FINANCIAL DOMINANCE

A financial planning guide for members of the armed services.

Molinar, a counselor and public speaker with a son in the military, aims his book at members of all four branches of the armed forces who prize mission-readiness when deploying with their units but lack similar preparedness in their private financial lives. He presents his financial advice as a set of rules for an active combat scenario, with separate sections designated as “Stop the Bleeding, “Secure the Perimeter,” “Engage the Enemy,” “Build Future Ops,” and “Plan the Exit.” However, the plan that Molinar presents is, he claims, “forged from the hardened steel principles of finance.” Indeed, the sturdy principles here will be familiar to many readers, particularly those who’ve read other financial self-help manuals; for example, the author recommends that readers decrease and then eliminate debt, live below their means, keep to a budget, make sure that everybody in a household is on the same financial page, and so on. No area of personal finance is too small or too specific for Molinar’s cost-cutting attention; he advises, for instance, that people pack lunches for work; investigate quick, easy “side hustles”; clip coupons; and eliminate clutter rather than paying fees for storage units. At times, the book’s military phrasings seem unintentionally comical: “Do not steal money from one envelope to another; that’s called treason!” Nonetheless, his advice is rock-solid and unassailable; such financial basics never go out of style, mainly because they work. He also includes helpful information on military-specific elements, such the GI Bill and other government programs. Molinar presents his tips in a tone of optimism that readers in tough situations will find refreshing: “It's frustrating when money is messy,” he writes. “And though it might seem hopeless, it’s not.”

Cleareyed, no-nonsense monetary advice for military personnel.