J.J. Montanaro

Latest Articles

Dozens of new trucks parked closely in a lot, pictured from overhead.

With average new car prices nearing $50,000, it's critical to avoid a financial misstep. Here are four strategies to help you...

This summer, depending on where you live, you might be able to double those savings as AAFES has announced it will offer an additional discount to match local tax savings around back-to-school, tax-free weekends.

5 Back-to-School Shopping Tips

Back-to-school shopping isn't the minor leagues. Americans spend almost as much on it as they do on the holidays.

How to Handle Some Extra Cash (Including a Tax Refund)

We've got some ideas to help you make the best use of it before it's nothing but a memory ... or a big-screen TV.

Don't Let Scary Numbers Haunt Your Finances

At Halloween, it's time once again to highlight some of the fearsome financial numbers haunting many Americans today.

4 Reasons to Sign Up for a Roth TSP

The Roth Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) plan could be an exciting new addition to your retirement toolkit.

Be Smart When Shopping for Back to School

Here are tips to help you do your back-to-school shopping in a way that won't break the bank.

5 Steps to a Smooth PCS

The full swing of PCS season is only a short way off, but there's still time to prepare a smooth -- financially speaking --...

Car Buying: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

You've heard of the cobbler with holes in the bottom of his shoes or the plumber with leaky pipes, right? How about the...

Buying a New Car? Avoid Debt Regret

Have you ever settled yourself behind the wheel of your new car and been hit with a wave of financial regret?

Remembering June Walbert: Tips to Hang Your Hat On

This week I lost a friend to cancer. June Walbert was a mentor, a sounding board, a teammate, and above all, a trusted...

3 Big Reasons to Start Saving Now

Set a Goal. Make a Plan. Save Automatically. Those are words that could benefit you for years to come.

Do the Math, Save Your Cash: Use BAH as It's Intended

Basic Allowance for Housing is designed to cover almost the entire cost of housing (99 percent to be exact), including...

Busting Budgets Vs. Buying Smart

Just because you can buy it, doesn't mean you should. That basic financial rule of thumb is especially true when you're...

Can Military Service Make You a Millionaire?

Here's a question to motivate you as we begin a new year: Can you retire from the military as a multimillionaire?

Teens and Money: Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Repeating advice to teens is all very well, but nothing matches hands-on experience.

Military News

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Most Popular Military News

How the Government Shutdown Impacts Veterans and the VA

While most vets won't be impacted by the ongoing government shutdown, concerns may ramp up the longer it persists.

Pvt. Paul Douglas, age 50, performs a rifle inspection with his drill instructor aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depot S.C., 1942. Douglas, at age 50 was the oldest recruit in the history of Parris Island, and went on to become a purple heart recipient and Chicago senator (DVIDS).

At 50, He Survived Marine Boot Camp — Then Fought at Peleliu and Okinawa

When 50-year-old Paul Douglas showed up at Marine Corps boot camp in 1942, the white-haired economics professor looked more...

'It's a Lottery': Why Foreign Volunteer Fought in Russia-Ukraine War

Jack de Santis is a Croatian-born volunteer of the Ukrainian army who used his engineering, drone expertise to help fight...

Army Vet Sentenced to Year In Prison For $80,000 Fraud, Stolen Valor

Sharon Toney-Finch, 43, was indicted in April 2024 on four charges: wire fraud, stolen valor, theft of government funds, and...

Vietnam veterans of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, stand with Army Maj. Gen. John W. Weidner, chief of staff for U.S. Strategic Command, Col. Robert Newbauer, commander of the Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District, American Legion Post 1 Commander Lennie Roth and others after a ceremony Sept. 18 at American Legion Post 1 in Omaha, Nebraska. Fourteen veterans of Bravo Company were honored for acts of valor and meritorious service in Vietnam more than 50 years ago. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Delanie Stafford)

Bravo Company Vietnam Veterans Honored with Long-Overdue Bronze Stars

While it took more than five decades, 14 veterans of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry, 4th Infantry Division, were...

Trump Administration Threatens No Back Pay for Federal Workers in Shutdown

President Donald Trump’s administration is warning of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a shutdown.

Latest Military Videos

Trump Envoy Witkoff, Adviser Kushner Arrive in Egypt for Gaza Peace Talks as Optimism for Deal Grows

U.S. President Donald Trump’s top adviser for the Middle East and other senior officials joined the third day of...

Texas National Guard Troops Gathered at Army Training Center Southwest of Chicago

National Guard members from Texas were at an Army Reserve center in Illinois on Tuesday, the most visible sign...

Smoke Rises in Wadi Gaza as Top Officials Join Israel-Hamas Talks in Egypt

Smoke caused by Israeli strikes billowed into the sky over Wadi Gaza on Wednesday as senior officials joined the...

