Does the Military pay well? I know some people have more wants than they can afford. What are some of your other ways of income?

2016-09-13T17:30:55-04:00

Law Service ?, automobile repair? Some even own thriving businesses. What do you guys do to be able to live a lavish life in the military?

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 13 at 2016 5:37 PM

2016-09-13T17:37:51-04:00

I meant lawn services

Response by SFC Christopher Perry made Sep 13 at 2016 5:59 PM

2016-09-13T17:59:00-04:00

We did continue to run our credit restoration business for a while when I went back in. However, it hit a little out of hand once we got stationed in Okinawa. The phone would ring at 02:30 and such. It got to where it simply wasn't worth the stress.

Response by SFC Christopher Perry made Sep 13 at 2016 6:03 PM

2016-09-13T18:03:51-04:00

1SG Private RallyPoint Member I don't know that we ever really lived the lavish lifestyle. I fiund that you could do pretty darn well making a life on military pay. I feel that the way we learned to live within the military made life far easier on the outside world. Watching all the folks that seem to feel the need to keep up with the Jones' is very interesting.

Response by SFC Joseph Weber made Sep 13 at 2016 6:11 PM

2016-09-13T18:11:29-04:00

What military are you in?

Response by MSgt Richard Rountree made Sep 13 at 2016 7:50 PM

2016-09-13T19:50:32-04:00

I operated a few mobile DJ businesses for about half of my 20 year career. Made enough money to pay for my hobbies (racing Porsches and skiing the Alps) and attract the attention of the AFOSI a couple of times. They wanted to make sure I wasn't selling secrets as I was driving Porsches and Mercedes as a SSgt/TSgt. It was fun while it lasted. Gave it up to sew on MSgt and concentrate on my increased responsibilities in 1986.

Response by SMSgt Matthew Hoyer made Sep 13 at 2016 9:05 PM

2016-09-13T21:05:08-04:00

Yeah man, it's all about managing your wants. You have as much money coming in as you do, so control that which you can. I'm not saying that people shouldn't try to get the things they are looking for, but damn dude, I work enough without getting a 2nd job.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 13 at 2016 11:33 PM

2016-09-13T23:33:16-04:00

Living a lavish life in the military is an oxymoron. It's just not possible until one reaches O-10.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2016 4:33 AM

2016-09-14T04:33:20-04:00

Luck and assignment maneuvering has a big impact on the bottom line. For example, if you were lucky enough to get stationed in Bahrain or Manila, not only were you collecting imminent danger pay, hazardous duty pay, family separation pay, OCOLA, tax exemptions and you also received daily Perdiem. In San Juan Puerto Rico, not only is the BAH super high for the cost-of-living, but you also get OCOLA. State side, if you have a small apartment address in Harlem or Brooklyn as a reservist, and you get the deployed or mobilized, you collect Manhattan BAH. You just have to get a sense of how to maneuver.

Response by PO1 Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2016 8:08 AM

2016-09-14T08:08:17-04:00

I've known a few other SMs who do Uber on the weekends. They have to have a special request chit to do it. I know there is probably a lot more to it. I've also known about another sailor having another job at a mall selling shoes. I've also heard about those small business like Pure Romance, Yankee Candle, It Works, Amway, etc. They can offer a small profit but with putting on parties/demos, it can be really taxing at times.

Response by Cpl Justin Goolsby made Sep 14 at 2016 9:10 AM

2016-09-14T09:10:37-04:00

Personally, I think the military pays well if you think of it in the standard 9-5 job. It absolutely doesn't pay well if you think of it in terms of the 27/7/365 job it really is. Because I know the frustration of being called in on a weekend at 2 in the morning because your Marine missed his flight. Or standing out in formation in your skivvies in the middle of the night because someone wanted to be stupid in the barracks. These are the parts of the job that no one tells you about.

But for me the military was a step up in pay. I've been fairly good at living within my means, so military life did feel pretty luxurious on it's good days. Before the military, I was working 3 jobs to scrape by.

I've done landscaping, florist, UPS. I've even worked seasonal jobs like selling Christmas trees or stocking shelves at Toys R' Us.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 23 at 2016 8:02 AM

2016-09-23T08:02:11-04:00

Bottom-line: Lots of folks focus on "pay" when a better, more useful metric is "total compensation." But even just based on "pay".......unless folks are living well outside their means, "pay" should be enough to prevent the need to work another job.

Here's my favorite RallyPoint thread on this topic: https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/what-percentage-are-you-based-on-income-do-you-think-you-are-adequately-compensated

What “percentage” are you, based on income? Do you think you are adequately compensated? |...

Do you think you are adequately compensated in comparison to your civilian “peers” or do you think the military personnel are under-paid? If you think military personnel are underpaid, why? If you think you, in particular, are underpaid, why? Even if one ONLY CONSIDERS BASE PAY, military compensation compares really well to nationwide averages. Personally, I’d be quite happy with more pay; why not? But I’d assess that the total compensation...

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 23 at 2016 9:28 AM

2016-09-23T09:28:17-04:00

So the "lavish " comment was only a joke . I am well aware that if you budget that the military can take care of a SM and family member . I honestly just wanted to find what a lot of you do as a second job or if you own any businesses.