Preparing for BOLC

I attended BOLC in Nov (reserves) and got paid two weeks in and then got paid Dec 1. I got back from BOLC the first week of Dec and got paid my travel pay about 1 wk after. I got my final travel expense check in Jan. You don't have to pay for the hotel as long as you are on base and have orders. I didn't use my travel card for anything. I also got my clothing allowance the second week I was there. Make sure your travel orders say you are authorized perdiem while you're there that way you don't have to worry about tallying all your expenses on your travel voucher. Keep your receipts for everything, including ATM fees. But plan ahead and make sure that you either get some vacation pay at your home job while you're gone, or start saving so that you can still make your everyday expenses back home. If you already have been getting military pay then you should be fine. If you aren't then someone screwed up and there will be a delay. Remember though, if the DFAC is open you don't get paid for eating out expenses. Monday through Friday you get a lower perdiem rate because of the DFAC card. I actually made money by having perdiem orders versus getting paid based off of my receipts because I didn't spend a whole lot. I actually made good money while at BOLC.