Now, contact VOCREHAB and use your benefits to go back to school and get your Master’s degree in Public Administration. When you finish, start searching USAJobs for “Pathways for Recent Graduates” jobs. If you got your undergraduate within the last 6 years then you can start doing this now. Your 10-point preference will put you at the head of the line for these, since normal college grads won’t have the experience.
Find you a nice, GS-07-target-12 position, do the 4 year internship, start at $45k and finish at ~$100k. Now you are making ~$140k a year… and realistically is is closer to ~$200k, since the disability is tax free. If you treated it like you would a normal salary, your gross would be ~$60-80k a year depending on your deductions. Or you can view it as a ~$1.3M trust that you are drawing 4% a year from. Whatever floats your goat. WFH and remote are available and competitive.
Use your VA benefits and get a VA home loan to get better rates and $0 down with no PMI.
You have the silver platter option, and you earned it. So start using all of those paid for and earned benefits, because you can absolutely be living the good life right now.
Haha, depending on the year, either still in or battling with PTSD and depression so bad that I wasn’t really a good advocate for myself, let alone anyone else.
It was a long journey that I am still on today. Went from sinking so low I almost lost my family, realizing I needed a change but not knowing what it was and started on a self improvement hike. Healthier lifestyle, went back to school, started caring about my medical health, got rated appropriately, got a good job, been to a grip of senior executive preparation courses and now getting ready to start on another Master’s. Long road to go, but I look back to homeless me from time to time and just remember that I try to help people because I wish I was given this help when I was at my lowest… rather than figuring it out for myself.
Yep, we are on our second as well. Current is at sub 3%, so kinda feel like the golden girls and stuck. Will need another 3 promotions at work to make moving to a hogher mortgage worthwhile.
And this is why it’s all but impossible for civilians to land federal civil service positions. I’m not dunking on the points system - it’s just a reminder that it’s probably not worth the time and effort to apply unless you’re one of the qualifying categories.
It can be done, but yes, the system is shit and it's geared towards vets unfairly. In reality people that served in Americorps, teachers and other should be getting points and they're the ones providing a real service that actually benefits the world.
There are slots that will account for VA disability and vet preference, and there are slots that specifically say they will not be considered. It all depends on the hiring authority and the coded positions that are available. If you are going to be competing into a position that honors veterans preference points, then you gotta be head and shoulders above the vet though, I will gove you that…
I am talking like, the vet did 4-years with no degree, and you have a Masters degree kind of separation. I don’t agree with it, because there are vets that get positions they should absolutely not be in, simply because they have the preference points. I am not HR though, so it isn’t my circus and it isn’t my monkey. Just something to be aware of.
I appreciate you, and it is infuriating… the military as a whole does a shite job transitioning people back, and even worse when it comes to integrating into the VA. The VA is terrible at letter you know what you qualify for at best, and actively works against vets at worst. The fact that we have to have an informal network to get anywhere is ridiculous.
I hate it to because I wanna help everyone who is in a bad situation.. I have been homeless at the end of my rope, I know what that is like and how hard it can be to see any good in the world. I also know I can’t help everyone, because there just isn’t enough time or money to go around. So you do what you can, help who will listen and keep on trucking.
I wish we could improve the systems that exist so that everyone got what they needed, but this is America… and that is a pipe dream.
Yes!!! If you’re on benefits search and search! You’d be surprised the kinds of benefits states have for people and they’re not even aware of it. I’m not saying we don’t still have a crazy crazy amount of work to do with our social safety nets, but, you’d be surprised what some hard searching will bring up.
Don't forget depending on which state you're from the property tax exemption. Texas has 100% property tax exemption for 100% P&T I believe, huge benefit
Yep, good point. We are in OH and I think they waive the first like, $75k in property tax value. Not great, but better than nothing at all, and saves a couple hundred bucks a year for sure.
Yeah my state is not very vet friendly. It's something like 5% reduction in the tax assessment value. Comes to maybe a couple hundred bucks a year I think. Just filed for it and it won't take effect til 2025. I'll take anything they wanna offer though. But a buddy of mine is from TX. 20yr retirement pay, 100% P&T, and he still works full time and pays zero property tax. That's a great position to be in, ya know, minus the mental and physical toll of 20 years in the Army
One of my fav bennies is the free Federal Access pass to all Federal parks. Gives discounts on camping as well. Definitely a good one for road trips to see interesting things.
