Combat Finance: How Military Values and Discipline Will Help You Achieve Financial Freedom

Chapter 4

Me and the Sergeant Major, We Love Training

In the 2002 film, We Were Soldiers, Mel Gibson’s grizzled character Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore turns to his new air cavalry soldiers in a hangar and barks, “Now, I hope you men like trainin’, ’cause me and the Sergeant Major, we love it!” It’s a relatively accurate tribute to the training ethic in the military. As in every successful group, constant training is what keeps the military complex competitive. Battle drills, realistic simulations, and live-fire exercises conducted on a regular basis are what allow the military to live up to the uncompromising standards that we expect from our soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines.

Financial training is just as essential in Combat Finance. A lot of people think they can invest for a while and then stop, that they can excel for a finite amount of time and then ignore their financial bearing while they rack up more debt or buy a car they can’t afford. For some people who can build up millions in a short amount of time through an amazing business success, professional athletic talent, or an inheritance, yes, that might work. But for most people, building wealth has to be a lifelong process reinforced by constant vigilance. It has to involve effective training that reinforces the importance of regular deposits to your savings and investment accounts.

So I hope you love training, ’cause I love it! What is Combat Finance training? It’s not just consistently living within your means and ...