RE: http://www.military.com/opinion/0,15202,82088,00.html

I think it is very sad that we as an e-4 family do not qualify for food stamps but an e-6 does. how does that work? That i have to borrow food from friends to feed my kids because we can't get no help from anyone

I can see how it could happen, even as an E-6.
My hubby and I have 5 kids together. 2 live with his ex, and he has CS taken out of his checks for them, then my 2 live with us and we have 1 together. So at home we have 3, then he pays for 2 more elsewhere.

Add to that groceries for 5, utilities, insurance, phone/internet/cable, savings account (which only occasionally gets $ put into it).....all I can say is: if I didn't get CS for my 2 we would be below guidelines and could get all sorts of Aid.

We aren't on any Assistance, and though money is sometimes tight, if we know something's coming we save for it. Savings helps in emergencies but there have been times when we've had to go to AER for help. No big deal. Live within your means I say!

Alot of the problem, SOMETIMES I should say, is people who live above their means. It happens everywhere, military too.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mfamily2004,

We do just fine with E-4 pay, me staying at home and having 2 kids. AND we have paid off many of our bills in the last 3 years of enlistment. You have to really learn how to budget and get bills under control. It can be done.

The pay is NOT supposed to support families. If they wanted it to support families (just like any other employer) they would HIRE the family! This is the choice that WE made when he joined. We knew what the pay was. Others who don't should have looked into it more before making such a huge decision.

I have to agree with MattnJenG, my DH just made E-4, now he just joined the ARNG 2 yrs ago, we're just starting in our 40's with all this and we have 3 kids together and he has 2 that are of age now, but still has a bit left in arrears so that get's taken out of his check's. Budget, plus he's deployed right now, so with the extra pays for being deployed we have paid off quite a few bills and I have stayed home since he's left to take care of my children and things at home, while he's gone.

I think now is the time for a budget, cut some things out, it won't be forever. I had learn how to do that, I was bad for eating out too much, so I had to stop that! I hope your getting groceries at the commissary too and cutting coupons. You'd be surprised how much you can save.

Sorry for all the editing, I can't seem to spell today, geez.

Make sure that you look into WIC (women infants and children). It can really help stretch the food budget. Income levels are higher than for food stamps.

Kathy

Something here isn't right. OP states they are an E4 family yet their profile status is Considering Joining.
Either way I'm sure that if they try harder, they too can qualify for food stamps. But I'm not sure they would be any less sad.

I'm gonna go against the grain here and simply say this: too many young people in the military are having kids too early without the financial pay to raise the child.
Too many young people in lower ranks are running around with 2,3,4,5 kids and wonder why they're broke.
Too many young people in lower ranks want everything: the tricked out car, the 'hot wife', the kids, the credit cards, the electronic stuff.....but don't have the pay to support all of it.
Simply put: they're living beyond their means.

If you make a budget,control between what you need and what you want it can be done without food stamps.

I think food stamps should be for the disable,retired,sick or for emergencies during a period of time.

We survived with E-3 to E-5 just fine,without food stamps or even WIC.I'm grateful that now we can afford stuff that we don't need but we survived just fine.

Gotta agree with BAW.

Back in the early 90s when my husband was an E-4 his bring home was $800 a pay day. We had one used car, we did not have the game system or anything like that, we did have a vcr and that was our "entertainment". We usually rented movies and rarely went to the theater to see movies. We qualified for food stamps but we never got them. We could manage on his pay and we didn't feel it necessary to apply for them.

It's personal choices. Do you want the tricked out car, or pay for a used one and have no car payment? Do you want to rent movies or always go to the theater?

I'm not saying we were perfect, but we made choices we felt were best for us. I see lots of kids out there today going wild buying all the toys but not having the income to support it.


Sgt Mom

quote:

Originally posted by sgtmom:
Gotta agree with BAW.

Back in the early 90s when my husband was an E-4 his bring home was $800 a pay day. We had one used car, we did not have the game system or anything like that, we did have a vcr and that was our "entertainment". We usually rented movies and rarely went to the theater to see movies. We qualified for food stamps but we never got them. We could manage on his pay and we didn't feel it necessary to apply for them.

It's personal choices. Do you want the tricked out car, or pay for a used one and have no car payment? Do you want to rent movies or always go to the theater?

I'm not saying we were perfect, but we made choices we felt were best for us. I see lots of kids out there today going wild buying all the toys but not having the income to support it.


Sgt Mom

Same with us.

quote:

Too many young people in lower ranks want everything: the tricked out car

Oh man, where do I even get one of those?! My poor 10 year old Contour apparently isn't cool anymore...who knew?!

quote:

Originally posted by sgtmom:
It's personal choices. Do you want the tricked out car, or pay for a used one and have no car payment? Do you want to rent movies or always go to the theater?

