Listen Money Matters - Free Your Inner Financial Badass. All The Stuff You Should Know About Personal Finance.

In honor of Memorial Day, we interview our listener Johnny who is a member of the Air Force, working in the finance office. Members of the Armed Forces have their own set of challenges when it comes to their finances.  Many recruits are fresh out of high school and learning to manage their finances is just one of the new arenas they find themselves in. As a new recruit, most of the day to day living expenses are covered, housing, meals, and health care so a lot of their income is disposable and they make the same mistakes a lot of young people make when they suddenly find themselves with some money.  Buying expensive cars, fancy gadgets, nice (well earned) vacations dinner out when they tire of eating the same thing on a ten day rotation.  The military does provide some personal finance classes but they’re voluntary. The military does provide investment options.  There is the TSP which is similar to a 401K program and subject to the same caps as the civilian sector.  Military personnel are also given a pen