Private E-1 pay with a family is tough. Not everyone joins the military as a young, single person. The PX/BX isn’t some wholesale discount outlet. In fact, I find better deals and lower prices outside of the Army/Airforce Exchange Service. In fact, the commissary on post can be difficult to save money in versus, say, Walmart.
I recently retired as an Army CW4, but I entered as a Private First-Class, E-3, as a single man, married, and became a father on that pay and with a promotion to Specialist, E-4. It was possible in 2002-2005, but we were cutting costs everywhere. We qualified for WIC with our firstborn, but I was too proud to sign up for assistance. It would have helped, but I didn’t truly need it for survival.
One would really have to look at the specifics of everyone’s situation. Things are so expensive these days (thanks Biden).
Thanks for the info.
And Thank You for Your Service.
Yes, pedo-joe sure Forked things all up...