Will I Be Financially Okay?

Question

My Future Husband (I'll Be Getting Married In June) is A E-3 And Is Staioned At Ft. Campbell, KY (Yay!) We Plan On Getting Housing There On Base And I Will Be Getting A Job As Soon As I Arrive, Alone On What He Makes Will We Be Able To Make it (With Buying Everything that Goes Into A New House , And All The Other Expenses)??

Answer 1

If you try to buy everything you need and want all at once you're probably going to be in a world of hurt very very quickly.

But if you're careful and prioritize what you really need you should be OK. It may take some time to get everything but you won't be killing yourselves paying interest if you can keep your spending in check. If you have the option you might ask your family and friends to think about what you need for a new home when they're buying wedding gifts.

You also might want to check on Yahoo Groups or MySpace or anywhere else you network on the Internet to see if there are groups for military spouses in the Fr Campbell area. I know my local group will often offer household goods to the group first when we replace stuff. A friend just got rid of her old couch and love seat that way and the newly married couple have something that still looks nice until they can afford to buy new themselves. You might also find useful items for free on a freecycle group. http://www.freecycle.org/

http://www.ftcampbellfh.com/ It doesn't look like Ft. Campbell has any information about waiting lists on their housing website. Some bases we've been to we had to get housing in town because of long (think 18 months) waits to get into housing while others have none. You should be able to use the links (or your fiances should until you're married) to find out how long the average wait is. And it looks like Ft. Campbell is moving towards the servicemember paying their own utilities based on actual usage. There is a link on the website that explains the plan.

Answer 2

You can live, but you're going to have to be incredibly careful. Don't count on base housing until they hand you the keys.

Don't use credit for anything. I'm serious. You have to understand, the stores outside the base that offer credit for everybody "E-1 & Up!!!" are not your friends. The car dealers outside the base offering easy credit are not your friends. The Rent-A-Center is not your friend.

You have no "right" to the same standard of living it took your parents 30 years to achieve.

Buy with cash and shop the yard and garage sales. Drive an old car.

Take the classes offered at the family center on budgeting and credit traps.

Don't get pregnant until he's at least an E-5, preferably an E-6. You cannot afford, no-way, no-how a kid.

You've got a lot of great advice so far from people who have been here and done it. Listen to what they have to say.

Answer 3

Probably not.

E3 pay is not enough to support a two or more person family. You will probably need to find a job. You might even really want to get a job because being a soldier's wife can get extremely boring and lonely...having an outlet like a job can really help you out.

Do not expect to get on base housing until you know for sure...if you don't get housing, you will get quarters pay, but it is not much.

My wife and I got married at 19 and I was an E3 as well, but I was also in flight school and became a warrant officer shortly thereafter.

Even as a W1 we barely made by until she got a job. Start off slowly and don't expect much...be VERY careful with credit and pay advances. Try your best to buy quality used items, and not get taken in by new stuff on credit...you will move frequently and good new stuff will get damaged and it may not even be fully paid for...if you got good used stuff that gets damaged it won't hurt as much.

Best thing to do is buy a good bed and use it :-) Also get three forms of birth control: pill, condoms and spermicide and USE them until you are ready for children (say around E5 if he stays in) you dont want to try to feed another mouth on your combined income.

Oh yeah, if you go overseas (germany most likely) they will have furniture and housing accessories for you to use...if you want. Don't buy until you know what is happening in his career. If he gets deployed, it might make a lot of sense to move back home with your parents and save as much money as you possibily can...

As the others have said...Good Luck

Answer 4

Been there, but I did have a good job and it really helped. We also had "planned" on getting base housing, but it took over a year to get on base, so we had to rent an apartment (we did get a housing allowance). Stick to the bare necessities and "go out" as little as possible, even though it will be hard. If you need a ton of household stuff, check out the thrift store on base, as many transferring families donate a ton of good stuff that they just don't want to move. Meet some of the enlisted wives because they can also be a great resource. Good luck to you both!

Answer 5

That would depend on your standard of living. For example, an E-3 under 2 years of service, regardless of the branch of service makes $1534 a month in base pay. That is taxable, but that would depend on the number of dependents or exemptions that they claim on their W-4. In addition, the military person would get Separate Rations Allowance, which I believe is around $225 a month, but that is not taxable. If you live in Base Housing (not guaranteed) which is dependent on your rank, availability, and size of household, you can also go to the Base organization (each branch of the service has their own name) in the Air Force it was the "Attic", where people would give unwanted furniture, dishes, etc to the Attic for use by other families. So, yes, you could live on that salary, if that is what your standard of living is. If on the other hand, you have to go out to dinner every night, go clubbing, drive a corvette etc., then, no, probably not. I've attached a website address that you can go to, to see what each rank makes, depending on the number of years of service. In addition, it might serve as an incentive for you to help your husband get promotions and increase his earning potential. The website is:

http://www.dod.mil/dfas/militarypay/2006militarypaytables.html

Hope that answers your question. By the way, if you do get base housing, the electric/water/sewage/gas are included. If for some reason, you don't get base housing, there is a housing allowance that you can get, which is also non-taxable.

Answer 6

I married my soldier 15 years ago when he was an E-2 stationed in Hawaii. We made it. he is still in and now-a days even with two incomes, it is hard. You really have to watch your spending and get only the necessities. Allow time to do its trick. As he gets promoted and they do quickly, you'll be able to build your inner house and more. Good Luck. Stay Strong, Military Wives Rock!!!!

Answer 7

Baby it's hard out there to say the least. The pay sucks totally. Get a job, go to school, and save money. And please, don't even start having children yet, you guys have a lifetime!!! I was a military wife for 15 years. Needless to say, I divorced him. The militay life is a damn hard one. Id say, 75 % of the marrages don't make it. It aint a fun life at all. Good luck. IT ain;t a party!

Answer 8

it will be very hard. keep in mind housing has a waiting list. higher ranks get housing first as do those with children good luck

Answer 9

As long as you stick to the necessities, and not the luxuries.

Answer 10

Yes
Just buy 'need to have' and not 'must have'