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I finally made it to retirement. Sitting here on terminal leave trying to figure out what I'm going to do with my life while I farm CoD skins. I decided that the post 9/11 GI Bill is the way to go to supplement the ol' pension I'll be getting, but I'm confused about the best option. From what I can gather you get E5 with dependent rate BAH each month, based on the zip code of the school you enroll in. Normally you would want to move to an expensive area so you can get the most money, but that isn't exactly an option for me at this time. I believe that Illinois, where I enlisted, has a program where I get free state school, so I could move back home (live in my dad's furnished and finished basement, at the age of 38 with an 11 year old(I could be a discord mod!)) and perhaps double dip GI bill? I'd like to stay in Texas because I'm already here, and a move wouldn't be 22 hours away. Is it accurate that if I enroll in a 100% online degree program, do I only get 50% of the national BAH rate, which would be something like $900? Would it be best financially for me to move to IL and go to school in residence, if schools are even doing that yet? $900 a month isn't much of anything to live on. lite_sleepr fucked around with this message at 20:52 on Jun 25, 2021 |
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Jun 25, 2021 20:48
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| # ¿ May 12, 2025 16:21 |
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Mr. Nice! posted:It is almost always better to take classes in person (when available). Right now you don't get dinged for being fully online, but that won't last forever. The GI bill pays tuition so unless you're hit with major out of state tuition rates, you can generally go anywhere you want. I'd say figure out where you'd like to live, find a college near there, and move there or nearby while you work on your degree. UMGC (formerly university of maryland university campus) has a bachelors in human resources management, which is closely aligned with what I did in the AF, so I'd like to stay with them as I've already taken classes with that school. Other than that, I guess I can use a VA loan to buy a house in TX (just not near Laughlin) and sign up. White Chocolate posted:Also make sure that you put in for any disability services you qualify for and get that dd214 if you want a federal job. I submitted my VA claim in Feb, six months before my discharge date so I can get bennies on date of discharge, or a BDD claim. Should be ready by 1 Aug when I'm done.
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Jun 25, 2021 22:55
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Hekk posted:Congrats on making it. I retired in January so I know the feeling of elation. I must be misunderstanding, are you saying that the post 9/11 GI Bill pays the tuition to the school, but it also gives me the E5 with dependent rate stipend, correct?
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Jun 26, 2021 00:08
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The elation has kind of wore off over the last 2 months as I gotta figure out what I'm going to do. My beard is real tight though. I keep it trimmed with a #3 guard.
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Jun 26, 2021 04:14
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What are ya doing for work? I'm kinda bummed because I had the, perhaps unrealistic expectation, that I'd be able to roll into an AFPC job since I did 14 years in the MPF. To date I've put in 31 applications, most to AFPC, and all of them are shot down. Some say it's because I don't have a bachelors degree, others because i'm not officially out yet and don't have that 214. I have had one call back and a job offer from a civilian company called Copart, but they were offering $18 an hour for what sounded like managing a team of call center people. Not to mention they weren't willing to wait until August, not that I could blame them. Wasn't meant to be.
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Jun 26, 2021 05:51
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I'm also trying to get a certificate, a PHR for HR. Lots of folks say that companies will prioritize certificates over degrees now, but sadly the IVMF doesn't pay the bills while I'm studying for it, so I'll likely just drop it and do the school thing.
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Jun 26, 2021 16:42
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I don't know anything about vocational rehab. I know only slightly more about the post 9/11 gi bill.
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Jun 27, 2021 00:45
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What is the point in going to school and wasting time chasing a 4-year degree when I'm 38? I'll be 42 by the time I graduate, more than twice the age of the average 20-something entering the workforce already with a degree. If my experience is already worth less than nothing at the age of 38, it's going to be worth only slightly less once I get a degree.
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Jul 7, 2021 12:44
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Trying to figure out what to do with my life is scary  Computer science degree worth it? I imagine there is a ton of math which I am terrible at.
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Jul 7, 2021 14:31
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rifles posted:If you have any interest in programming, technical problem-solving using both math and brute-force thinking, and want to challenge yourself to get pretty good at the thing you're bad at (math) I say do it. That's not for me, then.
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Jul 7, 2021 19:14
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Mr. Nice! posted:Comp sci and programming requires a good chunk of math knowledge. Programming is math. Which website
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Jul 7, 2021 20:51
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I think I'm going to just milk unemployment for as long as I can, stay in this base house for as long as I feel like I can, and pursue this PHR certificate. Good Lord willing I'll get 50% disability and have that income as well.
