What kind of cost to you incur when your in the military?

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Permalink Reply by Connie on August 1, 2009 at 5:29pm

my son left for BC in May 2008. For sure he will not need a car in BC then on to "A" school. At this point in his Navy career it would be best to wait until he knows where he will be assigned. My son went to "A" school in Great Lakes and a car was not needed. He is now stationed in Little Creek, Virginia and we live in North Myrtle Beach,SC. My husband and I had an extra car when Steven left for the Navy and gave it to him to use while he is in LC training. He too wants to buy a car, but we talked him out of it right now because he will be deploying and no use paying for a car he cannot use. My suggestion for your son is to wait until he is settled at a home base and all his naval training is completed.

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Permalink Reply by WSADJA on August 1, 2009 at 5:37pm

"Traveling light" is the smartest way to go - by far. There are several quick moves (usually) along the way and IF you can't move something like a vehicle yourself, the vehicle shipping expense might have to be paid by the sailor (or, handled by the family of the sailor). The "money" our sailor made while in bootcamp went to reimbursing the Navy for his uniforms for weeks and weeks. He saw virtually no income during most of the bootcamp period, if I remember right. We laughed about it (workin' really hard for lunch money), but he decided he wanted the nicer/warmer jackets, etc., and was willing to pay to get the duds he wanted. Moves between bases can easily be 1,000 - 2,000+ miles apart, or overseas. Imagine the expense of getting a vehicle from place to place each move. We took a 17 year old (running) car to our son, when he came to the point in Navy schooling that he was allowed a car. We told him that he could sell it, or give it away when he was done there, since it probably wouldn't be worth transporting (but, would give him wheels if he ever needed to drive home or go on a weekend getaway). Since most sailors don't know where they'll be assigned ahead of time, it's pretty likely that the truck will be an expensive luxury at points along the way. The more valuable the car, the more he'll feel pressured to ship-it to the next location. Just some thoughts to ponder. On note I read on "Navy Moms" said, her daughter's first assignment was .... Japan! (That would be an expensive vehicle ship)!

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Permalink Reply by WSADJA on August 1, 2009 at 5:50pm

One more thing, when a bunch of sailors get off duty about the same time (and they don't have much free time), they frequently share cabs. Our son would frequently share a cab with 2, 3, or 4 other sailors to get to town for a few hours (especially over the weekends). In some A's schools, the sailors can not have cars for several months, and if they have cars are not allowed to use them (would not be able to drive them off or back-on base). That's a lot of wasted car payments and insurance money - compared to some of the (low) starting salaries when the sailors are just starting out. At my son's A school, the cabs had a booming business, but it was manageable expense because the guys chipped in and found a way to get off base for awhile.

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Permalink Reply by Erin on August 2, 2009 at 11:23am

let him buy at car at his perminet duty station....the military wont give him bills...its only what he takes on.

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Permalink Reply by AKCorpsmanMom on August 3, 2009 at 1:28am

I suggest as a prior service member (USN) and now a mom of sailor and now work for CS Squadrin for the AF with many new Airman from Tech school...I would not advise it until your son fully knows where he will be stationed and what he will be doing for a while. I would suggest to bank some cash then buy a truck so the loan is small. If he is young insurance will be costly esp in CA. Too weekends are expensive...If he remains on base the cost are min but when you on liberty it can be costly (food, enertainment, a room). When you are E-1 or E-2 one's wages are only 1, 200 month (clear after taxes), which equates to 600/week. So factor in general expense of gas, insurnce, general expences of toliteries, cell phone, etc. If he is on a ship buy one after he returns from his deployment. Getting into debt is frowned upon by leadership (esp in the Army, Yes, I have also worked for the Army at FRA ) and not good if he defaults on their loan. If really he does want a truck then have him talk to a credit counsolor on base. Also one has to be careful to get in debt for they will pull your clearance if you go above your means and that is not good if you are in a rate that requires secuity clearance. They have no tolerance and it will not look good on your military record. So I highly suggest Public Transportation is the best solution until your son is grounded and knows clearly where his direction maybe.
Dixie.

