Uncertainty about working Monday

[mdsoccermom]

My husband is federal law enforcement. If there is a shutdown, he still has to go to work. He'll ultimately receive backpay, BUT, if he takes any leave during the shutdown while he's supposed to be at work, he will not receive the money.

 

[Magic Mom]

Well thank you! I said that so that I wouldn't have to put on my flame suit. LOL...it is important to me! There are things for my kids' school that I am also being asked to pay for...field day shirts...treats for their Easter parties...jeez.

I am a MESS right now...this just adds to things. G'ma is in the hospital not doing well...DH is deploying in 3 weeks...when he gets home we're moving to NY(which is TOTALLY different from FL and TX, so I'm stressed about that. Driving in the snow)

Time for a glass of wine. Let's just worry about current issues. Your PCS is far away, so no worries abut that. Plus think of how cool it will be to explore the Northeast with your kids AND they'll get to make snowmen and go sledding and skiing. It will be a great experience for your family.

My guess is we won't be without pay for too long. In the meantime stock up on budget food. The kids won't even notice. Don't stress over Easter, you can go super budget there too. Again, your kids won't notice. It might hurt you, but 4 year olds have pretty low expectations.

The deployment sucks, but it will go by fast if you keep busy with the kids. I don't remember....is this your first deployment?

Where does your Grandma live? CAn you go visit her?

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Time for a glass of wine. Let's just worry about current issues. Your PCS is far away, so no worries abut that. Plus think of how cool it will be to explore the Northeast with your kids AND they'll get to make snowmen and go sledding and skiing. It will be a great experience for your family.

My guess is we won't be without pay for too long. In the meantime stock up on budget food. The kids won't even notice. Don't stress over Easter, you can go super budget there too. Again, your kids won't notice. It might hurt you, but 4 year olds have pretty low expectations.

The deployment sucks, but it will go by fast if you keep busy with the kids. I don't remember....is this your first deployment?

Where does your Grandma live? CAn you go visit her?

Yes...first deployment.

No.I can't visit my G-ma, but I have mixed feelings about wanting to even if I could. (WHOLE different thread). We do not have the best relationship. That is a whole different set of feelings that I am dealing with when it comes to her.

 

[Magic Mom]

Yes...first deployment.

.

Are you active with your FRG, or do you have a close group of spouses you hang out with for support? A lot of people think FRG's aren't for them, but during a deployment, it really helps to go to meetings.

I have some cute ideas on how to keep the kids connected with Dad while he's gone if you are interested.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Are you active with your FRG, or do you have a close group of spouses you hang out with for support? A lot of people think FRG's aren't for them, but during a deployment, it really helps to go to meetings.

I have some cute ideas on how to keep the kids connected with Dad while he's gone if you are interested.

I am ALWAYS open to advice about how to stay connected and grounded during this!

Eh...I've helped out a few times with the FRG. My husband's unit is SUPER SMALL...there really isn't much of an FRG at our level. Just the Batallion level, which doesn't really do much for us.

I do have quite a few friends here that I can count on though.

 

[Hutchy]

For the military people.... the LES is up and it looks like we'll only get the pay for the first 8 days. I guess we'll see what happens from this point forward but at least it's some money and not big old 00000's on there.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

For the military people.... the LES is up and it looks like we'll only get the pay for the first 8 days. I guess we'll see what happens from this point forward but at least it's some money and not big old 00000's on there.

Doesn't help much. But it IS better than nothing

 

[Aisling]

You do realize it happened in 1995, right? It can, will it? I don't know, but believe me, it can. I was a SAHM in 1995 so I've never dealt with it, but I could use a few days off next week.

I had no idea. Wow. We'll I'm definitely paying more attention now than I did back then when the economy wasn't so bad.

 

[mdsoccermom]

I had no idea. Wow. We'll I'm definitely paying more attention now than I did back then when the economy wasn't so bad.

Yes, and it was shutdown for 27 days.

 

[Sadfeet]

I had no idea. Wow. We'll I'm definitely paying more attention now than I did back then when the economy wasn't so bad.

The difference is Clinton made sure to pass a DOD budget so the military got paid even though we weren't at war. Now with wars on three sides Obama is using military families as pawns.

Never thought I'd miss slick Willy.

 

[monkeybug]

The difference is Clinton made sure to pass a DOD budget so the military got paid even though we weren't at war. Now with wars on three sides Obama is using military families as pawns.

Never thought I'd miss slick Willy.

Oh, please be careful to not make this thread political! This topic is not allowed to be discussed on the military message board I belong to (how lame is that????), and it's really nice to be able to talk about it here!! It would suck if the thread gets closed.

