Welp, it finally happened. The government has actually shut down. This can mean a lot of things for military families. Among them, it may mean that military pay is delayed. While this can be a stressful situation, it isn’t a surprise and it isn’t a disaster. Government shutdowns are, unfortunately, somewhat common. The government has… | Read More…

The 2025 Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) rates have been announced. After large increases for a few years, last year and this year’s increase is pretty darn small. That is because it is tied to the increase in the cost of food, and the cost of food isn’t rising as dramatically as it did during… | Read More…

Editor’s note: Government Shutdown! Every time I publish something like this, I get a bunch of people telling me that I’m being dramatic. Or that the military will always get paid. Or that I’m being irresponsible for getting people upset. That’s not the intent at all. If you’ve spent any time at all around these… | Read More…

One great thing about the military pay scale is that there are regular raises built right into the system. When you’re first starting out, they come a little more frequently. Then the pace tapers off after you’ve been in the military a while. There are three types of regular pay raises in the military: promotions… | Read More…

Because months aren’t always 28 days long, and because military paydays don’t happen on weekends or holidays, there are times where there is a long stretch between military paychecks. Sometimes, it can be as long as 20 days! If you’re living paycheck-to-paycheck, or you budget pretty tightly, that can create some challenges to making sure… | Read More…

  Almost all military members are paid twice a month. But the accounting is handled on a monthly basis. Why? And why should you care? Understanding this monthly military pay system can help explain a lot of things about pay. This includes why your mid-month pay shows up as a deduction on your LES, how… | Read More…