How To Become A Military Millionaire (3 Simple Steps) | Wildchildretire

Want to know how to become a military millionaire?

We will teach you.

Here you’ll learn 3 simple steps to help you become a millionaire while you serve your country.

These steps have allowed my wife and me to become enlisted millionaires before 36.

So if you’re interested in learning how to save 50% of your paycheck, make more money by house hacking, and more, enjoy the easy read below.

Let’s dive right in!

Can You Be A Millionaire In The Military? (Yes, With These 3 Simple Steps)

Becoming a millionaire in the military is quite an easy process. All you got to do is:

• Save Money
• Make Money
• Invest Money

Don’t overthink it.

Start with the resources below, stay consistent, persist, and enjoy the riches!

Step 1. Save Money

You have to think of saving money as defense. 

And defense wins championships.

Right out the bat, you cannot be sexy and successful with a high-powered offense (Make Money, Invest Money).

If you start only focusing on making money and you’re successful, there’s a high percentage you will burn through your funds until you grasp the concept of accounting for your income and saving what you earn.

Now let’s go learn some highly effective savings techniques.

Establish a Savings Goal

The first thing you need to do is figure out why you are saving money.

Is it for a house, car, future investment, retirement, or a trip? You need to set an endpoint to work backward and create a plan. This is what’s called S.M.A.R.T goal setting:

• S-pecific: You need to be clear about what you want to achieve
• M-easurable: You need to be able to track your progress
• A-chievable: The goal should be challenging but achievable
• R-ealistic: The goal should be realistic given your current circumstances
• T-imely: The goal should have a timeline or deadline associated with it

And if you want to make the process easier, you can use the app Qapital.

With Qapital, you can create a savings plan and contribute to it with every purchase. You can also set up rules like “round up my purchases to the nearest dollar and contribute that change to my savings goal.”

Qapital makes it easy and painless to save money.

Work Towards A 50% Savings Rate

This has been a game changer on my journey to becoming a millionaire.

The basic premise is that you need to calculate your monthly income. This includes all your benefits, including health care, housing, and food allowance. Once you have your monthly income, you must ensure that your spending does not exceed 50% of your after-tax earnings.

As for reaching that savings goal, there are many creative ways to save money in the military:

• One way is to live close to work and walk or bike to work.
• You can also take advantage of the Base Exchange (BX), Commissary, and MWR (Morale Welfare Recreation) facilities.
• You can carpool, use public transit, or ride a bike for transportation.
• You can also get creative with your cell phone plan and TV/streaming services, such as using Tracfone for your cell phone service or streaming with Hulu instead of cable tv.

There are many ways to save money, but you must be willing to look for them. And if you follow the tips above, a 50% savings rate will easily be achievable.

Establish An Emergency Fund

The last thing you want is to rely on your credit card when something unexpected comes up. Therefore, it’s essential to have an emergency fund to cover those unexpected expenses. Ideally, you should have 3-6 months of living expenses. This will help ensure that you are covered in a financial crisis such as a job loss, medical emergency, or other unforeseen circumstance.

To start building your emergency fund, open a savings account with a high-yield online bank, such as CIT Bank. This bank typically offers higher interest rates than traditional brick-and-mortar banks.

Once you open your account, set up automatic transfers from your paycheck to your savings account. This will help you make headway on your goal and reach your emergency fund.

Use A Military Friendly Budgeting App

All this saving can be time confusing and time-consuming, so you should let technology make it easier on you. 

Several budgeting apps offer features tailored to military life, but one takes the cake. This app can help you track your spending, budget, save, and even invest money.

The app that I recommend is Personal Capital. 

Personal Capital is a free financial app aggregating all your accounts in one place, including investment accounts, bank accounts, and credit cards. One of my favorite features is the Retirement Planner. This tool shows you how much you need to save for military retirement based on your current age, salary, and desired retirement age. 

But the best part about Personal Capital is that it’s free. And since it’s free, there’s no reason not to try it out.

Use Military Discounts Whenever Possible

Any and everywhere you go, ask if you can get a military discount. You’ll be surprised how many places offer them.

Some of my favorite places to get military discounts are:

• Grocery stores: Most grocery stores offer a military discount, including Safeway, Kroger, and Frys.
• Restaurants: Many restaurants offer military discounts, including Applebees, Olive Garden, and Outback Steakhouse.
• Retail stores: Many offer military discounts, including J.Crew, Ann Taylor, and the Banana Republic.
• Travel: Many travel companies offer military discounts, including hotels, airlines, and rental cars.

You can also use Militarycostcutters.com to find discounts.

Do yourself a favor and ask for discounts whenever you purchase something. You’ll thank me later when you save hundreds or thousands a year.

Cash Only

Another very important to becoming a military millionaire is to use cash only. 

My motto is, “If you don’t got it, you don’t get it.”

Meaning that for almost all purchases, if I don’t have enough to buy it with a cash purchase, I don’t buy it. It wasn’t meant to be.

This rule has a few exceptions, like a mortgage or investing in federal government retirement accounts like a 401k or thrift savings plan. But for the most part, using cash only will help you save more and keep you out of debt.

