Permanent Change of Station (PCS) moves are part of military life, and they come with lots of change including new jobs, new schools and new houses. Also part of a PCS move? Money challenges.
The military offers a wide variety of allowances to cover the expenses of moving to a new location, but they don't always get reimbursed quickly, and you will sometimes have costs that exceed those allowances.<br> <br> Fortunately, each major PCS money problem also has a solution.
Problem: PCS Pay Snafus and Delayed Reimbursements
As my friend Rob says, “You have not yet seen your last military pay problem." If there is going to be a pay problem, it's more likely to happen in conjunction with a PCS move.
While delays in updating BAH rates are common, and crazy things happen often. I have a friend who checked out of their old command and the command somehow marked them as separating from the service. Result? No pay for MONTHS.
And while military moving reimbursements are pretty generous, you don't always receive them in a timely fashion. Some things, like temporary lodging, need to be paid up front and submitted for reimbursement, and requests for advances on other allowances don't always come through before the expense happens.
Solution: Savings, Low Cost Existing Credit and Relief Societies
I'm always hesitant to recommend that folks use credit cards, because things can go wildly wrong, but moving season might be an exception. Moving is a time when it makes sense to put some expenses on a low-cost, low interest rate credit card if you don't have the savings available to cover something for which you haven't already received your allowances.
Military relief societies, including Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Army Emergency Relief, Air Force Aid Society, and Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, are a great resource for pay problems and delayed reimbursements. In some cases, they can exceed their usual loan guidelines if they have a letter from the command verifying the issues.
Problem: Setting Up a New Household
If you're not living on base, you'll need a significant amount of money to get set up in your new home. Security deposit, first month's rent and sometimes even last month's rent are due at signing or before you move in. Utilities may also require deposits, especially if you don't have a utility history or high credit score.
Solution: Savings, Advance Allowances or Relief Societies
There are three types of allowances that can help: Dislocation Allowance, Advance Basic Allowance for Housing and Advance Pay.
Dislocation Allowance (DLA) is a non-taxable allowance that helps to pay for the unreimbursed costs of moving. If you request and receive your DLA in advance, that money is available to help set up your new home.
In some situations, there are ways to appropriately use the Government Travel Credit Card to help with these expenses, and then DLA will be applied to the card to pay for the expenses. You want to run this by your installation's transportation or finance office to make sure you're doing it right.
Advance Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is an allowance that permits you to borrow up to three months BAH, and repay that amount over 12 months (24 months with a waiver.) Unfortunately, not all commands authorize advance BAH, so this useful option is off the table for some service members.
Advance Pay is available to service members when they move or in other specific situations. You may request up to three months pay, to be repaid over 12 months. Some advance pay requests require command approval.
Military Relief Societies may be able to help with some of these expenses, too.
Problem: Transporting Animals
On some moves, pets are easy. Throw them in the car and drive! Other moves are a little more complicated. Our cats moved from Hawaii, to Australia, to the U.S., to Italy, to England and back, and there were logistical and financial challenges with every move. We joke that they were the most expensive free cats ever.
Solution: Savings, Quarantine Allowances and SPCA Grants
The military offers an allowance to partially offset the cost of quarantining a pet due to an overseas PCS move.
The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) International offers limited grants to help offset the cost of moving your pets overseas.
You may have noticed that there is the same first solution for all these problems: savings. Every military family should endeavor to have a PCS savings account, with enough money to support the expenses that their specific family could encounter. That might be a small account for a single soldier with no pets and no kids, or a significant amount of money for a military family with a handful of kids and pets.
If you're in the military, you're probably going to move. The process is a lot less stressful if you are financially prepared, and you know the resources available in case your savings don't stretch to cover the all the expenses you incur.
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