You need to go talk to his recruiter now and get real facts. It seems like you are only understanding a partial amount of what they are telling you about military benefits.
First of all. Stay home wherever home is right now until he is 100% done with boot camp AND ';A'; school. You cannot move with him UNTIL he gets to his first command. Chances are about 95% that he will go to a ship. HE needs to make sure that he will not be deploying shortly after he gets to his ship. IF he does you and your children will be left all alone in a new town without knowing alll the things you will need to know about the Navy to survive without lots of issues.
Next the Navy will pay a fixed amount for housing. It is called BAH. It is based on his paygrade and the zip code of his command. DO NOT move into any apartment or even base housing until you know exactly how much you will get paid for BAH and how much ALL the bills will be. E1 pay and BAH is not very much and many families go out and buy new cars and live way beyond their means and end up in a lot of trouble. Base housing is now privatized and in most cases costs WAY more than it does to live out in town.
Money for food. That money is only $270 and he will ONLY get that pay for HIMSELF IF he is not on a ship. IF he is on a ship that money goes to the ship to feed him on the ship not to him or to the family.
The Navy does not help you pay your bills except to pay your husband. The Navy is not welfare in anyway, but he will be a lot better off in the Navy as far as pay and benefits go compared to his civilian life, but that will take time.
Also his base pay will be $100 less for one year as he pays for his GI Bill. Go ask the recruiter for a pay chart and figure out what money he will really be getting per month for the first year.
Being an E1-E3 new recruit in the Navy is very hard and even more so the first year when you have to support a family also.
Go talk to his recruiter now before you get into trouble due to your lack of or incorrect information.Soon to be a Navy wife and looking for advice on what happens when he joins.ex: paper work, houseing?
I sent you an email. Don't worry about what some dumb idiots say like Richard hes mad cuz no one wants to marry him !lol
You do get BAH or navy housing if wanted if available. As far as debt, they offer financial counseling.
WELCOME ABOARD WIFE MATE!!!!!!!! You can go to military.com and find out his base pay. If you know where he is gonna be stationed most have their own website so you can check things out. Don't let persons negativity get you worried. Call me if you want to know more. I can explain alot more.
well, if youlive on base, then the housing is free...well, kind of.
your husband will get something called BAH, which is his housing allowance. let's say it's $1000/month. (it's based off rank). so, if you live on base, then his entire BAH will go to your house. that pays for the house, electric, water, sewer, trash, etc. the only bills you will have are any incidentals, like cable, internet, cell phone...
now, if you choose to live off base, then you will get to keep that $1000/month and use it towards rent and utilities, but anything over that $1000/month, you are responsible for. so, if your rent is $1200/month, then, you ahve to cough up the extra $200/month and all of your bills.
as for food...that's on you. you buy your groceries, etc. now, hubby does get something called BAS. it's kind of like some food money, but that will most likely get taken away if he deploys.
example:
my husband is deployed to japan. they took his BAS away and gave him a food card to use in the chow hall. so, his paycheck got reduced, but then we recieve seperation pay, so it balances out.
if hubby deploys, then you get seperation pay, combat pay (if it's combat zone, like iraq, kuwait, even the waters over there, if he's in a boat (aircraft carrier)).
he will receive more money for each dependent, so that helps, but jsut getting started with a family will be tough....i recommend you get a job, too and really make your maoney work for you.
get rid of a car, if you can, and keep the one with the lowest interest rate, so someone can take the other to and from work etc.
make a list before going to the store so you know what you need and you're not getting stuff you'll never use.
just be money smart.
as for helping with debt.
he can get some financial planning assistance, but they don't make your debt disappear. there's a family in my husband's squadron who can't live within their means and his master sergeant sat down and made a budget for them, but he still can't stick to it!
that looks bad.
now, there are groups that can help, like if your washing machine breaks, then they can help you get a new one, but you still end up paying them back...just no interest.
you get to shop at the comissary and exchange. that means, tax free groceries and usually cheaper prices. the exchange has a home layaway plan where you can buy, say a washer and dryer and take it home that day and then pay on it every month.
if you don't pay, then they just take it out of your husband's check...so don't mess with them!
tricare is your insurance carrier.