If you do use credit cards, pay them off immediately. 

I cannot stress this enough, using cash only is key to becoming a military millionaire.

Do Not Impulse Buy

Last but not least, in the savings category, DO NOT IMPULSE BUY.

This is something that I still struggle with. But this checklist has helped me the most, and I give myself a 24-hour waiting period before making a purchase.

If I want something, I sleep on it, and if I still want it the next day, I’ll think again about purchasing it.

If not, I save my money and don’t impulse buy.

Step 2. Make Money

On to the offense.

You now have a solid understanding of defense (Saving money). Now it’s time to focus on scoring some points (Make money).

Make Rank Faster

This is obvious, but it can be difficult for some people. But here are some tips to help springboard you:

• Network with influential people who can impact your career. Often, it’s who you know, not what you know.
• Get a job near the commander, like maybe the exec. The commander is usually the last to see your performance report. They can always add an extra push if they know you.
• Get good at writing your annual performance reports. Start writing awards and asking your peers for feedback to improve your writing skills.
• Score higher on your promotion tests. Sites like Quizlet often have military studying resources.
• Get a mentor 4 ranks ahead, and there’s a 99% chance you will make rank faster than your peers.

Use those tips as a base, and you’ll make rank in no time.

Get A SideJob

If you’re in the military, young service members should start a side job early. Making extra money and becoming a military millionaire can be a game changer.

I started my side hustle while still in the USAF; it was the best decision ever made. Not only did it help with my finances, but it also gave me a creative outlet and something to do outside of work.

Some good side hustles for military members are:

• Blogging: Use Bluehost for only a $2.95 monthly profit from your military training.
• Freelancing as a writer or graphic designer: Use Fiver to sell products or write articles for extra income.
• Proofreading: Upwork is an excellent website to land proofreading gigs.
• Tutoring: Use Wyzant to connect with students who need help in your area of expertise.

There are endless opportunities for military members to make extra money. It just takes a little creativity and effort to get started. Using those tips as a foundation, you’ll climb the ranks in no time.

House Hack

House hacking is a magical way to make extra money and pay off your mortgage. 

What is house hacking? House hacking is finding methods to make money from your home. It usually refers to buying a multifamily property, living in one unit, and renting out the rest so that tenants help pay off the owner’s mortgage while the owner builds equity.

Nowadays, there are many creative ways to house hack. For example, you can Airbnb a room in your house or even your whole home when you’re on PCS orders or deployment. You can also use websites like Landlordly to find tenants for your investment properties. 

If you’re creative, there are endless opportunities to make money from your home. And what’s better than making money while you sleep?

Move To A Location With Higher BAH

I have pocketed almost $300,000 of BAH in my military career. 

Most of it has come from being stationed in Maryland, where I was issued $2400 a month of tax-free income.

I made it a mission to get there during my career because of the BAH. I networked for years, made it happen, got the BAH, found a property in a cheap part of town, and eventually paid the house off; the rest was history.

For the next 4 years, I was intaking almost $5,000 a month of BAH. (also, thanks to my beautiful military spouse).

Do that. Find a high BAH place, a cheap part of town, get a property, and watch the dough roll in.

Get Married

Ahh yes. My beautiful wife. Best decision I ever made.

I have a life partner who gets me, understands my sense of humor, and loves making money, just like me!

Okay, here’s the thing. Don’t get married just to get the military benefits. But if you’re going to get married, know that your journey to becoming a military millionaire can be shortened by half the time.

For instance, we hit millionaire status about 13 or 14 years in the Air Force. I made ALOT of mistakes early in my career but was able to self-correct and accelerate because I had a partner with the same vision.

So if you’re already in love and about to make that leap, know that it can be an exciting money-making journey if you choose to make it one!

Step 3. Invest Money

Okay, this is where you can score the big points.

Time to start using that money you saved and made on the side, and start putting it towards some important life investments and generating some cash flow or passive income.

TSP

I started only investing in the TSP around year 10 of my military career, but my wife and I still have been able to amass about $300,000. I can only imagine if I started from the beginning of my career.

Now, the U.S. military matches up to 5%. So let’s just say hypothetically you were able to max that out for 20 years with an 8% return; you’re looking at almost $2 million. 

Not too shabby for a government job, eh?

So, if you haven’t already, start investing in the TSP and take advantage of that sweet matching!

Real Estate

This is where most of my net worth is held, specifically in single-family rentals.

I own three properties outright but rent out for a gross income of about $50,000 a year. I live in Ohio and use property managers for my rentals in Maryland.

But there are other ways to make money with real estate investments while in the military:

• Flipping
• Multi family member Rentals
• Buy and sell before a PCS
• Crowdstreet
• REIT’s

I’ll go over each one briefly.

Flipping

This is where you buy a property, fix it up, and sell it for a higher purchase price. You can do this while working for the department of defense, but it can be tricky because you often move around.

It’s a great way to make quick cash, but it’s not the most passive form of real estate investing.

Multifamily Rentals

This is where you buy a property with more than one unit and rent it out. This can be a great way to make money in the military, especially if you house-hack.

