Is it more economical to stay in on post housing while you try to save up money for a house or to live off base and get BAH?

Would one end up costing less, so that you could stash more money away or do they both end up being about the same?

Really it depends on where you're stationed, and what you'd be willing to live in to save money.

Good luck!

if you live in an area that has High BAH and lower rents then theoretically you make money living out in town. If not then staying on base would be the best option. Lets say you are living in Washington, average rent for say a 2 bedroom is 600-700 a month in a decent neighborhood. your BAH is say 900 utilities are cheap or included so you "save" 200 a month living out in town. kwim?

I agree with the other responses - if you can stash away a chunk of bah every month, yet still be happy with where you are living, then that is a great option. But if not, I would go for base housing.

And don't forget to calculate utilities!

Thanks ladies! I appreciate all of your advice.

I am guessing we can predict what the BAH would be for his rank and then start looking at apartments in Carson to see if we would be saving or not. :)

here is the BAH page, if you know his station then you simply input his rank and zip and it will tell you the bah for the area, his would be With Dependents.
http://perdiem.hqda.pentagon.mil/perdiem/bah.html

I agree with the othe rposts. When we were in FL. we got something like 1000-1200 (I can't remember the exact amount) for BAH. Our rent was only 725, electric at its highest was 150, and water at its highest was 34. We made out living in town there. But here we get 1527 for BAH but our rent is 1395, gas this month was 159, electric this month was 81, and water this month was 61 (water bill includes the trash as well here). We don't make out at all. It costs us to live out here.

I agree with the other ladies.

It all depends. DH and I get about 1500 a month for BAH and when he was here we rented for about 1125 a month including utilities. So we did save money. I recoment finding a place where it pays utilities also and then you will save.

Thanks! The BAH page was super helpful. I love that pay, etc is so structured and easy to calculate in the military.