EDUCATION
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CFP® Exam Mission Readiness: My Top Seven Resources as a Military Veteran Turned Student Advisor
By Ian J. Gates
“Mission Readiness” is a principle the U.S. Army tattooed on my brain during my almost 10 years of service. Most everything I did in uniform was somehow oriented toward cultivating the ability to perform my duties under stressful conditions—be it target practice with my rifle, doing countless pushups, or participating in headquarters staff exercises simulating enemy invasions.
Now, as I transition into the financial services industry, here are seven educational resources I’ve found useful—not just in preparing for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) exam—but for the real-life work of helping clients be ready for the financial goals that matter to them. And even if you aren’t one of my fellow newcomers to the Fee-Only advising career field, I encourage you to consider these tools as part of your ongoing professional development.
1. Veteran Scholarship from The American College
As Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” This advice is applicable to anyone facing a career change or new endeavor. While I was in the process of separating from the military, I applied to The American College of Financial Services, and I’m grateful the school’s Center for Military and Veteran Affairs chose to award me a full scholarship.
To date, I’ve completed all seven of the online courses required to sit for the CFP® exam, and I’ve greatly benefited from the curriculum’s content quality and schedule flexibility. Therefore, I’m planning to use my remaining GI Bill benefits to earn two additional designations they offer: Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®) and Chartered Special Needs Consultant (ChSNC®).
2. The Amplified Planning Externship with Hannah Moore
Everyone wants to hire experience but as Daniel Yerger, CFP®, once pointed out on LinkedIn, this understandable tendency has created an unfortunate bottleneck in the market for jobs at Fee-Only RIA firms. A healthy job market has a roughly triangle-shaped distribution of positions, i.e., many entry-level jobs, fewer journeyman roles, and just a handful of executive openings. However, as of 2024, we have a “pine tree-shaped” distribution in our profession—a huge demand for candidates with two to three years under their belts but a comparative lack of the apprentice/novice jobs necessary to get such experience in the first place.
Enter Hannah Moore, CFP®, and the Amplified Planning Externship. This program has provided me and thousands of my peers with hands-on “first rodeo” experiences through practical exercises using recordings of real client interviews and copies of authentic documents (like IRA account statements). Hannah’s team has also provided us with access to (and homework using) industry-standard software tools like eMoney, Redtail, and Asset Map. Completing the program even credits a student advisor with 500 experience hours that can count toward their CFP® designation, and 180 for the AFC® (Accredited Financial Counselor) credential.
3. MilMoneyCon
In a business greatly driven by interpersonal relationships and staying current on the latest legal, economic, and technological trends, attending conferences and symposia is vital. As a student advisor, it's also a fantastic way to demonstrate the kind of professional dedication you need to get job interviews.
Founded by Lacey Langford, AFC®, in 2021, MilMoneyCon is the premier annual gathering of financial counselors, advisors, and other professionals inside (or adjacent to) the military community. I had a blast at the 2024 conference in Denver and look forward to attending the next one in San Antonio, Texas.
But why does this niche exist? Because we’re kind of “weird” (and proud of it). Less than 1% of the adult U.S. population ever serves in uniform, and because of certain difficulties (like deployments) we face in the course of military service, Congress and state governments alike have chosen to make certain financial laws apply to us differently.
For example, while the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 suspended deducting unreimbursed employee moving expenses (for most taxpayers) from 2018 to 2025, many military members who relocate due to their service, i.e., PCS moves, can still take said deduction for reasonable costs. Suffice to say, if you’re part of a military family but don’t have a financial expert who’s familiar with the lifestyle, you could wind up leaving a lot of money on the table.
4. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program
Speaking of financial laws—while that star-spangled banner still waves, the U.S. Treasury will expect Americans to file their taxes. To that end, the IRS issues grants to local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs so households with under $64,000 of adjusted gross income (AGI) can file more easily.
VITA programs offer aspiring financial professionals like me real-world experience providing services while giving back to the community. This past tax season, I volunteered 100 hours at a local clinic sponsored by Lamar University, doing intake interviews and preparing basic returns under the supervision of an Enrolled Agent.
One of the most heart-wrenching conversations I had while volunteering at VITA was explaining, in Spanish, to a client that she would not be getting the tax refund she was counting on to make ends meet. As a former teacher of English as a Second Language (ESL), helping people achieve literacy—including financial fluency—is an important part of my personality.
5. The “Dinero en Español” (Money in Spanish) Podcast
While my family is mostly Anglo-American, I have a deep love for the Hispanic community. I grew up in a substantially Latino neighborhood just outside of New York City and have a master’s in Spanish from Villanova University. And like military families, Hispanic people in America are an underserved group.
As of 2021, the U.S. has the second largest population of Spanish speakers in the world—more than any other nation (except Mexico). And while approximately 13% of the U.S. population currently speaks Spanish (a percentage expected to at least double by 2050), as of 2024, only 3.1% of CFP® professionals identify as Latino and/or Hispanic.
Therefore, I greatly enjoy listening to the “Dinero en Español” podcast, hosted by Miguel Gomez, CFP®. Even if you are fluent in a foreign language, it's easy to get caught flat-footed when you’re asked to use your second tongue in a new context. For example, the week after I published an academic paper in Spanish, I remember feeling quite foolish on the phone while trying to explain to a mechanic what was wrong with my car!
Thanks to Miguel, I’m now much more comfortable with words like “budget” (presupuesto) and “stocks” (acciones). As an auditory learner and at-home dad, I also love being able to walk the dog, mow the lawn, fix cabinets, and do CrossFit while simultaneously absorbing this new vocabulary and preparing for the CFP® exam.
6. Mometrix Flashcards
When I find myself weary of my Bluetooth earbuds and digital screens, I resort to the printed word. Mometrix CFP® Flashcards are therefore a godsend, helping me by breaking down key concepts into bite-sized pieces.
As I prepare for the rigorous six-hour CFP® exam, I read each card aloud, highlight keywords on said card, and then sort it according to whether it seems “easy,” “moderate,” or “hard.” And to help visually cement the harder concepts in my mind, I even like to draw cartoons in the card margins.
7. My Podcast (#BLUFFbooks—Building, Leading, Understanding Financial Freedom)
To truly understand an idea, you must be able to explain it in layman’s terms. Therefore, I started my own podcast: #BLUFFbooks.
Over the past year, I’ve interviewed numerous authors and industry experts, producing 25 episodes to date. In each 25-minute show, I discuss four or five big ideas from a book related to financial literacy. The goal is to quickly and clearly communicate the main points of these texts, hopefully getting people interested in eventually reading the entire work in question.
The exercise of creating and following a production process has been a fun and challenging way to build confidence and expertise as a relative newcomer to financial education. As Sir Isaac Newton once said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Conclusion
I’ve found these seven resources invaluable as I continue to build a career in financial services. If you’re already a seasoned pro, they may be totally new—or slightly different—compared to what was available back when you earned your CFP® designation.
But whether you’re a current or aspiring Fee-Only advisor, I hope you’ll consider adding these resources to your arsenal (and share them with your mentors/mentees) as you continue the good fight on behalf of your clients.
Ian Gates recently joined a NAPFA-member firm after completing his CFP® coursework. He served in the Army National Guard from 2013 to 2022, including four years active duty, achieving the rank of captain before resigning to focus on raising his kids, supporting his wife’s Coast Guard career, and pursuing this new career path.
image credit: Adobe Stock Images
