introduction to Commercial Real Estate Investing
Paper Tigers (a discussion about how futile it is to make market predictions)
Real Estate Investing Without the Hassle
Seven Ideas (to manage your own money)
Tax Loss Harvesting with Fidelity: A Step by Step Guide
Three Questions (to ask when the markets are down)
Using Side Income to Fund Multiple Tax Advantaged Retirement Accounts
What is the Best Month to Buy a House?
Finance Friday Articles
Here are this week’s personal finance articles:
2019 Tax Brackets, Standard Deduction, and Other Changes
FEDVIP gift: Military retirees, others get extra three months to enroll in dental, vision insurance
How To Invest In International Stocks in 2019
Index Investing And Rock-Paper-Scissors
Navy Times – New BAH Rates for 2019 Rise 2.5 Percent
Here’s a link to the article:
New BAH rates for 2019 rise 2.5 percent
Here’s the updated BAH calculator.
Big Changes to Navy Medical Pay – FY19 Medical Department Special Pays Guidance
Here are the official BUMED talking points on the FY19 special pays plan. The pay plan guidance for each Corps is expected to be released early next week.
NOTE: The guidance currently posted on the BUMED special pays website is from FY18 and not FY19. This new guidance only applies to FY19 pays.
Background:
Navy Medicine’s mission does not change – to keep the Navy and Marine Corps family healthy, ready and on the job. Ensuring the Department of the Navy has a ready medical force to meet assigned operational missions remains paramount. To do this, we must maximize recruitment and retention tools such as special and incentive pay to attract and retain medical department officers with critical specialties.
Navy Medicine is responsible for properly aligning its uniformed force structure to support the medical capabilities of the Navy and Marine Corps operating forces. The Fiscal Year 2019 special pays guidance focuses on meeting congressional intent of NDAA 2017 which specifically focuses on the improvement of infrastructure and alignment to operational readiness.
Navy Medicine analyzed current manning data, end-strength forecasts, loss and retention rates, training timeframes, recruitment rates, and Department of Labor statistics to craft the FY19 Medical Department Special Pays Guidance.
Key Messages:
- The Department of Defense and the Navy are taking a critical look at force structure across the services and within each military department in an effort to align to defense planning guidance priorities and to meet CNO guidance.
- Navy Medicine is managing its medical force to meet the needs of the Navy and Marine Corps.
- Navy Medicine must have properly aligned uniformed force structure to meet the medical capabilities of the Navy and Marine Corps operating forces.
- Navy Medicine uses special and incentive pay, coupled with other personnel management tools, to influence recruitment and retention behavior and ensure we have the right specialty mix, experience, and talent to meet our mission.
Talking Points:
- Changes to the FY19 Medical Department Special Pays Guidance provide Navy Medicine with significant flexibility and enhanced options for the recruitment and retention of needed specialties.
- Navy Medicine increased accession and retention numbers in key specialty areas.
- Navy Medicine carefully considered these changes to optimize personnel career progression and talent management.
- The vast majority of officers eligible for special and incentive pays within Navy Medicine will be minimally impacted; there will be some impact on a few select specialties.
- Updates include the following:
- Accession Bonus:
- Updated list of eligible specialties for the Critically Short Wartime Skills Accession Bonus to include cardio-thoracic surgery, trauma/critical care surgery, and medical technology, and eliminated internal medicine, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, and pediatrics.
- Increased accession bonus amounts for critical specialties to include aerospace medicine, anesthesia, emergency medicine, family practice, orthopedics, preventive medicine, psychiatry, pulmonary/critical care, radiology, urology, and nurse anesthetist.
- Authorized a direct accession critical care nurse to forgo the accession bonus and request retention bonus upon reporting to the first permanent command (must meet board certification & education/training criteria).
- Retention Bonus:
- Added 6-year retention bonus for critical specialties to include general surgery, category I subspecialties, orthopedics, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, family practice, psychiatry, pulmonary/critical care, comprehensive dentistry, periodontics, prosthodontics, oral maxillofacial surgery, physician assistant, clinical psychology, critical care nursing, psychiatric nursing, perioperative nursing, psychiatric/mental health nurse practitioners, family nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists.
- Added additional eligible specialties for the retention bonus to include graduate prepared Clinical Nurse Specialists in medical-surgical and emergency room nursing (must meet board certification and education/training criteria).
- Authorized critical care nurses and family nurse practitioners to take retention bonuses while under obligation for graduate education through Duty Under Instruction (DUINS), incurring a consecutive obligation.
- Authorized critical care nurses to apply for selection to DUINS as Clinical Nurse Specialists in critical care nursing while under retention bonus.
- Removed language allowing 2-year Retention Bonus for non-certified critical care nurses.
- Limited ability to terminate early and renegotiate contracts for certain specialties to include pediatrics, radiology, radiation oncology, general dentistry, endodontics, exodontia, public health dentistry, oral pathology, pediatric dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, pediatric nurse practitioner, family nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwife.
- Limited Nurse Corps retention bonus to Commander/O-5 for all specialties except nurse anesthetists.
- Limited Medical Service Corps retention bonus to 22 years of commissioned service or less.
- Limited retention bonus length to 2 or 3-years for pharmacy, optometry, pediatric nurse practitioner, and certified nurse midwife.
- Accession Bonus:
- All personnel who are eligible for medical department special pays should review their corps specific guidance available on the Navy Medicine website.
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