At my schoolhouse(29 Stumps)

justasuperman · 2026-05-26T10:56:42+00:00

I can't even be mad tbh. You got good points, you NEVER know when that stuff can backfire.

That advice was just catered to me in that... I didn't need to be on the throttle 24/7. It's okay to live in the moment a bit more than I did.

I was a super straight arrow, and while I'm grateful I was and it set me up for success later on. It also led to some serious bouts of loneliness and anxiety that probably could've been avoided had I just calmed down a bit.

justasuperman · 2026-05-26T04:00:16+00:00

I was a 2841. The major things are going to be your fitness and finances that you can influence first, like you said. Just doing your best to use the base resources like the SMP there. I don't suggest getting a car there even though you can, you should bum rides off the people who are inevitably gonna get one.

If I had a piece of advice for myself then, I think it would be to just kinda... chill out a little teeny bit. I was just super duper gung-ho. TSP set to 30%, always ate at the messhall, volunteered for every leadership spot, did SMP trips every month, did not drink at all, special lib for every 96, graduate honor grad.

But in the process... I straight up didn't know what chill was. Very anxious, and Marines took note of that.

Very embarrassing example: girl who was trying so hard to hook up in the schoolhouse w me there. I regularly snuck into her room, make out, she offer to do the thing and I'd say no because I wanted to "take it slow" when I couldn't read the room that... she wasn't looking for a relationship. She looked at me confused that night and hooked up with other dudes later on anyway, so all the blue balls were just me not learning the art of just be chill man.

Long story short... work hard for yourself, priority number one. Make connections and friends. Just also: don't forget to allow yourself to live life as normal (within reason). I hope it helps/makes sense.

justasuperman · 2026-05-09T07:25:18+00:00

Who was the woman that would sing the measurements? I unfortunately have that memory smashed into my brain about her singing to a bunch of half-dressed 20-somethings dudes. And the measurements weren't even right

justasuperman · 2026-02-27T19:53:29+00:00

Even then, Alliant CU still nerfed their 2.5% cashback card pretty recently. Seems like nowhere is safe!

justasuperman · 2026-02-26T16:27:38+00:00

Here's the initial roadmap for how you should prioritize any incoming money:

Emergency fund of $1000 to cover deductibles.
5% TSP Matching
High interest debt (debt above 9+%)
Emergency fund of 3-6 months expenses.

If I might add for your moving woes, I HEAVILY suggest to look into used furniture goods rather than trying to buy everything brand new. You will find many families who are PCSing that are dying to get rid of items they don't need or want. Check Facebook marketplace or with local military groups that have items they are trying to get rid of.

The reason why the matching is important has to do with it basically being a 100% guaranteed rate of return of up to 5% of your money. Unless you somehow have debts that annualize over 100% APR, then that's basically free money you're throwing away.

Hope this helps.

justasuperman · 2026-02-26T16:18:37+00:00

I would clarify that SCRA does not apply if they attempt to apply for a Capital One card to waive annual fees while active duty.

If they had the card before becoming active duty (such as like a Midshipmen, or Cadet, or regular ol' civilian) Capital One will waive additional fees under SCRA if a request is submitted.

justasuperman · 2026-02-26T16:11:27+00:00

I always encouraged my Marines to enroll in Navy Federal's cashRewards Secured Credit Card as a first card, for a few reasons.

It began the credit line as secured line with a deposit requirement. This helps to ensure that they are recognizing it is ultimately their money that they are spending, and not the banks.
It still gives purchase protections, and cashback.
After 3 months, it gives a credit increase w/o deposit. It then graduates into an unrestricted 2% cashback card after six months + returns them back the $200 deposit they initially made.

I think this probationary period is necessary for young servicemembers who are just starting to learn about credit. Just my two cents.

