Kate Horrell

Kate Horrell is an Accredited Financial Counselor®, Chartered Financial Consultant®, and Military Qualified Financial Planner® who helps the military community make the most of their pay and benefits. With more than 15 years working with thousands of military families, she helps currently serving, retired and veteran families.

She has been married to a now-retired sailor for 32 years, corralling four girls and two cats across four OCONUS tours and a handful of homes in the U.S. She’s navigated landlording, Overseas Housing Allowances, the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the Survivor Benefit Plan decision, and transition to civilian life.

Latest Articles

In a large room photographed from the back, people are pictured sitting in chairs looking up at a rising graph projected on a screen.

Investing for Junior Troops: A Guide to Making Your Money Multiply

If you have a lot to learn about investing, be aware that some of the information out there is not so good. Where should you...

Screenshot of portion of military Leave and Earnings Statement

What to Look for on Your January Leave and Earnings Statement

It's important to check your military Leave and Earnings Statement (LES) each month, but the January LES is more important...

US $100 bills, bent into four sections resembling paper airplanes or birds, fly in a V through the blue sky.

Should You Borrow from Your TSP Account?

Financial experts don’t recommend taking out loans against retirement accounts such as the military’s Thrift Savings Plan...

A stack of bills looks blurry, as though it's in the process of being flipped through, with one president's face in focus.

Basic Needs Allowance Overview

The Basic Needs Allowance can potentially add hundreds of dollars to the paycheck of a military member with a family whose...

7 Cheap and Fast Halloween Costumes

Looking for a cheap Halloween costume? Your closet probably has all the components you need to make a great costume. Here are...

Flames appear to burn a pile of $50 bills, which take up the whole frame.

5 Reasons for Service Members to Avoid Borrowing from Their Thrift Savings Plan Accounts

While taking a loan from a TSP account may be a simple solution, it is important to understand the long-term reasons a...

Vanessa Arzabala, right, a military spouse and Truman Army Education and Personnel Testing Center guidance counselor, will help operate the new Fort Leonard Wood Spouse Resource Center. The center, opened Jan. 30, 2024, is designed to provide military spouses with community, education and employment resources on and off the installation. (Brian Hill/Army)

The DoD Just Expanded Its Education Benefit for Military Spouses. Here's How to Choose a Reputable School

As military spouses become newly eligible for educational funding assistance, it's important to know how to shop for a...

Transition Funds Vital for Exit from Military, Financial Adviser Says

One of the most important, yet overlooked, parts of transition to civilian life is a transition fund.

Air Force airmen in camouflage uniforms sit at a table in front of laptops, while one counts out fake money from a stack.

5 Reasons to Pay Attention During the Military's Financial 'Touchpoint' Training

Taking full advantage of financial touchpoint training can be one of the smartest moves service members make to build a...

In a photo illustration, a blurry white house is in the background, while in the foreground, a red stick declaring "scam!" obscures the house's for-sale sign.

Why Military Homeowners May Be at Greater Risk of Title Fraud

Title fraud is still relatively rare, but the military lifestyle makes service members more vulnerable than their civilian...

Family loading moving van for PCS military transfer

Can You Make Money Off a DITY Move?

Should you believe those folks who claim they made bank on a PCS move?

Six men and women, most in uniform, stand in a row in front of an American flag draped as a backdrop.

4 Things 'Gray Area' Reservists Need to Do When They Turn 60

Finally receiving that hard-earned military retirement pay at age 60 is a big deal, and you definitely want to get that...

PCS Efficiency: How to Set Up Your New Home so It Costs Less to Run

Decisions you make when you move into your new home will affect the ongoing costs of running it.

What You Need to Know About Virginians' Fight to Restore Benefits for Families of Vets

Veterans' families are geared up for Friday's special session of the Virginia General Assembly to review the massive changes...

Three apartment towers arranged around a central drive

Get Your PCS Priorities in Order with This House-Hunting Checklist

When it's time to PCS, military service members who identify their priorities before they start house hunting can save time...

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Most Popular Military News

Troop Pardons Set to Complicate Military's Muddled Response to Jan. 6

As Trump prepares to take office Monday, he has vowed to move quickly on a key campaign promise to pardon many, if not all...

Before January 10, 2025 this display of pregame patriotism was actually against Defense Department policy. (U.S. Marine Corps/ Sgt. Lillian Stephens)

Service Members Are No Longer Banned from Displaying the American Flag Horizontally at Major Events

It might come as a surprise, but U.S. service members weren't technically allowed to unfurl giant U.S. flags at major events...

