John addended one of his emails to me last night, all casual-like, like it was just an after thought (which it probably was): ”Hey, what’s our strategic reserve lookin’ like. You know, in case we don’t get paid next pay period.”

NOT FUNNY, HONEY. Rhyme intended. Because he’s joking, ha-ha and all that, right?

Apparently I’ve had my head buried in the sand, what with immersing myself in the Homeschool Convention and my kids being on Spring Break and enjoying this visit with my parents and, and, and.

Because the news is out there: I just wasn’t paying it no mind. I mean, it’s so, improbable, isn’t it? That the government would actually shut down? and paychecks would not be issued?

Social Networks are all a twither about the possibility and what it means for military pay. Are you prepared? Do you have savings in place to cover expenses until the government gets its budget act together?

We do, to an extent, to answer my husband’s question. (Just a reminder: he’s in California and the kids and I are in Ohio. We communicate mainly by email.) (And occasionally even via this blog, wink-wink.)

Our savings could replace a month of his income and a little more, is all. Although that is, I’m sure, a much better position than many others would find themselves. Indeed, just a year ago I wouldn’t have been able to say that even for ourselves.

Replacing Income vs. Covering Expenses

But replacing income and paying for expenses are not the same thing. Obviously, when something so unlikely, so improbable (like a government shut down) happens, you tighten your belt and cut out anything and everything absolutely unnecessary: eating out; kids’ activities; shopping for anything other than food… (what did I miss?)…

So our savings could cover much more than one month’s worth of expenses, thank God. But as unlikely as a government shut down seems to be, a government shut down lasting longer than a few days or even a week seems about as likely as … Oh, American ground troops landing in Libya, just to throw something out there.

(Oh, wait…)

How prepared are you? Is this a wake-up call for anyone out there? Is this going to affect how you prioritize your finances in the future?

From what I’ve read (which isn’t much) the budget is “paid” (read: agreed upon) through April 8. Tomorrow. After that? Things could get interesting…

Regardless of what happens in the short-term, I hope you all take this to heart to change how you plan for things long-term: if you don’t have emergency savings in place, start one, now; if you think the government will always be there to bail you out, you might want to re-think your paradigm…

I, for one, have doubts about the government always being there for us financially, despite my husband going on 20 years of military service. I don’t even believe we can count on his retirement pay continuing until the day we die, just as I don’t think any of us should count on Social Security. There’s a reason so many baby boomers are planning on working until the day they just can’t, and those are the ones who are collecting Social Security!

I do think this current budget crisis is a hiccup, and that my husband and others like him will receive their pay in due time, if not on time. I just hope that we remember this time of uncertainty and use it to gird ourselves even further against future crises, however improbable they may seem. That is the definition of an emergency, after all: things for which you can otherwise not plan. I hope you all use this time to rethink and prepare your own strategy. If our own soldiers aren’t financially protected by our government, how well are you?

John just pinned on a promotion, the first one of his Air Force career that’s held a lot of meaning for us that wasn’t just financial. Up until now promotions have been fairly automatic: you’d have to really mess up to not make the cut. This was the first one that was “boarded” and involved at least a margin of competition and wasn’t just a gimme. Sure, you hope to get boarded the first time around, but you just never know…  And quite honestly, if you’re passed over the first time you might as well start packing: once you’re passed over twice they very kindly boot you out of the Air Force altogether.

John was the first one in his family to earn a college degree. In a family history steeped in military service, John was the first to become an officer. He worked very, very hard to get to where he is today. It took ten years, with many starts and stops, many, many moves, while working full-time (mostly in the enlisted ranks) to help support a young family, before he finally completed his bachelor’s. When he successfully applied for OTS, we both thought, “Cool, now you should be able to retire as a Captain.” It never dawned on either one of us that he would gain a higher rank, even if he completed 20 years. He simply wouldn’t have the time. And retiring as a Captain was just fine, we both thought. And now Major? Why, that just feels like icing on the cake.

