063: Thanksgiving Special & Jen Amos' Interview with Christina Etchberger on It's A Military Life

Jen Amos 0:00

Welcome to holding down the fort, a podcast show dedicated to curating knowledge, resources and relevant stories for today's military spouses so they can continue to make confident and informed decisions for themselves and their families. Because let's face it, we know who's really holding down the fort. I'm Jen a Moe's, a gold star daughter, veteran spouse and your host for holding down the fort by us that wealth. Let's get started.

edia professional of the year: 2020

Speaker 1 4:17

Trigger from its military life I'm here with Jen a most award winning podcaster from holding down the fort. How're you doing, Jen?

Jen Amos 4:25

Hey, Christina. It's so great to be here today. Thank you so much for having me right now. I'm in eastern time and it's already like eight o'clock but like you were saying offline. I didn't have any better plans anyway. You and do something productive hopefully that will benefit people watching tonight or later.

Speaker 1 4:44

Yes. Oh my gosh. Yeah. I'm like, okay, you know, getting my hair ready and maybe a little bit of makeup is my Friday plan.

Jen Amos 4:53

Yeah, so I'm gonna like, as I'm going to share this as we talk. I don't mean to like interrupt you. I was like, oh,

Speaker 1 5:00

Oh, no. No, this is so great because I know we got to talk the other day where your podcast and we just had so much fun. We have a lot in common, and especially now with your co hosts too with her education background, because me being a former educator, now homeschooling teacher, and just looking at all that you do with holding down the fort, so many similarities between its military life and holding down the fort, you want to tell us a little bit about your podcast?

Jen Amos 5:29

ortunately, I had lost him in: 1998

Speaker 1 8:55

That's so wonderful. And I know I've listened to your podcast on I've been driving around Saturdays, I do my morning coffee and all this, turn it on. And it is wonderful. It's a wonderful place to go in a way, a place to listen in on, you know, all your stories, all the resources that you're sharing, and yes and feel like I'm in the know. And I've been in the military with my husband and now with my two kids, to me five years in May. And I would say within the last maybe two years, that's when I started understanding that there were resources out there. My husband has been always, you know, keeping me informed, but to the best of his ability as the soldier and I think with his perspective, he might not understand a wage he wants to know every detail so you can plan understatement and it's been helpful. Now that okay, I am someone that has a little bit of of leverage here because I have some more resources, whether it be through me or through listening on podcast, I feel a little bit more secure as a military spouse, and now a mother that, okay, if I'm going to be PCs, saying, I'm going to check out this resource if we're gonna be deploying, okay. Like, for example, we had that pillar retreat, just recently for military spouses and anyone experiencing a deployment. And I felt like I wasn't alone. So I told him, I'm all for holding down the fort. And just even the title, like you said, I loved it. When I was talking to my family about it. That's really what got me to listen in like, oh, holding down the fort. Yes, I do. Yes, you do.

Jen Amos: 10:47

You absolutely do. Yeah, I have to again, I have to give that to Ethan, one of our colleagues, because we had this whole brainstorming session where like, spouses are the ones that handle everything, essentially, you know, like, That's it, there's like, that's not even an understatement. You know, like, they handle everything. So how do we describe that? How do we put that? How do we make a title out of the fact that they do everything. And also, the truth is, like, Y'all don't need our help, you know, we just want to make it a little bit easier by letting you know what is available if you're looking for that. And that's really what the show is about is like, Hey, these are additional resources that you can add to your, you know, whatever you call it, like add, add to your car. Thank you. I was like, I'm like losing my words on a Friday night. But yeah, and then eventually, he was all like, we should call it holding down the fort. And we're like, ah, and then immediately, we reached out to our designer. And, you know, we were able to put together that podcast show very quickly. And so I appreciate your feedback. Because as a military child, and have been working with veterans, it's nice to create a title that we know can speak to our families today that are actively serving. And so your feedback on our title is greatly appreciated. And it affirms that we chose the right name.

: 11:58

Yeah. Oh, for sure. And this with holding down the fort, I know you just won media professional of the year through the Rosie network, Entrepreneur Awards. That's amazing. So how did that go? And I know you had a speech, like, what do you have to say about that award? It's so exciting.