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Jul 8, 2021 03:45
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Mr. Nice! posted:Depending on the state, you can collect unemployment and gi bill at the same time. GI Bill and VR&E both will pay you while you work on a PHR cert through an accredited program. I'm already enrolled in a PHR certification through Syracuse via IVMF. it's free, but I didn't think I could get either GI Bill or the VR&E to pay me while I do it. Since I'm already taking it, and it's for free, I guess I can't collect from either.
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Jul 8, 2021 19:24
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Mr. Nice! posted:It doesn't matter if you're already enrolled or if it's free. You can still use GI Bill benefits if you want. Reach out to the certifying official's office at https://veterans.syr.edu/. They can get you set up if you want to use it. Reached out. Will report back with what they tell me. If the GI Bill is only going to pay the $900 or so a month because my course is online, I won't take it since I'd rather not burn up GI Bill time for such little money.
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Jul 8, 2021 23:01
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PageMaster posted:Just learned about travel reimbursement for VA appts and posting here just in case someone didn't know either. Lost out on a lot over the past year since it needs to be within 30 days of the appt. When can I apply for this? I had to travel, round trip, 300 miles from Laughlin AFB to San Antonio for all my QTC VA medical appointments, 4 in total. 1,200 miles for four VA appointments that took less than an hour each time! lite_sleepr fucked around with this message at 14:16 on Jul 9, 2021 |
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Jul 9, 2021 14:01
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Mr. Nice! posted:You should have filled a travel voucher out at your appointment. If it's been more than 30 days, you're gonna have a headache. I'd call the VA clinic where you had your appointment in San Antonio and ask to speak to their travel office. If you were clear to your providers that you traveled a lot and no one told you to fill out a travel form, also contact the patient advocate. Nobody told me anything. It was more than 30 days ago. Oh well. So long as I get a 50% rating I don't care 
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Jul 11, 2021 00:11
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Zero VGS posted:Hell yeah, thank you all for the advice on VR&E. I was months away from my GI Bill expiring, but now I'm officially locked in to take vocational courses and earn E5+dependants BAH until 2028 (or until they decide I've learned enough). What kind of courses are 'vocational' courses? Things like trades such as electrician/plumber/carpenter?
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Jul 16, 2021 14:33
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I'm just going to try and buckle down and pass this PHR test. A certificate is cool and good to have. I also have a lot of aches and pains, and chronic hip bursitis.
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Jul 21, 2021 16:21
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I'm having a hard time understanding the post 9/11 GI Bill and online school. Am I right in saying that you only get about $900 a month if you're fully enrolled online, vs. getting potentially a few grand a month if you go to a physical school in a higher cost of living area?
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Jul 27, 2021 18:13
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Hekk posted:Yes That's stupid. VA acting like we're don't need money to live just because we attend online. I am not near any college of any kind to attend physically, and so I'd have to spend money to move near one. How stupid
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Jul 28, 2021 13:31
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Thing is I don't want to stay here. If I can't find a job in the foreseeable future, and if I can't pass this aPHR exam, the idea is just to get my retirement pension and go to school in the Marietta, GA area. Where I am now, E6 with dependents is 1,518. Marietta is 2,385. To me, it would make more sense to just enroll in school around Marietta, get my pension and buy a modest house. Does that make any sense?
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Jul 28, 2021 18:18
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Ah right, E5 with dep. rate. Still, it's $2,2250 for the Atlanta area, coupled with my 2,080 from retirement each month. I could live off $4k a month I believe. Wouldn't even have to work. I think I'm just nervous as heck because for the first time in 20 years, my adult life, I'm about to be out of a job and have no real idea of how the civilian world is supposed to work. I was basically conditioned to believe without the stupid AF I'd starve to death under a bridge somewhere.
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Jul 28, 2021 23:09
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Hey, I'm gonna be ok
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Jul 29, 2021 02:11
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I'm currently in Texas, so yea I'd have to move.
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Jul 29, 2021 04:56
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What is it like using a VA loan to buy a house? I've never bought a house before, or moved on my own, and so I'm absolutely clueless when it comes to these things. Overall, is it pretty straight forward and not complicated, or is it rife with scams and unnecessarily difficult hurdles?
