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Just a thought--------many posters are sharing their experiences with the OP. however I expect none of them experience comes close to the OP's situation.
He is 34 years old ,has a wife and 2. kids to the posters-------where in rank was your husband when you had 2 kids?
I'll bet he wasn't in boot camp earning E-1 wages.
Some of you stated your husband was already in the military before you married.
This is a case of a man enlisting with already a wife and 2 kids and being on the bottom of the " totem pole" ( boot camp, E-1 wages and only having the priveleges and seniority of an 18 year old single guy enlisting)
My advice is don't enlist unless some people/posters have gone through the exact same situation ( age wise, etc) and convince you and your husband.
If he thinks his job isn't the greatest now, he will probably think the same of the military until he has been in enough years to be at a much higher rank than E-1.
A familiar theme when I was in was------" rhip" ( rate has its priveleges)
Your husband will feel like he has few " priveleges" until he makes rate a few years down the road.
I honestly dont think that those of us who were married when our husbands went in is any different be it one or two kids. Its a challenge and you really get a reality check of what is and is not important.
Getting a job for myself helped alot. Best thing to do is to get out of debt and pay off everything you possibly can before he joins. Also have a little in savings for your first PCS.
There are FCC's that she can do if she does childcare. DH has been in for almost 6 years and I'm able to be a SAHM and we live comfortably with just a car payment (which I hate having).
He would actually be going in as E4 since he has a bachelors degree. He had looked into OCS but wanted to be able to choose his MOS instead of being put into whatever branch needed him.
We also have a decent amount of equity in our home which we would obviously be selling and then we would have no debt. Home sales are decent where we are so I'm not too concerned about that.
I am not really interested in doing childcare from my home on a base. Our house right now has a finished walk out basement where the daycare is. It has its own bathroom and kitchen. I like having the daycare separated from my family's living space. I know that would not be possible in on base housing.
He would actually be going in as E4 since he has a bachelors degree. He had looked into OCS but wanted to be able to choose his MOS instead of being put into whatever branch needed him.
We also have a decent amount of equity in our home which we would obviously be selling and then we would have no debt. Home sales are decent where we are so I'm not too concerned about that.
I am not really interested in doing childcare from my home on a base. Our house right now has a finished walk out basement where the daycare is. It has its own bathroom and kitchen. I like having the daycare separated from my family's living space. I know that would not be possible in on base housing.
Thank you everyone for your responses.
By all means do the OCS thing and don't worry about picking an enlisted MOS. Life as an officer in any branch is head and shoulders above life as an E-4...
My husband had the opportunity to finish out his degree and go over into the CRO program when they created the CRO career field. He decided he much preferred sticking with being a pj. He is happiest when he has the least amount of paperwork and the most amount of time being operational. Being a CRO would have increased his income but decreased his field time and he would not have been happy. He's an E7 and we are doing ok. He loves his job. He'd be miserable at a desk.
I'd hate to see mamom's husband go for OCS and end up working in something like Personnel when he really wants to be a medic. It could mean the difference between staying in 20 years and getting the heck out as soon as possible.
My husband had the opportunity to finish out his degree and go over into the CRO program when they created the CRO career field. He decided he much preferred sticking with being a pj. He is happiest when he has the least amount of paperwork and the most amount of time being operational. Being a CRO would have increased his income but decreased his field time and he would not have been happy. He's an E7 and we are doing ok. He loves his job. He'd be miserable at a desk.
I'd hate to see mamom's husband go for OCS and end up working in something like Personnel when he really wants to be a medic. It could mean the difference between staying in 20 years and getting the heck out as soon as possible.
I retired as an E-8 and like your husband at E-7 it took us YEARS to get there. This family will need to live off food stamps for years until his rank and income improve as enlisted.
But if her kids are old enough for her to work, that will contribute to the income. I have been a stay at home mom since my husband was an E4.
Of course we are just speculating. I don't know whether she plans on working, nor the age of her kids, nor their spending habits. An O1 sole wage earner with caviar tastes could well be worse off than an E4 that is extremely frugal with a spouse that could possibly be doubling the household income.
Based on what I've read, the decision to enlist is mainly based unhappiness with the current situation. It is natural to have questions, concerns, worries or fears about any new situation. Do you and your husband feel excited and hopeful about it? Which is greater? Feeling hopeful and excited with normal concerns? Or fear, doubt and worries?
Only enlist if you are moving toward something you view as positive rather than moving away from something negative.
But if her kids are old enough for her to work, that will contribute to the income. I have been a stay at home mom since my husband was an E4.
Of course we are just speculating. I don't know whether she plans on working, nor the age of her kids, nor their spending habits. An O1 sole wage earner with caviar tastes could well be worse off than an E4 that is extremely frugal with a spouse that could possibly be doubling the household income.
My kids are almost 12 and almost 16. I would probably be looking for a job in the childcare field which is what I've been doing for the past 10 years anyways. However, working in a child care center does not pay well.
We will be able to pay off my student loan and his car payment after we sell the house and will only have food, utilities for bills unless something comes up.
Not sure if anyone has ever given these numbers to you so just in case:
1889.70 basic pay E4
323.87 BAS (nontaxable - food allowance)
and lets call the BAH a wash b/c if you live on base its gone and if you don't lets just assume you can find something equivalent for the sake of simplicity.
gives you about $2212/mo to work with including the assumption your housing has already been paid for. You still need to pay all utilities (except electric on base - even in privatized housing its covered as long as you don't have excessive use) on the housing.
There will be deductions for: SGLI (I think its about $25?), FICA, spouse life insurance (unless you elect to opt out) - its about $10/mo or so), and Dental insurance if you elect it ($30/mo). The income is so low you probably won't have any federal taxes deducted.
I don't think I am forgetting anything but someone will surely correct me if I am.
Getting an overseas assignment was probably one of the best things that happened to our finances when my husband was an E4. There was COLA, we lived on base (prior to that we had to rent an apartment t b/c the wait list for E-4s 2 bdrs was over 2 yrs long), we had one vehicle for most of the time we were there, and there was not a whole lot to spend things on anyway.
Based on what I've read, the decision to enlist is mainly based unhappiness with the current situation. It is natural to have questions, concerns, worries or fears about any new situation. Do you and your husband feel excited and hopeful about it? Which is greater? Feeling hopeful and excited with normal concerns? Or fear, doubt and worries?
Only enlist if you are moving toward something you view as positive rather than moving away from something negative.
Your last sentence was the best advice I have read on this entire forum !
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