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Planning Finances As A Veteran - Long Live The Veteran Brotherhood
March 25, 2026 · 23 min
Ten years ago, before he was in Congress, former Navy SEAL Eli Crane produced a series called Long Live The Veteran Brotherhood. On this episode...a frank conversation about finances.
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March 25, 2026 · 23 min · Christ-centered law and order
Ten years ago, before he was in Congress, former Navy SEAL Eli Crane produced a series called Long Live The Veteran Brotherhood. On this episode...a frank conversation about finances. ...more Show the full description Show less Ten years ago, before he was in Congress, former Navy SEAL Eli Crane produced a series called Long Live The Veteran Brotherhood. On this episode...a frank conversation about finances.
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In this video 0:00 Financial Planning Essentials for Veterans6:32 Rich Dad Lessons: Assets Over Liabilities14:08 Smart Investing and Faithful Tithing
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Financial Planning Essentials for Veterans 0:00 Alright. Well, we're here with the, starting off another episode of LLVB. I've got Financial Dan with me.0:07 Yes, sir.0:07 Financial Dan's going to, give us some insight and some tips on while we're transitioning out of the military into the private sector, how to set ourselves up for success financially. Thanks for being on the, program.0:19 Thanks for having me.0:20 Awesome. So can you give these guys, our viewers, a real quick, background on yourself and, what you've been up to and what what gives you the expertise and the confidence to give us all financial advice?0:31 Most certainly. I, right out of college, I I enrolled in, my own financial planning practice. We have a team of 4 people. We're based out East Hartford, Connecticut, but, we work with individuals,0:43 businesses, small families, and and have a specific, interest in any sort of way of giving back to people who have served our country. And we'd love to give you any tips that that might benefit0:54 you in focusing on your personal transition, and and taking the burden of any, troublesome or or complicated or confusing financial decisions off of you.1:05 Why is financial planning even important? I mean, come on. You know, it's like I I go, I work, I make money, you know, I buy food, I buy beer, I can take my family on a vacation. I'm good to go. Right? I1:17 mean, why why why even need to why even need to see a financial planner?1:21
1:33 and buying beer, and spending time with your family, and going on that vacation. And there's a lot of ways to go about things. My role is to make sure that you're doing it the right way, and asking you and your family
1:44 the right questions, so that you're using the right vehicles, and the right mechanisms, and the right programs that are offered to you to make sure that while you're on vacation, you're not thinking about whether or not
1:55 you're making the right decision on a purchase you make or an investment you're thinking about doing. My role is to consult and kinda give you that blueprint to make sure that you do the right make the right decisions
2:05 for you and your family.
2:06 Okay. Fair enough. Sounds good. Sounds like I might, you know, might need some of it myself. Absolutely. So I know that you never served in the military, but you have done some
2:18 research on those exiting the military. What have you learned, and what do you think are the most helpful tips for those exiting the military and how to set themselves up successfully?
2:28 You're right. And and first and foremost, I just wanted to give you and your fellow, veterans a special thanks for serving our country. I never had the privilege to do so, but some of the things that I think are
2:40 important are you're going through a life transition that I and those who never served will never under fully understand. And there's a lot that goes into that. There's plenty of studies and experiences that have been
2:51 shared that there's a lot of other things that you all should be focused on. And there's a lot of changes that come. So specifically, 1 is you're making a salary while you're employed, and you're also getting
3:03 some financial stipends and benefits. You know, if you're overseas, you're getting an overseas stipend. Those things aren't taxed. So understanding the taxation plan of being a civilian, of having
3:15 of making an income, and understanding what that taxable impact is if you have 30 percent of what you were making when you were enlisted, now taxed, that's a big differential for your family, even if on paper it looks
3:26 like you're making the same amount of money. Additionally, is you should very much focus on things like proper credit management. So while you're overseas, while you're enlisted, you might not
3:38 be necessarily building consistent credit because there's less expenditures. You're not going down to CVS and buying something. So making sure that you understand the impact of utilizing credit, while
3:50 also, building that credit for your future using things like, lower interest rates on loans for first time home buyers, less down for first time home buyers, should
4:01 you decide on where you want to be living in your your new civilian life. So 1 simple example is get a credit card if you didn't have 1 already,
4:13 put everything on it, and pay it off every month. Make sure that you do proper budget management. Make sure that you sit down, whether it's an individual or yourself and a spouse, and understand your income and expenses.
