Kate Horrell

08/22/2026

A new resource to protect your accounts. Because the fraudsters are getting more and more creative.

Vanguard recently rolled out a new “Security Score” that encourages folks to activate all of the various security features they have available, and included is a new feature called “Outgoing Transfer Lock”. This is an important and useful option that I think all Vanguard customers should act...

07/27/2026

The military's Survivor Benefit Plan. It's often the largest financial decision your family will make, and there's a lot of information to learn, think about, and apply to your family's unique situation.

The people I see who are the happiest with their SBP decisions were well-informed and took the time to dig deep into their needs, wants, and financial situation. The foundation of that deep dive is a thorough understanding of the program itself. And that's hard, with bad gouge and biased sources.

I've compiled list of places to get more information about each step of the SBP decision process: education, analysis, and decision-making.

Don't make this decision based on what your buddy told you, or what someone said on social media. It's far too important.

It's important that you learn about the survivor benefit plan before you have to make a decision. There's a lot to know!!

06/25/2026

Every June, I get the same messages: “We picked a college… now how do we pay for it?”

That’s backwards. And it usually leads to one of two outcomes:
Parents take on overwhelming debt
Students scramble into a last-minute Plan B

Neither is a win. The frustrating part? This is completely avoidable.

Families who plan early:
Know what they can afford
Build a college list that fits the budget
Avoid panic decisions senior year

Reality check: If you have a rising senior, the time to plan is right now.

Start here: My free College Financial Planning Template walks you step-by-step through the considerations.
https://www.katehorrell.com/college-financial-planning-template-free-and-downloadable/

And if you want personal guidance, I have a few client spots open for this summer—the ideal time to get this right.

Don’t choose a college first. Choose a plan you can afford. That's a win-win - and we all like those!

Paying for college is a big deal. For most families, it requires patching together a variety of resources including family funds, scholarship, and perhaps military-related benefits like the Post 9/11 GI Bill. And how you patch those resources together will be different for every potential school, be...

05/25/2026

If you're thinking about leaving the military, you need to be thinking about life insurance.

Here’s why: you can’t make smart transition decisions without knowing what risks you can actually cover - and how you will cover them. Your financial capacity depends on what protection you have in place. Lose SGLI, and everything shifts.

Many people approach retirement by focusing on the job, or the house, or the location.

But they haven’t answered:

Can I replace my income if something happens?
Will I even qualify for coverage after I separate?
How much will it cost outside the military system?

Reality check:
Your health, age, and timing matter. Waiting until after separation can limit your options—or make coverage significantly more expensive. More importantly, your Survivor Benefit Plan decision may rest, in part, on your capacity to get life insurance.

Life insurance isn’t just another checkbox. It defines:
How much risk your family is carrying
How flexible your career choices can be
What your financial plan actually looks like

Before you decide what comes next, figure out what safety net you can build.
Everything else depends on it.

Some resources: https://lnkd.in/ePFMhwaZ

https://lnkd.in/ejMXn8Cd

05/18/2026

I hear this constantly from veterans: "I should have filed when I got out. It's too late now."

They think they missed a window that doesn't actually exist. Or that it's going to be way too hard.

There is no statute of limitations on filing a VA disability claim.

Whether you separated five years ago or forty years ago, you can still file for a service-connected condition.

Many people leave thinking they aren't "hurt enough" or that the process is reserved for combat injuries.

Then a decade passes, the back pain gets worse, and they assume the door closed behind them.

If you have service-connected conditions you never claimed, find a VA-accredited Veterans Service Organization.

They will help you build a claim for free.

Stop leaving money on the table because of a deadline someone made up.

05/18/2026

What happens if your pay doesn't hit next month?

It sounds like a nightmare scenario, but between DFAS errors, admin mistakes, and PCS gaps, pay issues are a reality.

As my wise friend Rob says, "You have not seen your last pay problem." That's likely true whether you're brand new to the military or have been retired for decades.

When the paycheck is short, the bills don't wait.

Build a dedicated buffer account that holds at least one month of your essential expenses.

This isn't your emergency fund.

It’s your "finance messed up" account.

Even a small monthly allotment to a separate savings account will add up over time.

In the military, you can't just walk into HR and get a manual check by Friday.

Corrections take one or two pay cycles—sometimes longer.

Having that buffer means you aren't raiding your TSP, borrowing from your parents, or leaning on credit cards while the system catches up.

If you’ve dealt with a missing entitlement or a PCS pay gap, how long did it actually take to get fixed?

05/15/2026

Service members frequently default to transferring their Post 9/11 GI Bill to their kids without running the numbers on using it themselves - or for their spouse.

But the power of increasing a parent's income can far outweigh the value of the GI Bill in 10 or 15 years. By transferring it, you commit to extra service time and bet that 10 or 15 years from now, the benefit will still align with your child's plans.

Kids change their minds.

They get scholarships.

Some skip the traditional college route entirely.

A degree or credential that increases your household income even modestly over a full career creates a financial impact that usually outweighs the cost of your child’s tuition—which can be covered by 529 plans or federal aid.

The instinct to sacrifice for your kids is noble, but it isn't always the best math.

Sometimes the most effective way to provide for them is to invest in your own earning potential first.

You might find that using the benefit now is the better move for the whole family.

04/20/2026

Truth: The fastest way to understand military benefits: schedule a free session with a certified financial counselor on base.

Gathering your recent Leave and Earnings Statement, other income, expenses, and debts.

Bringing this information to a professional helps map out a clear path to long-term financial security for your family.

Taking an hour is usually a simple, straightforward process.

Ignoring how these systems work typically means leaving money on the table and spending years trying to adjust later.

04/08/2026

Have you been thinking about taking the Military Qualified Financial Planner exam this summer? Come to our prep course after MilMoneyCon in Savannah next month!

Application Process Thank you for your interest in the Military Qualified Financial Planner – MQFP® certification program. The MQFP® […]

04/03/2026

Quick question: does your spouse know where all the accounts are?

Between deployments, training rotations, and regular PCS moves, a military family's financial footprint can easily become scattered across different institutions.

You Military Family's Confidently Prepared Life Binder is a printable tool to keep it all organized. https://www.katehorrell.com/confidently-prepared-life-binder/

This is definitely a case where a little advance preparation can save a lot of frustration in the future.