Your first year in uniform
Read your LES, set the TSP to 5%, fix your state of residence, build the first month of cash.
NOFAL INSURANCE AND WEALTH · MILITARY SERIES
The Military Pay, Benefits & Wealth-Building Foundations Guide
29 plain-English guides to military pay, benefits and building wealth, from the first LES to the VA claim. Free. No email required.
Download the guide (PDF)69 pages · 2026 Edition · Figures as of October 14, 2026 · Share it freely.
Start with the one-page checklists
Written for the E-3 reading a first LES and the O-4 deciding whether to stay, and for the spouse who is moving the household for the third time. Every figure is sourced and dated.
Start here, by situation
Deploying to a combat zone
Tax-free pay, the Savings Deposit Program, 0% on federal loans, the Roth window.
Orders in hand (PCS)
DLA, TLE/TLA, the partial PPM, child care, the spouse’s license and relicensing money.
Buying or keeping a house
BAH, the rent-or-buy math, the VA loan twice, the landlord years, the state tax that follows the house.
A new baby
DEERS in 90 days, SGLI and DD 93, parental leave, the dependent care FSA, MCCYN, a will with a guardian.
Your spouse’s career
Licenses that travel, hiring preference, the residency election, FERS and the 401(k)s left behind.
Deciding at the 6-, 10- and 12-year marks
GI Bill transfer, continuation pay, funded degrees, the sabbatical, stay-or-go math.
Leaving before twenty
The transition clock, separation pay, TAMP and the health bridge, VGLI, the VA claim, the TSP decision.
Retiring at twenty
High-3 or BRS, the lump sum, SBP, retiree TRICARE, CRDP and CRSC, state taxes on retired pay.
Joining the Guard or Reserve
Points, the gray area, TRICARE Reserve Select, RCSBP, USERRA.
A rated veteran
What each rating opens, the funding-fee waiver, VA care, CHAMPVA and the HSA trap, hiring preference, the parks pass.
Something went wrong
A scam, a wrong DD-214, a denied claim, a pay error, and when to bring in Congress.
What’s inside
Part 1
Your Pay & Your First Moves
Part 2
Capitalizing While You Serve
- 07Every PCS Is a Pay Event (p20)
- 08BAH, Renting vs. Buying & the VA Loan (p22)
- 09Getting Paid to Learn (p24)
- 10The GI Bill & the Transfer Rule (p26)
- 11Protecting Your Family While You Serve (p27)
- 12Your Spouse’s Career & Benefits (p30)
- 13The Law on Your Side (p32)
- 14Stay or Go: What the Pension Is Worth (p33)
Part 3
Leaving Well
Part 4
Veteran for Life
Part 5
Protect What You Built
Reference pages — 2026 at a Glance (p6) · Six One-Page Checklists (p62) · Who to Call (p68) · Acronyms (p69).
The one-pagers
The six checklists
My Money Rules, Early-Career, Mid-Career, Final-Year, Every-PCS, and Document It: Your Medical Record.
Download PDFHSAs, FSAs & military health care
Every rule that shuts off an HSA for a military or veteran family, including the CHAMPVA interlock.
Download PDF2026 at a Glance
Sixty figures that drive every guide, on one page, with the dates that matter in the year ahead.
Download PDFWho to Call
Every office behind every guide, with phone numbers checked on the organization's own site.
Download PDFGet the December update.
VA compensation, DIC and military retired pay change on December 1. We will send the re-issued guide and a one-page summary of what moved. Name and email only; no other mail.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hani Z. Nofal, MBA, EA, CEP®
Principal Advisor and Co-Founder, Nofal Insurance and Wealth. U.S. Navy submarine officer, 2014–2025.
“I wrote this because it is what I wish someone had handed me in 2014. None of it is secret. It just isn’t written down in one place.”
FAQ
If you want this applied to your own numbers, that is what we do.
Talk to usEducational only; not legal, tax, investment, insurance or VA-benefits advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any product. Figures are as of October 14, 2026; each guide's footer carries the as-of date and sources for its own numbers. Nofal Insurance and Wealth is the marketing name for Nofal Insurance Services LLC (a licensed insurance agency) and Nofal Financial Group LLC (a Tennessee-registered investment adviser); the agency earns carrier commissions on insurance it places, a conflict of interest. We are not accredited to prepare VA claims. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs or any military service.