Government Shutdown and Disney Fund

[lauradis]

I'm a federal employee. I'm not counting on reimbursement. This is a different time and era. A lot of people think of non-military federal employees as necessary evils. And they specifically hate me. I'm IRS out of Cincinnati, although my office had absolutely nothing to do with the mishandled tea party applications.

We're going to WDW late this month, and our trip is still on. Our tickets and lodging are already paid for (lodging via our timeshare points). I have several hundred dollars in Disney gift cards to pay for meals. We're fine right now, but if this furlough lasts another week or so, it may dip into our Christmas. And possibly next year vacation.

I don't hate you, unless you keep writing those awful tax laws (jking know you have no control). It gets harder and harder to write those IRS tax check year after year.

Hope you have the best vacation ever.

 

[sharon_wv]

I am also affected. I am hoping its short lived thats for sure. My biggest fear is not only losing the paychecks for the time we are off, but having to catch up on the health insurance and other deductions once we get back in a pay status.

I sure hope we get paid, but it makes me angry to think our tax dollars will then be spent and there was nothing received for it.

Instead of the normal 20% productivity on average across the govt it is 0%. Haha... Just teasin'

I am enjoying catching up on chores that I've wanted to do for a long time and never have time to get to. Today I cleaned out the walk in closet in our bedroom. Tomorrow it's my daughter's room and closet/drawers (after a nice bike ride in the morning).

 

[JulieODC]

I'm a furloughed fed as well. Our November trip is paid for (except food) so will keep it as planned. Luckily DH is not a fed and is still working. We are just tightening up the budget and crossing fingers for back-pay and a quick resolution.

 

[Alexle2007]

My DH and I are both SSA, although I am on detail to HHS. He's considered excepted and I am not. Thank goodness we have a hefty rainy day fund. Unfortunately, my sister who is also a Fed doesn't and is already asking if she can borrow money since our paychecks next Fri will be half of what they typically are. And of course Congress ensures they keep getting their paychecks though. That is the worst part. And then there will the public uproar when we get back pay for this time we are off. But they certainly don't have that uproar now. And they won't since excepted employees are still working disability, retirement and other claims. Glad we have our Disney cruise next week to forget about this chaos and ridiculous nonsense.

 

[johde]

I'm a federal employee. I'm not counting on reimbursement. This is a different time and era. A lot of people think of non-military federal employees as necessary evils. And they specifically hate me. I'm IRS out of Cincinnati, although my office had absolutely nothing to do with the mishandled tea party applications.

Another one here who doesn't hate you. In college, our accounting club took a tour of the IRS building there. The processing room for the paper forms was interesting.

 

[Glenn]

For the poster think about this for your wdw budget. Think about what would spend at home but wont if your at wdw. Groceries and eating, youd spend for this if you were home so that can be added to budget. Utilities, youll save a little with heating/ac turned lower or higher depending on your weather. Remember many hot water heaters have a vacation setting. Transportation, if you stay at home youd probably drive some, at wdw a little less driving.
Hopefully this insanity wont last too long. All the articles i've seen sort of says that there will be no back pay if your at home. Good luck everyone.

 

[LadyBeBop]

I don't hate you, unless you keep writing those awful tax laws (jking know you have no control).

It's Congress that has the control.

Hope you have the best vacation ever.

Thanks for the pixiedust.

Another one here who doesn't hate you. In college, our accounting club took a tour of the IRS building there. The processing room for the paper forms was interesting.

Yes it is. I worked 16 years in that building. I'm now a little farther south in Florence. It's still considered part of the Cincinnati campus. Although, believe it or not, we report to the Andover, MA service center.

For the poster think about this for your wdw budget. Think about what would spend at home but wont if your at wdw.

I'm posting in regards to our vacation later this month. Keep in mind, park tickets and lodging are paid for.

Groceries and eating, youd spend for this if you were home so that can be added to budget.

We're staying in a condo, so we could eat in if we wanted to. However, that would cut into park time. We'll eat breakfasts in, but most of our lunches and dinners will be out. So that adds to a budget.

Utilities, youll save a little with heating/ac turned lower or higher depending on your weather. Remember many hot water heaters have a vacation setting.