John’s got over 16 years in now, and my how times have a changed in the military since he was just an enlisted puke some ten years ago. Captains don’t stay Captains as long as they used to: it’s a combination of the conflicts our military is engaged in worldwide as well as a lower retention rate in the officer ranks overall. The Air Force, in particular, has a hard time holding onto their officers in John’s career field of Intelligence. (And believe me you, John thought about leaving himself many, many times.) (But also between me and you, I always knew he was just venting and blowing smoke: He’s a lifer.) There are so many reasons for this I wouldn’t know where to begin. Suffice to say, the military is no longer a place we would encourage our children to dedicate their lives, or even to join for a short time.

Don’t get me wrong. If any of my children chose military service, I would be very proud of them: The day young men and women stop stepping up for a higher calling will be a dark day indeed. And of course, ultimately it will be their decision. But we no longer feel confident in our nation’s military as an organization with a clearly defined purpose and unified goals. There are some amazing individuals in military uniform, but more and more, these amazing individuals are getting out. The ones who remain, like my husband, seem to hold onto an ideal and hope of how things could be despite the reality and obstacles around them.

But back to John’s promotion.

I had visions of a big BBQ bash with lots of friends and food and toasts to John’s success. But John was leaving the next day for a TDY and wanted a low-key affair. Also, Big Bashes just aren’t the way he rolls. Also again, many of our friends (at least the men) were either TDY themselves, on vacation, or otherwise deployed. I joked with John that it might be just a bunch of women-folk come to celebrate with us. He just grunted.

So the kids and I attended the official ceremony at John’s work where Conner and I did the “pinning-on” — which entails taking the old rank off the collar and, well, pinning on the new. If you’re in the Army or Marines (and Navy?) this often comes with a playful punch which may or may not puncture the skin. Since John used to be in the Army, I thought it might be apropos for me to punch his new rank in for him, too.

He threatened to punch me back, so I reconsidered. He’s such a sweetheart.

We followed up the ceremony with lunch at Texas Roadhouse. Because a Celebration requires Meat, don’t you know. And our server was late getting our order so they discounted our ticket, by almost 50%. I was rather surprised, because I hadn’t thought it was that big of a delay — the place was packed. And John was surprised when I gave our waitress a good tip based on the original cost of our order and not the amount after our discount. But I thought she had done an okay job considering the circumstances. Plus I’ve been a waitress so many times in my life — every time swearing it was the last — that my appreciation bar for the work they do is quite high.

• Cost of lunch for five: $60.60
  
• After discount: $35.60
  
• After tip: $45.60
  

What would you have tipped?

Oh! And did I mention that with the promotion comes a raise? But of course it does! Would it be terrible if I said that was the best part? Yes? No? Just so long as I don’t say it out loud? Okay then, let’s just keep that between you and me.

Before taxes, his monthly pay goes up $704. 40. Woo-hoo! Plus another $93 added onto our housing allowance. (Which still does not begin to cover our housing costs, just in case you were curious.) Another woo-hoo! Hey, every little bit helps.

As much as I would like to say that we have Big Plans for this additional income: Alas, we are still in limbo. So long as our house is still on the market, every extra dollar will continue to go into a regular savings account in the event that we need to bring cash to the closing table. For when our house sells. I said, for when our house sells. Because it will.

For now, John will just have keep dreaming about that motorcycle he wants, and I’ll have to keep dreaming about my new Nikon DSLR camera (or Canon? I haven’t for sure decided yet) I’ve had my eye on for eons, along with that full electric keyboard for Olivia so she can finally start taking piano lessons…

It’s no different from being in debt, really. Only better, because it is possible that when all is said and done, that money we’re saving up will get to be ours for good. And now we have a promotion to help it add up all that much faster.

Sometimes budgeting on military pay reminds me of trying to work with an income based on commission: You work the numbers the best you can based on the minimum you expect to come in; but you’re really hoping some extra checks for some other jobs come through as well.

At the beginning of February, I wrote out a budget based on January’s pay. Even though we were expecting extra pay for The Hubs’ deployment, I knew that none of those bonuses would hit his paycheck until the month after he left, at the earliest.

Re-Cap: Anticipated Deployment Income

1. Family Separation Allowance (FSA): $250/month
2. Hazardous Duty Pay (HDP) $100/month
3. Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP) (referred to as FLIP): $200?