4:24 Use credit to build everything up, and make sure that you're paying that off on a monthly month to month basis. Yeah.
4:29 I think that's I mean, I think that needs to be overstated how important it is to pay it off on a monthly basis. Because if you don't pay it off on a monthly basis, what if what in effect are you doing?
4:39 You're putting yourself in trouble. You're not gonna be able to do those things down the road. You're gonna have creditors calling you, and rather than focusing on yourself and your family, you're gonna have the
4:48 additional stress of people tracking you down for paying on 6 months of expenses that you've built up, that now you're get your 1 month paycheck, but you've got 6 months of debt built up. Right. It's it's a very
5:00 stressful thing to encounter.
5:02 Right. And if you know that you're 1 of these impulsive buyers and you're not good at being disciplined and keeping to a budget and paying off your credit card, maybe a credit card might not be a great idea for you.
5:13 Fair.
5:13 You know, and so I've seen a lot of people get themselves into a lot of debt. And I and I also know that a lot of, a lot of, you know, having a good financial stability and good financial success
5:25 has to do with living within your means.
5:28 Would you agree with that? I couldn't have said it better myself. And, you know, if you if someone understands their personal self and they feel like they are the type of people that would not be disciplined to pay
5:39 something off every month, I do still think credit is important, but kind of save save yourself from yourself. Call, get a credit card, put a max limit on it. Do a 250 dollar credit card.
5:51 Like, it sounds like a small amount of money, but put a limit on it, use it for gas in your car, and then pay it off every month. 250 dollars isn't a big amount, but at least you're building a credit history, so that 5
6:02 years, 2 years, 10 years down the road, when you wanna go and you want you've you've built that financial discipline, you've built up that savings that you have in place, and you wanna buy a house? The credit the bank's
6:13 gonna give you a loan to buy it, because you've shown discipline in credit history to do so. So, yes. Do I think you should go get an unlimited credit card and just spend wildly? No. But I do think
6:25 utilization of credit is important because there's other things down the road you're gonna wanna do. Get a car loan, a house, etcetera.
6:31 Alright. Good 0.1 thing I wanna talk about, you know, the people ask me all the time, what's the best what are the best books I've ever read? Mhmm. Well, first is the Bible, but after that, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert
Rich Dad Lessons: Assets Over Liabilities
6:42 Kiyosaki. Have you read it? Absolutely. Can you give our viewers a real quick summary highlight of why you like that book and what are the most important lessons in it?
6:51 It's been about 14 years I've read it. It was the first book I read when I graduated college when I decided what I was gonna do on this. And you're
6:58 welcome. You're welcome for putting you on
7:00 the spot. Anytime. I read that, back to back with The Millionaire Next Door. So, I think both are very important lessons that that, you should you should both You should read. I mean,
7:12 it's They're both great lessons. Rich Dad Poor Dad is an example of, taking 2 paths, and I think that's why we're here today. Is is there's 2 paths that you can take. You can take a path of,
7:24 uncertainty and with no help, or you can take a path of a little bit more discipline and certainty, and make sure that your future is setting yourself up, you and your family, for a good financial future.
7:36 So, the, the path of poor dad is what you just mentioned, is spending wildly, having a good time, and then finding out 6 months, 12 months, 24 months down the road, that
7:48 you've built up 30000 dollars in debt, and you've got 500 dollars in your checking account, and you can't pay that off, and you've got people calling. You know, the other path is that you take a bit of your paycheck. So
7:58 this is another lesson in terms of what you should be able to do is take a segment of your paycheck and put it towards savings. You should build up 6 to 9 months worth of your income in some sort
8:10 of reserve. Doesn't have to necessarily be cash or in a safe or whatever. You can put it into some sort of a disciplined investment, but build that reserve up for an emergency, an opportunity, something like that,
8:22 because you don't wanna turn around at 55 years old. You don't wanna be the poor dad. You don't wanna be the guy that opens it up and says, I still have 30000 dollars in debt. I still have 500 dollars in my
8:34 checking account, and I have nothing for my retirement. You wanna be the guy that has 6 months of your of your of your income in a cash reserve, that you set yourself up and you know how much you're gonna be able to live
8:45 on at 60 when you wanna retire. So those are the biggest lessons, is do some simple things now to make sure that you're setting yourself up for success because life comes at you fast. We all know that, and
8:57 you want to wake up in your future and be able to make the decisions that are important to you then, and you don't wanna be suffering from poor decisions or lack of direction that you took now.
