In July I questioned the Government Accountability Office’s report (GAO-05-798) that argued how the Department of Defense needs to do a better job in educating military personnel about just how well paid they are in comparison to their civilian counterparts. Following the publication of that article in my column months ago, I recently received the following letter:

"Since my husband returned from Iraq, we seem to be fighting all the time about money. I don’t work because any money I would make would be offset by what we would have to pay for child care for our daughter. My husband is an E-3 and we’re hoping that the pay raise in the new year will make life easier. My husband got mad when I went to the Exchange and bought a birthday present for my daughter that he said we could have gotten much cheaper online. My parent’s have offered to give or loan us some money that my husband refuses to accept…."

I share with you now my response with the belief that there are many other military couples who find themselves in similar circumstances:

Your husband, like most husbands and fathers, wants to be able to support his family without relying upon outside help. By accepting money from your folks in the form of a gift or a loan may make your husband feel dependent upon them. For him, it’s a matter of pride. 

I took your problem to the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society that specializes in helping military families like your own with financial problems. I asked them to work up a realistic, very conservative, monthly budget based upon next year’s projected base pay for E-3s. Unfortunately, it did not look very encouraging. These are the amounts that were calculated based upon a family of three with two cars:

Income: Base Pay ($1596); Base Allowance for Housing ($1156); BAS ($267); Tax and other deductions (-$250) = $2769.

Expenses: Rent [2 bedroom apartment]: ($1000); Utilities [gas, electric, water, cable, trash]: ($150); Clothes: ($75); Car [gas and maintenance]: $200; Food: ($400); Haircuts: ($100); Car Insurance ($175); Car payments ($300); Diapers: ($40); Fast Food & Drinks: ($75); Dry cleaning & laundry: ($15); Furniture payments: ($30); Telephones: ($100); Gifts/DVDs/Videos/Toys: ($35); Credit Card Interest: ($25); = $2720.

Balance: $49.00

With a monthly balance of only $49.00, I can see how you and your husband may be living from payday to payday without any room for emergencies or investments for the future (e.g., retirement, child’s education, etc.). It is because of cases like your own that I questioned the Government Accountability Office’s report (GAO-05-798) released in July that criticized military personnel who complain about their income. It seems to me that the people at GAO who signed off on the report are not trying to support a family of three on the pay of an E-3.

As regards you husband getting upset that you shopped at the base Exchange, I went online and looked up an item (i.e., a digital camcorder) that I was thinking of buying. I found it available on a few different websites for $285.90 ($265.95 + $19.95 S&H). When I went to the base Exchange, the price for the same camcorder was $319.99. When I asked the salesperson (Dorian) if the Exchange would match the price I could get online, she said that the Exchange would only match a competitor’s price in a local newspaper or advertisement. Consequently, I have decided to order it online and save $34.09.

Unfortunately, base Exchanges today are more of a convenience than they are a savings for many military families. Even the gas prices on base when I went to visit the Exchange were higher (e.g., $2.85) than some of the gas stations off base ($2.77).

Most military bases provide budgeting classes and assistance like the Navy and Marine Corps Relief Society provides at Navy and Marine Corps commands.  My recommendation is for you and your husband to make an appointment and meet with a financial counselor. I’m confident that they will come up with some ways of saving money that you have not considered. Also, financial planning books for military families by Ralph Nelson (available at http://www.savvy.onweb.com) have helped thousands of couples manage their funds today while planning for the future.

Gene-Thomas Gomulka

Columnist and author whose books are available at www.plaintec.net