Jen Amos: 12:17

Yeah, I appreciate you asking that. Wow, I feel like I have so much to say about it. But let me just tell a story. So. So the show came about in summer of 2019. And it was really out of a desire to work through my feelings of like, just loneliness. So my husband and I moved from San Diego, California to Virginia Beach. And I mean, first Richmond and then Virginia Beach. But I had lived like such a transient life, that it was really hard for me to feel like I could establish local friends. And then of course, moving to the east coast for the first time without having, like anyone, any friends, I didn't have my business anymore. My loved ones, my sister lives in New York City, which is like six, eight hours away, I think, from where I live right now. And so I really had to start over. And at the time, I was 30. And I thought at 30, I should have figured my life out by then, you know, I should have kept my established business, my network and reputation and everything. But really, I was starting from scratch and part of starting from scratch. And I actually did have the fortune of working with my husband, I started off by working internally. But I knew eventually that I needed to find my voice in our business as well, because all of my colleagues had their own story to share with their military experience so that we could relate to our clientele. For me to do that though, I had to go beyond my relationship with my husband, who I met after his service, and actually come to peace with My Gold Star family story. And that wasn't something I was entirely comfortable with. I was like, oh, like, I've been far removed from the story for like 20 years, and I've managed to survive without it. And now in order for me to feel like I can wholeheartedly relate to the clientele that we want to reach out to, I have to bring that story up. And I need to bring it up in a way that, like, honors me honors my family. And, you know, also works well to our advantage in terms of relating to the people to our clientele today. So I was able to fortunately accomplish all of that in a year and a half. And so for me the award, it's more than just an award. It's the fact that I was able to start over. But I was able to start over, I was able to re establish myself and I was able to build a community very quickly, just like you did. Christina with your website, you know, having started this year, which is so crazy. But you know, just just that. Yeah, just that ability to adapt so quickly, I think is something that our military families today can completely relate to. And so this is really me just saying like, you can start over you can reestablish yourself, and you can get a lot of help doing that. So there's so much more to say, but that pretty much sums up like what this award means to me. But yeah,

: 15:01

it's just amazing because it's so brave to share your story. I know we talked about it, when we were talking on your podcast, how for me, that's, that's a hard part for me to share about myself. I know, like, sometimes I'll write and it's more through my eyes, but not about myself. And so you sharing your story and such a moving and inspiring story is just just outstanding. I don't even have words for it. Because when I listened to that podcast episode about your father, oh, my gosh, it was so emotional, because it's just you were so just honest. And that family picture because we just had that amazing blog post that was featured in your newsletter. So I just want to thank you for all that you do and all that you've shared. So with that, are there any projects that are coming up? Whether it be within the season or anything coming up? Whether it be with your podcast, or with your business?

Jen Amos: 15:57

Yeah, so our company, US vet wealth, we have something really exciting right now, my husband, Scott has been working really hard at getting his book done. He, it pretty much embodies everything we believe in for our company, and how we want to serve our clientele. And so the book is called veteran wealth secrets. And again, I think it actually right now at the time, I shouldn't say at the time of this recording, because this is live, I keep making a lot of podcasts, and it's gonna get I feel like it's gonna get published like a month later or something. So I shouldn't say that. But this is just the podcast or mind thinking out loud. But yeah, so for Veterans Day, we decided to release his book, veteran Wealth Secrets for free on Kindle on Amazon, I believe it's still free now on there. If time does run out, because we did have like a 48 hour window, you could still get the free pdf version on our website for the book, which is veteran wealth secrets.com. Like I said, this book is a long time coming. This is not Scott's first book, actually, we've done a couple already. But this one, I think really embodies what we believe in and what we stand for. And I want to just start by saying that you know, what we stand for, it's not for everyone, you know, there are certain types of people that we speak to, or a specific type of person, this is someone, this is like a career family member or career service member who is about to transition out, and they aren't just looking to jump into another job, they're not just looking to like jump into something secure, or because maybe they started planning for transition too late, you know, they like oh, my gosh, I'm transitioning, you know, or something dramatic happened where they do have to retire early. And they didn't plan ahead like this is for the service member who wants to explore something different for themselves. They want to redefine who they want to be like, quote, unquote, when they grow up in their post military life, and what we do as a company at us, but wealth is help you align, like who you want to be when you grow up, or align your finances with who you want to be when you grow up. So for us, it's really important, like we've produced so much content and articles and blogs, and especially this book about it, because the way that we talk about financial planning is very different from our civilian counterparts, who typically talk about financial planning for retirement. And as you know, Christina, a lot of us, a lot of our military family members, when they retire, they're still pretty young, like even if they served 20 years, they're still late 30s or 40s, maybe mid 40s. If they happen to stay in a little longer, but they're still pretty young, they still have so much life ahead of them. And the traditional financial industry, really tailors toward those who have maybe pursued a corporate job. And a corporate job is not the same as serving in the military. And so you know, we have a whole story like, you know, my husband has been focused on this for the last decade when he transitioned out. And so he knows very intimately what it's like to maybe transition out too soon, and not have a plan for who actually wants to be, and maybe even struggling with the financial planning aspect of it. So, you know, it's a very bold thing that we're doing. We know that some people will look at us with skepticism, and we absolutely welcome it. Because we expect our military community to be skeptical. We expect it. And so that's why we've created so much content to let you know, like, hey, the reason why we're doing this is because we are just like you we know what it was like we've been through that. And if you're really looking to make a mind shift, if you're kind of like, Hey, I love my military benefits. I love my military life. I think I'm about to transition or I want to see if there's any other options out there. I want to make sure that I feel very strongly and adamant and informed. Above all else I feel informed about the decisions I've made so far. But I want more I want to make sure that I highly recommend that you check out veteran wealth secrets because it'll at least get you to be aware of other options out there for you that may actually be better for you. Again, it's not for everyone, but we want to at least push that resource in that piece of education out there for our veterans, military spouses and families. And yeah, that's the biggest thing that we've been pushing for really this week so far. And when we did the pre launch Christina, we already had, what is it, we had over, I think 200 people download the book. And then when we did the special, we had an additional 100 people download the book. And very quickly on Amazon, we became a best seller, we became number one in financial services topic and other things. And so you know, we're hustling really hard, because we know that we have a powerful message, we know that this is something that could really help people. And so far, we're just really happy to hear the feedback. And really, there's just the number of downloads so far for our book. Yeah, cuz I know,