9:08 Right. You know, so, 1 of my favorite lesson from the book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, I I recommend that you all buy it, was basically and the book is kind of like the subtitle should be, it
9:20 might even be what the rich teach their kids that the poor do not. And this is something that hits so hard for me because I was not taught these lessons as a kid, and I don't think most of us honestly
9:32 are. 1 of the the biggest takeaway I had from that book is that poor people buy liabilities, rich people buy assets. Liabilities are things that cost us money, like our shoes,
9:44 our cars. A lot of us would rather project wealth than actually be wealthy. And what the rich people what rich people often teach their kids is how to become
9:56 wealthy. And it's kinda cool because I kinda learned it by accident. I learned how to become wealthy, you know, just I I I kinda had a hunch, you know, a little bit of common sense, but I actually traded in a
10:07 liability. I traded in my 2004 Big Dawg canine Chopper. I mean, this thing was badass. When you if you Googled badass motorcycles on the internet right now, you would you would see my bike.
10:19 And so I sold it for 10000 dollars. There's maybe 11000 dollars. And I bought it laser engraver for 10 5.
10:28 Okay.
10:28 Okay. 5 I I think I made 500 on that transaction, but I sold a liability. I bought an asset. And within within a month and a half, my business tripled. I went from doing 7500 dollars
10:40 a month of gross sales to 22000 dollars a month in gross sales. And it was because we we we we gained the right we gained the ability to personalize our bottle breacher products.
10:51 Sure.
10:51 And it was like once I saw that lesson actually work in front of my eyes, and once I I learned that, you know, in in in a practical sense Sure. I just kept doubling down. I just kept buying
11:03 assets. And I was like, and then I read the Rich Dad Poor Dad book, and I'm like, oh my god. You did it.
11:08 This works. Yeah.
11:09 He he's been he's been talking about this. He's been trying to teach people this. I had no idea this was even out there, and I've actually seen that it works. So I just kept doing it. And I I bought, I have 8 of them
11:18 now. I hate 8 of those machines. I have, you know, powder coating machines. I I have, you know, CNC machines. All from them. T shirt machines. Yeah. And it's like because I learned this formula that wealthy people buy
11:30 assets or things that make them money. Yep. Now that thing for you might be it might be a food truck.
11:35 It might be.
11:36 Right? It it might be, you know, or it might or it might be a mutual fund Yeah. Where where they would need to come see a guy like you, a financial planner. Yep. But 1 of the things that they're teaching their kids is
11:47 how to make their money work for you. And a lot of times all we think about is how am I gonna buy that next shiny new thing I want? And the cool thing is is if you learn how to, you know, if you learn how to live your
11:58 life this way and buy assets Yep. Then those little things that you want, it's just a they're just a byproduct.
12:04 You're absolutely right.
12:05 Right? And for the record, 6 weeks ago, I bought another motorcycle. Even though I could've bought 1, I could've bought 1 a long time before that. And you know what I did the second day I had my bike?
12:15 You didn't wreck it too. I did. No. You didn't.
12:17 I did. I did. And I, unfortunately, I I didn't wreck it. I dropped it, but I dropped it on my driveway of all places. But, you know, anyway, the the point is is that read go read
12:29 that book. Financial IQ is a big deal. Yep. And a lot of us just take it for granted. We think, oh, I'm not I'm not a financial expert. I'm never gonna be. But, you know, finances are a big thing. And I actually
12:41 used to be like, a lot of people probably watching this show, I used to be afraid of becoming wealthy be because I've seen a lot of negative examples. And being wealthy a lot of time carries stigmas. Oh, this guy's a
12:52 rich, greedy miser. He doesn't care about anybody but himself. All he cares about is money. And I wanna say if you have that understanding or that idea, I sat underneath a pastor for, like, 7 years in in
13:04 The Rock Church in San Diego. The guy's name was Miles McPherson, and he said 1 of the most profound things I've ever heard about money. And he said, you know what? Money doesn't change you. It amplifies who you already
13:15 were. And I needed to hear that because my business was starting to explode, and I didn't know, am I gonna turn into this egotistical jerk that's all I care about is money, and I'm gonna be Scrooge McDuck 1 day? Right.
