S/O Feds: How many missed paychecks could you sustain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You can’t be serious? First, you don’t know if she’s a 15,14, 13, or 12. I started as an attorney in government as a 12 and it took a LONG time to get up to the top of the pay scale.

Also, maybe a veteran who is disabled has a lot of medical expenses? You frankly have no idea. These boards are ridiculous. On the Money & Finance board, everyone talks about how you can't possibly get by in this area on less than $250,000. Here, a federal salary plus disability is "good money"? Do the people making these comments actually live in this area?

Clearly not. Don’t let the trolls get to you. Losing a paycheck is a hardship, even for GS15s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The VA checks will keep coming.

Yes, but how much do you think a disabled veteran gets? An 80% disabled vet with two kids gets $2200 per month -- better than $0, but certainly not as much as a second salary and not enough to live on around here. We are working on an application to get DH total disability based on years of him being unable to work, but that takes time (and staff who are not furloughed).

Actually that's a pretty good income combine with yours. How much do you make? You realize that many of us live on far less than you. Its about life choices.

[Anonymous]

We could go about 3 pay checks. We could go much longer but we would have to seek stocks and I don’t want to do that.

I would have said almost 9 months, but we just used a large portion of our cash for a down payment on a house.

Last time, neither one of us was getting paid and we worked and that was very hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The VA checks will keep coming.

Yes, but how much do you think a disabled veteran gets? An 80% disabled vet with two kids gets $2200 per month -- better than $0, but certainly not as much as a second salary and not enough to live on around here. We are working on an application to get DH total disability based on years of him being unable to work, but that takes time (and staff who are not furloughed).

This is double what we get in a military pension. Then, take out taxes and tricare and it's maybe $650 a month. I'd love to get that amount.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

You can’t be serious? First, you don’t know if she’s a 15,14, 13, or 12. I started as an attorney in government as a 12 and it took a LONG time to get up to the top of the pay scale.

Also, maybe a veteran who is disabled has a lot of medical expenses? You frankly have no idea. These boards are ridiculous. On the Money & Finance board, everyone talks about how you can't possibly get by in this area on less than $250,000. Here, a federal salary plus disability is "good money"? Do the people making these comments actually live in this area?

Actually some of us do have an idea. My spouse is retired elisted and the pension is far less than that so her husband was an officer for that amount. And, VA has low co-pay especially when you combine it with her insurance or no copays if he was medically retired and has tricare.

It's very good money. It's all lifestyle choices.

But, again, some of us choose a 1000 square feet house, etc. to make it work. We are very comfortable on far less than what they earn and have savings as as a contractor family there is no backpay.

[Anonymous]

This is double what we get in a military pension. Then, take out taxes and tricare and it's maybe $650 a month. I'd love to get that amount.

Would you like to be 80% disabled? Yes, military pensions are shamefully low - but this line of commentary is unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

We could afford it indefinitely but it would mean not adding to any college / house savings (we rent) and relying solely on DH’s income which is in a field with turn-over. I’d be pretty grumpy if I had to go in and wasn’t getting paid though. My agency has allowed me a lot of flexibility over the years so I’d want to stick it out, but I’d probably be looking in 3-4 months. In 2013 DH was in grad school and we had to keep paying for DD #1’s daycare (or else lose the spot) so that was hard.

[Anonymous]

I would have trouble both paying my mortgage and fully paying off my credit cards starting in November.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are better off than in 2018, when we had no savings, I was terrified of losing everything, and we had to borrow money from my dad. But realistically, only a few paychecks. We have savings to go a few more after that but I would start to panic. Federal attorney married to a disabled veteran. This area is expensive and it is tough on one income (plus veteran's disability).

A fed attorney and disability pay is a good income. I don’t get it.

They just don’t budget well.

You can’t be serious? First, you don’t know if she’s a 15,14, 13, or 12. I started as an attorney in government as a 12 and it took a LONG time to get up to the top of the pay scale.

Housing prices here are very high. We have an 1800 sq foot home built in the 60’s, and our mortgage is $3500 a month with an interest rate near 4% (that’s CHEAP compared to what others are paying). We were lucky to buy over ten years ago. Mortgage would be double today. A GS-15 at the top of the pay scale takes home around 8k a month.

Again, life choices. Our house was $400K fixer upper (that we DIY'ed most of) and 1000 square feet. So, your mortgage is $1500 more than ours. So, completely doable on a take home of $8K.

People like you have the ability to save. It's the secretary's, cleaning staff, and others who are rightly going to struggle. Not, people like you who are attorney's who refuse to budget and save.

Being able to DIY a house requires time and physical capability that many don't have (in addition to knowledge and risk tolerance). Glad it worked for you but you can get off your high horse about the disabled vet or whoever it is you think should have bought a fixer. I have a fixer myself and it's a money pit, we should have leveled it and built new but we were being thrifty.

Also, there are opportunity costs to sitting on a year of living expenses in savings. The answer here is not "six figures in cash under the mattress," it's "reasonably expect to be paid on time by your employer, who is also the actual government and the financial capital of the world."

[Anonymous]

Federal employees generally have a pretty stable income so I do have some last resort emergency money but it is not very liquid. We are talking selling stocks in a down market etc.

[Anonymous]

My husband is 100% disabled and the income he gets from the VA has to support his medical issues- PT, copays, etc… so while it may seem like it is just extra cask- it disappears quickly.

Also we are at two federal employee household and we could definitely pay our bills for months- this is a really stupid thing to have to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would have trouble both paying my mortgage and fully paying off my credit cards starting in November.

This. The PP going on about a 400k fixer upper is FOs. Fixing up a house costs money. My house is was a 600k fixer upper and we bought it 10+ years ago. It’s not fixed up. It’s a money pit, as the other PP said. There is nothing on the market that affordable that isn’t a stupid decision to buy as a person intending to actually live and raise a family in it. Our family manages fine on our federal salaries but not fine enough to. It get paid for several months.

[Anonymous]

I could go forever I think. I planned for it rather than a house, lifestyle creep, or 529. I planned to not work after 45. I figured 25 years of working was enough and continuing to work should be optional.
It helped that we were not house people. I grew up on a farm and wanted zero house- and yard-work or animals.

[Anonymous]

Two

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would have trouble both paying my mortgage and fully paying off my credit cards starting in November.

This. The PP going on about a 400k fixer upper is FOs. Fixing up a house costs money. My house is was a 600k fixer upper and we bought it 10+ years ago. It’s not fixed up. It’s a money pit, as the other PP said. There is nothing on the market that affordable that isn’t a stupid decision to buy as a person intending to actually live and raise a family in it. Our family manages fine on our federal salaries but not fine enough to. It get paid for several months.

+1. The supposed benefit of a federal job is stable employment, so don't fault the employees for buying a home that's dependent on them getting a paycheck.