Raise?

[luvHIM]

Is there a raise this year? Was talking with someone who is a recent separation from Army and it was suggested that a raise is in the works this year...just wondering.

Happy New Year!

[Philip Rogers]

Thanks Delta & Allan but I didn't take offense and I did post the cans suggestion, Allan. I understand everyone's frustration and in a perfect world vets would be given what we were promised. But alas, the world is not perfect. No matter what, I feel we still have it better than 99% of the rest of the world. The USA has never taken care of it's veterans and probably never will. I'm still glad I served!

As for the cans issue - early in the 1990's, while fighting my claim and living on VA pension, I did collect cans, every morning. I'd spend between 1-2 hrs, walking, bending, stooping, and then I'd take my wife & I out to breakfast, w/the money I'd earned. I generally averaged $6-$8 a morning and was in much better shape than I am now, due to the exercise I got collecting those cans. I actually miss the fun I had, doing it, now! Even found a $20 bill, one morning, in a parking lot, where the kids used to hangout and drink. That was a goldmine in the can world. Collecting cans is honorable work. Many homeless do it. It is self-employment and does take some ambition . . . Hey, can't we all just get along ;-) . . . . Best wishes for a great new year for everyone!!!!

Edited December 31, 2009 by Philip Rogers

[Stretch]

Next year starts tomorrow. Let's hope that 2010 will be more productive all the way around.

[jbasser]

Happy New Year Folks.

I have researched the cost of living in the great 50 states. Being Veterans, we were used to moving around in our military days. Some states have extraordinary lower cost of living than others.

Tennesee, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kentucky, ALabama are low on the list where Alaska, California and Hawaii and New York rank among the highest.

Folks who live in Califfornia have some of the highest mortgage payments I have ever witnessed.

A Californian can sell out and move east, buy a house and live for less than half of their california mortgage payment.

Also look at the states Veteran Benefits. If you are 100 percent Permanent and Total Or IU Permanent and total, some states have excellent benefits like zero or greatly reduced taxes.

We are in control of our destinies and some of us must do what it takes in order to survive.

Persoally, I am looking forward to moving south into a warmer climate.

J

[jerrbilly]

There's nothing wrong with recycling. It's good for the environment and makes everything cleaner.

Jerr

Nope, nothing for us this yr but we "can" all generate our own increase just by collecting more cans and recycling them. jmo

pr

[free_spirit_etc]

Though I have not had to live on a so called “fixed” income, I have spent most of my life living on a what would be called a “limited” income – so I have learned to be resourceful.

I do not want to take away from those who are truly in a bind – and are having trouble meeting their living costs with no resources to help them out. I truly have compassion for them, and think we should pitch in and help them all we can.

But still, there are those of us who can be resourceful, and make changes in our spending – and I think the sharing of ideas is an excellent idea!

Again, I am not a disabled vet on a fixed income. But I am a widow who has spent most of my life living on limited means.

Ironically, as a general rule, I have found that for those of us on limited incomes, our money actually goes farther in “down” economies. When things are good for businesses, they don’t really need my money. When businesses start to struggle, all of a sudden they run all kinds of specials trying to get us to spend our money with them. So I am actually able to afford more things in down economies than I am in up ones.

Even eating out. I eat out more when the economy becomes such that more people start eating at home. I still watch my money like a hawk. But when TGI Fridays had a special for about a week at the end of October where you could get a free appetizer with the purchase of a drink (even non-alcoholic) at the bar – guess who was there several nights buying a $2.50 cent soda and dining on appetizers that are generally too expensive for me to order.

One of our treats is Pizza Hut Pizza. I joined the Complete Savings program that is offered when you order online. I pay $12 a month for the program, but each month they reimburse me $10 on a Pizza Hut purchase (even if I spend less than $10) which almost covers the price of the program. But by being a member, I can buy 4 gift cards a month at 20% off. I generally buy four gas cards. Four $25 gas cards cost me $80. So for $92 a month (Membership and four gift cards) I am getting $100 worth of gas and a $10 Pizza. That is an $18 profit – because we would have bought one pizza a month and gas anyway. (I can also get gift cards for stores, restaurants, etc.) I get other benefits from the program too. (Like they towed my car for free when it broke down.)

