CFB Cold Lake Thread- Merged

[Quirky]

I would like to know what is parked in his driveway.

Anyone else want to know?

What difference would that make, PMQ rent is still way too high. It's not like he's out busking then gets back into his Cadillac and drives off to the nearest hotel. He isn't Theresa Spence.

 

[Cansky]

http://www.cfha.forces.gc.ca/hl-el/coldlakegi-coldlakeig-eng.aspx

Here are the rates for PMQs in Cold Lake.  According to the photo max he would pay 1350 a month.  Please budget is the issue here his budget not the militaries.

 

[Nfld Sapper]

And I am sure his hot tub in the back yard doesn't cost a cent to run either...

 

[Fishbone Jones]

And I am sure his hot tub in the back yard doesn't cost a cent to run either...

??? ???

 

[Nfld Sapper]

from his significant other's facebook page...

 

[Halifax Tar]

He has a hot tub attached to his PMQ ?  That sounds unlikely.  Wouldn't you have to get permission to mod this ? 

 

[Nfld Sapper]

:dunno:

 

[George Wallace]

.............  Please budget is the issue here........ his budget not the militaries.

Agreed. 

 

[CombatMacguyver]

And I am sure his hot tub in the back yard doesn't cost a cent to run either...

If you do a bit more digging...

It seems like that hot tub is back in Quebec (Saguenay, where it looks like he's from originally)

I'm the first person to point out that guys with $50k trucks shouldn't be complaining about pay, but I also get tired of being told how well I get paid when I lose 50% of my income to various forms of taxation.

edit - typo

 

[PPCLI Guy]

I'm the first person to point out that guys with $50k trucks shouldn't be complaining about pay, but I also get tired of being told well I get paid when I lose 50% of my income to various forms of taxation.

Like every other dude in the country.

We are just not that special.....

 

[CombatMacguyver]

Like every other dude in the country.

We are just not that special.....

Can't argue with that.  It's a Canada problem, not an Army problem.

 

[Stoker]

I don't agree with any military member going to the media. At the end of the day he felt strongly enough to do what he did and will face the consequences. Perhaps this bring to light whats going on at Cold Lake and improve things for pers in hardship postings.

 

[smale436]

http://www.cfha.forces.gc.ca/hl-el/coldlakegi-coldlakeig-eng.aspx

Here are the rates for PMQs in Cold Lake.  According to the photo max he would pay 1350 a month.  Please budget is the issue here his budget not the militaries.

Interesting. Based on the house number in the photo he lives down the street from me. He is no way in hell paying 1350. I live in the exact same house as the photo but with a garage and I'm currently paying 885 and will be paying 940 come April 1. (Plus 48/mo for water/sewer/garbage)

I wonder if he ever went to SISIP for a consultation. I know many people here who are in less than ideal situations, but I also know a few married guys with two kids who lived in a Q for 6 years, drove used cars, had tube tvs with basic cable, and last summer managed to buy $325k+ houses here with 20 percent down. One of the above mentioned guys (who really should release and become a financial planner in my opinion) said his frugal lifestyle is just something he and his wife have always practiced, even before having kids, and that making it here is very doable if the right choices are made. (And no he was not a spec trade)

 

[George Wallace]

I wonder if he ever went to SISIP for a consultation. I know many people here who are in less than ideal situations, but I also know a few married guys with two kids who lived in a Q for 6 years, drove used cars, had tube tvs with basic cable, and last summer managed to buy $325k+ houses here with 20 percent down. One of the above mentioned guys (who really should release and become a financial planner in my opinion) said his frugal lifestyle is just something he and his wife have always practiced, even before having kids, and that making it here is very doable if the right choices are made. (And no he was not a spec trade)

Many of us older guys can remember the members who lived in PMQs, many of senior rank (NCM and officer), who had big trucks, a second car, a boat, an ATV and a Snow machine or two.  These types will always be around, and when hard times hit them, financially or Release, they wonder where their bank accounts disappeared to and the hardship that follows.  Some of the more senior members here can remember RSMs who retired and then had to be hired on as cleaning staff in the Shacks in order to make ends meet.