Actual (So Far)

1. Hostile Fire Pay (HFP/IDP): $225
2. No Federal Taxes!: $480.20

Hmmm… Nothing’s quite matching up, is it?

No Taxes While Deployed Overseas

I was not anticipating that taxes would not be taken out of his paychecks while he’s deployed. No, troops do not pay taxes while they are deployed overseas! but I thought that was credited retroactively. In fact, I was so surprised (in a very good way!) that I dug up his LES’s from his last deployment to look-see if I just wasn’t remembering correctly…

No-sirree. Last time we paid taxes the whole time he was deployed. A lot of financial things were messed up with that last deployment, as I recall. Now, the amount of his paycheck had always fluctuated month-to-month because we were overseas where we received a living allowance based on the exchange rate — which, of course, fluctuated. I had a vague notion that his pay should probably be more than it was while he was gone, but I did not have ready access to his LES’s and I was a bit more consumed with my babies and just taking care of my family in an overseas’ environment thank-you-very-much.

In other words, we had no financial plan.

How The Military’s Mi$take Helped Us

What the military’s mistake did do for us was for us was enforce a sort of savings plan (albeit one that didn’t earn interest). Once The Hubs got back and sorted out all the bonus pay he never received, we had a nice little pile of cash we used for our moving expenses back to the States as well as a (tiny) down payment on our home here in Ohio. I honestly don’t think I would have put aside all of that money those months he was gone had it been entirely up to me. Oh, I wouldn’t have felt like I was spending money frivolously! I simply didn’t practice intentional, mindful spending on a daily basis. Nor did we even discuss saving up for the next move’s expenses, like that might be a good idea or something. We had no plan. You might say that time was BWMDR: Before We Met Dave Ramsey.

This Time: We Have A Plan

It seems fitting that we will be able to put these financial perks to use right away, now that we have a Plan with what we’re doing with our money rather than just paying the bills and sort of flitting around from there to here and hoping it all turns out okay once the dust settles.

Another One Down

I sent off the last payment today for the debt we owed on our family van. That. felt. good.

But I’m already looking ahead to the next step, which will be to make a ROTH contribution for 2009 before April; we are likely waiting until The Hubs returns to file our taxes anyway. Then we’ll bulk up our emergency savings and charge into our second mortgage…

I’m actually excited.

The Hubs’ deployment is imminent, though he won’t let me discuss details here (“OPSEC, people!”) (his words, not mine) and so far I think I am successfully in denial of the emotional aspect of him leaving.

However. The financial aspect is a different story! There are financial perks to a deployment, and I am hoping to optimize those to their fullest: I am bound and determined to get rid of this debt while he’s away and to be well into funding our emergency fund so we can be ready to move on to the next step…

NO, we are not done with debt, nor with this blog! Whew, right? (Humor me.) So stay tuned.

$DEPLOYMENT BENEFITS$

These benefits do not kick in until 30 days after his departure, but they will include…

1. Family Separation Allowance (FSA): $250/month
2. Hazardous Duty Pay (HDP) $100/month
3. Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP) (referred to as FLIP): $200?

He hasn’t been able to secure a definitive figure on that last one yet.

The Hubs was quite excited to secure a language-designated deployment billet. See, we used to get the FLPP as a matter of course: once upon a time, The Hubs was enlisted as a military linguist, and even after he became an officer so long as he kept his testing updated and scored high enough he still qualified for the pay.

Until 2005 (?), that is. The military (or at least the Air Force?) changed its policy that only airmen (everyone in the Air Force is called an “Airman”, regardless of rank) whose specialties are language-designated qualified for the bonus. Language billets are extremely rare for officers. So there went that couple $100 every month. And there went any incentive for anyone besides a linguist to maintain language qualification… Despite the fact that the Air Force wants 10% of its officers to be language-qualified!

But I digress.

LOTS OF COOL NEW STUFF

The immediate financial perk of this deployment is sitting in our basement as we speak. (The train’s not included.)

