The Army & Finances

This has been a very stressful week as a dual military couple.

The growing concern over a government shutdown kept us on pins and needles all of the past week, and the apprehension of what may come continues to haunt us.

Those who have been through this before are assuring me that even with a government shut down, we would receive our pay- eventually.

At first, I didn't think that a government shutdown would effect us.  I mean, they can't just not pay the troops, right?  But then my maintenance officer pulled me to the side on Thursday morning and asked me if I had checked my LES.  "Well, no because it's always been the same before and I didn't expect my promotion check until next month... why?"  They are only paying us half on the fifteenth was his reply.

Whoa.

Hubby and I just moved into a house, and had to pay double bills for last month due to moving before our lease was up.  The car broke down on Wednesday and hasn't been fixed yet.  The fridge is getting empty, and the bank accounts equally so.   This is not good.

I have a detachment of soldiers within my unit that are currently deployed and their families are depending on those paychecks to make it day to day.  This is not good.

We have battle assembly this weekend and I have sixty soldiers depending on those battle assembly paychecks to make it through their bills.  We bought groceries to cook for all of those soldiers all weekend..  This is not good.

Thursday and Friday at work was a whirlwind of reactive planning for what could happen if the government had shut down at the end of the day on Friday.  We activated the alert roster- twice.  The One Star General of my command canceled all battle assemblies for the weekend.  We returned what food we could to the grocery store that had been purchased for the troops.  We paid everyone we could before the deadline hit.  We had conference calls to discuss the furloughing of our civilian employees, and how their absence would impact the work of those soldiers who would pick up where they left off.  It was a long two days.


In the end, the government did not shut down.  Yet.  

Coincidentally, Hubby and I had talked about our budget and goals last Tuesday during my Birthday dinner.  So we know where we want to get.  But if our checks were cut like that, we, like so many other military families, would be hurt.

How would the government shutdown effect your life?