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Comment by Allison on February 8, 2016 at 5:01am

That's crazy! That's where my fiancé is heading and will be doing either FC or ET. If I want him to have power of attorney for me, is it the same deal with the CPC? Also, already being married and in GL...what horror stories, if any, do you have of couples that got married PIR weekend? I've heard they're more strict than others about this. I know they want to protect their sailors from marriage scams and make sure they know all the benefits, but we've been together for a long time and been through a lot of similar things we expect from the Navy while I studied business in France, so it seems ridiculous to think I would be trying to steal his money or he just wants to get BAH, but the Navy doesn't know our whole back story, and we're not super concerned about the benefits because he would prefer to forfeit the BAH to live on base because I was late getting my license, and lived in a country that I couldn't drive the cars if I wanted to, so I'm still trying to get a year accident free under my belt for insurance, and he doesn't want to worry about a car yet ( I think his heart is really set on his dream car, this old ford thing, and he wants to ditch my Prius haha). Plus, I think he has to live on base while in school. I don't need his GI Bill because I'm almost done and my school is relatively inexpensive to most American Colleges, and I have health insurance...although TriCare pricing is much more attractive compared to mine. I also feel like I'll have plenty of time to educate myself on benefits while he's in school and studying. Anyway, we've been planning this weekend for awhile (not a big ceremony, just a couple runs to the courthouse and getting enrolled in DEERs), but now I'm reading they don't like it when you run off and get married PIR weekend. Is it really that big of a deal...will he get in trouble?

Comment by Jenni1453 on February 8, 2016 at 4:13am

My husband is an FC. A school at GL. We're just now leaving for C school in March. Another 6 months. It's a long road of school.

Comment by Jenni1453 on February 8, 2016 at 4:12am

Haha. It's always changing so its hard to keep current information. :) The uniform allowance depends partly on rank I think. There should be a chart somewhere online. I'm not sure what changes are coming when. I know the NWUs are going to change when they're actually on the ship, but not sure if they're also keeping the ones they have. Dress blues are rumored to change this year also, but it may be 2017. They're getting rid of the buttons and having them match the style of the whites. You can have him get power of attorney at the CPC office. They can do it at RTC or at A school. He should be able to mail you a copy. He'll also have his login info for mypay so you can check out a detailed LES.

Comment by Allison on February 8, 2016 at 3:39am

Good to know. My fiancé said they told him it was always where he was living in his financial planning, but this could explain why I was off a bit. I have to go entirely math based because I am not able to see any detailed version of the check. We were convinced to wait after I returned from studying abroad because it might delay his ship date, especially with me being out of the country so long, which we had a hard enough time getting in the first place. Turns out now we have to do all this paperwork to get married without getting yelled at, and since I can't stay in GL too long, we have to try to establish power of attorney and everything too, so he can keep working on things after I leave. Speaking of which, has anyone here ever done that or is more familiar with legal things (military or not) when you come from different states of residence ( we never actually established just one, we moved a lot between our hometowns) and are meeting in a third state to sign power of attorney documents? haha oh sometimes this can all be so much fun. I wish I would've read about it more before we decided to wait. His recruiter was like God when making decisions over the past year after we had problems with the Army (no disrespect, my fiancé got injured playing football with friends and had a long recovery).

The uniform replacements have to do with changes to the uniform, but it is mostly females I think who are changing something....maybe caps and button colors, I can't remember exactly, but like I said, in RTC they should get the most up to date. Could uniform allowance have anything to do with rank? Usually it is largely ignored at RTC, but maybe that's why he said $250? In case you haven't picked up on it, this is why I handle the finances haha. He might be a little lost out there, but some of it he actually took notes on for me, thankfully, and he did make a reasonable choice for how to build his savings...although it scared me half to death when money just disappeared from his checking account five minutes before the new savings account finally loaded for me on my computer. This is where I struggle without him, I have a lot of trouble with technology, so something is wrong with my internet, and I'm totally lost haha

Thank you for the updated and additional info. It makes it all a little less stressful when we hear advice from someone ahead of us. What A school did your husband go to?

Comment by Jenni1453 on February 8, 2016 at 3:13am

Ha, I just saw where you mentioned your fiance left Jan 6th. That's when mine left last year. Have fun at PIR! It's getting closer.

Comment by Jenni1453 on February 8, 2016 at 3:10am

Also the annual uniform allowance is closer to $350, depending on many factors. The first year you get half of that. Dress uniforms won't be worn too often, so the need to replace won't be often.

Also he will always get BAS, but you'll only see it on your check when he's living at home. If he isn't at home, BAS goes to the galley of his ship/school. Separation pay goes in effect if he's away for more than 30 days. $250 a month unless they've increased it for 2016.