Trump Says He's Willing to Enact the Insurrection Act if Necessary

President Donald Trump says he's willing to enact the Insurrection Act if necessary, but so far it hasn't been...

Investigations and Features

In One of the Marines' Most Iconic Jobs, a Stunning Pattern of Suicide

Marine Corps drill instructors are a national symbol of discipline. But for some, their imposing persona belies a dark...

Army Capt. Jeremy Kuykendall and his wife Kate, cradle their daughter

Unsupervised: Military Child Care Centers Slow to Report Abuse with Little Oversight

A Military.com investigation into military day care centers revealed that service branch rules generally prioritize...

Army News

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Racheal Balke, a current operations intelligence noncommissioned officer assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), conducted a wargaming event as part of an ongoing deployment readiness exercise at Caserma Del Din, Vicenza, Italy, Sep. 3, 2025. The wargaming phase, part of the joint planning process, utilized artificial intelligence tools to stress-test the command's response to real-world crises (U.S. Army photo by Brian Andries, DVIDS).

The Army’s New Intel Playbook: How AI and Data Are Rewriting the Battlefield

The U.S. Army is betting big on artificial intelligence and data to reshape how intelligence is gathered, analyzed, and...

Driver Sentenced in Crash that Killed Lewis-McChord Soldier, a Father of 4

Ryan Edward Grems, 38, pleaded guilty in July to failure to remain at an accident resulting in death and theft of a motor...

Navy News

Trump USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier

Trump Doesn't Let Shutdown Interfere With Celebrating Navy's 250th Anniversary

The president spoke on a pier in between two towering Navy vessels, an aircraft carrier and an amphibious assault ship.

Rear Adm. Gregory Huffman, commander, Naval Education and Training Command (NETC), delivers remarks during NETC’s change of command ceremony at the National Naval Aviation Museum onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, June 18, 2025. The museum recently opened an exhibit honoring Vietnam prisoners of war. (United States Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Zachary Melvin)

National Naval Aviation Museum Honors Vietnam POWs with Emotional Exhibit

A new exhibit at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida, is giving attendees a rare glimpse into life for...

Air Force News

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility in Broadview

Veterans, Who Saw One of Their Own Arrested by ICE and Charged, Say Feds Are Undermining Democracy

Days after a 70-year-old Air Force veteran was among five people charged while protesting outside a suburban U.S. Immigration...

Airman Confronts and Shoots Armed Neighbor on Deadly Rampage, Iowa Officials Say

Harrison Friar, a senior airman, was with his wife and children at their home in Glenwood on the evening of Aug. 6 when they...

Space Force News

U.S. Air Force U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Rachel Harmon and Master Sgt. Tom Anderson, weapons loaders assigned to the 174th Attack Wing, checks an inert GBU 12 laser guided missile on an MQ-9 Reaper at Springfield-Beckley Air National Guard Base in Springfield, Ohio.

Two Space Force Units Bring the 'Invisible Front Line' to Ohio

A ceremonial ribbon-cutting is planned for Friday for the Space Intelligence Production Cell at the Springfield-Beckley Air...

A painting of a Defense Support Program satellite from the Air Force Art collection. DSP provides a variety of national security capabilities. Its flagship mission of launch detection was made famous during the Cold War. (U.S. Air Force image)

Clearing The Orbits: Space Force Partnerships In Orbital Cleanup

The growing congestion of Earth orbit has raised risks to satellites, space stations, and long-term space sustainability. The...

Marine Corps News

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) questions U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

Trump Targets Blumenthal, Calling for Investigation into Senator's Vietnam Service Claims

President Donald Trump is targeting U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal again after Connecticut’s senior U.S. senator grilled U.S...

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Nosikahhokli Melendez, a fire support Marine with 5th Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, III Marine Expeditionary Force Information Group, prepares to depart on a MV-22 Osprey, attached to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265, Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, during exercise Keen Sword 25 (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Gunnery Sgt. Manuel A. Serrano)

Marines' AI Edge with Project Dynamis

Discover how the Marine Corps' Project Dynamis integrates AI to enhance joint force operations against peer threats. Explore...

Coast Guard News

Lt. Cmdr. Brendan Harris receives new shoulder boards from his children during a promotion ceremony June 21, 2018, at the Federal Law Enforcement Training in Charleston, South Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard/Ryan Dickinson)

Coast Guard Ranks: A Complete Guide to Enlisted and Officer Ranks

Explore U.S. Coast Guard ranks from seaman to admiral. Learn about the rank structure, pay grades, insignia, and promotion...

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Motor Lifeboat CG-36538 was restored by dozens of volunteers after more than 8 years of hard work.

Cape May Maritime Museum Brings 73-Year-Old Coast Guard Lifeboat Back to Life

The CG-36538 was built in a Baltimore shipyard in Curtis Bay in 1952 and was primarily used for winter rescues and winter...