The Hubs went through and mentally tallied the approximate value of this pile had he bought it himself off the shelf. He estimates  (at least) some $1200-worth of uniform stuff that he was given as a matter of course because of this deployment.

The real kicker? The Air Force has been transitioning to a new uniform for a couple of years now. The Hubs has resisted stocking up on the new uniform due to its cost. (Only enlisted ranks receive a clothing allowance.) However, in 2011, everyone will be required to wear only the new uniform.

The Hubs just got  four complete uniforms for free. Plus a complete cold-weather issue. Even the alterations were included — that’s about a $100 right there. He’s actually heard of guys volunteering for a deployment just for this one reason alone! (I hope their wives were okay with that;)

I really shouldn’t make it sound like these guys get all this stuff for free. Like it’s some perk that’s completely unnecessary. Of course they’ve earned this, and then some. And I am so thankful that my husband will be relatively safe in the job he is going to serve in and that he will only be gone for a few months rather than one year or more that other services deploy on a regular basis.

No, “just” a few months is not easy for the family left behind, either. But I’d be foolish if I didn’t look around and thank my lucky stars that it isn’t more.

***

I just want to thank you all for participating in my informal survey on your heating cost! From your responses I think I’ve concluded that our situation is about as normal as any, and a bit better than many. I found it amusing, too, that other husbands balked at lowering the thermostat;)

The Hubs is a Captain in the Air Force. He was recently boarded for Major and made the cut. Yea!

This is cause for happiness on so many different levels. Yes, it is very exciting that he made the cut the first go-around. The percentage of Captains making the board in his AFSC (aka “job field”) is rather high, so we weren’t entirely surprised. But you just never know until you know. You know?

But this is especially sweet for us because once upon a time The Hubs was just a lowly peon in the enlisted ranks — in fact, we both were. (Yes, that’s how we met. *sigh*) It was a long, hard road for him to finally earn his undergraduate degree. It took the first six years of our marriage, in fact, what with all the moving around and starting over with new schools. (This was back in the 90′s, well before online degrees were so prevalent.)(And yes, we moved a lot, especially back then. Five times in six years, if you want a number.)

The Hubs comes from a career Air Force father, and uncle, and older brother, and various other brothers and relatives who have served in the military. But he was the first one in his family to actually earn a college degree. So to finally earn that degree, then be accepted into OTS (Officer Training School), and become an officer… Well, it surely felt satisfying. And at the time we thought he’d probably make Captain and then it’d be about time to retire. Becoming a major? Is really just icing on the cake.

HOWEVER. Being boarded for major and actually being promoted to major are two very different things. Or at least two very different dates.

Once the board makes its announcement, each selectee is given a line number for promotion. Just like it sounds, you have to wait your turn in line with all the rest of the promotees until your number comes up. It is not unheard of to wait almost two years to actually be promoted. John’s number is such that his promotion, or “pin-on” date, will probably be sometime in the Summer of 2010.

What this means in military terms: The Hubs is currently a major-select.

In layman’s terms: No pay raise yet, so who cares?

Apparently the Air Force does. So much so that they throw a party for you. Oh wait, excuse me. I meant to say, they compel you to throw a party for yourself. On your bill.

The Hubs warned me a couple of weeks ago that he was getting emails about this Mandatory Fun and that each major-select on his base was being asked to contribute $100, towards their own party.

Ooh-wee. That sounds like fun.

He thought he could just ignore it: it felt so much like paying for a bunch of beers for a bunch of guys he doesn’t even know for a promotion he isn’t even getting paid for yet.

But finally he just paid up. You’re just a schmuck if you don’t. He knows of others who paid who had no attention of even going to the party. But The Hubs went — at least he got dinner out of it. And I stayed home with the kids, nursing a cold, and getting ready for my parents who arrive tomorrow from out-of-State. (I finally got the luggage put away from our trip — yea, me!)

Because really, I simply don’t have any desire to attend these Mandatory Fun functions. I’ll go if it’s important to The Hubs, but it wasn’t.

Besides, when he actually gets promoted to Major? He’ll be expected to throw another party, albeit a smaller one, just for his office. Since we’ll actually be benefiting from a pay raise by then, I’ll probably feel like celebrating.