017 Doug Nordman author of The Military Guide

I have been listening to different podcasts for about 10 years now. I remember, a long time ago, I heard an amazing story ( I will retell it now) about a retired submarine pilot and how he was financially independent after his 20 years of service. Little did I know that one day, I would interview  Doug Nordman creator of the blog The Military Guide.

Conversation with Doug Nordman, The Military Guide

  • Photo of Doug Nordman surfingDoug retired at age 41 (in 2002), after 20 years with the U.S. Navy’s submarine force.
  • After retirement from active duty, Doug assumed that he would need to find a “real” job, like everybody else.
  • After a few years of research, Doug realized that his portfolio income, and his pension, would be enough to replace his military salary. He wouldn’t be rich but we would be financially independent.
  • Throughout the years Doug and his wife have always lived a frugal life.
  • In his journey to learning about investments, Doug made the usual financial mistakes. He invested in individual stocks, he bought actively managed mutual funds with high expense ratios, but the more he learned, the wiser he got. Now, his portfolio is composed mostly of passive investment in low-cost index funds.
  • As Doug learned these lessons, he wanted to share this knowledge. A few years of planning, budgeting, saving, and investing could make all the difference between leaving the military for a civilian career or retirement. He wanted to empower other servicemen and women with this knowledge.
  • With the help of the community of Early-Retirement.org, Doug wrote the book The Military Guide to help military men and woman have a better financial future. All the proceeds of the books go towards several charity organizations. So far, over $15,000 have been donated.
  • The book was inspired by another member of the Early-Retirement.org community who wrote a book called  Work Less, Live More.
  • The charities to which the funds are being given right now are Wounded Warrior Project and The Fisher House Foundation.
  • Other books mentioned: Your Money or Your Life by Vicky Robin, The Millionaire Next Door, Are You a Stock or a Bond?
  • In 2002 Doug discovered low fee index ETFs. With this kind of investment strategy, Doug was able to get 99% of the market return with only 1% of the effort.
  • Big insider secret: If you read the first six months of the content of the website, you will have most of the content of the book. Doug started the blog in order to build a platform to promote the book.
  • Doug is an active contributor to the Mr. Money Mustache forum.
  • Doug’s portfolio is 100% in stocks. He has a secured pension that acts as a bond and he can afford to take a loss of risk in his equity portfolio.
  • Recommended website: Fincon.
  • Recommended podcasts: Afford Anything, Chose FI, Beyond the Uniform.

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  3. 014 Greg Johnson, from of Club Thrifty

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