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Mads | Milso Money Educator

@_flameandfortune

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Milso + mom of 3 | AFC + MBA
raising capable, independent kids who can get rich themselves
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When you personal finance a bit too hard and calculate that losing my job due to our upcoming PCS will cost us a little over a quarter of a million dollars!

Luckily this isn’t our first rodeo. My husband and I have systems in place where we can take that hit and still achieve our financial goals of retiring in our 50s.

This video is to lay out ONE part of the financial loss military spouses (and couples) face when we are constantly uprooting our lives every 2-4 yrs.

Does this surprise you?? Have you ever done the numbers for your financial situation?

Remember, this isn’t financial advice, this is just for educational awareness💕 by @_flameandfortune

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21 days ago

A decade in this life has shown me the highest highs most people never see, and the lowest lows most people never have to survive.

Call me whatever you want- I’ll never stop speaking up, especially for our kids. They’re carrying a cost you can’t put a price on.

Comment below any other hidden costs we need to be speaking up about more 👇 by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago

On Aug 3, 2026, an executive order established the President’s Military Spouse Commission - a two-year advisory board that will make recommendations to the President on the issues military spouses face:
housing,
employment,
healthcare,
education,
and deployment support.

It’s chaired by the spouse of the Secretary of War and made up of senior military leaders spouses.

Members serve without pay

It’s advisory - meaning it recommends, it doesn’t directly policy on its own.

I think it’s genuinely good that these issues are getting a spotlight.

These slides are just what I’d hope lands on their radar - from a spouse who lived and living it.

What would you add?👇 by @_flameandfortune

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2 months ago

October 1st marks the start of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and I want to talk about the form of abuse almost nobody names.

Financial abuse occurs in 99% of domestic violence cases. And yet 78% of Americans don’t even recognize it as a form of abuse at all.

It doesn’t always look malicious. Sometimes it’s not even intentional- it’s years of avoiding the money conversation until one partner quietly holds all the power, without either person meaning for it to happen.

If this is new information to you, you’re not alone- most people have never heard it named.

Send this to someone who needs to hear they’re not imagining it. Or to the friend who keeps saying “he just handles the money, it’s easier that way.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing any form of abuse, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7: 1-800-799-7233.

financial abuse awareness
domestic violence awareness
financial literacy for women
money transparency
Taylor Swift Patient Zero
coercive control
economic abuse
financial independence for women
relationship red flags
military spouse finance by @_flameandfortune

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5 days ago

Respectfully, this isn’t a personal attack. Its a pattern I see over and over as a professional educator and the first step to changing it is to bring awareness to things that shouldn’t be normal. by @_flameandfortune

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19 days ago

The best inheritance isn’t an account. It’s how you taught them to think.

I teach financial literacy for a living and the saddest pattern I see is grown adults trying to unlearn money habits they picked up as kids.

Your kids will copy what you preach. So the number one move isn’t another savings account for them. It’s becoming the financial role model they need first.

Comment INVEST101 and I’ll send you the guide that helped me start 💕 by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago

Giving your kid the competitive edge without spending a dime.

I started working at 16. By 18, I was in management. Looking back, that early responsibility changed the entire trajectory of my career- not luck, just what that experience taught me.

It gave me the edge I needed, even when my grades didn’t. And it’s exactly why I want my own kids building value early too.

Here’s the part that matters most: your kids don’t need your money to get ahead. They need the confidence, the skills, and the head start that comes from being capable early.

Which means you get to stop carrying the weight of building their whole future alone and focus on your own financial goals instead.

Not because you’re checking out, but because it frees you up to actually be present. To make the memories, not just fund the future.

Follow along for the accounts your teenagers need when they start a job (and it’s not just a checking and savings account.)🤫 by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago

Someone said I was fear mongering for pointing out it takes a military family a year to recover from a PCS. So let’s talk about that.

As someone who teaches financial literacy for a living, people are never taught. (Plus now there’s way too much information, it gets overwhelming). That’s not fear mongering. That’s preparation.

Follow along since I’m breaking down the real PCS costs nobody warns you about.

What’s an unexpected expense you ran into on a PCS? Tell me below 👇 by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago

We’re not planning to leave our kids an inheritance. We’re doing something we think matters more: teaching them to build their own.

Confidence. Critical thinking. Accountability. Ownership over their own wins and mistakes.

Follow along if you want to keep walking with me, new episode whenever I get to it 💛

wealth building for kids
raising capable kids
financial literacy for kids
kids and money
entrepreneurial kids
critical thinking skills
future of work
AI skills
family finance
teaching kids responsibility by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago

They call it a statistic. I call it a system that was never built for spouses to keep a career. I’ll be part of that number soon

and I’m done treating it like something that just happens to me.

Know there are tons of resources available to prep for your next PCS, this is just what I’m prioritizing. by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago

I’m about to walk away from my income. So let me show you the number 1 account most military families get wrong before a PCS.

Same $30,000. Same safety. One version earns you $126 a year. The other earns $1,320.

That’s not a rounding error. That’s 10 times the interest, for doing absolutely nothing different except where the money sits.

Comment INVEST101 and I’ll send you my free guide-the starting point I wish I had before our first PCS.

Follow along if you’re PCSing this year. I’m walking through this whole transition, numbers included.

PCS savings
high yield savings account
military family finance
milso life
emergency fund
financial readiness
military spouse
PCS budget
money mindset
financial independence by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago

81% of women say their finances keep them up at night.
Eight out of ten of us. Lying awake, doing the math in the dark.

Because here’s what I’ve learned: that worry isn’t a sign you’re bad with money. It’s a sign you were never taught it.

So I started Walk Talks- short money conversations from my walks (with my favorite ladies 🐶🐶).

No lectures.
No judgment.

Just the lessons nobody gave us, in the pockets of time we actually have.

Come walk with us😁

Source: Fidelity Investments, 2025 Women & Money Study.

#WalkTalks #MomsAndMoney #FinancialLiteracyForWomen #Milso #InvestLikeAMom by @_flameandfortune

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a month ago