So you've just graduated from your service academy / ROTC program / OTS.
Congratulations!!
Now, I know the thing you're absolutely craving is a place of your own: no roommate to share a sink or shower with, no one snoring or writing papers until 3 AM, no dorms..... just sweet sweet solitude.
Bad idea.
At least from a financial perspective.
Let me tell you a story:
Many years ago, a newly minted LT crossed the mighty Atlantic Ocean for grad school and immediately rented a flat in London for her full overseas housing allowance (OHA). It was a 2-bedroom, 2-bath flat but, coming right out of the Academy, she was so desperate for her own space she never considered sharing the place to save money. And so, every month the full hefty rent was pulled out of her paycheck.
But honestly, this LT felt a bit isolated. Turns out going from a dorm environment with friends just down the hallway to a quiet solitary existence wasn't quite her cup of tea (pun intended). Anytime she wanted to study with friends or eat a meal or have a drink, she had to go out. So, her second year in London, she changed it up: she rented a place for the same cost with 3 floors, 3 bedrooms, and 3 bathrooms....and shared it with two of her classmates. She paid the rent from her housing allowance and they paid for....well, everything else. Utilities. Food. Transport. Insurance. Appliances. Eating out. Etc...
And a light bulb went on! The LT still had her own space (bedroom and bathroom) for alone time when she needed it, but she was SO much happier having friends she could watch TV or study or cook a meal with. More importantly, she was saving a ton of money every month.... money that would become the kindling for her FIRE future.
Okay, so I'm sure the identity of this mystery LT is pretty obvious.... after all, Capt FIRE was an LT at some point long ago. But the point of the story is that there are a few reasons for you to consider a housemate in your early years of military service.
Mutual Support. Almost everyone comes out of their commissioning source right into a training program. Those training programs are often difficult and require a lot of study. For example, undergraduate pilot training (UPT) has numerous tests, checkrides, and oral exams that the class gathers to prepare for, quizzing each other or explaining confusing concepts. Having a housemate or two that is in the same training program acts as a built-in study partner. (And if they're in the same class, they may be a helpful alarm clock occasionally, too!)
Built-in Friends. When we live in dorms, we get used to having our friends at our fingertips. And while the close quarters may chafe a little when you are there 24/7, when you're out in the real world it's nice to have someone to hang out with without leaving the house. You'll likely still be far from home and family at your first few assignments, so a housemate/friend is another support in a new city, state, or country. Finally, having a housemate is a good way to learn about yourself and how to live with someone else.... something handy to know as you consider the next big step: living with a spouse for the rest of your life.
Maximize your BAH. While the Overseas Housing Allowance (OHA) is a "use it or lose it" system (for more on this, see the DoD website... post coming soon!), BAH is the same no matter your housing costs. Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) is calculated based on your rank, location, and whether or not you have dependents. Since all of these are relatively fixed, it's hard to save money from your housing allowance.... if you live alone. But if you split rent with one or more housemates, you can save hundreds of dollars each month. Let's take Colorado Springs as an example, where the average rent for a 2-bedroom is $1174. If you consider your O-1 BAH of $1482, you could save about $300 per month living in an average 2-bed apartment by yourself....but if you pooled your resources with another LT, you each could save almost $900 per month! That's a lot to invest or pour into your TSP to get the government match!
Afford a Nicer Place. Frugality doesn't have to mean living in a shoebox or in a dangerous part of town. For junior officers, BAH is pegged to the cost of a 2-bedroom apartment, meaning the only way to save more money is to make sacrifices on the size or location of your rental. And even this will only save you a little. Let's go back to our example: in Colorado Springs, the average rent for a 1-bedroom apartment is $1054; the average rent for a 2-bedroom is still $1174. You can see that downsizing doesn't save you much: only about $100. But imagine you were able to pool resources with 1, 2, or even 3 other LTs. Now you could rent a house (with a yard...grill...pool...movie room) and live better while saving money from your BAH. This technique is pretty common around training bases as groups of young officers team up for a nicer place to live.
It's about more than just the rent! If you've lived on your own, you already know this: housing costs are more than just rent. There's food, utilities, furniture, kitchen items, carpooling....the list goes on and on. All the things you would be covering on your own -- from the electric bill to a new couch to a bottle of ketchup -- can be shared or pooled with a housemate. This reduces the initial cost of moving out of the dorms (you won't need to buy pots and pans if your housemate has them) and the ongoing costs of real-world adulting.
Every FIRE needs kindling. A critical component of FIRE is living below your means so you can always save and invest more for your future. This effort of self-denial and budgeting isn't something that happens suddenly or magically: it's about building habit patterns no matter your income. Think of it like dieting: while crash diets may work for a while, they almost never keep the weight off long-term. The secret to a healthy weight is a lifestyle built through sustainable patterns of eating. The same is true with living below your means. The earlier you start practicing (especially when it feels like you aren't making much money) the more practice you will get and the easier it will be to live small when you're earning big.
***Of course, one intuitive element of this discussion is that getting out of the dorms / off-base as soon as possible is critical to maximizing your savings. As a general rule, if you're living in the dorms you aren't making BAH.... and therefore missing out on a source of income that can be saved!
***Also, while I generally recommend sharing a house with other young military types in your training program or at your base, social media is making room rentals for everyone better and safer than ever before. Sites like silvernest.com or roomster.com help simplify supply and demand in any city to pair you up with a housemate in a way that's less sketchy than advertising on Craigslist. Just make sure you're doing your due diligence.... there's no commander to call up if a civilian breaks your Xbox or skips out on the rent.
So that's it! Don't make the same mistake of that long-ago LT -- recruit a housemate or two in your early years of military service. You'll save money, live better, and most likely be happier than if you go it alone.
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