This page lists interviews with Doug Nordman and his daughter Carol Pittner. It was created in November 2010, and it’s been updated every month since then!
Please visit this other page if you would like to schedule an interview with Doug.
Interviews – Podcast & Print:
The following are podcast and print interviews with Doug Nordman (and occasionally his daughter Carol Pittner) on a variety of topics related to their books, Financial Independence, military retirement, military personal finance, money-savvy families, and related topics.
December 2023
Cedric Marlowe invited me on the Service to Syndication podcast to talk about reaching financial independence with real estate– or without it.
September
A completely different real-estate discussion with Tristyn and Kamohai of Deals & Aloha in their Kailua kitchen. (This episode also includes a transcript and time hacks.)
March 2023
MoneyDad podcast and I talk through raising money-savvy kids: “One Special Thing”, “20 minutes a day”, the Bank of Kid CD, and the Kid 401(k).
October 2022
I joined Joe Saul-Sehy on Stacking Benjamins (with the other Doug) to talk about raising your money-savvy family for financial independence.
Mindy Jensen invites me to co-host the BiggerPockets Money podcast at FinCon22 to chat with Monica Scudieri about “Debt-Free and FI after Divorce!”
Brandon Lovingier and I talk about the DoD’s financial readiness program on the Start100K podcast. DoD’s FinRed director Andrew Cohen has a refreshing approach: “Just take care of your people and give them a hand up.”
September
Chuck Jaffe and I do our annual FinCon speed-date Q&A, this time with Monica about her new book on his Money Life podcast.
August
Dawson Black and I talk about finding financial independence on his Spare Change Podcast.
April
Carol and I join two generations of the JL Collins family on the Earn & Invest podcast to discuss teaching financial wellness. Our adult kids explain how they felt back when we were raising them and their adult epiphanies.
March 2022
I join Spencer & Jamie on the Military Money Manual podcast to discuss financial independence in the 1990s, 20 years of retirement, and old mistakes.
February: 2022 is off to a good start!
Rob Berger of the DoughRoller Money Podcast asked a bunch of questions about the Nitty Gritty details of military retirement.
I also explained what happens when you’re one of the shorter crew members on a submarine.
You can listen to the podcast at that link in the last paragraph. Here’s a video snippet, although Rob and I weren’t quite so dressed up for the actual interview:
To our surprise and gratitude, Carol and I were also quoted on Investopedia (!) as a resource for teaching children about money with Raising Your Money-Savvy Family for Next Generation Financial Independence.
(Please try your local library before you buy it.)
January 2022:
I was quoted in Reserve + National Guard Magazine about the complicated calculation of a Reserve pension, and how it preserves its buying power both before you start it as well as after you’re receiving it.
November 2021:
Rob Phelan and I celebrated the launch of his “M Is For Money” kids’ Kickstarter book with a webinar for the backers: “How To Raise A Responsible Money Manager.”
We talk about our books, about managing money, about family allowances-chores-jobs, and how to help your kids internalize their discussions on saving or spending their hard-earned dollars.
I talked with personal finance expert Lacey Langford for an hour about the steps to financial independence. I’m also a winner on The Military Money Show! Well, except for surfing in Ireland… but that’s at the end of the episode.
October:
Carol and I aren’t actually the guests on this ChooseFI podcast episode #349, because our Kid 401(k) gets the spotlight!
That link is cued up at 38:20 to learn more about to implement it with your family.
Read about the spreadsheet in the appendix to our book (from your local public library) or sign up for the short video tutorial on Jonathan’s Talent Stacker platform.
September:
Carol and I met again with Andrew Chen of Hack Your Wealth to discuss different ways to teach your kids about money and to inspire them to pursue financial independence. We talked about recognizing teachable moments, empathizing with your kid’s feelings, and helping them learn to manage their money. Then we moved on to figuring out how to align their financial incentives with yours to start saving and investing. So far so good!
August:
I recorded a short message with Andrew Chen’s “Hack Your Wealth” podcast episode of Money Lessons for kids: Tips from other personal finance influencers. Keep an eye on Hack Your Wealth— Carol and I are recording again with Andrew in early September.
April:
I joined the Military Saves “Save To Retire Midday Money Chat” panel to discuss saving for financial independence, the challenges of military spouses along this path, and investment scams that target military families.
March:
I sat down with active-duty servicemember Anthony Pinto of the “Lessons In Real Estate” podcast sat down to discuss financial independence and buying investment rental properties.
If you’re going to invest in real estate, then do it in the parts of the country where it makes financial sense. Don’t buy a home at your duty station and end up being an accidental landlord.
