Won My Appeal

[jtg1966]

so as y'all know i was notified that i won my appeal....but haven't rec'd the money yet...

the question that i have is this...

is it wrong that i'm watching an ebay auction for a 2008 hummer which also has gold plated handles and lug nuts and furry dice hangin' from the rearview mirror made from actual mink.

not to mention that I bid on a hooter's tour which includes airfare , transpotation to 38 hooters world wide and all you can eat or drink for 19,000?

[sharon]

I know it feels to good to have won. Budget some F-you money and don't forget to save some for a rainy day. I would go for the Playboy Mansion tour :D

[Pete53]

Although it sounds like a lot it is easy to go through it. My opinion is to budget a small amount to do something you really want or have put off cause you could not afford.

I used my first one to pay off credit cards and do some major stuff for our home that I almost lost.

The VA does not hand out a lot of lump sums and you still have to find out how much it is.

Good Luck and Congrats

[Vync]

Congratulations on winning your claim! I got about five years of retro when I won my claim. Pete's right. You can blaze through it very quickly.

Be sure you have the funds to cover your auctions before you start bidding. It could be a month, or who knows, when you will see the money.

I would strongly recommend checking out the Clark Howard financial radio show on am radio. Even better is to listen to Dave Ramsey. Dave even goes on tour and teaches the financial peace university. I went in 2008 and was totally blown away. It truly was worth the time. Pete's advice sounds a lot like Dave's.

Good luck and I hope you get your money asap!

[jtg1966]

I was joking....i haven't bid on a thing....it's just that my peeps (i've never actually used that word in a sentence before) have all been telling me that i have to watch my money. and right now i'm kind of urphoric about getting the retro....i have no idea as yet what the effective date is....it should be 1995, but i suspect that it will be 2007 and i'll have to fight for the proper effective date....i was just trying to be lighthearted about winning my appeal....

but the truth of the matter is that with my 50% rating, i'll actually only gain about 60.00 a month... I'm in section 8 housing, which means that i'll have to pay my full rent myself (which would eat up 400 of the 700 doallars i would gain each month)....i'll lose 88.00 a month in food stamps....and right now because i'm below the poverty level the state pays my medicare part b premium 96.40....and they pay my medicare part D premium around 20.00....

I would like to get a newer more dependable car, and possibly a bike...but regardless of what i get...i'm going to only blow 50% percent of the back pay on the car and bike as well as a new laptop....the rest is going into cd's or perhaprs a pay now annuity....

although sharon had a good idea ....the playboy mansion tour..... HEFFFFFFFFFFFFFF ....baby....

[Berta]

VYNC made a GREAT suggestion-I keep up with these 2 guys myself-they are financial wizards.

I dont know anything about the housing and food stamps programs but this award would surely have an impact on them I think.

I forget what the award is for and how much you expect.

VA is quick to make statements of proposed incompetenct in some mental disability awards when their is a lot of retro.

I think any 6 figure award for a mental disability triggers the incompetency stuff.

Maybe that is why my retro isnt here yet!

Ha Ha only kidding-they cant declare widows incompetent.

I was awarded in April by the BVA- they (RO) forgot to even mention or send the cash.I went over their heads and they have 2 signatures and one more left to sign but told me it is new award.

They should not hold onto your money too long after you get the official award letter.The ROs have been found recently to be doing that for monetary awards that were generated by BVA decisions.I am sure my case had impact on that finding.I raised a lot of hell.

It ($) might even be in the mail or the bank before official notice is received for some vets.

Edited January 23, 2010 by Berta

[jtg1966]

well if they judge me incompetant...they they will have to reconsider the 50% rating for my bipolar...when i got the ssdi award...i had to have a payee....but my VA shrink provided a letter stating that i am competant to handle my own funds...i have a copy of that letter and will be happy to provide it to the VA....i expect to receive a minimum of 28k to 100k in retro...depends of what effective date they use for the award...because my claim is based almost wholly ion missing SMR's i think they should pay me back to 1995...but i think they are going to ignore 38 cfr 156( c) and that i'll have to NOD them for an earlier eef and a higher rating...but i'm not rocking the boat until i get the 50% bipolar SC award finalized....