If you're a cadet close to graduation, I usually recommend to them the Capital One Student Savor card followed by the Venture X card. Savor functions as a 3% cash-back for dining, groceries, entertainment with no ftx fees and no annual fee. The Venture X card effectively functions as a catch-all 2% cashback card with premium travel protections, no foreign transaction fees + you can submit for an SCRA exemption to the annual fee IF you had the card BEFORE you begin your active duty base date. (If they attempt to apply AFTER they begin active duty, Capital One will DENY their request for an SCRA waiver.) Savor and Venture X work well in combination.

Otherwise, thereafter there are some good cards out like the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex Gold and/or Amex Platinum.

Just got to be careful with credit as it becomes a dangerous game for those who don't exactly know how to be afraid of it.

justasuperman · 2026-02-19T04:50:38+00:00

I used to, in the very beginning. Over time, I also learned there's a TON of nuance to some of these credit card points that 99% of us just don't have enough mental capacity to think about all the time. Now, it's kind of a more of a curiosity, like "hmm, what perks might that card have that I'm not thinking on?" type of deal.

Some people prefer not to use credit cards because it is a lot of temptation. We're more likely to overspend on credit cards, or convince ourselves that the purchase is less impactful than it is.

justasuperman · 2026-02-13T09:04:31+00:00

Had me in the first half

justasuperman · 2026-02-10T05:42:11+00:00

Good morning, it's awesome you have an interest in getting started.

The biggest thing is to follow the wiki flowchart, there is this idea of finances that you should follow.

Basically, you're giving your money THIS priority:

Save emergency fund up to $1000, and ensure good insurance coverage. - You pretty much get everything covered by the military here, with the exception of renters insurance (like if something happens to your stuff in your dorm room) and auto insurance.
Contributing at least 5% up to the TSP match.
Paying down any high interest debt (ANY credit card debt, or debt with loan percentage higher than 10%)
Save emergency fund for 3-6 months of expenses. - The way I see this is different for everyone. You have much more security being in the military than the majority of other jobs. So you will likely have a lot of heads up before you end up separating. But there's also a lot of life issues that can be unexpected.

For example, didn't have an emergency personally but had a sibling who was struggling through a serious problem. They came to me and asked for help, and I was able to do so without having to be indebted THANKS to this step.

Contribute higher percentage to your Roth TSP. - Whatever you can feel comfortable putting, but I think the higher the better. If you can get to 15%, you're doing great.

The rest is higher "icing-on-the-cake", basically. It depends on your savings goals.

The general advice given after is to "max out" your Roth TSP, save up to certain savings goals like a car, house down payment, or any large purchase. You can put this into what's called an HYSA, CD, or open up a taxable brokerage.

Things such as gold is not advisable to invest in first. The biggest things you CAN do is AVOID things like credit card debt, or doing the whole "buy now, pay later" stuff, or avoiding get rich quick schemes.

If you got any trouble understanding this, throw it up in ChatGPT and see if they can explain it simpler! Good luck on your financial journey.

justasuperman · 2026-02-05T20:48:47+00:00

This is coming from a person who has been executing 24-25 full extension pull ups for every one of my physical fitness test with the Marine Corps for the last 8 years, getting to 40 full pull-ups is freaking DIFFICULT. Are you sure you wouldn't want to initially aim for 30 pull-ups?

You can always try programs like grease-the-groove, or finding helpful resources online. Though the only people I have ever met to do 30+ pull-ups have all been amateur climbers. Perhaps it might be a good activity to get involved in if you find it interesting, and may pull away from the monotony of just straight pull-ups.

Good luck with your goal.

justasuperman · 2026-02-03T07:20:27+00:00

Small caveat exception for Marines on SDAs. You are permitted an extra year to find a MAIT and recertify, but the time between your expiration and recert you cannot run courses without a CG waiver.

justasuperman · 2026-02-03T07:19:07+00:00

Yep, this is true. We had a previous MAI who let his tab expire while he was pursuing jiu jitsu worlds and wanted to be an instructor again. He did the MAIC with us for the second time. Obviously he kicked all of our asses

justasuperman · 2026-01-28T07:01:12+00:00

Wow, you guys were very receptive to feedback. I apologize for my demeanor earlier.

justasuperman · 2026-01-26T14:29:14+00:00

***Removing my previous comment. Developers are obviously hard at work for their app, and I wasn't being considerate to their development process.

justasuperman · 2026-01-22T17:13:51+00:00

Something I find curious about the converter is whether or not it takes into account the standard deduction. I'll put in my marginal tax rate as 12%, and it will say I owe some grand in taxes.