Here’s a 30-second video snippet of our discussion:
February:
Here’s a twofer: Rich Carey and me on David Pere’s FromMoneyToMillionaire podcast with Alex Felice. (Four military vets on one screen.) Rich was our houseguest at the time, and much content was created by both of us during his time here!
Here’s the link for the FromMoneyToMillionaire video podcast.
ChooseFI podcast episode 296: I tremendously enjoyed helping Matt & Megan talk through their dual-military career transition options. In two different #military services. From two different countries!
Here’s the video version of episode 296. We covered most of the transition planning for all military vets.
An all-Navy podcast!
In another all-military podcast, Carol and I joined Stu Grazier & David Gutierrez at Storehouse 3:10 Ventures to answer the question: “How will your kids reach financial independence?”
January 2021:
What are you doing for your Everyday Bucket List? Join me with author Karen Cordaway to talk about how you’ll break your big bucket-list items into smaller manageable tasks. Oahu may be a little far out of the “everyday” category, but here’s what our residents enjoy doing.
The LifeBlood Podcast book club episode with George Grombacher.
Carol and I talked about more tactics for raising your money-savvy family.
December 2020:
Britt Lanza’s Moments With An M.E.O.: Raising Your Family for Next Generation Financial Success
Carol and I didn’t exactly riot on the show, but we had a good time!
Here’s a rare dual-quote interview with a journalist who tracked down both Carol and me:
Military Families Magazine: “These Veterans Turned Into Millionaires Using Skills Learned In The Military”
I’ve been interviewed several times by Andrea Downing Peck.
You can download this copy of the spreadsheet that I used to validate the “Million Dollar Servicemember” data TSP numbers from the enlisted pay tables.
Enjoy this replay with Stephen Heptig of ChooseFI hosting a monthly AMA on the ChooseFI Military and ChooseFI Feds Facebook groups.
If you’re a member of the ChooseFI Military Facebook group then you can see more commentary here.
I was not “brilliantly smart”… but I was adequately caffeinated.
November:
Carol and I are proud (and a little shocked) to announce that “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family” has made TIME magazine’s NextAdvisor list of “11 Best Personal Finance Books Of 2020.” Thank you, Farnoosh, it’s an honor!
Learn about the lifestyle from “Unpacking A Lifetime Of Financial Independence” with Tom Drake on the MapleMoney Show! 18 years of retirement, three recessions, and now… grandparenting.
October:
We’ve had a monster month of podcasts.
Carol made a solo guest appearance on the Find Your Freedom podcast with Becky from TwentyFree to talk about family financial independence. I can feel the torch being passed… or maybe a second torch is blazing brighter than ever!
I returned to Farnoosh Torabi’s “So Money” show (this time with Carol!) to talk about raising money-savvy kids. I was last on Farnoosh’s show in May 2015 (scroll waaay down on this page). Today she and her spouse are raising two kids in a house with a yard instead of in a NYC apartment.
Join us for a clip on the Chuck Jaffe Money Life Show to talk about helping kids learn to manage their money. Chuck’s using the same techniques with his family– and in his neighborhood! In other news on the show, it also turns out that you might not need as much money for financial independence as you think.
September:
We started the month in a video with Patrick Weinert of The Money Mission. There may have been pre-gaming in the Green Room…
Next up was Andy Hill of Marriage, Kids, and Money, including our story of why the book is about money-savvy families instead of money-smart families!
Check out MKM’s YouTube video– with impressive post-production extras!
Next we visited Taylor Loht at Passive Wealth Strategies For Busy Professionals. His three investing questions took us way off topic!
The highlight of September is our 90-minute Facebook Live with Brad Barrett, Jennifer Mah, Carol, and me– and over 100 members of the ChooseFI FB group. We pretty much gave away all of our tactics described in the book, and how they were really perceived by Carol. You might be able to watch this panel discussion (with audience chat questions) even if you don’t use Facebook.
Enjoy thinking about “Building An Exit Strategy” on the Expert(ish) Podcast with real estate expert Jay Johnson.
It’s not just about exiting the military or your bridge career. It’s also your exit strategy for your real estate and your estate plan.
At the end of the month, Carol and I and I had a wonderful time discussing the military transition and raising money-savvy kids for next generation financial independence with ACT NOW Education’s webinar.
August 2020:
Carol and I joined BiggerPockets Money with Mindy Jensen and Scott Trench: Secrets Of A Money-Savvy Family.
(We also recommend watching the video version of BiggerPockets Money.)
