What Was Your First Big Purchase After Separating or Retiring?

I bought my House. I looked around for a few years for the best tax breaks And medical.
The job market is is great in this area. I have a relatively good V.A. here and a the Medical university of South Carolina.
I still recommend any one leaving the military to come to Summervile South carolina. The job market is great.

First big purchase was my new build house. Little did I know back in 2019 that having a house would be such a commodity like it is in 2022.

House

After my separation we were still in Okinawa so nothing. However, when my husband retired we decided to call it quits and be that young couple that retired. We spent $40k on a foreclosure at the lake. Now we spend our days by yelling at people to get off our lawn and going fishing. When we aren't doing that we are volunteering for a disaster relief organization. None of it would have been possible without military retirement.

I bought my mom a brand new car. She has always been there for me. Her broke down and I didn't want her to spend money knowingly what little money she has. So, I made sure she got a maintenance free vehicle and no or any vehicle payments. She deserves the best.

A car

A car

A nice array of art supplies so I may encourage myself to spend time articulating emotions onto canvas.

A few years after separation, when I finally secured a decent job and had got married, we were able to purchase our first home together using my GI Bill benefits. I never thought I could be a home owner, but the VA loan with reduced interest rate made it possible!

A nice dinner