Generally, everyone agrees that veterans of the military that have made the ultimate sacrifice are owed the ultimate reward. However, this doesn’t always materialize. Vets will sometimes need to get creative in order to maximize what they can do with their benefits after they’ve served their time. Here’s what you need to know.
Stretching Your Dollar
While the military tends to offer combat veterans some manner of compensation, it is necessarily limited. That means that you’ll need to reign in your more costly impulses a bit in order to make sure those benefits provide full coverage or close to it. One great example of this to refinance your home. By refinancing your home, you can potentially reduce your monthly mortgage cost. This a great idea not only for disabled vets, but also retirees.
In order to make sure you come out on top, you’ll want to compare mortgage refinance rates to find the best option for you and your family using your veteran benefits. It couldn’t hurt to have an accountant and a lawyer work with you. This way, you know your ongoing budget can cover the cost and that you’re not being taken advantage of, respectively. Both a lawyer and an accountant will be instrumental in making sure that things go smoothly going forward. Anyone that can afford them should hire them ASAP.
Know Your Veteran Benefits Rights
On that note, hiring an accountant and a lawyer are both essential tactics if you want to make sure that you’re taken care of. While the US military tends to at least try to give veterans the kind of life a hero of war deserves, they don’t always get it right. They sometimes outright betray the trust of disabled veterans who have given their all in the name of freedom and national security. Because of this possibility, you’ll need a contingency.
In particular, you’re going to want to hire an attorney on retainer. This is so action can be taken at the first sign of trouble. Before you play the waiting game, however, you’ll need to do some research. Have your lawyer give you a rundown of the laws surrounding veteran benefits. This includes past cases that have gone to court. Do this in order to determine what your rights are as a veteran of war who has been denied his or her promised benefits. As mentioned above, your accountant can help you manage the assets you have. That will become all the more important when your benefits are suddenly yanked out from under you.
Appreciate Businesses That Support You
Veterans may not always get the respect they deserve. However, there is a larger than expected contingency of good, red blooded Americans who are always willing to extend a great, warm welcome to members of the armed forces, past and present. While accepting the good will of the average person might be beneath you, there’s no shame in taking advantage of the many discounts offered to veterans at retailers and restaurants.
Frankly, this is a small price for businesses to pay for their freedom. They don’t mind, and neither should you. This can be instrumental in building the life you deserve after you’ve completed your tour of service. You made yourself a hero to the people and you should enjoy your veteran benefits. Hardware stores in particular tend to extend that helping hand to soldiers and vets. While you might be a proud warrior at heart, you should allow the people that you’ve served to serve you in return.
Military service is one of the most powerful gestures a person can make, especially now that the draft is a relic of the past and service is entirely voluntary. While soldiers are treated well enough during their tenure, they can easily fall by the wayside once their duty is done. This is a great shame, because these brave men and women have given it all, but these tips can help down on their luck vets to even the odds, at least a little bit.
