A Few of the Extras in Your Paycheck

I know many people have concerns about money and moving to Japan, but if you have the right information it should make the transition much easier. Your money matters will change due to a PCS move here and for many it can be a really good thing. Here are somethings you and your family can look forward to coming into your bank account.

COLA

COLA, or Cost of Living Allowance, is a benefit to help offset the difference in living in a higher cost area. There are a few factors that determine what you are going to receive. Click here to find out what your COLA might be.

Here is a sample of what this worksheet looks like once all of your information is in.

OVERSEAS COST OF LIVING ALLOWANCE

PAY PERIOD: 1-16-2011 thru 1-31-2011

Rank: E5 Years of Service: 4 Number of Dependents: 3 Country/State: JAPAN City: YOKOSUKA (KA) Location Code: JA061 COLA Index: 0.56 Effective Date: 20101201 Daily COLA: $ 45.111 Daily Unique: $ 0

COLA Payment for Pay Period
1-16-2011 thru 1-31-2011

COLA:	$ 721.78
UNIQUE:	$ 0
	__________
TOTAL PAY PERIOD ALLOWANCE:	$ 721.78

Just type in your own information to see what you can expect. This money is added on to your base pay and can equal a pretty nice sum.

OHA

Similar to BAH (but with some differences), OHA is an allowance given to services members with families living outside of base housing. Here is a OHA calculator to help you determine what you can plan to revive here in Japan if you are not planning on staying in base housing. Here is an example with the same information that I used from the last one.

Overseas Housing Allowances

JAPAN Location: YOKOSUKA (KA) , Location Code: JA061PAY PERIOD: 01-16-2011

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For an E-5 with dependents, the Overseas Housings Allowances are as follows:

Allowances Effective: 20101001	Local Currency	US DOLLARS
OHA Rental Allowance	210000.00 YEN	$ 2618.13
Utility/Recurring Maintenance Allowance	95000.00 YEN	$ 1184.39
Move-In-Housing Allowance (MIHA)	68322.00 YEN	$ 851.79

Climate code is: 2.00


Wow, is that a lot of money? Heck ya it is, but keep in mind that the Navy isn't giving you all that money for nothing. Housing here out in town is very expensive. There are a lot more fees that you can expect to pay than you would in the states. Your utilities can really get up there too. Some people can really save a whole lot of money being smart with their OHA money. So if you choose wisely, you can too.

Beware of expecting too much of the money that you are getting. It is easy to think that there is no way you could run out of money each month with all that extra money on top of base pay. A lot of people leave here broke though and it is easy to do. Yen to dollar rates change everyday and the dollar is a lot weaker than the yen right now. Remember when you pull out 5000 yen, you are not pulling out $50.00. You are pulling out anywhere from $60-$70 depending on that moments exchange rate. If you were not a good saver in the states it can only get worse here when you are using currency that you are not familiar with so plan ahead! If you are great at saving, bravo. You will most likely be able to put away a lot of money while you are here.

If you set up a spending plan and workable budget before you get here based on what you think you will be getting, you will be better off and the transition will be a lot easier. If you have any questions or comments please email me at navywifeinjapan@gmail.com. Thanks for reading.