Buy and Sell Before a PCS

This is a strategy where you buy a property near a military base that you know will get a lot of traffic from people PCS-ing.

You then fix it up and sell it for a higher price. This can be a great way to make money, but you must be careful, utilize the VA loan, and don’t over-improve the property.

Crowdstreet

This is a way to invest in commercial real estate without buying a property.

You can invest small amounts of money into different commercial real estate projects and receive dividends from the profits.

REIT’s

A REIT, or real estate investment trust, is a company that makes its money by owning and managing income-producing real estate.

You can use the app Betterment to buy shares of a REIT and receive dividends from the profits.

So there you have it! Those are some ways you can become a military millionaire through real estate!

Individual Stocks

If you want t try a more hands-on, research-driven type of investment, you can try your hands on individual stocks. But before you do, here are some tips:

• When first starting, it’s best not to risk too much money. Invest a small amount of money first and see how it goes.
• Don’t invest all your money into one stock or even one sector. Diversify your portfolio to mitigate risk.
• And only invest in companies that you understand. There’s no point in investing in a company just because someone else says it’s a good idea.
• Use stop losses to limit your downside. A stop loss is an order to sell a security when it reaches a specific price, and it can help you limit your losses.
• Be patient. Don’t expect to get rich quickly. Investing is a long game; you should expect to hold onto your stocks for years.
• Use a user-friendly investment app like Robinhood to get started. Robinhood is a commission-free stock trading app that makes buying and selling individual stocks easy.
• And finally, research, research, research! The more you know about a company, the better informed you’ll be when it comes time to make a decision.

Now go make that money!

Taxable Account Mutual Funds

If you plan on retiring earlier than the TSP draw out the age of 59 and a half, you should consider investing in a taxable mutual fund such as VTSAX. 

What is VTSAX?

VTSAX is an index fund that tracks the entire US stock market. It’s a great way to get exposure to various companies and sectors and very low-cost investment.

Vanguard is one of the largest index fund providers, offering various indexes to track different markets.

You can see Vanguard’s investment in VTSAX here.

One of the great things about VTSAX is that it’s a very low-cost way to invest. The expense ratio is only 0.04%, meaning you’re only paying $4 for every $10,000 you invest.

Another great thing about VTSAX is that it’s a very tax-efficient investment. Because it’s an index fund, it doesn’t have to sell its holdings to generate cash for investors. This means it doesn’t have to pay capital gains taxes, which can eat your returns.

Overall, VTSAX is a great way to invest for the long term while you’re in the military. In addition, it’s a low-cost, tax-efficient way to get exposure to the entire US stock market.

Yourself

Finally, investing in yourself. This is the most powerful and effective way of becoming a military millionaire. That’s how I became one.

One day after a near-tragic event, I decided to learn how to make money. So in my free time, I started YouTubing and Googling “How to make money now” I found real estate and bought books; the rest was history.

And I’m doing that again. I’m learning how to blog and make money online, watching blogging videos daily, writing, building websites, gaining skills, and investing in myself that will eventually make me thousands of dollars a month, and so can you.

But how?

With the awesome website Skillshare.

Skillshare is an online learning platform with over 24,000 classes. You can learn everything from starting a blog to making money in real estate investing to becoming a military millionaire.

Pick something that interests you, learn a skill, then apply the knowledge and start making some money!

FAQ

Can you be a millionaire in the military?

The average person can accumulate wealth and become a millionaire in the military. Of course, it will take hard work and dedication, but it is possible. There are a few different ways to become a millionaire in the military, such as investing in yourself, investing in stocks and index funds, or starting your own business.

Can the military make you rich?

Yes, the military can make you rich. Even though the base pay is initially low for military service members, they can often save a lot of money in the military. In addition, they can receive benefits and bonuses that can help them become millionaires. And if you stay in for 10 years or even become a military retiree after 20 years of service and get the military pension, that number could grow exponentially.

What happens when you become a millionaire in the military?

Service members who become military millionaires in the military often find that their financial situation changes drastically. They may no longer have to worry about money, can live a military lifestyle with less financial stress, and be one step closer to financial independence status or even financial freedom. You’ll even have a greater chance of having a bigger lifetime pension.

Can you get out of the military if you get rich?

Possibly, but it depends on your contract. Some service members may be able to get out of their military contracts if they become rich, but it is not guaranteed. Therefore, you must do fine tooth and comb digging and sit down with a lawyer to determine the service’s exact contract details.

How do you make money in the military?

There are a few ways to make money in the military. Service members can receive benefits and bonuses, save money in the military, and invest in military stocks and bonds regularly, so they can set themselves up for early retirement.

Summary

That’s it! Those are the three steps to becoming a military millionaire. By saving 50% of your income, getting a side hustle, investing in VTSAX, and utilizing the various tips above, you can create your own path and set yourself up for a bright financial future.

So what are you waiting for? Start following these steps today and see how quickly your net worth grows.

Are you ready to become a military millionaire?

Related Articles:

• 22 Ways To Save Money While Enlisted (By Rank)
• THE Financial Independence Guide (Read Now To Master Money)
• Accumulating Wealth: A Money Building Guide That Actually Works

What military millionaire tips will you use? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.