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[quote=Anonymous]Retired 50 y/o military officer here after 25 years of service. The key to financial independence is to live below your means as much as possible, don't try to keep up with the Jones, invest early and often, and have multiple income streams and/or side hustles.

A few things to point out:

Living below your means has to be a state of mind in everything you do but it does not have to mean sacrificing the good things in life either. Just be smart about it. Wants vs Needs. Do you need that fancy new car or do you want that fancy new car? Can you fly somewhere Military Space-A or are you the type that has to fly First Class?  Look at all your bills and see where you can save. Pay off your credit cards every month and take advantage of credit card rewards. Mow your own lawn.

Take advantage of being a military retiree or veteran as much as possible when it comes to discounts. So many businesses give military discounts if you ask. Shop at the commissary and exchange. Many exchanges will match online or other major retailer prices if you ask and then you don't pay the sales tax. Another example to show how much you can save being military or retiree....if you are a skier (I am), Vail Resorts offers the Military Epic Pass. This is one of the best deals in all of skiing if you are active or a retiree. For the 23/24 ski season, and Epic Pass is $159 and that covers all Vail Resorts all season. Just consider a regular day lift ticket at Breck, Park City, Vail, Whistler, etc alone is over $200.

Next, learn about money, finance, investing, and taxes. There is so much info on the internet to teach yourself. You don't need to be an accountant or a Wall Street insider. I started investing as soon as I started making money as a teenager. Stock, bonds, real estate, etc --- start small and build. That's decades of growth and compounding. Take advantage of the Roth IRA and if you make too much money the Backdoor Roth IRA. Study investments and companies and don't be a spectator to American capitalism. If you don't want to research individual companies, buy low cost S&P500 index funds. Never chase the latest meme stock or crypto. Read about and talk to wealthy people. Learn how Ted Weschler turned his $70K IRA into a $264M tax free Roth IRA.

Learn about taxes to save on taxes. The best way to do this is to do your own taxes and read up on tax saving strategies that are only a quick google search away.

Max out 401Ks/TSP so you get the employer match (free money). No brainer here. Consider a Roth 401K or the Roth TSP if you can afford paying the taxes now. As far as Roth over regular 401K or TSP, I personally think the govt will need to raise taxes a lot in the future to cover all the entitlement programs, spending, and debt so I'm assuming tax rates will be a lot higher when I retire. I also fundamentally disagree with the assumption you'll be in a lower tax bracket when you retire if you played your cards right so Roth is the way to go with my assumptions.

9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program - Huge for saving hundreds of thousands of dollars for college and/or graduate programs for yourself or if you are eligible and made the proper designations for your kids. Just make sure you give each kid at least one month before you retire or leave the service.  I estimate at current rates, this will save me close to $280-300K in college expenses for my daughter.

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