Lt.
Commander Bill Goss, USN (Ret) is an internationally
known speaker and author. Enlisting in 1974,
Bill worked on underwater weapons in Europe
for the U.S. Navy until he was discharged
as a Mineman Second Class in 1977. A former New Jersey Golden Glove boxer, Bill was also the light-heavy weight boxing champion at the U.S. Naval Air Stations in Pensacola, Corpus Christi, and Jacksonville. After his enlisted tour of duty, Bill attended
Rutgers University on the GI Bill and earned
an MBA from the Southern New Hampshire University. Bill graduated Aviation Officer
Candidate School in Pensacola, Florida, and
earned his Navy Wings of Gold the following
year in Corpus Christi, Texas.
As a P-3
Orion pilot, Bill flew missions against
Soviet submarines in the North and South Atlantic
and Mediterranean and deployed to a very wide
variety of sites around the world. He became
an instructor pilot in the T-44 Pegasus and
then the Assistant Navigator of the nuclear
aircraft carrier, USS Carl Vinson, deploying
throughout the Pacific from the Vinson's homeport
in the San Francisco Bay area. Bill and his
family returned to the east coast where he
flew P-3 Orions and a variety of other aircraft
while working for the admiral at NAS Jacksonville.
While there, Bill was diagnosed with a rare
form of cancer called amelanotic malignant
melanoma, had surgery, and retired from the
Navy. Bill is the author of The Luckiest
Unlucky Man Alive: A Wild Ride Overcoming
Life's Greatest Challenges -- And How You
Can Too. His second book, published by
Simon and Schuster's newest hardcover imprint,
Atria Books, is titled There's a Flying
Squirrel in My Coffee: Overcoming Cancer With
the Help of My Pet.
Bill is a contributing writer to many other
books including the New York Times bestseller,
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul.
Bill's life story has been featured on national
and international radio shows, and in publications
such as the Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles
Times, New Jersey Star Ledger, The Dallas
Morning News, The St. Petersburg Times,
and Maxim Magazine.
A motivational and inspirational speaker,
Bill is featured every month on the Discovery
Channel's Animal Planet. Bill's mailing address
is:
Bill Goss International
P.O. Box 7060
Orange Park, FL 32073
A friend of mine, Barry Sand, has a rather unique resume. Barry was the first producer of the David Letterman show. Through that show and many other TV related comedy venues, Barry became friends with many of the top comics of the 70s, 80s, and 90s. He included the great funnyman John Candy (now deceased) as one of his best buddies. When I discovered that Barry Sand was a huge fan of the military, especially airplanes and everything related to aviation history, I knew I'd have to get him inside the gates of the nearby Jacksonville Naval Air Station to put him into the cockpit of some actively flying Navy aircraft. It proved to be an experience which Barry absolutely loved, thanks to the warm generosity of the Skipper of Patrol Squadron Sixteen, Commander Chuck Hollingsworth. This airplane cockpit tour had been preceded by a meeting with Mr. Patrick Dooling, the Public Affairs Officer Extraordinaire of the Navy Region Southeast, ably commanded by Rear Admiral Annette Brown. As usual, my old friend Patrick proved to be very helpful, suggesting that we also visit with Captain David Faraldo, USN (Ret) and now the Director of the Jacksonville Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society which provides educational and financial assistance to military families.
Barry Sand is now a professor at Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, where he teaches a class on how to write TV sitcoms. He brought with him Donna Webb, a professor he works with at Flagler. One of the many student projects they head up involves writing and developing comedic financial cliff notes for the twenty-something crowd. Their imaginative students have created some very useful money saving tips and ideas that I think would be helpful to sailors and soldiers to save money. So here's a top 5 list of great money saving tips designed to keep your hard-earned money from going AWOL:
Number Five: Don't let your car drive you to the poorhouse. Just follow these simple rules, and you'll be the master of your mileage.
Keep your tires fully inflated. Low tire pressure means low fuel efficiency. Tighten your gas cap to prevent gas from evaporating from the tank.
Clean the junk out of your trunk. Weight is the enemy of gas mileage.
Tighten your gas cap to prevent gas from evaporating from the tank.
Buy gas in the morning. The afternoon heat causes gas to expand, and you get less for your money.
Don't speed. The higher the speed, the fewer miles per gallon.
Avoid quick starts and sudden stops.
Don't start your car until you're ready to leave. Idling for just two minutes uses enough gas to drive for two miles.
Use the air conditioning only when needed. Air conditioning greatly reduces your fuel economy.
Shop for gas by price not brand. All brands must meet the same government regulations.
Only 6% of all cars require premium gas. So stay regular, and you'll get super savings.
Our enthusiastic VP-16 P-3 Orion tour guides: LTJG Kate Meuff, LCDR Steve Schmidt, and LT Josh Guerre.
And the number one way to save money: Don't be an insurance policy pushover. If you're the kind of guy who can't purge the urge to splurge on unnecessary car rental insurance policies, extended warranties, or flight insurance, you are an insurance policy pushover.
Credit card loss protection. Totally unnecessary. Federal Law limits your loss to $50. No matter how much a criminal puts on your card, you won't lose your house of life savings.
Life Insurance. It's ok to buy it from an insurance company; it's not ok to buy it from a credit card company's solicitation or a mortgage company. If you're worried about dying and having your family stuck with mortgage payments, buy a term-life policy direct from and insurance company. It will cost a lot less.
Movers insurance. Not worth it. According to Bottom Line Magazine, it's based on weight, not value of goods carried. Movers are not responsible for more than 60 cents a pound for interstate moves. Less for instate ones. So if you're moving, just get a rider on your home owner's policy.
We hope that this First Aid for Your Wallet is that weapon you've been looking for and that you'll put it to good use.
The above Savings Ideas for Soldiers and Sailors were brought to you from Flagler College Students in Free Enterprise in association with the Sam Walton Free Enterprise Fellows.