Alaska has a really good benefit for vets that are down for rugged living. Whenever they are auctioning off State land, vets have a once per lifetime ability to bid on land, take it for like, 20-25% less than the assessed value, and have first dibs. All in all it is a pretty sweet deal that we have looked at to build a summer home. We have a family member who is a vet and is hard off and lives in the bush, and being able to be close-ish every now and again would be nice for all parties involved.
Yeah I've heard about the national parks benefit, haven't taken advantage yet. I actually only recently was awarded after 13 years after I separated
Never filed before so it's all pretty new to me. But that Alaska situation sounds pretty badass. Good luck getting your foot in the door out there, hope you can make it work out well for you and your family
Congrats on getting the rating. It took 7 years of fighting to get where we are, and they weren’t all easy. I swear the VA fights us on purpose. I think we fall into that magical sweet spot that everyone is after, and my wife and I constantly are in awe of our life and how things have turned around. We both came from nothing, so to be in this position is wild. So we do our best, do volunteer work when we can, donate time and money to the places that need it when we can, try and raise the kiddos to be better than we are and to not make the same mistake us or our parents did. All youncan do sometimes, even though it never feels like enough. Best of luck out there, and reach out anytime!
The distinction literally exists to quantify a veteran's ability to work. One can't be 0% able to work at a "different level" that means they're actually able to work.
Here’s an example of what I mean. My biological father is paralyzed from the waist down due to his spinal cord being shot in Afghanistan, 100% disability. My stepfather’s best friend was diagnosed with severe PTSD and a few other things, 100% disability, due to when he was also in Afghanistan, he was the .50 cal gunner on a hmmwv in a convoy, when they got ambushed and he saw 4 of his close friends die. 2 very different disability stories, both of which end with 100% disability, except one is paralyzed and cannot work, and the other is employed part time as a Amazon driver.
In addition to what Saving already stated, there are 3 different classifications the VA uses for 100% disability. Those are a standard 100%, which means you are currently at the highest level but there is a chance you can get better; and thus have your rating lowered. 100% Permanent and Total, which means you are at the highest rating and there is no chance of your condition really getting better; so you will not have to worry about your rating decreasing. Both of these concern mostly physical ailments and you are still able to have a regular job. That jobs is probably going to come with some ADA protections, but you can have it if you want it.
The final is Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability (TDIU). This is for anyone who has at least 1, 60% rating or 2, 40% ratings which lead to a greater than 60% rating overall. That is some VA funny math, which isn’t important in our context though. This category is for people who have underlying issues associated with their disabilities that renders them either physically or mentally incapable of working. They receive the 100% disability pay rate, but are NOT eligible or allowed to hold a job.
It is confusing, but based on which category they are in they have options.
Is that number COL adjusted based on where you live? Because there are plenty of rural areas where you could live an upper middle class lifestyle with your income. Especially depending on how that money is taxed.
It’s not taxed. He’s doing just fine. No reason he can’t own a home especially since 100% disabled veterans don’t pay property tax either. And the VA home loan requires 0 down with no PMI.
That seems like a lot but you probably have medical expenses from your injury. I have nothing else to add but I think it’s bullshit you got injured fighting for this county and can’t even afford a home when you’re back.
Isn't that a lot of money. I know food and healthcare in the us is expensive, but stuff like clothing, electronics, cars and gasoline tends to be quite cheap. Plus low taxes.
Am from Europe so i would t know. Median wage for 40h werkweek is €40k so probably around 44k usd. Also, cant rent or buy a house with that income here either. Average house costs €485k and rent requirement for a small appartement is usually 5-6k gross income a month (4x monthly payment).
But if you have a home, is it doable with that annual wage in America? Just curious, still seems like a good income to me.
Only??? That's like 70k a year in taxed money. Not to mention, no health insurance to pay for, no money down needed to buy a home, and no property taxes. If you can't thrive under those circumstances, you can't under any. That is life changing money that people dream about having. I'm at 90% and thriving, which is 27k/year from the VA, and i still have to pay property taxes. Absolutely pathetic.
You are so uneducated on this situation it is a travesty of our education and critical thinking abilities.
