How much does a person make their first few years in the army?

Q. my husband is thinking about joining the army. we have three small kids together. we are pretty sure the army is a good schoice for our family, although it will be hard. one reason we think this is a valid option is bc of the financial stability the army entails. we dont know his mos will be but he is going to study to try and score at least a 50 on his asvab. if someone knows the range of housing allowance as well as salary i would greatly appreciate your input!

A. Depends on how quickly he gets promoted. The first couple of ranks make about 25000 a year, give or take a little, in base pay, but the additional benefits bump that up sometimes more than double depending on where you're stationed. When I was stationed in Maryland I was making almost as much in housing allowance as I was in base pay, and housing allowance is non-taxable. As the other person said, the pay charts are online. They're the same for all services, just do a search for 2010 or 2011 military pay charts, and you can get an idea. If you're curious about specific BAH rates, they are tailored based on the average rent in that area, and change based on rank. With three kids, I'd just live in base housing, because what they pay you in BAH is designed to basically pay for a 2 bedroom apartment, and it's not going to completely cover your rent, but if you're in military housing they assign it based on the size of your family. You guys would get at least a 3 bedroom home, maybe a 4 depending on the ages and genders of your children. Health care is free, which I love, and at most bases, the housing is close enough that he could bike to work to save on gas if it was really tight for you. Once he's been in for four or five years, the finances ease up considerably. So, in a nutshell, the base pay (in the charts) is the only thing out of your military benefits that's taxable. I've been in 10 years and am an E6, and my taxable income is about $35,000 a year, but because I have four kids I'm never liable for any taxes. In fact, I generally get back considerably more than I paid in. The financial stability is great, because I don't have to count hours and figure out if my budget can take me taking a vacation or staying home sick, and I don't have to weigh the cost of prescriptions against how sick I am and take risks with my health. Honestly, if you're good at living within your means, it is very easy to live comfortably in the military, just do your best to stay out of debt. I buy older cars for a few thousand cash and drive them until they die rather than shelling out tens of thousands for a new car that won't be worth anything by the time I pay it off. We budget our money and plan out what we are going to eat for the month, and only buy those groceries. If we want expensive furniture, we save up for it and buy it when we have the money rather than putting it on credit. That might all sound a bit money-nazi, but it's allowed us great freedom with our finances, and because we're good at saving money, we can afford to travel places like Disney for family vacations (yes, with four kids), take diving lessons, go out to eat a few times a month, etc. It's by no means upper class living, but it's stable and it's comfortable if you know how to watch your money. Hope this helps!

Original Question

How can I get a surfer style bedroom?

Q. I love brands like Fat Face, Billabong, Roxy etc. and the whole surfer look but I was wondering how to get that style in my bedroom? I've only got a tiny bedroom but I'm up for any suggestions - please add photos if you can.

A. I would definitely stay away from creating a too cheesy surfer room. For example, I was looking up some pictures for you and there were cheap grass skirts as the bedskirt for the bed and little tiny surfer lamps and stuffed monkeys and dolphins and stuff....cheesy. To make a gooood surfer room, I'd choose a bright color that you like for the walls or maybe two as in the picture provided below. The room below has lime green and orange but if you like other bright colors better, that'd be okay too. When you look for room examples like this, I always just use the picture as a shell and interchange my color preferences, etc. So paint the walls a bright color, I actually like the blue in the second picture provided for the walls. You'll want to keep white in your room too..the molding around the room, in the bedspread, maybe the bed frame, the dresser and anything you can really. Because you have a really bright wall, you need that white to offset it and make it more beachy and light. So chose your bedspread. There are plenty of bedspreads that are actually billabong and roxy beach spreads if you want that. You can also chose a hawaiian print theme, but I feel like that's borderline cheesy as well. If I were you, I would choose a full white bedspread in a light fabric. Choosing a completely white bedspread will also make the room and your bed feel and look bigger. It's really your preference though, as I know some people love the hawaiian print. I love the wicker in the first room provided. And I love how they painted it, but I also just love wicker plain. So if you're tight on cash or you just like the wicker not painted, just keep it like it is. Wicker just reminds me of outdoor furniture you'd have at a beach house though. I'm not sure what color your carpet is or if you have wood floors. It'd be ideal if you had wood flooring and then I'd add a straw beach mat as the rug at the foot of the bed or at the side of the bed, depending on the positioning of the bed. I'd get white lamps like the one in the first bedroom provided, the two inbetween the two beds on the nightstand. Again, I'm not sure how you are on money, but if you can afford it, I'd definitely splurge on a full sized surfboard to put somewhere in your room, behind a wicker chair or in a corner by itself. I'll provide a link to a cheaper board (in the world of surfboards it's considered very cheap.) I'd also get some beach themed decor. I like the word beach spelled out above the bed in the second picture. I also love the wood nightstand in the second bedroom, you can see the top slats of it, but I would paint it white. I was recently at Marshalls and they had extremely nice and sophisticated beach themed decor that could fill up probably two to three rooms. If you have a Marshalls by you, you should take a look there. Also, TJ Maxx. If not though, I'm sure you can find really cute beach stuff online. Even if you went to a craft store and bought a hurricane candle holder, a pillar candle, and sand and/or shells, that would be awesome to put on your nightstand. You could also buy a cheap starfish and shells online too to put around your room. The options are endless!! :) Here are all the links:

