Thank you. Also, I wanted to mention another possible source of financial aid for service animal care for those who are employed. Right now we are entering the "open enrollment" period. At this time, you can setup a medical reimbursement account. While this type of account is designed to give you tax-free dollars for your medical care, it is also applicable for assistive technology, and the care and feeding of service animals. If you make use of this account, you can pay for your service animal's food and veterinary and other care, as well as the purchase of any assistive technology devices, by using pre-tax dollars from your pay. This could give you a 15% (or higher) discount on all of these purchases (I myself used it to buy a Hims BookSense and received a 25% discount). How it works: You estimate your needs first (how much you will spend on your service animal, and any assistive technology purchases). You can also add in your medical expenses not covered by your healthcare plan such as glasses, dental care, etc. You then sign up through your open enrollment program to have this amount taken out of your pay throughout the next year, in regular amounts. So, if you decide you wish to set aside $2400 and you are paid monthly, they will set aside $200 per month of your pay for this program. However, you have access to all $2400 in your account as of Jan 1 of the next year. You will be issued a special debit card for this account, which is only to be used for these types of purchases. You should keep documentation after a purchase for a short time in case they need to document that (for instance), the pet food is for a service animal. They will let you know if they need such documentation after your purchase. (note: this is how People First handles the program, other employers could possibly handle things somewhat differently, although the basic idea will be the same). We've been doing this for several years. You can also include the needs of any spouse/dependent. We've used this to pay for glasses and expensive dental work in addition to the assistive technology I previously mentioned. This can be a significant money-saver if you are willing to plan for it now. The exact amount of savings which I mentioned above is determined by what your income tax bracket is at the time you make your purchase. There is one aspect however which does require careful planning: you must spend all the money you set aside; it will not be returned to you if you do not. You do however have 15 months to spend it (not just the next year, but an additional 3 months following that year). This type of benefit is available to any employee, it only requires that your employer offer it to you. There are no income restrictions, however, you are limited to a maximum of $2500. A working married couple can each set aside $2500 however, and each one can name the other as their dependent, thus giving each person access to up to $5000 for covered purchases. If you save 20% on $5000 you can see that a couple could possibly save $1000 in a year by using this program. More if they're in a higher tax bracket. You should of course discuss this with your personnel office or People First, and your financial planner if you make use of one. It's a very under-utilized benefit (brought to you via the federal government, and your participating employer). I've been thinking that with the economy and the employment situation, we should be working harder here on TABI (as Evelyn just did) to help one another with financial tips. (although I'm thinking we should try to limit them to those of special interest to the visually impaired, otherwise, we might over-whelm the list). I wonder if the Lighthouse or one of the consumer/advocacy groups might even arrange for a volunteer financial planner (who researched special needs and laws applying to the visually impaired) to give a seminar to help with improving personal finances (just throwing out this idea in case any group wants to arrange this?). Chip From: tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:tabi-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Evelyn Worley Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2013 12:18 PM To: eworley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx; tabi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [tabi] assistance with pet food Hi everyone. I recently got a message from Scott Greenblatt, who wanted to get the word out about a program to assist people who receive public assistance with making sure their pets are fed. This could apply to service animals or companion pets. Please check out www.petfoodstamps.org <http://www.petfoodstamps.org/> for more information. Evelyn Worley, COMS, CVRT Assistant Director Lighthouse of the Big Bend (850) 942-3658 x203 Fax (850) 942-4518 info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - http://www.lighthousebigbend.org <http://www.lighthousebigbend.org/> Lighthouse of the Big Bend "Guiding People Through Vision Loss" 3071 Highland Oaks Terrace, Tallahassee, FL 32301 Evelyn Worley, COMS, CVRT Assistant Director Lighthouse of the Big Bend (850) 942-3658 x203 Fax (850) 942-4518 info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx - http://www.lighthousebigbend.org Lighthouse of the Big Bend "Guiding People Through Vision Loss" 3071 Highland Oaks Terrace, Tallahassee, FL 32301