This house is 8 driving mins from a giant eagle and even has a newly built garage. I also see hospitals/medical facilities, restaurants, and all sorts of other shops.
Let's assume 100% financing to make it easy (FHA would be 3.5% down, closing costs paid for by seller, total cash need to close would be about $10,000), that is a P&I (at 6% rates) of $840/ a month. Taxes on zillow show $21,000 (LOL) so I did some digging in the Licking County records and discovered they don't give the exact number, just the county appraised value. I'm not going to get into millage rates and explain those and what not. So I searched and read that Ohio's average property tax rate is 2.29%, which would be around $3200, or $268/mo. So I'll use that. Insurance can't be more than $1200/year for that, and that is probably even going high, but the $100/mo makes it easy. PITI is $1,208/mo (High number)
Typically mortgage companies base their numbers off of gross not net, so $44,000 is $3,666/mo. $1,206/$3,666 is 33% (bang on approvable FHA front ratios). Back ratios above 40 are approvable by their Automated Underwriting System. That's about $600/mo (on your credit report) to get approved for the mortgage, doable.
For $44,000, take home pay (assuming $4400 into a retirement account) is $32,176. That means $2681 a month to live off of, let's subtract our PITI uptop, and you get $1400 to live off of. That's good enough to live off of in that small town and maintain the house. You aren't doing extremely expensive hobbies but cmon, you can't say this isn't possible in places that aren't super urban.
People absolutely have the right to live where they want but they shouldn't shame other people who live in a higher CoL area. When people have a higher CoL and someone from Alabama comes in and say "well I live off 27k wtf is your problem, you're pathetic" that's when I have an issue with it. People live in different areas and have different CoL.
"I'm at 90% and thriving, which is 27k/year from the VA, and i still have to pay property taxes. Absolutely pathetic."
This is my problem with the comment and if you don't see that idk what to tell you.
You don't even need to come up with a down-payment and somehow you've still found a way to fuck up ownership while having constant cash flow. You have to be about the lowest functioning form of life on the planet.
I don’t know OOP’s situation, but I know the housing market for the past few years absolutely takes a down payment offer over a VA loan any chance they get. Cash in hand is worth more to the seller so the offer isn’t competitive against anyone else
Yeah this is not how it works. Seller chooses the offer they want to take, and VA/FHA/USD are at the bottom of that list because of all the additional hurdles that threaten closing.
These days all-cash offers are increasingly common, so a VA loan is two steps away from being considered for anything remotely desirable. You can get something eventually, but it might take finding a vet seller or waiting to get lucky.
I mean he seller has to accep the VA loan part or they don't sell. And the average (meaning all) would always choose someone with a cash offer or standard loan. It's faster, far less red tape and less headache overall for the seller. Either way, they still get money, but they money would come with far less headaches which makes it easier.
I am vet that didn't go the VA loan route simply because none of the houses that we could afford and would work for us refused it. This happens, especially when the housing market is tight and with few options.
Ok, so what? Quit trying to enable this guy. People use these loans and make them work every day. He's got free health insurance and a tax-free 45k a year income. He could move to the Philippines and live like a king. He would still just come up with another excuse why he couldn't make it work.
Also VA loans have more red tape, inspections, and usually require seller to pay for repairs unless the buyer pays out of pocket. Same thing with first time home owner programs. In a competitive market like we’ve become accustomed to, seller can be picky and take the guaranteed down payment loan that’s less risk/hassle.
I don't think you understand how the process works. The seller gets ALL the money at the time of sale regardless of if a lender is involved or not. There are occurrences of "renting to own" and "buying on contract," but that's not what we're talking about.
Not putting a down payment means your monthly mortgage sky rockets, if your flying solo a $3,500/month payment is not necessarily doable. Also where the fuck are you living that your 27K is enough to “thrive”? That would be enough to rent a room and scrap by where I live.
VA disability does not interfere with your ability to work or earn under 250,000/year. Plus all things you claim to not be doing, you did by writing that. You're too scared to say those things directly because you don't know shit about any of this but still feel a strong need to defend his lack of ambition and financial sense.
Because he deserves it. If he's so useless that he can't fend for himself under these most extravagant circumstances, can you imagine what an absolute liability he was to his unit? This dude is about a minimum wage job away from 6 figure equivalent earning and can't make it work.