13:26 So the message and the point there is if you are a giving person, if you are a loving person, if you like to pour out blessing on other people, and you do it with a little, you'll do it with a lot. Right. Right?
13:38 Well, you're you're example personified. If you think about what you're doing is you made a great decision, for your business. You built your business up. You succeeded.
13:50 And why why we're all here today is because you're giving back. You're you're you're thinking about people that have been in your position Yeah. And you're trying to give them tips to make sure that they gain that
14:00 success. So you're trying to pass that down the line. You are being rich dad Yeah. From the book. So Yeah. I applaud you for that.
14:07 And it's awesome. What about the stock market? I know a lot of us place. Yeah. I know a lot of us are like, oh, well, maybe I could maybe I could have my money work for me in the in the in the stock market. What are your
Smart Investing and Faithful Tithing
14:18 thoughts? What what would you tell our veterans that are transitioning? Stock market, yes, no?
14:23 I think it's a I think the stock market is a tool, and it's a tool that should be done with, with education. And it's not the first step. I don't think
14:35 that when you're transitioning out, the first thing you should do is go out and buy an index fund or a mutual fund. You should get your household finances in order. But when you're saving, when you're building up that
14:46 reserve, whether you are a do it yourselfer, if you feel like you have the time to invest in figuring out what I do every day, a lot of people do it, and they are successful by it. If you don't feel like you want to take
14:58 the time, if you don't feel like you have that expertise or that interest, sit down with someone like myself to guide you along that way. And what I'll tell you is that if their first interest sitting down with you is
15:09 not, how can I help you get settled, and their first lead is buying a mutual fund or talking about the stock market, they don't have your best interest in mind? So make sure that you're working with someone that has a
15:21 fiduciary responsibility to you, that they're doing the right thing by you. So I think it's a tool, and I think after you have done that first step of transitioning out and you've got
15:33 yourself in a stable financial position, retirement plans, stock market, wealth accumulation is something that's very important. And either take the time to educate yourself on what you're buying
15:45 or sit down with someone like myself to make sure that you're not making a poor decision. So, you know, there's a there's a, a client of mine that comes to mind when when we're talking about this, and
15:56 he is a veteran. He transitioned out. And, he opened up a small barbershop. Well, that barbershop is amplified to multiple barbershops and a great grand team. And, you know, after he got
16:08 his financial position in order, I was able to help him with regard to a retirement plan for that, and and helping his family save towards their kids education and and and wealth accumulation. So, it's a tool, and it's
16:20 something that I think is is a great thing to utilize, but don't do so because your buddy that you were drinking beer with last night told you that they bought this great marijuana stock and that you should go buy it
16:31 too. Make sure that you're understanding what you're purchasing and that it's within the realm of, of something that is comfortable for you and your family.
16:40 I you know who you know somebody I love to listen to just to just it's kinda like, you know, just constantly feeding and exercising our financial brain. I love listening to Dave Ramsey. Are you Dave Ramsey
16:51 fan? Yes.
16:52 He's a Alright.
16:53 He's built quite a name for himself, and he's got some great advice.
16:55 He's got some great advice. What what is 1 because I know everybody has their own strategy. But as a financial expert yourself, what is the thing that strategy of Dave's that you, resonate with the most?
17:08 I I he's got some great strategies if you get in the position of putting yourself into debt, getting out of it. He's got some great tools that if if 6 months go by and you say, what the hell
17:19 happened? You know, how did this happen? He's got some great tools for that. He's got an innate ability to take what is maybe believed to be a small amount
17:31 of income, and building your mindset to pay yourself first versus going out and buying that bike. Sorry. To use as an example Yeah.
17:40 No. It's good.
17:41 To, it's it's it's a liability. We don't
17:43 we don't need it.
17:44 Yep. Right. And so going out and making sure that you are focused on how can I maximize the income that I'm making, and where can I put that money? And there's a lot of, you know, there's a great
17:56 cult following behind Dave, and it's well earned. He he has great tips. And what I would say, if you do nothing else, listen to someone like Dave. Yeah. I think taking it 1 step further is
18:08 don't go in the yellow pages, I'm dating myself here, or Google, and just find the most local financial advisor. Talk to friends, talk to family on who they use, who they've built trust in, because
18:20 there's gonna be that 1 extra level of assurance that the person you're sitting down with is has your best interest in mind.
18:27 Yeah.
