PCS financial advances

2014-05-11T12:23:07-04:00

I'm moving to Fort Eustis in July. BAH is only $200 extra a month but rent for a 3 bedroom 2 bath is on average 1600-1700 a month. Basically, my family and I are having a hard time trying to figure out how we will save the money to afford a deposit, pet deposit and 1st months rent.. I know, I'm a SFC and should know how to do this, but it's been a long time since I've PCS'd and I just don't remember how to maximize the amount of money I'll recieve when I PCS.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

Response by SGM Matthew Quick made May 11 at 2014 12:29 PM

2014-05-11T12:29:07-04:00

Request Dislocation Allowance...you'll get about $2500 (FREE)

You can also request advance pay...one month of your base pay, paid back over 12 months.

Dislocation Allowance (DLA)

The purpose of DLA is to partially reimburse a member for the expenses incurred in relocating the household on a PCS, ordered for the Government's convenience, or incident to an evacuation. This allowance is in addition to all other allowances authorized in this Joint Federal Travel Regulation (JFTR) and may be paid in advance.

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made May 12 at 2014 12:22 PM

2014-05-12T12:22:43-04:00

Don't forget about ACS. If you have no other choice, there is still the AER loan that can be utilized. I'd use that as a last resort, but ACS can probably hook you up with tons of free financial planning tips.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 26 at 2014 10:27 PM

2014-05-26T22:27:21-04:00

You are authorized advance pay only if you are PCSing, so you qualify. As a bonus SSG and up can go to DIV finance on their own to execute comptroller actions, so I would just take my orders up there and schedule advance pay. Hope everything works out.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made May 26 at 2014 11:50 PM

2014-05-26T23:50:25-04:00

I agree with all of the other comments. Yes, you will get the DLA (for a SFC with dependents is $2485.75), whether you get it in advance or when you file the travel voucher. A few other things you can do is request advance travel, which is 80% of what you are authorized for travel: gas and per diem. You can do an estimate on what you'll receive for gas by looking at the mileage from Campbell to Eustis. Multiple it by .56 and that's the approximate dollar amount you'll get. For per diem, you will receive $129 ($83 for lodging, $41 for meals and $5 for incidentals) per day of authorized travel time. Your wife and children will receive approximately 75% of your rate, although I believe the spousal rate is just a bit higher. So for example, if it's you, your wife and two kids, you would be getting roughly $419.25 per day. Multiply that by your authorized travel days, which I believe is 3 days from Campbell to Eustis, and you should be getting approximately $1257.75 for per diem. You get all of that regardless of how long it takes you to travel.

I highly recommend you do just advance travel and advance DLA. This will help offset the cost of the traveling up front instead of you paying for it yourself. Also, I HEAVILY recommend using the gasbuddy.com website to find good gas prices along the way. The gas prices listed are good for only 48 hours so it's best to plan your gas stops the night before you leave.

If you need any other help or just want to chat, send me a message and I'll send you my number. More than willing to help out fellow service-members to save funding and find better ways to PCS.