August 26, 1997 - Money and Priorities

970826 - Today I had a dentist's appointment in the morning and paid bills in the afternoon. I came out of boot camp with $905. Not what I expected but still not too stingy. I only hope I can buy some shoes on Thursday. Anyway, 3 days left...
I have heard some horror stories of the lies recruiters told people in order to get them to enlist. I once met a Marine who had been expecting his own private room in boot camp. For me, though, I have to say that my recruiter was pretty forthright. I was relatively well-prepared and had few surprises.

One area in which, if not lying, he at least wasn't completely honest was the money. I knew that, as a private, I would make about $900 a month. Based on that, I figured I would get out of boot camp with around $2300 after taxes. When I asked my recruiter if that was about right, he just sort of changed the subject. There may have been a vague answer in there, but no real commitment. What he didn't tell me is that, in boot camp, nothing is free. We paid for every haircut (which we had weekly), all laundry services (which were also weekly), and everything we purchased at the exchange. I think we might have also paid for some (or all) of our uniforms. That's why, after 3 months of work, I was going home with $905.

It is worth noting that 38-year-old me fully agrees with 18-year-old me in the fact that the most important thing is being able to buy new shoes.

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