18:27 But getting that personalized approach is also very important. And to your point about Dave, there are a lot of advisors like myself who, market themselves as Dave Ramsey esque
18:39 financial advisors.
18:40 Right. So No. And that's great. And the reason I threw it out is because I want these folks out here to have resources. I want them to be able to point them towards, hey. If you wanna expand your financial IQ, Dave
18:50 Ramsey's on almost in every radio network. Sometime, you know and 1 of the things that I love about his show is he talks about this myth that, you know, most millionaires, you know, are,
19:02 inherit their money. They actually just did a a research project where they interviewed over 10000 millionaires, and they found that, like, 98 percent of them, it didn't they were they were self
19:13 made. It didn't matter where they came from, what their skin color was, what neighborhood they grew up in, who you know, or anything. The only the only thing the only things in common that they could find was behaviors.
19:25 And so for all of you because I know we get bombarded with, oh, well, you grew up on the wrong side of the tracks, or you grew up over here, so you can't be financially successful. It's a bunch of BS, and don't let
19:37 anybody tell you that regardless of where you came from, what your parents' last names were, that you cannot become successful because you can. Alright? And and the facts and the data support that. So I think
19:48 it's important that we all because hope is a powerful thing. If we think that, oh, I can't I grew up here. I can't become, you know, financially well off or successful. I mean, that that can really do
20:00 a lot to hamper our decision making and, you know, just our behavior in general. But it's it's it's out there. It's available.
20:07 Yep. You have to train yourself, have a positive attitude, and and just put the right disciplines in place to achieve that success. And to your point about, what you mentioned earlier that piggybacks what you just said,
20:19 it's not necessarily the guy that's wearing a flashy suit and driving a fancy car that's that's the wealthy person or the millionaire. That's the book The Millionaire Next Door
20:27 Right.
20:28 Is they might be driving a 10 year old Honda, and they might have a modest house that hasn't gotten all of the upgrades. You know, they they and they're doing that not that they don't want that
20:38 fancy car or those fancy upgrades. They
20:38 just might be saving so that they can pay cash to do it. Right. Upgrades. They just might be saving so that they can pay cash to do it. Right.
20:44 The last thing I wanna ask you about, I'm a man of faith. I'm a big believer in big believer in tithing. Do you ever talk to any of your clients about that? Do they ever bring that in and wanna work that into their
20:55 budgets? Absolutely.
20:56 You know what's funny is, pardon my ignorance, but when I started 14 years ago, in year 1, I got a client who came in to talk to me about tithing. And I think that 1 of the biggest things
21:08 about growing as a person is not just when you don't understand something, you should do research, talk to the person, and fully understand it. And part of her plan, she's she's now down in North Carolina,
21:20 but part of her plan every year is to take a portion of her money and put it towards tithing. And get having the experience of of, having this woman hire me in my first
21:32 year was incredibly beneficial because it's been something that I've been able to, in a fact finding session with a client, ask them what's important to you. Are things like charitable giving, tithing, you
21:43 know, what are your important or important things to you and your family so that I can make sure that we're putting the right strategies in place to complement those.
21:54 Yeah. And it's cool. I get to talk about these things because it's my show.
21:57 That's right.
21:57 Right? And the cool here's the thing about tithing. In the Bible, it you know, it talks about tithing and why it's important. And tithing to me has gotten this bad rap, like, oh, the church just wants your money. Blah
22:06 blah blah. God God never put tithing in the Bible because he needs your money. The creator of the heavens and earth, the ocean, that mountain over there doesn't need my 250 dollars. Right. Actually, the point of
22:18 tithing is to show where your your faith is really. Is your faith in yourself or is your faith in a higher power? And so I would highly recommend, to many of you out there to if you don't know anything about tithing, go
22:29 look it up. And it's about, basically showing with your your dollars where your faith is. And I'll tell you firsthand, if your faith is in yourself, might be life life you might
22:41 find yourself where a lot of people find yourself. But if your faith is in, God and you're willing to put your money where your mouth is, I think that's 1 of the most overlooked financial strategies out
22:50 there. Certainly.
22:51 Alright. Well, hey. Thanks for coming by,
22:52 and we appreciate
22:53 everything you're doing, and I know that these folks got a lot out of, everything you talked about.
22:58 If 1 thing you can take away that I gave you that makes me sleep great tonight.
23:01 Awesome. Thanks, Dan. Thank you. Appreciate it.
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