Han Xue, a certified financial planner, teaches a class on the Thrift Savings Plan at Camp Zama, Japan, Feb. 11, 2025. Xue, a former Soldier, holds a monthly financial education training class on various topics for members of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program inside the Community Recreation Center. (Photo Credit: Sean Kimmons)
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(Photo Credit: U.S. Army)
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan – While serving in the Army, Han Xue had worked in the public health field. But his curiosity and doubt over his financial future steered him in another direction.
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Xue decided to use the Army’s tuition assistance to enroll in courses that led him to obtain a bachelor’s degree in finance. He then earned his master’s degree on the same subject following his military career.
“I didn’t have that peace of mind when it came to money, and I wanted to learn more things about money management,” he said. “And I just fell in love with it, and I started helping others.”
As a Soldier, Xue’s leadership and battle buddies noticed his fiscal aptitude grow, and it didn’t take long for him to become the unit’s finance guru, as they often sought his advice.
Now, he helps guide the financial journeys of service members and their families as a certified financial planner at Camp Zama.
“I was once in their shoes,” he said. “I want to empower them. Knowledge is power, and I want to help them understand how money works, how to save money, and how not to live paycheck to paycheck.”
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Last spring, Xue began to teach monthly financial education classes to strengthen the personal finance skills of members in the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program. Topics have included how to create a budget, investing, the Thrift Savings Plan, cryptocurrency, how to use a Veterans Affairs home loan, tax planning, and credit management.
Xue, who has years of experience in the wealth management industry as a financial advisor, recognized that finance is not a subject typically taught in high school, and for many people, they either need to study it in college or comb through online resources to educate themselves.
“I feel like it’s a big missing piece in a puzzle,” he said. “How can you be mission-ready without having your money ready? That’s why I’m doing this.”
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Sgt. Minh Le, the 88th Military Police Detachment’s S-1 noncommissioned officer in charge, attends a class on the Thrift Savings Plan at Camp Zama, Japan, Feb. 11, 2025. Han Xue, a certified financial planner, holds a monthly financial education training class on various topics for members of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program inside the Community Recreation Center. (Photo Credit: Sean Kimmons)
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Han Xue, a certified financial planner, teaches a class on the Thrift Savings Plan at Camp Zama, Japan, Feb. 11, 2025. Xue, a former Soldier, holds a monthly financial education training class on various topics for members of the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers program inside the Community Recreation Center. (Photo Credit: Sean Kimmons)
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On Tuesday, Xue taught his latest one-hour class, which was on the TSP, inside the Community Recreation Center here.
Sgt. Minh Le, the 88th Military Police Detachment’s S-1 noncommissioned officer in charge, attended the training session to gain a better understanding of his future retirement.
“I have been putting money into TSP,” Le said, “but I haven’t seen what else I can do with it.”
Xue briefly explained the TSP funds beneficiaries can invest in, such as the C fund, which tracks the S&P 500, or the G fund, which invests in U.S. treasury securities, as well as lifecycle funds that tailor investments to one’s projected retirement date.
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Using rough estimates of someone contributing monthly for 30 years to the TSP with only a small percentage of their pay, Xue showed they could have well over $1.5 million by the time they reach 60 years old.
“I didn’t know it would jump by that much, but it looks pretty nice,” Le said of the potential of his investments. “It’s something to look forward to when you retire.”
And with tax season underway, Xue said he plans to teach Soldiers how to file their tax returns in his next classes scheduled for March 4 and April 8 at 2 p.m. inside the center.
Xue said financial readiness plays a big role in the Army’s ability to complete its missions, like how Soldiers conduct physical training to be combat-ready.
“It’s a skill set,” he said. “If you don’t learn that skill set, you will have no idea how [you are] supposed to save money or where the money that [you] saved is going for the future.”
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By setting financial goals, Xue said Soldiers can witness their money compound over the years through various investment options such as the stock market or a high-yield savings account.
“That can help them be ready financially even if they stay in [the Army] for 20 years or get out to find a new opportunity in the civilian world,” he said. “Having that skill set is essential to living a comfortable life and for that peace of mind too.”
For more information on the financial classes, call DSN 263-5316 or 046-407-5316, or 080-4456-8899 to schedule an appointment with Xue for one-on-one counseling sessions or unit-level training.
Reader question: My spouse has little interest in our financial position. As we age, this concerns me. I try to share some basic information (income, spending, account balances, debt, and so on) each month but rarely get a response. I think graphs or charts might be of more interest to her than a bunch of numbers. What recommendations would you have for illustrating our financial position so that I am not the only person aware of how we are situated? Thanks!
Answer: Your situation is pretty common. Most couples I know develop a division of labor over time, where one person is in charge of financial matters and the other person is less involved. That’s definitely the case for my husband and me. He’s in charge of paying all the monthly bills and preparing our tax returns, but the financial planning and investment decisions are up to me. This type of arrangement might work well for a long time, but can become less sustainable with age, particularly if the “finance person” in the relationship dies or develops a major health issue.