Navy Federal pays early, also. If the 1st or 15th falls on a holiday or a weekend, the pay comes the business day before. Also no deposits on Monday. Example this month we're being paid on the 10th, and it's available for use on the 11th. Non Navy Fed bankers will have their pay available on the 12th.

Comment by Jenni1453 on February 8, 2016 at 3:03am

State tax is actually the place where he enlisted. Example, we paid Georgia tax all year and filed a Georgia state tax return, even though we spent the last 13 months in Illinois. If the sailor wants to change his state of record he can file a form on mypay. :)

Comment by Allison on February 8, 2016 at 2:21am

https://www.navyfederal.org/pdf/ebrochures/1169ep.pdf

http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm

Here is a link to a general explanation of the certificates thing I was talking about and a BAH calculator, which is usually based off the sailor's location (with some exceptions that you would know about before they applied) and related to the local cost of living for those of you expecting to receive it now or in the near future. 

Happy Budgeting!

Comment by Allison on February 8, 2016 at 2:08am

For those of you wondering when the paycheck will come and what is debited. For some of you long-term couples out there, most of this might be obvious, review from other jobs,or maybe old news because your SR already left, so just skip to the parts you're looking for, if any. My fiancé is currently in basic training. Because we are not married I do not receive BAH, but I do handle the finances and can tell you how the check should work based on the info my SR has received at basic and shared with me. If you think it might make a difference for timing, we use Navy Federal. Your SR's check should appear on the first of the month, so for example, my fiancé left the 6th of Jan 2016, and his first check was 1 Feb 2016. If the first paycheck comes the first of the month six weeks after he began RTC, it will include the extra two weeks of pay. What is deposited into the account should already have all allowances and debits. So, any debits can be budgeted in advance by subtracting the amount from the amount you expect your SR to make after taxes. You can make reasonable estimates before you even see the paycheck. I was only off by a small amount. Taxes apply to the state of IL, BAH is an allowance not income, and is not taxed. If you are divorced or unmarried with a child, BAH can be a grey area, but usually it is only the amount due to child support and not impacted by the cost of living wherever he goes. BAS is usually only granted when living off base (not being fed by the Navy) and is also an allowance, not income.

Shortly after they first arrive (about 5-10 days), they will have some of their paycheck debited for a NEX card. This is how they will purchase calling cards, paper, stamps, even some candy when they perform well haha. My SR only lost about $50 purchasing his first NEX card and hasn't had to buy another one yet. If you're looking to save a few dollars here and there, allowing your SR to purchase some items at the NEX can be cheaper and faster than sending them to him/her. 

My fiancé received 2 sets of dress whites, a set of dress blues, and his MSU's (the khaki and black uniforms) on 28 Jan 2016. He said they supposedly give an annual $250 for uniforms, but the dress uniforms are so expensive that it doesn't feel like much of a difference. It is best to assume they will get them before their first paycheck to make it easier to debit and also to allow time to correct any defects. Again, supposedly, if there are any defects when they get them or when they report to A school, the defective items should be replaced by the military and not out of pocket. There have been scheduled changes to uniforms that are coming out in waves, but SR at RTC should receive the most up to date.

If you are not yet married (like my fiancé and I), do not count on BAH (or BAS if applicable) immediately when working on your long term budget. Allow yourself a wide buffer of about a month to be processed into DEERs, especially if you don't submit a chit beforehand because they won't be expecting the change. You SR entered a contract with the Navy as single, so there may need to be adjustments made if that changes. 

Finally, if your SR has not left yet for RTC or is still in the early stages, there are many ways you can save while he is gone. Just ask! If you are using AT&T, for example, as long as they can find your recruit on the DoD page, they will suspend the phone without additional fees...no phone bill for two months! From personal experience studying abroad, I know Verizon will do a reduced rate to put a number on hold for up to three months at a time, but they might even have better offers for service members. You may also want to look into EasyStart and other certificates if you use or plan to use Navy Federal. This is something recruits will be coached about at basic while learning about financial planning, and you can talk ahead of time about which options, if any, are best for you guys.

Comment by Jenni1453 on February 7, 2016 at 11:48pm

My husband shipped Jan 6 2015 and his first check was Feb 1 2015. From what I've seen they need to be there for 3 weeks and get paid the next payday after. His check had all his January pay and all of our BAH. Also the $250 separation pay was there, but sometimes it comes later. His first check did have about $800 taken out because of extra things that the uniform allowance didn't cover. Winter months cost a bit more because of the winter gear.

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