How should I plan for the time allowed and the pay associated with my ETS and moving back to my hometown?

The Army doesn't care if it takes you 8 days or 16 days to get home. You don't have to report in anywhere so the time is yours. They will only pay you for 8 days of travel regardless of how many days it takes you to get home. If, while you're traveling, you decide to settle down some where along the way, the Army is not going to care. The only thing that it will affect is the delivery of any home baggage that you may have shipped back to New Jersey. Good luck on the next phase of your life.

Not an authority on what your travel entitlements will be at separation. I do recall the Uncle Sam will provide compensation for your travel days (mileage and per diem). A short stay in, say Chicago, would be "charged" as leave and will impact your final compensation. You should have gotten some counseling on your separation process by now and if you haven't, you need to get to a separation briefing ASAP if not sooner. Your personnel shop should be able to answer some questions, but you will likely need to go see the finance dudes to get the straight skinny on the dollars and cents part of your impending travels from "Sea to Shining Sea." Good Luck!

SSG Mullen is correct. I PCSd from Bragg to Carson over a year ago and though the briefs that info is correct and I doubt it has changed. The Army will pay you their estimated time it takes to travel from point a to b. Just don’t take any advances if offered unless you do it correctly-I learned the hard way.