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I am not NG, but I have been AD with dependents. I, also, currently live in a place that is very expensive (Santa Barbara, CA), with a wife and two children.
And the best piece of advice I would give is to restrain your habits.
The biggest problem with making money, from my perspective, and especially if you are going into the service, is that it's way too easy to just assume that your current standard of living is the minimum you deserve. It's happened to me, it's happened to a lot of people. But the fact is, almost everyone has a whole lot of creature comforts that aren't exactly necessary. You don't need a mortgage. You especially don't need a car payment. I am yet a young man, and one thing I've noticed amongst many of my 'peers' here is that everyone assumes that they should have all the luxuries and creature comforts of a successful middle-aged businessman (your own home, a new car, several credit cards, that big screen TV... all with payments attached)...
... even while they are still in their twenties.
In short, live within your means. You can do it, quite happily, after an initial adjustment period. If your means ain't up to your livin', your livin' best change.
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"I have seen much war in my lifetime and I hate it profoundly. But there are things worse than war; and all of them come with defeat." -- Hemingway
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