Carol and I share a different batch of stories on Lacey Langford’s Military Money show: How To Raise Your Money-Savvy Family.
Here’s a 49-minute video from Jason Williscroft’s Ringknocker, a weekly networking Zoom call for officers from service academies, ROTC, and all other commissioning programs. Our subject is “Tools For Your Military Career and Financial Independence”, and it comes with this two-page note-taking guide. Jason started his program in late 2019, and later in 2020 he’s going to turn it into his full-time occupation. Every week we profile a different person about their career transition, and then open the call to other introductions and networking.
July:
We have to lead with our conversation at ChooseFI! Brad & Jonathan had a lot of questions about raising their money-savvy kids, and I thought Jonathan was going to jump out of his seat with excitement.
Enjoy a quick 30 minutes with my daughter Carol, me, and Eric Brotman on the “Don’t Retire: Graduate!” podcast with his episode “How Families Can Become Financially Savvy.”
We spent nearly an hour with Kat and Lee of Wildly Wealthy Life talking about “Having The Ability To Make Choices.” This was the only podcast (so far) where Carol and I were sitting side-by-side to share a mic. That episode was recorded at Carol’s home in Monterey CA, and it’s on video as well as an audio track!
June:
We’re back on the Earn & Invest podcast with Doc G on “How Not To Screw Up Your Kids.” Doc asks the hard questions about what went on behind the scenes of our “brilliant” (possibly) financial parenting ideas. Here’s a teaser link from Twitter.
May 2020:
One of our favorite episodes with Sunny & Sunmarie Burns at FamVestor to talk about how we raised a money-savvy child… and what she thinks about those tactics now that she’s a young adult. If you’re at home then you might prefer the video edition.
Spend 30 minutes with JD, Annabel, and Melissa (and me) on The Real Estate JAM to learn how to build your real estate team and find deals at the right prices.
Enjoy one of the last episodes of the season with Ellie Kay and Bethany Bayless at “The Money Millhouse” podcast. Carol and I compared next-generation FI with Ellie and her daughter Bethany. We had to make sure we recorded everything on the first take because Bethany was just about to give birth to their son.
April 2020:
My daughter Carol and I chat with Jeff Smith of the Vroom Vroom Veer life & career podcast about our military careers, transitions, and quality of life. Carol’s Navy has seen a lot more of the world than my submarine duty! Not that I’m at all bitter…
I make a surprise bonus panel appearance with Mindy Jensen & Scott Trench at BiggerPockets Money. I join Andy Hill of Marriage Kids & Money, Tim & Amy of GoWithLess, Brandon at Mad FIentist, and Kristy & Bryce of Millennial Revolution. We thoroughly debunk the question of whether the corona virus has killed the #FIREMovement and show that this recession will make financial independence more compelling than ever before.
Carol and I chat with Jonathan of JoneyTalks about raising a money-savvy family, and what it feels like to grow up in one.
We share our stories of raising a money-savvy family with Scott Maderer at Inspired Stewardship. My daughter Carol and her spouse are raising three-month-old Arya, and they just started her 529 account!
March 2020: Saving and Investing for Financial Independence with Michelle at the Young & Scrappy podcast.
February 2020:
Our “Earn & Invest” podcast panel discussion on looking after the financial health of your aging parents. Doc G and Paul Thompson are joined by Cameron Huddleston, Stephen Chen, Jen Smith, and me to talk about how to have the difficult conversations. You can also read the related post with more details about caring for my father’s finances, including feedback on how it’s helping other caregivers.
Enjoy the How To Money podcast! We talk about military benefits and the lifestyle. If you’re wondering about the military, here’s the financial info. If you’re already in uniform, listen for the additional tips and your benefits.
An Ask Me Anything episode on the Millionaires Unveiled podcast!
January 2020:
We had a great time talking military financial independence with CFP Scott Vance at the Sheepdog Financial podcast. We cover it all: careers, Reserve pensions, Tricare, the TSP, investing, the 4% Safe Withdrawal Rate, and slow travel.
October 2019:
“If You Follow the Program You Can Have Anything”
Chris Pascale met up with me at FinCon to discuss a bunch of us personal-finance bloggers on a guest post at Wealthy Joe Investing.
September 2019:
“This Former Naval Officer Retired At 41 and Despite Two Recessions Has Seen His Portfolio Triple Over 17 Years”
My Forbes interview with journalist Ryan Derousseau, who’s discussing financial independence with almost everyone in the FI community.
Here’s a 25-second FinCon19 cameo at 1:50 with the Debt.com military panel.