Army Secretary Christine Wormuth at Fort Jackson

In Her Final Days in Office, Army Secretary Formally Establishes Service's Command Review Program

The service's Command Assessment Program was established to remove bias from the selection process for command billets.

Matthew Livelsberger's Widow Breaks Silence, Refutes 'Misinformation About My Family'

The widow of Matthew Livelsberger — the Colorado Springs Green Beret who died by suicide in a rented Tesla Cybertruck seconds...

The Battle over Veterans’ Health Care: How the Republican Majority Hopes to Reshape the VA

With the new Congress sworn in and President-elect Trump poised for his second inauguration, Republicans have queued up a...

Sen. Joni Ernst speaks at the SASC confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth

Combat Veteran, Sexual Assault Survivor Senator Backs Hegseth for Defense Secretary

In an interview with a radio station in her home state, followed by a written statement, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, announced...

Latest Military Videos

President-Elect Donald Trump Pays Respects To Former President Jimmy Carter in the Capitol Rotunda

President-elect Donald Trump, who has alternated among praising, criticizing and even mocking Jimmy Carter, came Wednesday to the Capitol...

Ukraine President Says Deadly Russian Strike On Zaporizhzhia ‘Absolutely Deliberate'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's latest attack on Zaporizhzhia, which killed at least 13 people and injured around...

Why Greenland? Remote but Resource-Rich Island Occupies Key Position in Warming World

Remote, icy and mostly pristine, Greenland plays an outsized role in the daily weather experienced by billions of people...

Denmark Prime Minister Responds After Trump Refuses To Rule Out Taking Control of Greenland

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the US Denmark’s “most important and closest ally" in response to President-elect Donald...

Investigations and Features

Army Capt. Jeremy Kuykendall and his wife Kate, cradle their daughter

Unsupervised: Military Child Care Centers Slow to Report Abuse with Little Oversight

A Military.com investigation into military day care centers revealed that service branch rules generally prioritize...

A patch in the home of retired missileer Paul Hunke

They Stood Sentry over America's Nuclear Missile Arsenal. Many Worry It Gave Them Cancer.

For years, it was an open secret among missileers that the Cold War-era missile alert facilities and launch control centers...

Army News

Veterans Affairs signage. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Veteran’s Ex-Wife Tried Hiding Divorce After He Died to Steal His VA Benefits, Feds Say

A U.S. Army veteran’s ex-wife insisted she was his surviving spouse after he died so she could steal his military benefits...

Bob Uecker greets the crowd at Miller Park stadium in Milwaukee before a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Arizona Diamondbacks in October 2011. (Department of Defense/Courtesy of Steve Paluch)

Bob Uecker, Army Veteran and Longtime Baseball Announcer, Dies at 90

Before becoming a Baseball Hall of Famer, Uecker played the sport in high school and in the Army before landing a gig in the...

Navy News

Signage is seen at the CNN Center in Atlanta

Florida Jury Says CNN Defamed Navy Veteran in Story About Endangered Afghans

The jury awarded Zachary Young $5 million in damages and is now being asked to determine whether CNN must pay additional...

Alex Marquardt attends the Endometriosis Foundation of America's Ninth Annual Blossom Ball

Defamation Case Against CNN over Afghan Evacuation Report Goes to a Jury

A Florida jury will decide whether CNN defamed a U.S. Navy veteran in a 2021 report on how Afghans were being charged...

Air Force News

Dr. Troy E. Meink, principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office

Trump Names Former KC-135 Navigator, Spy Agency Official to Be Next Air Force Secretary

Trump said on social media that Troy Meink, currently the principal director of the National Reconnaissance Office, was his...

Troop Pay Is Competitive with Civilian Workers, Pentagon Finds in Quadrennial Review

The Quadrenial Review of Military Compensation was unveiled and reported that "the department's compensation package is...

Space Force News

Trump Names Former KC-135 Navigator, Spy Agency Official to Be Next Air Force Secretary

Trump said on social media that Troy Meink, currently the principal director of the National Reconnaissance Office, was his...

Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall presents the keynote address

Air Force Secretary Kendall's Parting Advice: Military Needs a 'Much More Powerful Space Force'

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall has less than a week left on the job and, on Monday, he took the opportunity to offer his...

Marine Corps News

Gen. Eric M. Smith departs an UH-Y at Marine Corps Base Camp Schwab on Okinawa

'Going the Wrong Way:' Booting Marines from Okinawa Could Embolden China, Commandant Says

Gen. Eric Smith said the planned transfer of Okinawa-based Marines to Guam in the coming years will distance the force from a...