Use Military Base Activities to Save on Weekly Expenses

In 10 years, I have lived on post, and only since 2015 have I lived off post. Living on-post means:
- All your BAH goes to the housing company
- You are living in a dwelling that is usually 40+ years old*
- Your dwelling might share a wall or two with other people
- You cannot improve your house without written permission
- You never truly get away from your work life
- You cannot hire contractors; only DPW (and they never seem to agree about what an "emergency" is)
- Figuring out which gates you can use to get home and waiting at said gates to get on post
- If you conceal carry, you have to unholster, unload, safe, and secure your pistol before going through the gate

* Our quarters on Fort Benning (Custer Village) were haunted.

The only upside to living on post was not having to deal with gate traffic in the mornings to get to PT.

it IS a great way to save, don't get me wrong here! the only down side is the lack of variety... and sometimes, just sometimes the local economy produce is fresher and less expensive. we like to shop at the commissary as often as we can, but it is usually to get the staples like meat and cereal.

I love your enthusiasm Sir, but that is not what living on-post teaches Soldiers. It teaches Soldiers that the military will take all of their BAH for substandard housing as off-post offers newer, cleaner, better kept housing for less. I am currently on orders to Fort Wainwright. I was told that I cannot live on-post with my dog. It seems as if you do not have a family or are not married that you are an afterthought in the eyes of the privatized housing companies. What is the incentive to chunking all of ones' BAH into housing that would not be on anyone's top three had they looked into the surrounding communities?