There’s also a link to the transcript.
The Only Investing Tips You Need to Get Started Even If You’re An Absolute Beginner
A bunch of us personal-finance bloggers are quoted in CNBC’s article on getting started with investing
Live The Money Life: Chuck Jaffe Wraps Up FinCon Coverage With Five Interviews
Enjoy our commentary on FinCon with financial journalist & podcaster Chuck Jaffe
Practical Tips For Financial Independence
I scored a last-minute podcast opportunity with Patrina Dixon of It’$ My Money at FinCon
Five Tips For Making The Most Of A Low Rate Loan For New Military Members
Learn about career starter loans from three military bloggers on CreditCards.com
Video: “The Military Guide Navy Legend– Doug Nordman”
Mike Damazo and I take a 10-minute break from FinCon to discuss the best ways to reach financial independence
“What Does FIRE Mean to You?” : Live at FinCon
Here’s a podcast panel discussion from FinCon: “Would financial independence still be a movement without a decade-long bull market?”
(Spoiler alert: “Yep.”)
August 2019:
“Military Retirement Benefits” on The NewRetirement Podcast
Learn more about planning for your military retirement benefits with Stephen Chen of NewRetirement!
July 2019:
Starting a Roth IRA for your kid with Andy Hill of Marriage, Kids, & Money
15 minutes of video (and audio) tips on starting a Roth IRA without worrying about the IRS.
May 2019:
60-Second Docs Wealth video
My favorite one-minute lifestyle documentary!
March 2019:
Playing With FIRE Documentary: Panel Discussion With Cast And Crew
This conversation was recorded at FinCon18 while the documentary was still being edited.
Podcast4Patriots interview on financial independence, military real estate, and… surfing.
February 2019:
Dear MilFamily podcast: Transitions And The Military Family
All during 2018: The FIology series.
LESSON 50 : THE DYNAMIC JOURNEY
LESSON 48 : CARING FOR AGING PARENTS
LESSON 46 : ONE MORE YEAR SYNDROME
LESSON 40 : FI WITH FRIENDS
LESSON 18 : KIDS AND MONEY
LESSON 9 : RETIREMENT ACCOUNT BASICS
November 2018: Q&A with Dan at Keep Investing $imple, Stupid!
Interview with Half Life Theory
Bringing Up Financially Responsible Kids
Panel discussion with Jane & Jim Collins– yes, the spouse of that guy who wrote the Stock Series and published “The Simple Path To Wealth”!
What’s Up Next Podcast
October 2018: How To Maximize Facebook Groups with Drop And Give Me 20
(It’s a 20-minute podcast for military entrepreneurs!)
Featured in “11 Best FIRE Bloggers to Inspire Your Retirement Plan” on GOBankingRates
September 2018: Change Your POV podcast live at the Military Influencer Conference in Orlando
Best Things To Do On Oahu with We Travel There
July 2018: Financial Independence with Two Frugal Dudes podcast
June 2018: Interview with Lacey Langford and Hank Coleman on The Military Money Movement podcast
Two segments of Financial Independence with From The Battlefield To The Boardroom on the Orion Talent podcast. Part 2 is here.
May 2018: Financial Independence And How To Reach It On Her Money Matters podcast with Jen Hemphill
The “Crushing Debt” podcast with Shawn Yesner
“Warfighters Combat Financial Foes” Twitter interview with Jim Katzaman
April 2018: Conversation with Alain Guillot podcast
How I Built That Blog interview with The Blog Blog
March 2018: Interview in MOAA’s Military Officer magazine
February 2018: Playing With FIRE Money Millhouse podcast with Ellie Kay and Bethany Bayless
January 2018: CampFI Roundtable 2018 from ChooseFI (live podcast at CampFI Southeast)
“Submarines, Surfing, And Financial Independence” on The Money Nerds podcast with Whitney Hansen
December 2017: Financial Independence in 2002 with FinCon Podcast Network
November 2017: How I Retired From The Military A Millionaire on The Prince Of Investing TV Show With Prince Dykes
October 2017: Practical Thoughts On FI With Any Career with Gwen Merz and “J” of The FIRE Drill Podcast
August 2017: Lifestyles of the Financially Independent video interview on Adulting.TV
July 2017: I Achieved Financial Independence In The U.S. Navy with J.D. Roth of MoneyBoss
June 2017: Courtney Woodruff’s “Resilient Milspouse” interviews
May 2017: Reddit “Ask Me Anything” on r/FinancialIndependence
April 2017: You’re Rich– Now What? on Richer Soul podcast with Rocky Lalvani
February 2017: From Submarines To Financial Independence on Beyond The Uniform podcast with Justin Nassiri
January 2017: Becoming A Millionaire On A Military Salary Afford Anything video With Paula Pant
More show notes and the audio podcast
December 2016: How to Improve TRICARE – TRICARE Benefits Roundtable podcast with Ryan Guina at The Military Wallet