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Jul 30, 2021 17:37
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Welp, I was denied for a home loan through the VA. With only my pension of about $2k a month, they ruled my debt to income ratio was not favorable. They don't count income from the GI Bill as 'income,' so until I get a job or at least an offer letter, I'm kinda stuck.
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Jul 31, 2021 02:12
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Godholio posted:That was the bank's decision. They don't count GI bill money as income, even though it literally is. I don't know how many more VA approved lenders are out there willing to make that risk, but I'm all ears.
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Aug 1, 2021 04:04
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LtCol J. Krusinski posted:My retirement is roughly 4K a month, and my wife makes multiples of what I do. USAA only gave me a VA home loan in a high cost area if my wife was a co-signer. Nope! I'll figure it out.
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Aug 1, 2021 15:08
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USAA is a bank, and an expensive bank to do business with, so gently caress them. The only thing good about them is day early pay checks and car insurance. I went the Veterans United Realty when they shot me down, at least until I get my debt:income where they want it, which would be after I get a job.
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Aug 1, 2021 22:40
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I hate that as a recent retiree I'm made to wait six months between GS jobs. What is the reasoning behind this hiatus I'm expected to take between working? I have two job interviews this week for UPC jobs, but I know that I have the deck stacked against me. I know it can get waived, but those waivers have to go all the way up to 2nd air force. The hiring authority will have to explain why they want to hire me vs. someone with a fraction of the job experience I have doing UPC work. Can someone explain this to me? For the last 14 years I ran every section in an MPF several times over and successfully implemented every policy and program for the base level. Why should anyone have to explain that of course I'd be a better candidate than someone who doesn't know what MilPDS is, or where to find something in an AFI? I could literally hit the ground running in a squadron, and the only thing I'd have to wait on is my systems access while I look at what's going on in the unit to get a game plan together on what to tackle, fix, and how to do it. What's more frustrating is I can't hope to get a home loan until I have a job! There's nothing here at Laughlin AFB, and I sure as heck don't want to stay here. I'm looking at the very real possibility of moving back into my parents basement, with an 11 year old, because despite having applied to 29 GS jobs and about 20 civilian jobs during my 90 days of terminal, nothing is landing. Sure, I can go back to school and use the GI bill, but no banks consider that as 'income,' even though it would put me at about $4k a month in income, which is plenty to comfortably pay a $1,500/mo mortgage if I wanted to buy a house that expensive.
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Aug 3, 2021 13:00
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Is the idea being that it's lovely to gatekeep reasons others get bennies?
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Aug 3, 2021 17:24
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Just got my rating. It's 30 percentage points higher than what I was expecting. It's tax free, too. Finally, a victory
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Aug 3, 2021 18:55
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Dummy Question: I should already know this, and I believe I'm reading correctly. I retired as an E6 at 20 years. High 3 retirement. This is 2.5% times number of years in service, and the highest average basic pay for the last 3 years of service. E6 basic pay is 4,297.20 a month, divided by 2, is 2,148.60 a month. I should receive 2,148 a month for my pension, correct?
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Aug 4, 2021 13:10
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Do you still have that app? I qualify for a final disability rating of 80%, which is $1,772 a month. If you could plug in a 20-year tech and that number, I'd really appreciate it or you could just let me know what that application is
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Aug 4, 2021 18:33
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Never mind I'm dumb. Looks like I'll be getting about 2,083 a month from pension alone, plus the 1,777 from VA, for 3,860 a month in combined bennies. If I can find a place to go to school, I could add potentially 2200 to that in post 9/11 bill money. I don't think I'd have to work tbh.
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Aug 4, 2021 20:18
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I'm a single dad, so I have to consider that as well. I just gotta find a proper city with a 2 year college in it so I can try to get a business management degree and so the kiddo can go to school. Had a job interview for a GS 6 position at Shepard, and I got another interview for a GS 7 job... also at Shepard. Granted, I have to have that 180 day period waived, but I'd be doing a very similar job as I was doing, so I got that going for me.
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Aug 5, 2021 02:34
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Has anyone heard of veterans united home loans? Supposed to be a VA approved lender. Any other lenders that may be better?
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Aug 5, 2021 22:14
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Got a tentative job offer for a GS 7 position! 
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Aug 11, 2021 03:55
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Just gotta get through the 180 day waiver process
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Aug 11, 2021 14:38
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| # ¿ May 12, 2025 16:21 |
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I haven't done anything with my TSP since probably 2014-15 when I had to dip into it during an emergency.
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Aug 11, 2021 20:55
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