Author Topic: New to the forum: currently deployed  (Read 2924 times)

Dondarrion

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New to the forum: currently deployed
« on: September 06, 2014, 09:16:00 PM »
Greetings Mustachios,

Long time reader of the blog but just now signing up on the forum. Life is about to significantly change for me and I figured I could post here for support!

My wife and I are 26, no kids. I am an officer in the USMC and my wife is a school tutor/substitute (full time gig until Christmas!). I am currently deployed and when I get home, I am getting out of the Corps.

Our financial stats: (ynab junkies 2 years running)

Income: ~5k per month
Roth IRA: 10k
Cash: 8k

Honda Civic Auto Loan: 12k
Federal Student Loan: 30k

We have credit cards but 0 cc debt and we use our rewards to pay for flights and hotel rooms! YNAB has allowed us to keep all of our spending under control and we have flown free for 2 years straight at no cost whatsoever.

Unfortunately, our debt payoff plan has been reduced. Since I am deployed, we have a bunch of other expenses and I am not able to make the major payments on our debt that I want to. I am also hording cash so that when I get out of the Corps, we have money for a few months if my job offer falls through (highly unlikely but still...). I really want to get rid of the student loan and once I return from deployment, I have a plan to knock it out in 2-3 years. The Honda civic loan is at 2% and I am going to pay it off next but for the time being, the student loan is my main obstacle.

We are slowly but surely embracing the MMM lifestyle. Over the last 2 years, we have:
  • paid off 30k in student loans
  • paid off 1 car note
  • followed ynab religiously
  • made numerous daily changes in order to reduce wasteful spending

Once I am out of the military, we are moving to DC where we both have jobs lined up. We plan on:
  • selling our SUV
  • moving as close as possible to work so we can bike/walk
  • selling lots of our furniture and downsizing into a smaller apt

Wish me luck!

Elderwood17

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Re: New to the forum: currently deployed
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2014, 09:23:33 PM »
Welcome, and good luck!  And be safe!

Nords

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Re: New to the forum: currently deployed
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2014, 10:56:47 PM »
Sounds like you're on track!

You probably have a USMC Reserve obligation for a few years.  Keep an eye on your drill opportunities, and after you get a handle on your civilian job then you may want to upgrade from IRR to a drill billet.

There are two reasons I suggest this:
1.  Many veterans miss the camaraderie, and in the Reserves you get paid for it.
2.  Many veterans in their 50s wish that they'd built on their active-duty time by sticking around in the Reserves to get to 20 good years.  Right now you could be rightfully disgusted with the military, but in a few years you may start to drift more toward the attitude of drilling out to 20. 

Dondarrion

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Re: New to the forum: currently deployed
« Reply #3 on: September 07, 2014, 01:25:48 AM »
Sounds like you're on track!

You probably have a USMC Reserve obligation for a few years.  Keep an eye on your drill opportunities, and after you get a handle on your civilian job then you may want to upgrade from IRR to a drill billet.

There are two reasons I suggest this:
1.  Many veterans miss the camaraderie, and in the Reserves you get paid for it.
2.  Many veterans in their 50s wish that they'd built on their active-duty time by sticking around in the Reserves to get to 20 good years.  Right now you could be rightfully disgusted with the military, but in a few years you may start to drift more toward the attitude of drilling out to 20.

Forgot to mention that I am staying in the SMCR to drill!

Dondarrion

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Re: New to the forum: currently deployed
« Reply #4 on: September 08, 2014, 01:51:11 AM »
So I am currently saving about $2,000 per month on this deployment, more some months. My plan is at the end of the 6 months, I am either going to put all of the money towards the student loan, or I am going to use it for living expenses if for some reason one of our job offers fall through. Good idea?

I hate the fact that my new job is riding on an election! November can't get here soon enough.

Travis

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Re: New to the forum: currently deployed
« Reply #5 on: September 08, 2014, 04:02:39 AM »
Is your emergency fund equal to a couple months of expenses as they are now, pre-deployment, or after you ETS?  I'm thinking you could put the extra money you're earning now towards the loan as long as you're comfortable with your e-fund.  When do you start terminal leave, when are you moving, what is your ETS date?  I ask in case to make sure you still have a few months of income while you're transitioning and can shrink your budget in a crunch for a couple months if you have to.

Dondarrion

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Re: New to the forum: currently deployed
« Reply #6 on: September 08, 2014, 04:35:04 AM »
EAS: April 1, 2015

We moved out of base housing, put our stuff in storage, and my wife is living with my parents (we are netting $1,700 in BAH monthly, minus $125 for our storage unit, big win and tax free money). My $3,000 emergency fund can cover all of my bills and other living expenses for several months. I would hate to move in with my folks but they are more than happy to help us out in the event that my job falls through. I am think I am going to save an extra $2,000 just for an extra cushion (we could really really buckle down need be).

The good thing is that I will know at the beginning of November whether or not I have a job when I get out. That would give me 4 months to be looking for other employment before I return to CONUS. If the election goes well, I will be starting work as soon as I move all of our stuff up to DC (military funded move + dislocation allowance).

Freaking uncertainty is killing me and getting out of the USMC is honestly a bit scary. I am an extremely detailed planner and the prospect of having my financial future out of my hands is unnerving.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!