My husband and I have spent most of our adult lives in the military. It's been so ingrained in us, that we often forget that we were civilians before the military. Now that we're about to retire, we find that it's not going to be easy for us to adjust to civilian life. We start terminal leave 1 April 2015, and we officially retire 1 June 2015.
This is what we've done so far:
* Sold our homes (that we're willed/gifted to me)
* Sold our extra vehicles, toys, and camper
* Scaled back our possessions/lifestyle
* Saved most of our money for the past 5 years
* Obtained our bachelors degrees last Dec (him: Business/Finance. Me: Dietetics).
* Paid off all of our debts.
* Started looking at mortgages, and homes in our home state (Nebraska).
* Started the VA disability claim process
* Went through TAP class
* Obtained medical/dental/school records for our children
* Cancelled all of our paid television and Netflix
If you can give me anymore tips on how to make this easier, please let me know.
Read more: What are the ways that made it easy for you to transition from military to civilian life?
