Kat,
Even when I was in, most enlisted personnel wifes took jobs to make ends
meet.  We only got housing allowances if we lived off base or off naval
housing.  I got $300 a month because we didn't have a galley on our command
and had to buy our own food, plus a housing allowance, about $175 a year for
uniforms (even though the cost was much higher because I usually had to buy
at least 5 sets of working uniforms, new boots, 2 new sets of whites, and 2
new sets of blues, socks, t-shirts, etc every year).  Being an E-5 after 5
years in the military my base pay 12 years ago was something like $11,000, I
think with extras I got it somewhere up to $20,000.  I'd have to look it up.
Oh, I also had to pay for my own life insurance and pay into the GI bill the
first year in the service.
You could make it, and many families still do, but, you do have to be
thrifty.  I do miss the the cheaps at the on base malls and commissary plus,
the cheap recreation opportunities.


beth t the OT

-----Original Message-----
From: St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List
Subject: Re: Taxes; was RE: Mag's whip


Trish, problem is, the allowances are fixed, not indexed to where one lives
so if you live in an expensive area it's hard to make ends meet.  And
non-coms get less than officers.  In today's economy, some military wives
are taking off-base jobs to make ends meet.


Kat