Let's Talk Money: One Little Word Can SCREW STUFF UP, Y'ALL!

And I'm not kidding.


Okay, so there I was in the kitchen today, baking Emily's celebratory Chess Bars (I'll post the recipe in the comments section) and doing nothing much else in particular, when James called me and we had the following rather unpleasant conversation:


~  ~  ~



JAMES:

So get THIS.  You know those vouchers, right?



ME:

The vouchers?  The vouchers that you submitted from when we PCSed (moved) from Texas to DC and also from our househunting trip?  And spent all that money out of pocket for all those things?  And we were seeking reimbursement?



JAMES:

Yeah, THOSE vouchers. 



ME:

The vouchers that haven't been paid yet, right?  The ones that we were hoping would be paid last week?

JAMES:

Yeah, THOSE vouchers.  Well, turns out that my Orders were somehow written wrong, and the Voucher Payment People (okay, those weren't James' exact words, because he knows darn well who the Voucher Payment People are, but I don't remember stuff that techincal) CAN'T PAY MY VOUCHERS because there's ONE WORD on my Orders that's wrong. 



ME:

One word wrong?  On your Orders?  And because of that one word on your Orders that's wrong, your vouchers can't be paid? 



JAMES:

Yes. 



ME:

?!?!?!?!?!?!!?

What is the one wrong word?  What's going on??



JAMES:

Turns out, they didn't label you as a "Spouse" on my vouchers.  They labeled you only as an "EFM Adult" instead of as my wife, or "EFM Spouse."  And thus, they can't pay anything on the voucher claimed because of you.  Because according to my Orders, WE'RE NOT MARRIED.

ME:

And so - ???



JAMES:

And SO, my orders have to be changed so that you and I are MARRIED and so that I can resubmit my vouchers so that I can maybe then get reimbursed.



~  ~  ~

And so, there you have it, dear Readers.  James and I are not currently married (according to his Orders as written).  We have to get married on his Orders so that he can then have his vouchers paid.


Which is, actually, sort of fun.  We already sorta had a wedding this week; we got married on Facebook.  And, as everyone knows, unless a relationship is all public and stuff on Facebook, it's like it doesn't exist.  Or at least, that's what I've heard.  (I have to rely on hearsay, for I was never single and on Facebook at the same time.  Because I'm OLD.  I don't know if there was INTERNET before James and I got married.  Seriously.)


Now, I'm not complaining.  I'm honestly and truly not.  Because back when we were with the soul sucking evil demons, they wouldn't have even CONSIDERED helping us move.  In fact, they stuck James and me on opposite sides of the United States and wouldn't even let us see each other, and James never got so much as a penny for anything - not per diem or travel or relocation or anything.  Heck, those bastards didn't even let him take his own annual leave he had accrued in order to fly home (on our own dime, all the way) and visit his wife and children (over the course of the almost two years they kept him a prisoner).  So we know how bad BAD can be; there's a REASON why TSA sucks so royal (right, Skeptical Bureaucrat?).


But the reason why I'm blogging about this is because, before James got hired by State, I honestly and truly did not know just how much money families with State often have to float... or how often.  You're moving, you're in flux, you have to pay out of pocket sometimes for lots of things (probably with DS a lot more than as a regular FSO, but that's just an educated guess of mine), and I didn't really understand that very well.  James and I are not going to starve; all is well; the vouchers will get fixed at some point and paid - but if it could help anyone with this knowledge, I wanted the information to be out there. 


Because some of the expenses that are now in paperwork limbo are from August.  So, you know- it can sometimes be a while.

 

Comments

[A Daring Adventure]

Here's the totally awesome recipe for:

CHESS BARS

First you're going to make what is basically like a graham cracker crust, only you're making it out of:

1 box yellow cake mix
1 stick butter, melted
1 egg

Beat those together. Take this mixture and mush it along the bottom of a 9 by 13 baking pan. With your fingers- like a graham cracker crust.

On top of that, you're going to pour a beaten mixture of:

1 eight ounce package cream cheese (softened)
1 box powdered sugar
2 eggs

Beat all that together until it's smooth, then pour it over the crust.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the top is sort of evenly browning.

This is, without a doubt, hands down my guys' (yes, all of them) favorite dessert!

[TulipGirl]

And it is delish!

[Donna]

Ooh, I love weddings. I trust I will be invited to yours?

[Emily]

Oh, Kolbi...I know what you are talking about. Our first Christmas in New Jersey took a hit because we were waiting for a several thousand dollar voucher to be paid. It is tough.
It is also tough that every move costs SO MUCH. Even though a lot is paid for, we still have to cover certain expenses. Like fans and space heaters. Rugs and lights. Kitchen tables. This is all stuff that we have had to buy for this post that has NOT been taken care of for us.
I think even I could handle that recipe. I think we will try it.

[Jen]

I keep a list and at the top of the list is the danger pay we never received from a trip in 2004. Now, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, if we owed them.....yep, there'd be trouble.

Actually, this reminds me that I need to check on other back pay...*sigh*

[Jill]

Oh yes ... don't even get me started about the little screw ups. Always on their part. That they don't bother to fix, unless you bring it to THEIR attention.

Oh the stories I could tell...

[Melissa]

Hopefully the upcoming wedding will be less expensive than the first one when it is all said and down :) JK! Gotta love how "quickly" things happen especially when it involves money being paid to us. Thanks for posting the recipe! It sounds super yummy!

[A Daring Adventure]

@ Donna- Of course! I would do anything to have you as an honored guest!

@ Emily- Oh, hon, I totally understand. That's just... so hard.

@ Jen- Girl! You and I have talked about this! James is still owed Danger Pay from going to Pakistan last year in 2009!! ROTFL! What's up with the whole danger pay thing?!?! And yes, oh, yes, if WE owed THEM, there would be... automatic paycheck deductions. If one wasn't big enough.

@ Melissa- if there was ever a second wedding, it would be hard to have it cost any less than the first one! We were so young and poor that our first wedding... cake, dress, EVERYTHING, cost about $800. Total. And we didn't even get a honeymoon!

[Missy]

As a former military family, I can say that this happens with government jobs/travel/etc in all areas. We learned to keep copies of all paperwork in triplicate at all times, particularly after my husband discovered that some of his co-workers in Washington DC stuffed whatever paperwork wasn't done at the end of the day IN THE CEILING. No, I am NOT kidding. Now, every time I send something somewhere, I imagine some bureaucrat lifting a tile and tossing my precious fund request into a crawl space...

All I can say is -- resubmit, resubmit, resubmit. And it's probably a single person or office in charge of danger pay that is "conveniently" losing stuff.

Lastly, you are the very first person to have had a cheaper wedding than me (other than a courthouse/jump over a broom type). Our wedding came to $1200, BUT that included a 5-day honeymoon. I sewed my dress, my BF sewed the bridesmaids dresses, a friend made the cake and handmade the mints, a local church was free, my dad embossed cards while watching NFL...you get my drift. That being said, I would not have enjoyed an expensive wedding nearly as much, PLUS people still ask me how to have a church wedding on the cheap! :)

[noname]

That's how they list same-sex couples (married or not) as well as unmarried folk. And yes, it's a headache.