While I do agree with the general sentement and abide by all the same rules I'm gonna play Devils advocate for a minute. A majority of the kids I've seen running around with financial problems and unable to control urges to buy things were taught by their parents that they were entitled to whatever they wanted. They weren't taught to save for anything or that they had to work for what they got, but that someone would always pick up the tab.

Not saying that makes it right by any means.

quote:

While I do agree with the general sentement and abide by all the same rules I'm gonna play Devils advocate for a minute. A majority of the kids I've seen running around with financial problems and unable to control urges to buy things were taught by their parents that they were entitled to whatever they wanted. They weren't taught to save for anything or that they had to work for what they got, but that someone would always pick up the tab.

So true! My husbands's daughter, who is 22,pregnant, has a boyfriend who doesn't work, she doesn't work. We're done with handing out and I can tell you if she lived with us this wouldn't be happening! Her mother undid anything her Dad tried to instill. We have 3 kids together who are in no way following in those footsteps. Our oldest is 16 and will have been at her job for 1 yr this April. She pays her own cell phone bill and she will pay her own ins., gas and upkeep when we get her a car and she get's her license. And she brings home A
s and B's.

There are parents who need to get it together.

A lot of these younger people are products of the 80's generation: it was the beginning of the "what about me" generation. lol....so glad to have been a 70's child.

or you could say that a lot didn't have anything growing up so when they left home they wanted a real home with things that they bought themselves, putting their selves in debt. I know many couples my age that this happened too. They were never taught about how the payments will add up eventually and that it's okay to rob peter to pay paul.

We had a tricked out car and will have one again when we get home. The only thing is that this time it will be with cash, not credit cards. I see nothing wrong with wanting these things, and showing them off, as long as you aren't putting yourself into debt doing it and can still provide for your family.

We could have done this before but we had things for our house we needed as well. My husband and I have a little bit higher standards than some have when it comes to our stuff, BUT if it goes below our standards then we still keep it because we are the ones who made it that way. We don't want someone else's stuff that they made that way. Example, we have never had any used furniture that you would sit on or sleep in. For us or for our kids.

So when it came to the car and the house, we did both. Got in more debt and then now, a few years later are almost completely out of debt. We (ALL generations) just have to know where the balance is when it comes to your own income.

BAW - You are talking like you're so old but you're still just a baby. You could be my daughter.

Uh oh, maybe that just means that I'm getting old. Oh well, it's certainly better than the alternative.

Some days I just feel old Mturnb--at least when it comes to finances I am. Daddy taught us well when we were kids. I remember my first allowance was a dime! I think I was 5 or 6. Every year after that I got a nickel 'raise' every week. And I worked for it too! I did my chores every day and my weekend chores too.
I remember when Daddy taught me to iron. I got so good at it, he started paying me for each shirt I did--subject to inspection of course. He was Navy after all, and shirts had to be done a specific way for him. lol...I didn't get paid for that until I was 10 or 12. So I earned extra money in addition for my chores....got money taken away too! lol....deductions for infractions....I learned early on the value of a buck, learned what was important and what was "I want".
I've had a hell of a responsibility over the last few years. My mama told me just last month how she actually envied how well I'd done with managing what money I've ever had--when I was much younger, single, married the first time, divorced, single mom, and married again. I couldn't believe that this woman of 66 years of age was admiring MY money skills--it blew me away! lol....I learned what I know from THEM at an early age.

So yeah....I guess I sound a bit older than I am when it comes to a couple of subjects.
Better to be old than dead though.

MattnJen - sorry, I didn't mean to sound like it's wrong to want those things. You just need to be able to handle payment son everything before you go hog wild.

Shoot, we talk about buying an RV to travel and go to college football games, NASCAR, WGI, DCI, etc. We're not running out to get one because that is a few years away from being affordable.

It's good to have something to work towards. Just be careful you don't bite off more than you can chew.


Mom

Here is my personal opinion.. The Military is not welfare. There isn't another job on this earth were people would expect their employer to basically take care of them.


I guess I am old too I remember hubby getting little more then 600 a pay check after BAH when he first got in too. And we did just fine. it sucked at times but we made it work. We made the choice to get married young and have a child. But the difference is this. We knew we wanted more kids. we also knew that till he was a Sgt we couldn't afford another kid. if you make the choice to have more kids then you can support its not the Military's problem its yours. If you choose to live outside of your means, not the military's issue.


I get so sick of people basically turning green with envy when they come to the house. we made our choices and everything in this house is paid off save my car. and that's only so we have some kind of revolving credit going.

I wanted to make dam sure we could support both the kiddo we have now and hopefully a future child without having to go without.

When I got married in '75 my Base pay and BAQ was $398.40 and $110.70 per month, I had a car payment of $106 and rent at $150 per month, not to mention utilities, groceries etcetera. Never had financial problems back then and never had to rely on food stamps.