Since we're staying during a moderate time of the year, we won't save too much by adjusting the thermostat. In fact, I wouldn't know where to set the temperature so the furnace or air conditioner would stay off. Fortunately, we bought a new thermostat this summer that allows us to adjust the temperature at home via our smart phones.

Transportation, if you stay at home youd probably drive some, at wdw a little less driving.

Actually, we'll spend more on gas while at the World. My husband has all of his gas paid for by his work (including commuting costs). I work about 3 miles from home. The distance from our condo to Epcot is a little less than from home to work. And the distance to the other parks is more.

We're also driving down, so that adds to the transporation costs.

Hopefully this insanity wont last too long. All the articles I've seen sort of says that there will be no back pay if your at home. Good luck everyone.

I hope you're wrong about the back pay, but thanks for the encouragement.

 

[redsonja76]

Right now, only the military is guaranteed payment (they will continue to be paid on time).

Whether others will receive back pay or not is still to be decided.

Even the military wont be paid their full checks. We will not be receiving any of the special duty pays like family separation and hazardous duty even though do is deployed.

 

[lovemygoofy]

Even the military wont be paid their full checks. We will not be receiving any of the special duty pays like family separation and hazardous duty even though do is deployed.

Where did you hear this? The resolution that passed Monday night for military pay included all the extras pays that are allowed. I believe if there is anything on hold it will be reenlistment bonus.

House Resolution 3210, known as the Pay Our Military Act, protects military pay as defined in Title 10 of the United States Code. Title 10, which governs the military, defines pay as including “basic pay, special pay, retainer pay, incentive pay, retired pay and equivalent pay.”

 

[grassmower]

My DH and I are both SSA, although I am on detail to HHS. He's considered excepted and I am not. Thank goodness we have a hefty rainy day fund. Unfortunately, my sister who is also a Fed doesn't and is already asking if she can borrow money since our paychecks next Fri will be half of what they typically are. And of course Congress ensures they keep getting their paychecks though. That is the worst part. And then there will the public uproar when we get back pay for this time we are off. But they certainly don't have that uproar now. And they won't since excepted employees are still working disability, retirement and other claims. Glad we have our Disney cruise next week to forget about this chaos and ridiculous nonsense.

I'm no fan of the bums in congress, however by law they can't vote to not pay themselves. They can legally only change the pay of the next congress so I give them a pass on this one!

 

[JanaDee]

Where did you hear this? The resolution that passed Monday night for military pay included all the extras pays that are allowed. I believe if there is anything on hold it will be reenlistment bonus.

House Resolution 3210, known as the Pay Our Military Act, protects military pay as defined in Title 10 of the United States Code. Title 10, which governs the military, defines pay as including “basic pay, special pay, retainer pay, incentive pay, retired pay and equivalent pay.”

This. All military will be paid on time what they are owed.

 

[lauradis]

I'm no fan of the bums in congress, however by law they can't vote to not pay themselves. They can legally only change the pay of the next congress so I give them a pass on this one!

The problem with that statement is very little of them ever LEAVE

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

DH is furloughed again. We cancelled the disney trip we had planned over the summer during the last furlough. This one is worrying me because we've had a lot of medical and dental expenses pop up at the same time (of course) and our savings are getting slim. DH was supposed to go to a military school tomorrow and we never did get a clear answer about whether or not he was going, but he was never sent orders so I guess not. I'm frustrated and angry over the whole thing. In the past they paid retroactively, but with this congress I don't have much confidence.

I've been looking for a job for about 3 years now and have not even gotten an interview, I guess because I haven't worked for 15 years (SAHM). I'm talking even Walmart and McDonalds. So I went back to school for medical office administration, but I still have a year and half before I have my degree.

And as long as I'm venting, I am so sick of "friends" posting anti-obamacare messages on facebook. That isn't even on my radar right now. I just want the shutdown to end so DH can work and get paid!

