More from: My Time in Service:
Pay. And what Soldiers did with it.

I made $110 a month. A year later that bumped up to $125. And when I got to PFC...I darn near hit $150! I was rolling in dough! Like most of the guys I was with in the Infantry...we sent Mom most of our money. In my case, I kept $25 and sent the rest to her. And I got paid in Cash, once a month.
But I was amazed at what some of my Platoon Mates were able to do with their tiny bit of money. We tried to figure out what our "hourly wage" was, but since we worked 24 hours a day ...on Duty at all times...if necessary, we got despondent when we saw the pennies per hour. Even if we went with 40 hours a week, like our Civilian Counter parts...well, we were poor. Even E6's could apply for things like Food Stamps. And this is at a time in America, where one guy could earn enough to feed his family, buy a house, get a car, and even take a vacation. None of this "household" workers combined stuff. Your Dad worked. And that was that.
So the Army was a heck of a pay cut. But to us young single guys, with no bills, no car, no rent, and a mess hall serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our tiny salaries became "disposable income." And man some Soldiers disposed of it rather quickly.
But most, like me, sent it home to Family, or Girlfriend, or most likely...Mom.
But some did some cool things with that little cash flow.
Like Earl. (Not his real name)
Earl was from rural Georgia. The first guy in his Family to Graduate HS. He grew up in a shotgun house, as a poor white Sharecropper's son. Earl never spent a penny. And he would take your Guard Duty for Five bucks. And you got the next day off. He would take your KP for a Dollar, and you got checked off the Duty Roster. He saved every single penny.
About a year later he got a letter. In that letter were some polaroid pictures. He showed them to our Squad. He was so proud. In those pictures were scenes of his family , all gathered around a flush toilet in a brand new bathroom installed in his Parents old home.
His Mom and Dad, brother and sisters, Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, all crammed around the commode...just beaming away. None of us made fun of him, or laughed. You could just see how proud they all were. And he made it happen, on a paycheck that was less than $200 bucks a month (he was a PFC under two).
A few months later, and he showed me a letter from his brother that made me roll. Turns out that bathroom was a godsend for his Mother and Sisters, who didn't have to go to the outhouse anymore. And his Dad used it too.
But that was it. The bathroom was off limits to everyone else except "Company." And "Company" did not include relatives. Only Preachers, and Visitors. I thought that was hilarious
Another guy, we will call him 'Steve." Got his Uncle, who owned some land up in Wisconsin, to sell him a couple acres. So for the whole two years I knew that guy...he never got a single dollar when PayDay hit. It all went to his Uncle. Of course he did earn a bit of money pulling Guard Duty and CQ...but that was petty cash. When I ETS's I asked him how long he had to go without pay.

"Kevin, I will have paid him off in just three more months!"
"But that is when your Enlistment is up!"
"Yep. And I am going to go home and build ten houses on that Land. Each with an Acre. I am going to sell nine of them, and live on the tenth patch. I was a Carpenter before I got drafted...and my title town is growing."
I bet he did well.
And then there was Silky ...again not his real name. But if there ever was a guy who loved his Mom...he was right up there with Elvis. He pushed himself hard. He was first in line for every promotion. He was an E2 when he got to our Unit, and 2 yrs later he was an E5.
He took part time jobs painting and stuff for Officers living of Post, and refinishing furniture for Local Germans. He was always busy And like the other two stories, never spent a penny. Why?
Because his Mother had never owned a Car. And he was one of 7 kids. He told her he would buy her a Crown Victoria for her 50th Birthday, and she could drive it from Alabama to New York to visit her two sisters. And then , she could take them to Niagara Falls. Apparently that was the dream trip for his Mother and Sisters.
And so her spent the entire three years of his Enlistment...saving. Not only for the Car, but for the long road trip. I don't know how that one turned out. I left before he did. But I bet he pulled it off. And I would love to have seen his Mother's face when he pulled up in that Crown Vic.
You never know what your Squad made is dealing with at home. But I can tell you not every enlisted squanders their paychecks. Some are frugal to a fault, and some, well, they spend their money well, and make dreams come true.