I have also been taking advantage of bank bonuses this year. One bank ran a special where you could open a bank account for $100 – and they reimbursed you for the first $100 worth of gas you purchased with their debit card. I opened an account for both my son and myself. We got $200 worth of free gas. Actually, I have opened several bank accounts on their bonus offers – and made about $800 in bonuses in one year.

I stock up. When something I use is dirt cheap – I stock up. My son likes granola bars. When I was at the commissary and they had boxes for 89 cents – and each box had $1 off coupon – I bought 25 boxes. lol – But 25 boxes cost $22.50 - $25 in coupons – so I made $2.50 and had enough granola bars to last us for quite awhile. (Watch the expiration dates when you stock up).

I also scout the Internet for bargains constantly. Starz ran a promotion this spring where if you ordered Starz for 3 months, they would send you a $50 Visa Gift card. I called the cable company and found out they were offering Starz for $5 a month. I called Starz and found out there was no requirement for what you spent on Starz; you just had to order it. So I paid $15 total to have Starz for 3 months and received a $50 gift card for having it. Of course, I cancelled it after 3 months – but I made a $35 profit.

I have been needing a new earphone for my cell phone. I waited until I found a rebate. Last month I found a rebate where I could buy a Samsung blue tooth for $20 and get $20 back. Bingo! Got one! Is it the “best” blue tooth in the world? Probably not. Does it work? Yes. Really nice actually. And it was free.

I know I am needing a new printer. And I was checking out buying one. But this December Staples ran a promotion where you could buy up to two 20 packs of Duracell batteries a week (for $12.88 each) and get back the FULL purchase price in Staples Rewards (to spend on anything in the store). So I got 2 packs each week for the four weeks of the promotion – and now have enough batteries to last for quite awhile (seven year shelf life). Yes. It cost me a little over $100 to buy all the batteries. But now I have $100 in rewards bucks to buy anything else I need at Staples (including a printer).

As a general rule when the price of one thing goes up, I look for a place to have the price of something else go down – to balance it out. I had my car insurance with Geico. When my homeowners insurance went up, I called around and found if I switched my car insurance to USAA, the price of my car insurance would drop more than the cost of my homeowner’s went up. So I balanced it out. I find it is easier to save money in “chunks” like that, than to try to save it all in one big sweep.

Just some ideas….

Free

[broncovet]

This year, instead of a pay raise, the VA is giving Veterans the warm fuzzy feeling that VA executives and government contractors got the pay raise intended for Veterans instead. Veterans and social security recipients will need a warm fuzzy feeling since that will be the only heat bill they can afford this year. The average disabled Veteran, in Ohio, gets a whopping $674 per month to try to pay his bills $(8090 per year) . Altho this article was dated last year, since there was no raise, the average disabled Veteran will need to try to survive again on $674 per month this year, even tho they probably could not survive on that last year either.

Source: Cleveland Plains Dealer article below:

Injured Ohio veterans get 2nd-lowest

disability payments in nation

By Christine Jindra

April 11, 2008, 6:34PM

Tracy Boulian/The Plain Dealer A direct hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Vietnam resulted in a 100 percent disability rating for Hank Vasil, 60, of Brook Park. But he's aware that other Ohio vets face the vagaries of a Department of Veterans Affairs system in which disability payments, based on ratings, vary between states. Ohio is near the bottom in average annual disability compensation.

If you're among the more than 85,000 Ohio veterans receiving disability payments, you might be tempted to heed the advice once given to America s 19th-century fortune seekers.

"Go west, young man . . . "

Say, to New Mexico, where 27,010 veterans get an average annual disability benefit that is $4,801 higher than the $8,090 Ohio gives to its vets.

Or to Oklahoma, where disabled vets receive $4,185 more than Ohio's in average yearly payments.

Or west. as in West Virginia, where the compensation is $3,857 higher.

According to the latest annual report issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Benefit Administration, Ohio ranked second-to-last in the nation in disability compensation in 2006.

The state average annual disability benefit was only $112 higher than Indiana's, here 47,693 vets receive payments. It's a step up from 2005, when Ohio was dead last.