: 20:44

I downloaded my copy after an episode, remind me what episode it was with you and your husband. And he was talking about just finance in general. And I love how you both are on the same page, like you guys are going back and forth. And you both were partners in this. And that's what really got me thinking about, Okay, let's look up us that well, and learn about all that is going on there. And I found the copy, I think it was on Linked In. That's where I downloaded it through social media there. And I told my husband who's really into finance and like, Okay, we need to read this through this is important. And I have not, you know, financially savvy, was able to digest what you guys were saying, I still have a lot to learn. But it was something that I could look at and say, Okay, I can handle this, I can use this as a resource. Yeah, so it was fantastic. And that's why I love your podcast. And I love what's going on with your business. And just so many exciting things. And I know we talked about doing a lot more collaboration working together with you, as well as your husband, I talked with him, I really would love to feature his book on the IML book chat, I'm almost read. So we definitely will be doing that. And then also, I know we talked about partnering and working together to promote a wonderful veteran programs, we're talking about veterans, and transitioning for veterans in hospice. And that's through veteran last patrol. That's a wonderful nonprofit that I'm working with veterans, helping veterans, and it's with veterans who are towards the end of their life. And I think it's just a beautiful altogether message that we are here for veterans who maybe are still active, as well as ones that are transitioning out of the military, and now ones that have served our country and still need us. So I'm so excited. So we want to talk a little bit about that.

Jen Amos: 22:49

Yeah, I mean, we're more than happy to support and help spread the word and see what we can do on our end, you know, even personally to help write some letters. So I mean, we're following your lead, Christina. But I'm just so excited. I feel like our friendship kind of happened almost immediately, I think when you meet people who already have that go give her heart and you can tell and you already see the work that they're doing, you just kind of already know, intuitively and quickly, that like this is someone that I want to chat with this is someone I want to sort of dive into the deep end already. And you know, see what good work we can do together. And that's kind of how I operate. And maybe that's just the military thing. It's like, hey, like, we don't have time to vet everyone. So you have to get smart at it, you know, you have to get a lot smarter, you have to kind of like know what you want in your friendships and connections. And so very quickly, I just knew that our goals really aligned. And I think that when you find someone like that it's important to band together because you know, all ships rise with the tide. And the more people know about your stuff, and the more people know about our stuff, I think it just kind of creates this positive reality for our military families to know that they have just an abundance of information and resources. And above all else, community, you know, to again, and this is going back to the whole feeling seen, heard validated, and knowing that they can seek out that help, and there's so many different ways they can seek out help. And so I'm just happy to have met you. And I'm so grateful to be part of your slack. And again, I'm just really excited about it. And I'm so glad that we had a chance to connect and I look forward to you know, seeing what else we can do together.

: 24:29

Yeah. Oh, of course. And then just for everybody else. Where can people find you on social media and online?

Jen Amos: 24:35

Yeah, I would say I have like a lot of links. So I think the best place to find me right now is visit the website holding down the fort podcast.com It's a long title, but it's easy to spell I imagine holding down the forts podcast.com and actually scroll to the very bottom you'll see my bio there and like all my social media so you can find me on like Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, you can even find my is no website where I give you the latest updates on what I've been up to and stuff like that. So it just all starts with that website holding down the fort. Calm.

: 25:09

Oh, that's wonderful. Yeah, I have it up right now it's very easy to navigate and has all the episodes there. So thank you so much. I hate to part but it's been a really fun Friday night. Other than Netflix, right?

Jen Amos: 25:23

Yeah, I mean, we'll probably still watch Netflix, but hey, at least you got something like sort of productive in the way. And, you know, to our listeners who are joining us live, my friend was Lee's saying hi, and also Jason. So hi, guy. I just I just noticed like a staff pop up. But yeah, yeah, thank you again, so much for just doing this with me this evening. Obviously, you could have done other things, but to take this time to have that go give her heart and provide the space for me to talk about what I'm doing. I just want to thank you and you know, to everyone else, like Be on the lookout for Christina has a conversation with us at holding down the fort. Her episode will be coming out soon. So I will definitely have all that marketing material for you to share. Christina. So again, thank you. This is great. I've had so much fun tonight.

: 26:07

Oh good. Awesome. Well, thank you everyone for tuning in. And we'll talk soon my