October 2016: Angel Investing, Market Crashes, and 14 Years of Financial Independence with Brandon on the Mad FIentist podcast
September 2016: Camp Mustache Q&A with Mr. Money Mustache, Afford Anything, and Doug Nordman recorded live with Brandon on the Mad FIentist podcast
July 2016: Military Blended Retirement System Pros and Cons podcast with Ryan Guina at The Military Wallet
January 2016: Just Sign Up For The Thrift Savings Plan, All Right? and other life advice With Adulting.TV
October 2015: The Thrift Savings Plan: The Military’s 401(k) with FOX Business and Doug Salvemini interview
September 2015: Saving For Your Big Purchase (AmericaSaves.org)
August 2015: Investing in Peer-to-Peer Lending Is Far From Retail-Ready Financial Advisor IQ article with Miriam Rozen
July 2015: #MoneyChat: Smart Finances For Military Families article with Dorethia Kelly
June 2015: Insider secrets of angel investing (podcast with Joshua Sheats on Radical Personal Finance)
Nerdwallet “Millionaires Reveal Their Credit-Card Secrets”
May 2015: Farnoosh Torabi’s “So Money” podcast
April 2015: Early Retirement Is More Achievable Than We Think
January 2015: National Guard and Reserves Retirement Benefits podcast with Ryan Guina at The Military Wallet
October 2014: My best video interview ever with MoneyTips
Quoted in TheStreet.com: Five Ways To Protect Your Finances While Protecting Our Freedom
August 2014: Early Retirees Find New Challenges Blogging About Retirement Wall Street Journal
Interview in Military Spouse magazine
Interview on TheMilitaryWallet.com (podcast)
June 2014: Yahoo! Finance video
May 2014: USAA Magazine (page 23)
October 2013: Early Retirement Success Story with Doug Nordman with Todd Tresidder on the Financial Mentor podcast
Quoted by Jane Kim in 2010 Wall Street Journal article
2007 interview by Corey Hajim, Fortune Magazine reporter
2007 interview by Billy & Akaisha Kaderli on their Retire Early Lifestyle website
Book buzz:
“Thanks to the great advice in this book, I am well on my way to being a true Early Retiree! ER inspired me to pursue my graduate degree and commission (from the enlisted ranks) – as well as finishing out an active duty career in the Navy! A “MUST READ” for everyone in uniform, regardless of rank!”
– ENS Jennifer L. Tanforan, SPHR, USN
” For the first time, everything a servicemember needs to escape the working world for good! “
” Packed with information and advice. Shows servicemembers exactly how to build a solid plan for their financial future.”
“While many servicemembers dream of leaving the working world behind after their military retirement, few build a real plan to accomplish this. In these pages, Doug Nordman has provided everything needed to build that plan for financial independence and more. Readers will see familiar situations and recognize the decisions they are facing on every page. They will appreciate the clear information, planning factors, and checklists they’ll need to make the best decisions regarding saving, investing, and getting the most from their military benefits. We’ve all benefited from the sage advice of others who have faced challenges and pointed out the landmines and showed us the tricks that make the job easier, or at least possible. This guide does the same for all aspects of building and executing a plan that military personnel can use to achieve their goals of financial independence and retirement. A great guide that will change many lives for the better.”
– “SamClem”, retired USAF officer
“There is life outside of a career. We retired young without the military benefits available to you, and have been running around the globe since 1991. If we can do this so can you!”
– Billy and Akaisha Kaderli, authors of “The Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement”
“I separated from the USAF after eight years of service and didn’t stumble across the concept of early retirement until I’d been working in the civilian world for a few years. Too bad “The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement” wasn’t available at the time. I can only wonder how much sooner than age 58 I would have been able to retire.”
– REWahoo!, poster at Early-Retirement.org
“Having the opportunity to preview this book over the last few months has really helped me organize my approach to ER while making sure I have covered all my bases. It is great to see “real life” examples on the various paths of how people reached their goals and understanding how my thought process to get here is similar to others. I have no doubt that I am ready to ER and enter the next chapter of my life!”
– Retiring Air Force officer
Military Financial Independence 