1st bedroom (bright walls, wicker chair, white dresser, white lamps)... http://www.thedesignfile.net/thedesignfile/2010/05/a-colorful-kids-room-you-can-emulate.html

2nd bedroom (the color blue I love for a beach room, beach letters over bed, slat nightstand)... http://www.bedroominteriordecorating.com/teenage-girl-bedroom-ideas-teenage-bedroom-designs/

Beach Mat for Rug... http://www.amazon.com/Simple-Natural-Beautiful-Yoga-Mat/dp/B000UK6VQ2

Landshark Board suggestion if you can't find something else... http://compare.ebay.com/like/350433809099?ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&rvr_id=213510046901&crlp=1_263602_304662&UA=M*F%3F&GUID=5ec409fa12e0a47a2fa73f07fb4737ad&itemid=350433809099&ff4=263602_304662

Beach candles (LOVE the different colors!!)... http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img4.realsimple.com/images/0903/candles_300.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/new-uses-for-old-things/summertime-new-uses-00000000016188/page37.html&usg=__DFVeZEITqeVDmvMb6BvECLlisug=&h=357&w=300&sz=20&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=t8VJsv_DLEYs8M:&tbnh=156&tbnw=121&ei=eSRoTcTlJ4yCtge1-IXoAw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhurricane%2Bcandle%2Bwith%2Bsand%2Band%2Bshells%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D622%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C42&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=1035&vpy=204&dur=726&hovh=245&hovw=206&tx=165&ty=142&oei=eSRoTcTlJ4yCtge1-IXoAw&page=1&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0&biw=1280&bih=622


HOPE THIS HELPS!!! :)

Original Question

Can you help me with ideas for my childrens bedroom?

Q. I have 2 girls. 1 and 3. My 1 year old is almost 2 but very advanced for her age. She speaks very clearly. My 3 year old will be 4 july4th. The theme is dora & puppies. What kind of beds should I use? Twin over full bunkbed? my 3 yr old is tall she looks and talks like a 5 yr old.. So she'll be needing something like a twin? Bit will that look right?? Any ideas?

A. I would get twin beds or if the room is big enough full size beds or twin boards that can convert to full. Girls, unlike boys, tend to tire of the whole bunk bed idea quick.

Also, I might be biased because I now have 3 girls and 2 boys and buying bedroom furniture over and over isn't part of the plan or budget..lol I use bedding to kiddie up their rooms.

Using your theme, I would go for something like this where the bedding isn't exactly the same for their beds, but coordinated (scroll to the pink set).
http://cimots.com/bed-design/kids-twin-beds-ideas-in-various-themes-bedroom.html

I get decals from here:
http://www.landofnod.com/kids-beds/kids-�

Here are some bedroom sets. Personally, I bought my mattresses locally because I wanted to see the quality and knew I could bargain with them on the price since I was buying more than one set:
http://www.bedroomfurniture.com/Kids-Bed�
http://www.kidsfurnituremart.com/kids-be�
http://www.cymax.com/Bedroom-Sets-Kids--�

Original Question

I want to design my bedroom in a winter/blue/silver type ot theme. Any ideas?

Q. I need some ideas on what i mentioned in the topic question.

A. hang white xmas lights either along border, around headboard or on ceiling. Paint the room blue, do silver trim. I would screw in some rods in the ceiling above my bed and hang some flimsy white curtains so you'd have a nice canopy. I'd get a cheap pair of curtains and try to cut them up like snowflakes. You probably made them in elementary school with paper when you were a kid.

Fold the curtain into a little square, leaving the sleeve for the rod sticking out so you don't cut it. Fold the square in half so it look similar to an ice cream cone. Cut off the bottom point in an arc. Then cut slashes, triangles, wavey lines whatever on the sides. Unfold and it should look like there's snowflakes in your curtain OOHHHH a better idea lol, get the white curtains and some light blue/silver material. Cut the material into circles, fold into an ice cream cone cut the top of the cone in a wave and the bottom point in an arc, wave or any shape, follow the same cutting instructions for the curtain then you can use fabric glue or sew them on to the white curtains.

Try it out on paper so you can practice making snowflakes.

Paint furniture white and knobs silver or go to craft store for new knobs.

Original Question

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Title Post: How much does a person make their first few years in the army?
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