 

[monkeybug]

I have to say that all of this has been a real eye opener for me! I always viewed my husbands job in the military as rock solid security (well, barring he messes up somehow) and never imagined facing a long span of time with no paycheck.
We are LUCKY to have savings. We don't have savings because we are good financial stewards or living on a strict budget, we have savings because we were lucky enough to sell a house when there was still profit to be made in doing so. If not for that I imagine we would be living paycheck to paycheck just like a lot of other military families are.
I feel really badly for ALL the families who are going to suffer financially if this goes through, but I feel especially badly for those families whose husbands are fighting a war somewhere. If you pick up a gun and go off into the desert for your country, you should be paid. NO. MATTER. WHAT!

 

[Hutchy]

We have savings because he's been deployed 3 times. If we hadn't put so much money away because we are getting out of the army this summer we might be in more of a bind. There were plenty of times in the beginning of our marriage we lived paycheck to paycheck and missing a paycheck would have been bad news.

 

[ilovemk76]

I wish they would not play this game in Congress.

I remember threats of shutdowns many times before and even the 1995 shutdown.

The thing weall need to learn from this, not just military or government employees, is the danger we put ourselves in when we live paycheck to paycheck.

 

[MoniqueU]

Well thank you! I said that so that I wouldn't have to put on my flame suit. LOL...it is important to me! There are things for my kids' school that I am also being asked to pay for...field day shirts...treats for their Easter parties...jeez.

I am a MESS right now...this just adds to things. G'ma is in the hospital not doing well...DH is deploying in 3 weeks...when he gets home we're moving to NY(which is TOTALLY different from FL and TX, so I'm stressed about that. Driving in the snow)

I hope things brighten up for you, your husband and your kids. You have alot on your plate and don't need anymore. Your posts about the easter baskets tickled me and put a smile on my face. I hope your children enjoy the easter bunny.

Hugs to everyone affected by this, this country is a mess and it wears thin for us all.

 

[Acklander]

The thing weall need to learn from this, not just military or government employees, is the danger we put ourselves in when we live paycheck to paycheck.

In a perfect world, we'd all have a cushion. But some jobs are low paying and with the increase in insurance/healthcare/gas/food costs, utilities, the high unemployment, and so on....even many people who are in medium paying jobs that have been reduced to a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle.
There are a lot more people than at anytime since the depression, through no fault of their own, that are living paycheck to paycheck. It's a crappy situation all around, and the thing I'm learning from this is to be careful who you vote for.

 

[Christine]

The difference is Clinton made sure to pass a DOD budget so the military got paid even though we weren't at war. Now with wars on three sides Obama is using military families as pawns.

Never thought I'd miss slick Willy.

Without going into too much detail, you need to read up on that. There was a rider attached to that bill that is making a simple bill very convoluted which is why it won't be signed that way. I won't say anymore I just hate for people to be misinformed.

 

[ilovemk76]

In a perfect world, we'd all have a cushion. But some jobs are low paying and with the increase in insurance/healthcare/gas/food costs, utilities, the high unemployment, and so on....even many people who are in medium paying jobs that have been reduced to a paycheck to paycheck lifestyle.
There are a lot more people than at anytime since the depression, through no fault of their own, that are living paycheck to paycheck. It's a crappy situation all around, and the thing I'm learning from this is to be careful who you vote for.

People were living above there means way before this economic turn down.

Now too many buy wants rather than save for a rainy day.

We buy too much house; too much car; charge vacations and many other wants.

I know federal workers who make six figure salaries that will be getting pay advanced loans to get throughout this. They have excellent benefits but chose not to put aside a few wants to save a few cents.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

My husband has also been told he has to show up at work on Monday to be told if he has to go home. I guess it's a little thing in the midst of a big problem, but it bugs me that he may have to spend gas money driving to work to be sent home.

Me too....but you can bet your a$$ I'm going to sleep in first! What are they going to do? Put me on Furlough?

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

People were living above there means way before this economic turn down.

Now too many buy wants rather than save for a rainy day.

We buy too much house; too much car; charge vacations and many other wants.

I know federal workers who make six figure salaries that will be getting pay advanced loans to get throughout this. They have excellent benefits but chose not to put aside a few wants to save a few cents.

You make a good point, but, thankfully, not everybody lives like that! I'll never forget once I was living in a very affluent town in Conneticut (Madison), and I made a comment to my friend once about how I couldn't understand how some could live in the big fancy houses they did. Her comment was "Kelly, my bother-in-law is a cop here. He's gone to calls at some of those houses, and went he went in, they had no furniture, etc. becuase they couldn't afford it." It amazes me how some people live WAY beyond their means, just for "show". But I degress!! We live in a world of "instant gratification"...nobody wants to save for anything, they want things now, now, now! Thankfully, me and DH agree budget-wise...we pay cash for almost everything, and keep our credit cards for true emergencies.