Back To The Land Via The Peace Corps

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To put it another way, our Peace Corps experience enabled Wayne and me to give our homesteading plans and aspirations the test of time. As a result, we're more convinced than ever that our goals of becoming self-sufficient are worthwhile ... and attainable.

PEACE CORPS BENEFITS

So much for the intangible benefits of Peace Corps life. Let's review some of the material advantages of being a P.C. volunteer.

First, the money. It may surprise you to learn e to save an a our monthly allowance came to just $200 each—Wayne and I were able to save an average of $350 per month while we were "on the job". Both in Yemen and in Barbados, we found that we had little trouble living on less than our combined living allowances (although some people seemed to run short every month no matter how much allowance they got). Of course, we don't smoke or drink a lot, and we never splurged on imported goodies. But we feel that we lived pretty well, nonetheless.

Then too, in addition to a monthly living allowance of about $200 (plus or minus a few dollars, depending on where in the world you go), the Peace Corps puts aside $125 per month per person in "readjustment allowance". This money—which is kept in trust until you depart the Corps-is intended to provide a financial cushion for you to fall back on between the time you leave the Corps and the time you find a new job. (Thanks to this readjustment allowance, our monthly stipends, and the money we got from the sale of our household goods, we estimate that after two and a half years in the Peace Corps we've saved the lion's share of the cash we'll need—about $10,000—to buy our "dream farm".)

Another tangible benefit that Peace Corps volunteers enjoy is 100% medical insurance coverage. This includes complete physical exams upon entering and leaving the Corps (and in between), free medicine, replacement eyeglasses (should yours get lost), etc. In certain cases, the Peace Corps even covers maternity costs for a married volunteer who has a baby while in the Corps. (Also, if you should need to be evacuated quickly for emergency treatment, the U.S. Air Force will have a jet fly you to the nearest medical facility.)

Vacation time is apportioned at two days per month of service, or 24 days per year. (Some $18 U.S. in vacation money is included in each month's allowance.) P.C. encourages its volunteers to travel in the host country, but there's no hard-and-fast rule here. Wherever you go, you can always stay with other volunteers to cut expenses (as long, of course, as you're in a country that has a Peace Corps program).

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