Posted on Mar 14, 2015
Are you making maximum use of your financial benefits or wasting the opportunity you have? Are you contributing to YOUR TSP?
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Are you and your Soldiers/Sailors/Airmen/Marines/Coast Guardsmen taking advantage of the Thrift Savings Plan? If not, why not?
I feel obligated to ask and share this with you as I do with Soldiers serving with me. Many are embarrassed at some of the choices they have made and while they make excuses as to why they are not investing in their future they try to look away and avoid eye contact. I will not pressure anyone to do something they do not want to do however, I will encourage everyone to take control of their financial future and start putting some money away into the TSP or some other long range investment portfolio.
You are quite possibly wasting an incredible opportunity here and I will share a personal success of how it worked and is still working for us. I started off contributing $50 a month as a married SSG and we had 4 very hungry, growing children (3 boys and a girl) while carrying two house notes (one rented and one we were living in) and two car payment (her SUV and the Harley) as well as dresses for dances, wrestling shoes, dirtbike maintenance and helmets, football cleats and etc....we still found a way to put $50 a month to put into the program (we did it through the allotment). In 2005 we had $5K in the TSP. I checked our balance last week and we have almost $210K in the TSP. I didn't believe the number so I looked again, yes $210,000 in the account.
Look people, I have a Kentucky public education (we are better known for our basketball than our public schools), if I this can work for me, it can work for all of us - I ask you to not waste your opportunity while you have this benefit available to you to make your money work for you. Last quarter of 2014 we made over $18,000 in gains in that 3 month period, last year our gains were over $37,000.....you can't get there until you start along the path of financial independence....you have to get started - even if its only $100 a month.....are you still paying for your GI Bill? then pay yourself!
I feel obligated to ask and share this with you as I do with Soldiers serving with me. Many are embarrassed at some of the choices they have made and while they make excuses as to why they are not investing in their future they try to look away and avoid eye contact. I will not pressure anyone to do something they do not want to do however, I will encourage everyone to take control of their financial future and start putting some money away into the TSP or some other long range investment portfolio.
You are quite possibly wasting an incredible opportunity here and I will share a personal success of how it worked and is still working for us. I started off contributing $50 a month as a married SSG and we had 4 very hungry, growing children (3 boys and a girl) while carrying two house notes (one rented and one we were living in) and two car payment (her SUV and the Harley) as well as dresses for dances, wrestling shoes, dirtbike maintenance and helmets, football cleats and etc....we still found a way to put $50 a month to put into the program (we did it through the allotment). In 2005 we had $5K in the TSP. I checked our balance last week and we have almost $210K in the TSP. I didn't believe the number so I looked again, yes $210,000 in the account.
Look people, I have a Kentucky public education (we are better known for our basketball than our public schools), if I this can work for me, it can work for all of us - I ask you to not waste your opportunity while you have this benefit available to you to make your money work for you. Last quarter of 2014 we made over $18,000 in gains in that 3 month period, last year our gains were over $37,000.....you can't get there until you start along the path of financial independence....you have to get started - even if its only $100 a month.....are you still paying for your GI Bill? then pay yourself!
TSP
GI Bill
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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I have never really thought about TSP as I think it was one of those things they told us about during in-processing briefings. And let's be honest, how many of us especially junior enlisted actually pay attention. I will this this though CSM, you have a way with words. You caught my eye at $210K. I am asking my supervision now to figure out what to do for this. I think if I can spend money on movies, restaurants and video games I can put $50-$100 away for this, especially if it has the possibility to grow as yours did. Thanks for the advice.
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Sgt Spencer Sikder
You're not the only one. Many of us don't think about long range needs when we're young. We see our parents, grandparents or those of our friends struggle with their finances or medical needs and never think it will affect us. Until that fateful day we wake up and realize we've become them. :-) Good luck Sir Knight!
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Treasury again tapping TSP federal retirement fund for debt ceiling relief
With the federal government due to hit its debt celing Monday, the Treasury Department again will use financial maneuvers to stave off a default.
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PO1 Jeff Doan
I have been contributing to my TSP account since 1998. The government should keep their hands off! It will go the way of Social Security if they are allowed to borrow from the TSP. It would be OK if they ever paid anything back! Social Security would probably be solvent if the money borrowed by other government agencies would be paid back....with interest!
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The TSP is a good option, but it isn't always the best option. It is cheap because it does not charge a load, but managed funds can make more money because most of them are not as conservative as the TSP plans. I push it to my Soldiers who need to start investing.
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CSM (Join to see)
We have been pretty fortunate. On average we have saved 28% of our Net for the last 15 years.
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