Online tools and mind maps
Illustrating your financial situation with charts and graphs is a great idea that might help your spouse become a little more involved. Morningstar’s Portfolio X-Ray tool includes a variety of images that help illustrate your financial situation. Websites for most major brokerage firms also include some visual tools. Schwab, for example, offers a Portfolio Checkup and a bar graph illustrating your account’s monthly income from dividends and interest income. Vanguard has a Portfolio Watch tool and a variety of performance illustrations, tools, and calculators.
A mind map, which we used with clients when I worked for a financial advisory firm, can be another way to picture your entire financial situation on one page. There are various softwaretemplates for drawing a mind map, or you can simply sketch it out with a large sheet of paper and a pencil. Start with your names at the center of the page. Then draw spokes connecting to various categories, such as names of other family members; investment accounts; real estate and other assets, insurance policies, estate plans, key goals and values, and contact information for accountants, estate planners, and other professionals. It can be helpful to go through the mind map together and make any updates needed at least once a year.
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Other ways to communicate about money
A few other ideas—though not related to charts and graphs—might also be useful.
I like the idea of putting together a net worth statement that itemizes cash, taxable accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and debt for each member of the couple as well as items owned jointly. It’s a good idea to update this document at least once a year and discuss it as a couple. If you set up the document as a spreadsheet, you can include columns with additional information such as account numbers, what each account is used for, which accounts are subject to required minimum distributions, or tax issues like potential capital gains.
Many couples also put together a binder (sometimes humorously called a “Doomsday Book”) that contains information about where to find important paperwork, insurance policies, how bills are paid, what each account is for, steps the surviving spouse will need to take, final wishes, and any other critical information.
A well-qualified financial adviser can bridge the information gap
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Finally, you could consider working with a good financial adviser, who can help involve your spouse in financial matters while you’re still living and step in to fully manage investments and personal finance decisions if you pass away before your spouse. Make sure the adviser holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and charges fees that are reasonable. Although a 1% fee is still the industry standard for accounts of $1 million or less, it’s possible to find advisers who charge significantly less, including a few who price their services based on hours worked instead of a percentage of assets under management.
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This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance.
Amy C. Arnott, CFA, is a portfolio strategist for Morningstar and co-host of The Long View podcast.
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What If This Turns Out to Be a Terrible Time to Retire?
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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If you have ever taken out a mortgage, you’ll know there are a lot of requirements to meet. You may need to put down a certain amount and have a debt-to-income ratio below a certain threshold. You may also run into limits on how much you can borrow or what sources of income the lender will count.
These rules do not apply to all mortgages — just to conforming mortgages, which is what the majority of borrowers take out. However, mortgage lenders are increasingly offering what are known as nonconforming loans, or mortgages that do not “comply with every one of the strict standards put in place after the housing crisis,” said The Wall Street Journal. While “still a small portion,” the “share of mortgages using alternative lending practices” has “doubled in size over the past three years.”
What are nonconforming loans?
A nonconforming mortgage is a “type of home loan that doesn’t meet some or all of the guidelines that make them eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Bankrate. These are the government-sponsored entities that “support much of the secondary mortgage market in the U.S.,” meaning they often purchase resold mortgages.
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have “federal rules that limit the purchase of loans deemed relatively risk-free,” said Investopedia. Loans that meet these guidelines are conforming loans; loans that do not are nonconforming. To be a conforming loan, a mortgage must fall under a certain loan amount, and the borrower must meet specific criteria when it comes to their credit score, debt-to-income ratio and loan-to-value ratio.
Effectively, any home loan that does not align with these stipulations is considered nonconforming. Examples include jumbo loans, government-backed loans, bridge loans and interest-only loans.
Why do people get them?
There are a wide range of reasons people may opt for a nonconforming mortgage. For one, “you may have no choice but to choose a nonconforming jumbo loan if you want to buy an expensive property,” said Rocket Mortgage. These loans can also provide more flexibility when it comes to the type of property you purchase, your credit score and your down payment amount.
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Nonconforming loans additionally “offer an opportunity for home buyers who might not otherwise qualify for traditional loans because they are self-employed or hold their wealth in assets such as real estate,” said the Journal.
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What are the drawbacks?
For starters, there are fewer lenders offering them “since they pose a higher risk to the bank or mortgage lender,” said Yahoo Finance. That said, availability can vary depending on the specific type, as “some nonconforming loans (like FHA mortgages) are common, while others (like USDA loans) can be harder to find.”
Nonconforming loans also “generally carry a higher interest rate for the borrower,” said the Journal, given the increased risk to the lender. Still, this can vary by loan type. For instance, “FHA, VA and USDA loans usually have lower interest rates,” while “less common nonconforming loans, such as bridge loans, often have higher interest rates,” said Yahoo Finance. There is also the possibility that a nonconforming loan “could have an unusual repayment schedule or other features that make it harder to repay,” said Bankrate.
