Most military families plan around one benefit at a time. The Order Matters shows how they work together. It walks through the Post-9/11 GI Bill, Chapter 35 DEA, the Fry Scholarship, the Yellow Ribbon Program, and state aid like Florida Bright Futures, and it explains the one thing most guides skip: the order you use them in. Used in the right sequence, the same benefits can fund more school, protect months for a master's, and turn a nine-month income stream into a twelve-month one. Plain language, real numbers, and a method you can follow, with the free companion app, College Tool, keeping the math current. Written for the whole military transition: the family planning ahead on active duty, the veteran just out, and the dependent heading to college.