Have a friend retired from mil several years ago. They had a great plan so I picked their brain extensively.
You can live on retirement alone and will be ahead of many, many in the country.
Start now, today and live on your retirement amount as if you retired today. Send the rest to another account.
This person, lets call them Bob, bought each month 3 CDs to mature 1,2,3 years from retirement date so when you retired you have the options for a bit extra each month for 3 years. That can help you adjust. Bob never had to touch that money for living expenses but made him feel safe. He did mention nightmares about 6 months before retiring.
Pay off every bill now, out of your “retirement amount”. You’ll have to do that in a few years on the retirement amount if you don’t do today.
Don’t !!! buy a new RV class B, C, A, truck, camper, trailer. You can drive into most large military bases and see expensive RVs sitting there, many with for sale signs and the people are upside down in the loans. They hated what they bought, didn’t like to drive, couldnt Afford the payments and repairs, couldn’t fit in state parks, wife hated it or the life.... you can write a book on this. Most Americans don’t like this life.
Read this site extensively. Over and over.
You might be happy with a modest apartment near a base for access and then a van to use for traveling.
Start getting rid of everything, everything.
You have a year to make your final moving location, wait to move back to your family. It’s been a million years since you liked there. Visiting is not the same.
Read the trials of internet wherever you travel. It doesn’t exist even paying huge bucks to 2-4 networks. If you want to see nature you’ll often be out of cell service. The ones that work in the boonies don’t seem to move, travel. They find a place with good service and sit or move just enough to fit the rules.
Ok I’ve passed on the info I got from Bob and my own thinking. Let’s let others join in