basically, all medical is paid for. once he is enlisted, thn you will go through an enrollment into tricare. you will talk with a rep at the local naval hospital and ask any questions you may have.
like, all your medical is paid for, but you will need referrals to any specialists. if there isn't a specialist at the hosiptal, like a neurologist, then you will be referred to one in town, etc.
vision covers 1 exam per year, but not glasses or contacts.
dental does 1 cleaning per 6 months.
etc.
my biggest recommendation....get involved and if your husband doesn't know the answer, then FIND OUT!!!
uncle sam doesn't care about you...just him, so memorize his SS#, b/c you will need it for everything.
make friends with your neighbors, you might not love them, but they will hopefully, be there to lean on if you're in a jam.
invite your husband's buddies over for dinners and their spouses or girlfriends. try to be outgiong and meet people b/c if he deploys, you will get lonely and fast!
the deployments can be hard, but if your marriage is strong and you have a good support at home, then you'll be fine.
i hope that helps.
oh, and as far as getting into housing. once he has a duty station (orders to a certain base), then you just show up and get a house! seriously. we're moving to FL at end of year and we will pack the truck (i like to move ourselves, called a DITY (do it yourself) move b/c you can make a lot of money with it....we'll make about $5,000 with this move) and drive there and as long as it's between 7am and 4pm (housing's hours) they will tell us what's available and we'll get a house!
hope that helps.
take care:)
p.s.
i don't know if you live with your parents, right now, but i have a friend that just married her marine and he deployed, so she moved home with mom and dad and collects that $1000.month in BAH as profit.
us military wives get very good at figuring out the money ins and outs.
oh, and seek out wives that have been around longer. even if you don't care for them, they are still an asset when you have questions.
P.P.S.
if you're just looking at the financials of it...joint eh air force. they have waaaaaay better pay and housing and everything!
the air force gets the most funding and therefore the best benefits.
we took a trip to atlanta once and stayed on an air force base and all of us wives kept telling our husbands to join the AF b/c they had better houses, etc.
we were kidding, of course:)....well, kind of:) !
I agree with Navy Sailor and Joey to a point. My disagreement with Navy Sailor is that some A schools are long enough to qualify for a move. I highly recommend moving with him whenever you can. Of course it will depend on your kids and sometimes it's not worth it to move them for a 6 month school.
My disagreement with Joey is don't just show up at your base and expect to get housing. I'm in Groton and there will be times that the housing office or GMH (or housing management company) won't have anyone free to talk to you. It's best if you can make an appointment and find out if you can fax any paperwork ahead to make things faster. And by all means bring the originals in with you because sometimes paperwork goes astray. Oh, and you don't get more money for each dependent. You get a higher housing allowance (BAH) if you have dependents but that's about it and it's the same whether you have only a spouse or a spouse and 5 kids.
Other than that the usual course is boot camp and then training schools and then a command. If it's a boat or ship that goes to sea you really want to make contact with the Ombudsman and Family Readiness Group.
The Ombudsman is a spouse who the command has accepted as a volunteer to be their go between with the other spouses. Ombudsmen usually get training in how the Navy works so that they can help you figure out where you need to go to get your questions answered.
The Family Readiness Group is also spouses supporting each other. I've found some of my best friends through my FRG's so I highly recommend them.
Every base I've been to has classes to help with things like car buying, budgeting, debt... as well as classes like Navy 101 that cover how the Navy works and what all the letters (FRG, PSD, NEX...) mean and sometimes classes like COMPASS which covers things to do at that specific base and the surrounding area. The Fleet and Family Support Center at your base should have more information on that.
To get your first ID card and arrange your first move you may have to use the base nearest you no matter what the branch is. I got my first ID from the Army in El Paso, TX and arranged the move through the Air Force at Holloman Air Base in NM.
Don't be afraid to ask questions until you understand things. Sometimes the people you ask have heard the question from every new wife who comes in but that doesn't change the fact that this is new to you. Keep asking until they do their job and help you understand.
He wasn't ';issued'; a wife, and it's not the Navy's responsibility to pay for one.
you'll be getting a divorce in no time. I'm willing to bet the marriage won't last through his first term.
No comments:
Post a Comment