First off when I panicked at the first realization that we could be seriously screwed next week, two very awesome people offered to help via paypal. You know who you are, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Shortly after my panic ended, the anger ensued. I stopped being upset about my own situation, because we have always survived. We survived before he enlisted as a family of four on $5,000/year. We survived when he enlisted as a family of four on a private’s pay which at the time was less than $1000/month. That sounds like alot but we were in alot of debt, and we still had many bills. I know my resources, I know where to go, who to call, and what to do. Not everyone is so lucky.
My anger shifted to anger for those who are where we once were. The new private with a wife and kids trying to live on a so small salary, and having that cut in half, even for one week would be devastating. Trying to keep food on the table for a family is hard enough in this economy, and gas prices are nuts.
Having support networks furloughed that are a huge part of keeping our families strong during deployments especially, and during everyday military life in general.
When I looked at my bank account and did a quick review I realized it would be tight but we’d make it if we could make an interest payment on our car. Our credit union (AlaskaUSA) that handles it allowed us to skip it. Which, if our pay arrives screwed up next week, as has been known to happen, we’ll do. If we get a full pay as they say we should (albeit a day or two delayed for the other half possibly) we won’t. I’m not sure how that’s going to shake out really. We’ll see when payday arrives.
But I wanted to say I’m glad it’s worked out. I’m glad Planned Parenthood has been left alone. I hope we don’t go through this again next week. And thinking about what could have happened to that young private, I want to make a plug.
I want to encourage people to donate to Army Emergency Relief. If you want to help our soldiers, this is the agency that does it. They provide grants and no interest loans for car repairs, they’ll help with buying food or paying rent, avoiding utility shutoffs, even dental emergencies for the families. They’ve been a big help to us just with the car repair loans. And they were there, ready to step up in the event of a shutdown.
AER provides:
Help with emergency financial needs for:
- Food, rent or utilities
- Emergency transportation and vehicle repair
- Funeral expenses
- Medical/dental expenses
- Personal needs when pay is delayed or stolen
- Give undergraduate-level education scholarships, based primarily on financial need, to children of soldiers
That’s what I’ve got to say, now that things are calming down. Thank you to my twitter list for their support, and patience as I /Jessraged all over the place. You’re all Awesome.
But I’m A LOT pissed off at the president. YES. I know it’s not all on his head. Yes I know it’s party politics bullshit. BUT when he made his little speech last night, he mentioned those 800,000 Government employees living paycheck to paycheck. He mentioned that a few times. He mentioned loan and passport problems. He mentioned other things, but not once did he mention the 2.2 million Active and Reserve military that are being required to report for duty without pay!
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