O-1 Budget in Flight School

[Draples]

I was wondering if anybody could walk through their monthly income breakdown from the first few years of flight school? e.g.,

• Total income: ???
  • taxes: ?
  • rent (mortgage?):
  • food:
  • retirement:
  • college loan payments:
  • etc.:
  • take home pay:

Just trying to figure out how much beer money I'll have, haha.

 

[azguy]

No one can answer this question for you - but you're asking the right stuff. Your monthly take home will be roughly $3200 I guess. Look into TSP C fund vs other products out there and decide which is the best fit for you.

The MIDN -> ENS pay raise is the highest by far you will ever get. It's awesome. Still, there are always some clowns who end up in serious debt. It's really stupid if you think about it because you assuming you're single, you will have a ton of discretionary income.

 

[TexasTools]

Living in Pensacola right now, my paycheck after taxes is about ~$3600/month.
I ended up buying nearly everything I needed since I got here two months ago (furniture, dishes, golf clubs, etc.), and my student loan repayments haven't kicked in yet, but I still have had PLENTY of beer/whiskey money. But with the questions you're asking, you're probably going to find the right places to put the extra money.

 

[xj220]

Getting roommates for the first couple years of your aviation career will do wonders for your budget. Even all the way through your sea tour.

 

[ssnspoon]

As long as you properly (for you) define your wants vs needs, I did not have roommates, did not live in a $hit hole, and only had a credit card bill for the first three months (after buying furniture, etc). Use craigslist, etc to get great used gear. Get used to paying off your credit card every month. When you are a senior LT you SHOULD have plenty of money by starting and MAINTAINING this way of life and you will live well when the others are in a hole (more than they will tell you).

After talking $ with MANY people from E-4 to O-7 I have come to the conclusion that kids are only slightly expensive, most people who are honest with themselves realize that their poor spending habits are what made them poor, their kids are their justification for why they have no money! Most guys I know don't get out of the hole until they get the DH bonus...so they were motivated by the money, not the job. Get on a plan now, follow it (it may suck when those other guys get ensign mobiles and you don't), and when you get to that fork in the road you can make it for all the RIGHT reasons, not only for the money.

My $0.02

 

[Gatordev]

Well said, spoon.

Also, if you're paying state income tax while you're in flight school, you're doing it wrong.

 

[Pags]

There are some taken home pay calculators online that you can use to help figure out your taxes based on your with holdings.

As others have said, avoid the temptation to buy ridiculous levels of stuff; most importantly brand new expensive cars and AV gear.

 

[xj220]

There are some taken home pay calculators online that you can use to help figure out your taxes based on your with holdings.

As others have said, avoid the temptation to buy ridiculous levels of stuff; most importantly brand new expensive cars and AV gear.

Definitely concur with this. If you can suck it up the first couple of years and hold off on unnecessary purchases, you'll save a lot of money and be well ahead of your peers. The big purchases are for after deployments (1st was a sound system, 2nd was a car).

 

[MGoBrew11]

To tack onto what Gatordev said, if you aren't already a resident of a state that has no income tax for military, become a resident of Florida while you're in A-pool. It will save you a good chunk of dough.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

There are places on base that can help you with budgeting. They'll break down your pay as well as expenses to give you a good idea on how much you can save monthly. Assuming you're 23 years old or so, I do recommend to start investing now to prepare for your future down the road.

 

[utswimmer37]

Here is something I built...it's what I've thrown together based off of a little research and some spreadsheets I have used in the past. Feel free to disregard it as well.
1st tab - figuring out total comp amount
2nd tab - using that number to get an after taxes/insurance amount. Monthly total feeds from first tab total
3rd tab - what I'm using for budgeting through OCS and flight school if everything works out. Using the proposed 1.08% uplift for 2015 and a 1.15%(conservative estimate) uplift for 2016
ALso there is no assumption for state income taxes. Not sure how it will work yet because if I earn less than 50% of my income out of state (only 3 months in RI) im pretty sure I avoid having to be taxed at Rhode Island state income tax rate or at least should get some back on the return. Texas does not have a state income tax, just like Florida, so I feel like the gross assumption I am making by excluding state income taxes from this equitation is sound. Any tax burdens from other states is De minimis in the grand scheme of things in my mind.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkHYywzKAWi4dGx0OGtCVVprRlBMRzVDdFdMNTJuM3c&hl=en#gid=2

 

[Criminal]

Don't listen to these fools. Rent a big apartment next to a strip club. Buy a new corvette. Everything will be ok.

 

[Spekkio]

After talking $ with MANY people from E-4 to O-7 I have come to the conclusion that kids are only slightly expensive, most people who are honest with themselves realize that their poor spending habits are what made them poor, their kids are their justification for why they have no money! Most guys I know don't get out of the hole until they get the DH bonus...so they were motivated by the money, not the job. Get on a plan now, follow it (it may suck when those other guys get ensign mobiles and you don't), and when you get to that fork in the road you can make it for all the RIGHT reasons, not only for the money.

Kids are not that expensive only if you assume that they will always be perfectly healthy, they never need any dental work, and you never do anything outside the house other than visit free parks. Then there's the 1/2 million you need to build up in investments for the projected cost of private college per child, unless you think that saddling them with massive debt at 22 is good for their development.

You don't understand it now but when you have kids, the value of doing things that give them a good childhood is higher than a big number on your laptop screen.

Random side rant: I've come to find out we live in a society where you get dirty looks for not putting a 3 year old into 'pre-school,' and I put that in quotes because it's actually glorified part-time day care at that age, on top of the fact that pre-school has demonstrated to have no impact on academic performance of children who come from families who do things that parents are supposed to do, like read books with them.

 

[xj220]

Here's an idea, don't get married. Don't have kids. Go out and drink and party instead. Wash, rinse, repeat and enjoy being a JO.

 

[Spekkio]

Here's an idea, don't get married. Don't have kids. Go out and drink and party instead. Wash, rinse, repeat and enjoy being a JO.

Sound advice, particularly for anyone who is planning on transitioning out of the Navy after a first tour. It becomes a lot more difficult to take that leap with children. Had a guy who was ready to leave the Navy, his wife got ill so he reenlisted just so he didn't incur thousands in healthcare costs while he found another job.