Department of Defense civilian furloughs are set to start the week after Independence Day.
Many families say while they are planning for the worst, they are also getting ready to fight.
A Virginia Beach husband and wife who both work at Naval Station Norfolk are now both facing furloughs.
With their combined losses, Dago and Juliette Morales will be losing $1,700 a month in pay.
The official letter came Thursday from the Department of Defense, confirming that furloughs will start on July 8th, one day a week, for 11 weeks.
"I instantly went into a mode of, I can't believe this is happening," Juliette said.
"We started calculating. What are we going to lose already. What we cannot do. What we can't afford to do," Dago says.
Going out to restaurants... forget it.
Wrestling for their son... might not happen.
Medical bills... put on hold.
"It was going to be picking and choosing, calling people, saying we can't pay you anything this month," Juliette says.
The worst part is that the couple feels their struggles will not bring the federal government any closer to reducing the deficit
"Our funding is not coming from appropriation from Congress. So we are baffled as to how do you feel you are going to save money," Juliette says.
Both work for the Defense Logistics Agency, paid with Working Capitol Funds. Their salaries actually come from selling things to other government agencies.
31 House members have already challenged the Defense department, asking how furloughing these workers will help cut costs.
And the Morales family is already planning to appeal. They are amongst just a few of thousands of DoD workers expected to once the furloughs officially start.
"We hope these furloughs just end. I don't think they are necessary to begin with. Not with us," Juliette says.