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Permalink Reply by ElizaN on August 3, 2009 at 12:10pm

Personally, I don't think it s a good idea to buy a car before leaving for BC. He should enlist first and see how it goes. Recruits receive financial orientation and through the Navy Federal Credit Union he can build his credit. He is going to spend there 8 to 9 weeks, then he is going to A School, where? probably he doesn't know yet. During the frst 4 weeks of A school sailors are not allowed to drive. Probably he doesn't know yet his payment rate either. His first check comes about the 4th week in BC and deductions for uniforms and personal expenses are not small. As said, this is my personal opinion.

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Permalink Reply by Renee (Kinzey) Div 944 on August 3, 2009 at 8:43pm

well, I know they have to buy their own uniforms.

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Permalink Reply by Lady Hamilton on August 11, 2009 at 2:26am

Again, your Sailor gets a standard annual uniform allowance of $662.40 for males, $658.80 for females, usually paid on their enlistment anniversary.

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Permalink Reply by Debbie (Stephen's mom) on August 3, 2009 at 9:25pm

My son never wanted to take his truck with him. They don't make that much and they do have to pay for things. Uniforms are very expensive and they (Navy) take the money right out of their checks. When my son went to P-Cola he did a lot of walking and now he is in Italy and does not want a car the insurance is very high and he does just fine. He also pays for internet and food and he puts money away for savings. And yes my son pays for his own cell phone. He has no bills when he left home, but the sailors do have to pay for things.

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Permalink Reply by vt8505 on August 3, 2009 at 10:22pm

Jill,
This is a very good question and more parents should ask it of or for their children who are on their way to becoming Sailors. Let me briefly tell you about myself, I am retired from the Navy after 20 years and I spent the last three years of my career as a recruiter and fielded lots of questions from parents of young enlistees. First, I can say that through out my 20 year career I met a lot of young sailors new to the Navy that wanted to buy new cars with all that great pay they were getting from the Navy every two weeks! I can tell you that when your son gets to his training school and then to his first duty station that he will go through an Indoctrination and he will be counseled on his pay and about buying a new or used car right away. I was stationed in San Diego for 13 years and I heard many stories from young sailors about how they had car payments they couldn't afford because they were either enticed into buying without any history of credit or they just thought they could afford it. What they didn't do was pay attention to the 30 - 36% interest rate on their loans from those places that catered to someone without a credit history or they didn't for see that after taxes and rent and any other bills they may have, that they didn't always have the money to make a payment.

While your son is in BC he will only be getting basic pay and he won't have any bills to speak of other than his uniforms, which will come out of his pay from the start. Yes, you are issued all your uniforms, but you must pay for them so he won't have a whole lot of money the first couple of months. After bc he will receive what is called "anniversary pay" which is money he is allotted every year in the month he joined the Navy. This is where that benefit is worth the money because if you take care of your uniforms you shouldn't have to buy that many new ones, but you still get that extra allowance every year. Also when he is at school/training he will be allowed to have a car but you or Dad may very well be the ones taking it to him, because he may not have the time to go home and drive it back himself. I always told the young people I sent off to BC to save, save and save more their first year to two years in the Navy and if they truly needed a car to wait until they got to their first duty station, because if he ends up over in Europe or Japan he may not be able to take his truck with him and then he is stuck with a truck in storage somewhere or at home AND the payments without ever really getting to drive it! Besides if ends up overseas he may be able to find a decent car that another sailor is selling because they are returning to the State side.

I hope this helps you and your son.

Val

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Permalink Reply by Jill-B-Man'sMom on August 4, 2009 at 8:20am

Thank you Val for the infor- my son's recruiter told him :"Hey go get the truck since you have no other bills, you can afford the payment!"- Well needless to say we had WWIII & IIII in our house last weekend! So that is when I decided to ask for advise from others who had been there. Parents don't seem to know ANYTHING!! HA- I have made my son reads these replies & we have all calmed down and he had a reality check and pretty much understands now! Everything is much better and hopefully he will stay on track when he can't have his parents yelling at him! :)

Much Thanks,
Jill

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Permalink Reply by Lady Hamilton on August 11, 2009 at 2:34am

Once more, your sailors are given an allowance for uniforms, therefor clothing is NOT an out of pocket expense.
Read about it here: CLOTHING ALLOWANCES

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