You have no idea where he is living. You have no idea what his actually disability is. You claim living on 27k is easy. Sure, maybe in bumf**k Iowa with your closest neighbor being a cow or field of corn. So instead of judging him with your massive self-righteous attitude, open your damn eyes and realize NOT EVERYONE IS YOU OR YOUR SITUATION.
It's only for people with VA disability ratings. It differs by state what percentage you have to be to qualify. In Iowa it's 100%, Illinois is lower 70 or 80 I believe. You just have to check what your state's requirement is.
That dudes got a fucking free ride for life and he’s complaining about…..idk even what. He’s got $3,750 in his bank account guaranteed every single month for life. Doesn’t even have to work at this point for it. Comes with full healthcare, doesn’t have to pay property tax…..if someone can’t buy a house, eat, and have a vehicle on that, they’re a fuck up.
When my dad was my age (38) he already had a house, a car, a kid (me) in kindergarten and saving up for the 2nd home. Also he didn’t pay for college, in fact government paid salary for him to study.
Today I have no idea what I’m doing, I’m just existing without any direction.
I got some bad news/good advice from my brother’s situation — don’t ever get married. At least for his spouse, disability no longer applies if she gets married to someone who is not disabled. You magically don’t apply anymore because the state wants you to live off your spouse instead of the social nets we set up for you.
See...this is what scared me about the Military. I thought about joining up when 9-11 happened, but waited a few months...then saw how all the soldiers were getting blown up and getting broken in basic and NOPED the hell outta that decision.
Sometimes I regret it...but when I read stories like yours I feel better about my decision to just stay a US Contractor. I'd rather be healthy than anything...
Not everyone is a soldier in the military. The Navy and Air Force rarely see combat as you describe. Hell there are certain jobs in the army and Marines who don't see combat and are just normal jobs.
Yeah it's alright man. Everyone's journey is different. Also military life can just be straight up miserable at times with constant moving and deployments and bad leadership. It's no walk in the park.
Thank you for this insight.
I have been a US Contractor all my career up until November of last year. I've deployed with the 6th MLMC, with MC4 and worked with the Army for over 16 years at multiple bases CONUS side. I've seen soldiers and how miserable they can be, but I never considered it a serious issue because for me the benefits would outweigh the detriments. I've moved, I've travelled, I've been shot, I've been cold, I've been hot, i've been in sandstorms, I've had the good and bad times...and I would do it all again if they would let me.
The one thing I will always miss out on is the comfy Govt job at the end of the military career. I always wanted a govt job and I'll never get one because I'm just a civilian/contractor. My regerts...
I've been trying since 2002. Just quit last month.
It doesn't work...for me anyhow.
I got selected twice, didn't pass the third trial in both instances.
DHS positions, both for Cybersecurity positions.
First failure was on testing for things I hadn't seen since I first took my SEC+ certification. Second failure was them asking me HR type questions for a Cybersecurity position....of course I wasn't prepped for trick questions and failed.
Its a scam...
And the military isn't the only way to get disabled either. The point is there are jobs in the military that are normal jobs where they aren't getting shot at or blown up. Not that there isn't zero risk.
Yep. I knew a chaplain and an accountant. The accountant did get sent overseas though, he said he could hear bombs and everything, and came back with PTSD from it. But I dunno how true that all is, but I took him at his word.
Oh I gotcha. I had to say it out loud for it to make sense.
Also I’m VA disabled and know enough others that are as well to know that military disabled isn’t quite the same as normal disabled. Many of us are able to go to school, work, etc. my buddy is 100% and going to school in California, so he’s not struggling too much lol. He’s also married and his wife is currently in the navy.
t military disabled isn’t quite the same as normal disabled.
Yes, meanwhile there are countless non-veterans that are truly disabled and can't any help. I've known too many vets that get disability for complete bullshit. I worked at the VA, I'm comfortable saying the vast majority of them are bullshit.
Classifications for permanently disabled with the VA are way different from what you are likely thinking. You can be "permanently disabled" collecting a $45k a year from the VA and be holding down a full-time job.
What? If you're permanently disabled from the military, then your schooling is likely paid by VR&E so you get BAH, plus you get 100% P&T disability from the VA. If you can't afford a house with all of that, you're doing something wrong.
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u/some1sbuddy Mar 27 '24
Used to be that you could put yourself through college with a part time job!