Your example of a member being a little frugal and buying a home, shows that with some planning one can plan for retirement and not become a pauper.  The end goal, is to live a life that you can maintain, not one that you can't, and that would mean planning for that 'rainy day scenario' and eventually retirement. 

 

[Jarnhamar]

Mixing military and civilian kit.
Charge.

 

[George Wallace]

Mixing military and civilian kit.
Charge.

You stickler, you.  >

 

[pbi]

Interesting. Based on the house number in the photo he lives down the street from me. He is no way in hell paying 1350. I live in the exact same house as the photo but with a garage and I'm currently paying 885 and will be paying 940 come April 1. (Plus 48/mo for water/sewer/garbage)

I wonder if he ever went to SISIP for a consultation. I know many people here who are in less than ideal situations, but I also know a few married guys with two kids who lived in a Q for 6 years, drove used cars, had tube tvs with basic cable, and last summer managed to buy $325k+ houses here with 20 percent down. One of the above mentioned guys (who really should release and become a financial planner in my opinion) said his frugal lifestyle is just something he and his wife have always practiced, even before having kids, and that making it here is very doable if the right choices are made. (And no he was not a spec trade)

It is possible. I was a young (and rather poorly paid) 2Lt with a wife and infant in 1984, back when soldiers on food stamps and out driving pizza deliveries were in the news. We were single income, so we adjusted. We didn't own a car until I was a Capt, and our first TV was a gift from my mother in law. We walked, bussed, or took taxis. We entertained friends at home. Now, I know this probably sounds terribly sanctimonious and holier-than-thou, but it can be done. The CF overall is very well paid, and much more secure than most Canadians could ever dream of. The CF have a gold-plated pension scheme if you compare it to what most people (other than Senators or MPs) get in the non-Federal govt world. The CF is one of the very few employers that actually has systems in place (for decades...) to help its people who have financial problems.

All of this would probably make it a bit difficult for the average working class, non-unionized Canadian, who makes less than a Cpl does in a year, to be particularly sympathetic.

 

[OldSolduer]

Thanks. So many have the toys parked in the drive, then plead poverty.

 

[smale436]

Many of us older guys can remember the members who lived in PMQs, many of senior rank (NCM and officer), who had big trucks, a second car, a boat, an ATV and a Snow machine or two.  These types will always be around, and when hard times hit them, financially or Release, they wonder where their bank accounts disappeared to and the hardship that follows.  Some of the more senior members here can remember RSMs who retired and then had to be hired on as cleaning staff in the Shacks in order to make ends meet.

Your example of a member being a little frugal and buying a home, shows that with some planning one can plan for retirement and not become a pauper.  The end goal, is to live a life that you can maintain, not one that you can't, and that would mean planning for that 'rainy day scenario' and eventually retirement.

Good post. And yes, I have several times read your "Entering the CF and money thread". I was reticent to mention that I'm a single person who is not suffering in Cold Lake financially whatsoever, but that is not always the case as I know some single guys who will be always be unable to get their financial stuff together no matter what the case based on their lifestyle and personal choices. As a result, they're in worse shape debt-side than people like my frugal friend.

My father retired as a non-spec WO in 1996 when his salary was 50K which is what a P3 makes now. Sure housing and a lot of things were cheaper than. There was less tech crap like internet and iphones to waste your money on. But I also recall the PMQ I lived in as a kid in Calgary before the base there closed being far worse than the one I live in now. We had to cut blocks of wood to hold up the rotten windows so they would not slam shut on kids fingers for example. He worked for an armoured car company for 15 years after leaving the CF and made less than $40K. (Plus CF pension) No overtime, no Friday afternoons off, no paid time off to take your kid to the dentist or your dog to the vet, etc, etc. And I dare say he worked harder than I do most days. He still marvels at what I get paid now and wishes he had not retired when he did. I personally think our wages are very good and while the PMQ rates and other things need to be addressed, there a lot of people out there working harder for a lot less money. Hell, just a few days ago a co-worker razzed me for having a 32" CRT tv still. I said that I can afford to buy any TV I want tomorrow but this one works fine, it's too heavy to move out by myself, and I don't watch enough tv to justify buying a new one. That explanation seemed to go in one ear and out the other though unfortunately.

 

[Kat Stevens]

So the message is live like a monk and die some day anyway.