5 Money Tips You Can Learn From a Military Life

You don’t need to enlist in the military to learn the power of financial discipline.

But getting all your spending, financial goals, and investments into formation—well, even an Army general has to make a strategy.

We spoke to Zach Iscol, a former Marine Corps officer and CEO of Hire Purpose, a company that provides personalized career guidance to veterans, military service members, and their spouses, on our podcast “Teach Me How to Money.”

Check out Iscol’s tips on how to focus on the mission at hand: managing your financial life.

Don’t be scared to change jobs

“When you’re in the military, you’re trained to do a job. But that doesn’t mean that’s the job you need to do for life. Spend some time finding what you’re passionate about, and really explore it rather than pigeonholing yourself into one career.”

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

“Success isn’t a football game or a hockey game. There’s no time limit or that you score a touchdown and you’re done. That’s not the way life works. True success comes from discipline, focus, and I think the most important thing is consistency. Are you doing things consistently within a framework with specific objectives and goals in mind? Think about how you can consistently to set yourself up for long-term success.”

Saving a million dollars is within your grasp

“It comes down to consistency. If you are consistently putting money away and you look at compound growth, it is absolutely achievable to retire as a millionaire. But again, do you have the discipline and are you going to be consistent in doing that?”

Finances are a team effort

“When you get married, one of the challenges that you encounter in terms of financial planning and resources is you’re no longer on your own. Even if you’re in a dual-income household, you still have to start making decisions together. You still need to be thinking about the future together. And most importantly, maybe you have children, and now you need to start thinking much longer term about their futures, and how you’re setting them up for success in the future as well.”

Believe in your future

“Think about who you want to be in five, ten years. What do you want your life to be? What are the things that you’re passionate and care about? There are a lot of people in whose footsteps you can follow. Start to chart a course about how you do that, and don’t sell yourself short.”