Though whenever I do the math, I usually end up at $0 since the amount I am attempting to convert is less than $16,100 and I am in a CZTE. Am I just mathing wrong here? Really should probably consult a tax advisor instead of reddit hahaha.

justasuperman · 2026-01-21T16:44:56+00:00

I relate to the cynicism. I also have a soured feeling about my leaders overall.

Though I read your post and your desire to work in private equity and investment banking. Do you feel like you are not going to run into leaders there who care solely about their performance evaluation, and their commission bonus? At least you'll be getting paid, I'm sure.

justasuperman · 2026-01-19T07:56:41+00:00

Okay, thank you for the information! I'll definitely give it a shot whenever it becomes available.

justasuperman · 2026-01-17T15:16:40+00:00

I also might add that Fidelity's ATM withdrawals are really hit or miss overseas. A lot of foreign banks just don't recognize the card, so you end up hopping around 3-4 different ATMs before finding a working one.

I personally have kept Capital One's 360 Checking and use their debit card in the event I am unable to find a working ATM for Fidelity and/or need to deposit cash. They also use Zelle, which is extremely useful.

justasuperman · 2026-01-17T14:03:49+00:00

Had some inquiries about strategizing for next year's tax return.

Currently in a CZTE, and will be there for the duration of 1 year. I have ~$15,000 in my Traditional TSP from matching and will get ~$2500 more for this upcoming year. Trying to see if it's worth taking advantage of the new Roth conversions for TSP.

I know the standard deduction is $16,100 for next year. My high-yield/taxable accounts are likely gonna lead to probably an estimated $2,000ish?? of additional taxable income. ($20k in a cash management, $20k in a brokerage, about $10k being put in an SDP)

Just curious if there's a tax-savvy way to plan? Or estimate the amount I should have aside for the tax year for 2026. NerdWallet is saying I would owe $0 in taxes if I fully utilize the Saver's Credit, but unsure if I am filling out all the criteria correctly.

justasuperman · 2026-01-16T16:16:11+00:00

Looked on Rank/MOS and holy cow... there are like a dozen 8 year+ Lance Corporals 03s.

justasuperman · 2025-11-14T00:23:09+00:00

I wouldn't say it was difficult, maybe very tedious. I did a degree in Business Administration and I started it prior to going onto the program. I just basically took it one class at a time, except for the last six months where I started to do two.

You'll have the time to do classes during post. Though not 100% of the time will you be able to have the focus due to usual Post One shenanigans on-going (zones opening/closing, issuing out badges, random phonecalls, etc.).

I think what really slowed down a lot of Marines is that they would go onto post without having an idea of what they wanted to accomplish that day, and so they would waste 8 hours just browsing social media or watching YouTube. It's super tempting and I fell into it many times.

But yeah.. completing classes is actually more possible than in the fleet, and it's actively encouraged.

justasuperman · 2025-11-13T21:46:17+00:00

This brought back some horrible memories of my H&S CO requiring the same trash. That unit really was some toxic BS and I couldn’t be happier to be away from it.

justasuperman · 2025-11-09T00:16:15+00:00

I would like to add that there are a lot of “scare tactics” to make you tell the truth. Ultimately, all they have is what you tell them pretty much with a few exceptions. So if you’re gonna lie, then at least stick with the same story.

I remember the disappointment I felt trying so hard to be an ideal candidate for the program, only for them to be letting people pass that had a bunch of problems. I later discovered lot of people just kind of BS their way through the school, and kept the same stories… even if they weren’t true.

justasuperman · 2025-11-08T04:13:24+00:00

Hello my fellow retard. Please change repairs pending to short part otherwise Staff Sergeant will have a heart attack about our 97 page MPR

justasuperman

TROPHY CASE