The strange plight of the US government employees

With the reports about the US government's shutdown trickling in on the channels, there is one part that I find highly disturbing.

No, not Trump's spoiled child impersonation with his "I wanna wanna want my wall!". I mean the accounts of government workers saying that they don't know how to pay rent etc.

WTF?

They are government workers. I don't know much about this, but I am fairly sure that means they A) get more than minimum wage and B) they have their healthcare covered.

So why are they without money after just a week or two without getting payed?

Even here in Germany I have heard of several governmental shutdowns over the budget in the last years. It is not something that they experience the first time. It is something they all had time and reason to prepare for. Why haven't they?

And I am not even talking about the normal emergency fund of several month of payment everyone should have.