The Day You Have Orders

The day your spouse tells you he or she has orders your brain goes ten directions at once, or you freeze dead in your tracks. Where to begin the planning and moving? The answer is long and varied, but the Airman and Family Support Center is where I began. They didn't have all the answers. They pointed me to a few books, apologized that they weren't currently running any sort of relocation seminars and wished me good luck. I left with the pamphlet sized books and a web address in my hand. I headed from there to Finance to find out some specifics about the money involved in our move.
I have heard rumors of people manipulating the system and making money, others manipulating the system and getting caught, while still others play it by whatever is on the books at the time of their PCS. The rules change regularly. If you don't want to worry about getting into trouble, ask to see the written regulation.
I found out that no matter where we went between our current duty station and the coming one, we received the current duty station's housing allowance until we checked into the new place. That was interesting to me only because I had heard fairytales of living with family, collecting higher housing rates, and reuniting with your spouse with a full bank account. From what I read in print, these stories can only be urban myths. The government hasn't left many loopholes for us to accumulate extra money.
Now, everyone should know that until the physical orders are in the military member's hands, there isn't much anyone can do to plan the move. Thus, despite the fact that you may know you're moving in 8 months, until they cut those orders, you're at your current base. Keep both feet planted there until you know your leaving. Things change without much reason sometimes.