The longstanding issue of disparity in average annual disability payments between states heated up last year in hearings before the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs.

Last week, Rep. Zack Space of Ohio, a member of the committee, introduced the Veterans Disability Fairness Act, which calls for increased scrutiny of the VA's compensation program.

"The veterans living in Ohio sacrificed as much as veterans living elsewhere," Space, a Democrat from Dover, said at the time. "There is no reason that a veteran here should receive less than veterans in other states."

Monthly tax-free disability payments are awarded to veterans for injuries they receive or diseases incurred while on active military duty.

Compensation is based on the severity of a disability, which is assigned a rating depending on a veteran's earning capacity. That rating is set in 10 percent increments, up to 100 percent for total disability.

Still, payment disparities exist between states. One factor cited by government reports is the difference in the way some VA workers evaluate disability claims. For example, a veteran with a post-traumatic stress disorder claim can be evaluated as being a little disabled in one state and a lot disabled in another.

Such a subjective process could result in a different disability-percentage rating and thus different benefit payments for veterans.

Government reports also note that disability benefits can vary according to a veteran s period in the military and branch of service and the degree of training for claims officers, as well as the percentage of veterans applying for and receiving compensation.

Also, those retiring from military careers tend to get higher payments, as do enlisted versus officer veterans.

"There should be a standard rate for all veterans across the U.S.," said Frank Anderson, 54, of East Cleveland, adding that he has a 100 percent disability from an automobile accident that occurred during his service in the Army.

Disabled veteran Hank Vasil said the lack of an effective method of transferring medical records from the military to the VA makes it harder to file disability claims and therefore can result in a disparity in payments.

Vasil, 60, who said he has worked as a veterans service representative for the state of Ohio, believes some vets don't get the benefits they should because they don't know how or choose not to apply.

"Veterans are ill-educated as to what their rights are," said Vasil. "Other times a lot of it has to do with a person's pride. He may feel he doesn't warrant it [a disability award], that somebody more severe should have it."

Space's bill would require the VA to collect and monitor regional data on disability ratings, review and audit the system used to rate disabilities and periodically evaluate the performance of individual raters.

"It's simply a matter of equity and fairness . . . standing up for what's right for those who stood up for our country," he said. "It's kind of hard to contest that."

"Gov. Ted Strickland is well aware that Ohio has historically been behind other states in the collection of veterans benefits, and that's why he has proposed establishing a Cabinet-level department of veterans affairs," said Keith Dailey, a spokesman for the governor.

He added that this department -- currently under consideration by the state legislature -- would work closely with county and local veterans service organizations to better provide our veterans and families with the tools they need to obtain the benefits that they have earned and which they deserve.

Additionally, the VA says it has taken steps to address the disparity of benefits between states, according to agency spokesman Steven Westerfeld.

Those steps include implementing national standardized training for rating specialists, standardizing the medical evaluation of disability claims, increasing oversight and review of rating decisions, and designing a procedure for routine monitoring of claims data to check for consistency.

The VA also is exploring ways to consolidate parts of the rating process into one location and developing a skills-certification process for the specialists who determine disability ratings, Westerfeld said.

But Army veteran Larry Scott, who runs the Web site vawatchdog.org, said there may be practical limits to what the VA can do.

Scott said the VA lacks a common training program and supervisor structure for claims officers.

"In theory, there should be one huge office handling all claims for all vets. That's physically impossible. It'll never be done," he said. "So what you have is kind of like McDonald's technically, all the restaurants have the same recipe, but you'll still get disparities in various parts of the country."

Vietnam vet Richard Healy, 61, of Lakewood, fears that legislative attempts to address the disparity issue would result in a one-size-fits-all rating system and remove interpretation of a disability based on an individual's medical or psychological condition and needs.

Healy said he has helped veterans file claims for the past 31 years on behalf of Disabled American Veterans and that energy should be put into making the current system work better and faster.

"Every one of us is different," he said. "If a doctor, for instance, says a veteran is minimally disabled for [post-traumatic stress disorder], what does 'minimally' mean?"

Edited January 1, 2010 by broncovet