How do people in the military survive on only $15k a year, well after taxes closer to 10..I mean I know they get all those bonuses, but still. If they live on base do they still have to pay bills like electric,water,phone,internet ect..?
2006-11-09 11:46:37 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
single people don't have to pay for housing or food. just the things they want like tv phone and what not.
2006-11-09 11:54:46 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
When you are a single soldier, you live in the barracks. You don't have an electric bill, water bill or anything like that. You also don't have to pay for your food, unless you eat out at a restaurant or something. Married soldiers who choose to live off post with their families have to pay for everything, but they get BAQ and Seperate rations, so they can buy food and the BAQ helps pay for their rent or mortgage. Its still not that much money. Alot of young people, males and females go into the military when they are 18 or 19 years old. $15k is lots of money to them starting out. If you don't have any bills, you can save your money for a car or some nice stereo equipment or whatever you want.
2006-11-09 20:32:33 · answer #2 · answered by ? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I was in the military from 92 till 96, my final year in the service i made 14,000 and i was married with two kids and let me tell u it was rough. We didn't have much but we survived. when i was single living in the barracks we did not have any utility bills only a cable bill but we would splice the line and run it through the heater ducts to other rooms. If you were smart about it and eat at the chow hall for your meals you could have a good amount of money. I would save quit abit and it was a good thing cause having a family in the military is harder then being single. I have a better financial stability out of the service yet i dont regret joining.
2006-11-09 20:03:58 · answer #3 · answered by rcspaint@sbcglobal.net 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's not easy. My husband brings home less than $1600 a month after taxes. When we filed last year, he made $17000. Fortunately, the commissary has great prices for food :0) We've never received a bonus. My husband didn't receive an enlistment bonus at all. We still pay for our phone, cable, internet like evryone else. It's not much to live on after bills and food but you make do. Of course, many military members are on WIC and food stamps to help supplement their very small pay. My husband make a lot more money when he was a civilian but the want to serve was overwhelming for him. It was something he really wanted to do for himself and his country. Anything is bearable as long as you believe it what you are doing!
2006-11-09 21:22:52 · answer #4 · answered by mustangsally76 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Just so you know, an E-2 in boot camp make 37,500 per year if you factor in the benefits. That's a little more than you 15K. Oh, and you are only taxed on Base Pay. Need more infomation, come into a Navy recruiting office and make us prove it to you.
2006-11-09 19:59:19 · answer #5 · answered by spag 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If u live on base then u dont have to pay any utilities. All u have to pay is phone, cable and internet. Thats one of the advantages of living on base. They dont have to pay electric or a water bill.
2006-11-09 20:49:25 · answer #6 · answered by crystal c 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You get allotments that aren't included in that. Also you don't pay 33% in taxes...thank god! ;-) On base you have to pay for your phone, internet,cable etc. (some bases are set up different in how they manage their quarters but basically that's how it ends up) You can survive on that. My husband went in as an E-3.(I can't remember what the pay for that was) We had one child and I got pregnant right after he got back from basic and wasn't able to work b/c of high blood pressure. We managed to make it plus save enough to keep me from working til my daugter was 8 months old. It just takes budgeting and can be tough at times but it can be done.
2006-11-09 19:59:02 · answer #7 · answered by . 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's very tight !! As a Navy E-6 I made $2800 a month after taxes... single, no BAH/VHA, flight pay, SAR pay, Combat-zone pay, Sea Pay...
VERY difficult to live in an area like San Diego, California !! On base you pay no utilities... but you get no BAH
And to those who love to shout about our "Health Care"... yes, it's nice... but it's a joke if you're HEALTHY.
BAH - Bachelors Allowance for Housing
VHA - Variable Housing Allowance (to compensate for differnent housing costs across the country)
2006-11-09 20:36:31 · answer #8 · answered by mariner31 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
if they live on post they have to pay for cable, Internet, and phone bills,, they don't pay rent or utilities, but if they live off post we pay for everything,, the military gives us the money to help out with this, although there are times when it is not enough.and as far as how we live on this amount of money well we have learned to make due with what we have, but can you believe there are people that think we make to much money and want to start taking it away from us. For personal such as my self with children this would be taking food out of there mouths. i hope this helps with your question.
2006-11-09 19:57:37 · answer #9 · answered by redneckmp28 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First of all, you're right, that's not including "bonuses." That's also not including BAH/BAS.
We live on post now. We have to pay for phone and internet and food. That's it.
We get around 2200 a month.
2006-11-09 19:54:16 · answer #10 · answered by The_Cricket: Thinking Pink! 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When I lived on base housing at Fort Bragg,N.C. You only Pay for your telphone and cable. All other Utilities where furnished. If you live off-post they give you BAQ to offset your rent or mortgage but it was never enough and you still pay all utilities. My wife had to work and we qualified for some assistance and WIC.
2006-11-09 22:00:35 · answer #11 · answered by preacherdave 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