 

[Megkel]

Where did you hear this? The resolution that passed Monday night for military pay included all the extras pays that are allowed. I believe if there is anything on hold it will be reenlistment bonus. House Resolution 3210, known as the Pay Our Military Act, protects military pay as defined in Title 10 of the United States Code. Title 10, which governs the military, defines pay as including “basic pay, special pay, retainer pay, incentive pay, retired pay and equivalent pay.”

http://mobile.navytimes.com/article/20130930/NEWS05/309300040

This was the information that was released by the ombudsmen. This states that military will receive basic pay but not the special duty pays. Which sucks considering for us special duty pays equal a couple hundred dollars. We also didn't receive the bonus yet, it is suppose to be paid once everything is back in order. I'm not holding my breathe however. We did a partial DITY move back in July and still haven't been paid. I'm grateful we are at least going to be paid something to at least get through our bills. However with the holidays and a new baby I am not very happy that we won't get the full pay.

 

[3happydancers]

I am so sorry that you all are faced with these hard times. I find the whole situation troubling even more because our leaders well...aren't leading. Personally, I think all of them, the congress, senate and our president, need to be locked in a room without the key and not be allowed to leave until they come to a compromise.

 

[lovemygoofy]

http://mobile.navytimes.com/article/20130930/NEWS05/309300040

This was the information that was released by the ombudsmen. This states that military will receive basic pay but not the special duty pays. Which sucks considering for us special duty pays equal a couple hundred dollars. We also didn't receive the bonus yet, it is suppose to be paid once everything is back in order. I'm not holding my breathe however. We did a partial DITY move back in July and still haven't been paid. I'm grateful we are at least going to be paid something to at least get through our bills. However with the holidays and a new baby I am not very happy that we won't get the full pay.

I'm about 100% positive that all incentive pay will be still there. My husband is deployed as well so I understand all the extra money that is included.

Here is a paragraph from Marine Corp Times updated article about Navy extra pays

As the shutdown got underway Tuesday, Adm. Bill Moran, the chief of naval personnel, issued a memo indicating special pays would be suspended as a result. Marine officials at the Pentagon said the same held true for the Corps, but they reversed course Wednesday, saying the Navy misinterpreted legislation aimed at protecting military pay during the shutdown.
Here is the whole article: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/art...Deployed-troops-will-still-receive-extra-cash

 

[bdcp]

I'm furloughed. DH is a Fed contractor and is funded through the first couple of days of Nov. We have a cruise on 3 Nov (non Disney) and then we're spending 5 days at WDW. Cruise is paid for and so is the Auto Train and one night at SOG. WDW isn't, but we have the cash and we're staying at SOG and using the military discounted 4 days tickets. My income is for fun/ vacations/debt so we can "live" on DH's salary. So glad, we learned to live on his one salary when we had young kids. We never bought a house we couldn't afford/qualify for on more than his salary. But, we're on our 50's and empty nesters. We did the paycheck to paycheck thing when our kids were growing up because it was more important to us for me to be home with them than working and it worked out fine. I'm not expecting to be paid for the furlough so if we are, it would be nice. My personal feeling is that this will be all done with the debt ceiling. Everything will be wrapped up by then which means we'll lose a couple of weeks of salary. I was fortunate enough to not be furloughed earlier this year.

I do think that people need to remember at election time. I have my own opinions on this and won't state them because I have gotten points for mentioning "politics". I don't get it because politics is part of life. I do have to say that one side is tolerated more than another.

 

[disneyfreak33]

Where did you hear this? The resolution that passed Monday night for military pay included all the extras pays that are allowed. I believe if there is anything on hold it will be reenlistment bonus.

House Resolution 3210, known as the Pay Our Military Act, protects military pay as defined in Title 10 of the United States Code. Title 10, which governs the military, defines pay as including “basic pay, special pay, retainer pay, incentive pay, retired pay and equivalent pay.”

Not true in the least for us. It is now 4 days and no pending deposit.

We can only hope that next Thursday there will be a pending deposit for our basic pay.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Not true in the least for us. It is now 4 days and no pending deposit.

We can only hope that next Thursday there will be a pending deposit for our basic pay.

You're active duty military? You should've been paid on the first as usual, it's the next check that should have been impacted, not the one on the first.

 

[wekhogan]

I'm no fan of the bums in congress, however by law they can't vote to not pay themselves. They can legally only change the pay of the next congress so I give them a pass on this one!

They can't not pay themselves - and isn't that convenient!- but they can give it back. No pass from me on this mess. I get that each side firmly believes they're in the right. But there has to be compromise, not just posturing to show who wields the biggest stick.

And I loved the post about locking them all in a room until they agree.