Credit and debt

The credit/finance gods have decided to be good to me. I was just happy to even be approved for the CareCredit card, even if the interest rate said it was like 22.9% or some ridiculous  rate. Just before we went over to pick pup up I got back on their website, just to look around some more. Apparently, depending on what deal they have worked out with each provider I might be offered 6 months terms, or 12 months etc. Different promotional periods I guess. Not that it mattered as I planned to get this paid of in 2, 3 payments max.

When she put the bill on my new account and gave me the paperwork to sign - I read it and it was 12 months, No interest!! Thank you, thank you! Now I have some leeway to pay it off over a longer time, rather than the 2 months I was going to split it over. There was no way I was going to drag it out and pay that interest rate! $38 a month for 12 months is much more do-able with the monthly budget than trying to pay off $233 each of the next 2 months. That would have drained whatever I would have been able to put into reserves for other emergencies that will of course come up.

Credit is a blessing and a curse, but when it's interest free I'll take it! It allows me to rebuild my credit score, without having to spend money on interest. My dentist and endodontist are part of this CareCredit program too. I'm thinking I might add my root canal or crown expense to it, when I have to pay that. If it's going to be 12 months no interest too, I might as well spread the cost out and give myself more wiggle room in my monthly budget, rather than using all my reserves and then some at once to pay it off. I owe $290 to the endodontist and my share of the crown (haven't had that procedure done yet) will be approximately $450. The endondontist wants full payment now...Funny thing there - I'm pretty sure I was supposed to pay upon leaving my appointment Thursday, but my appointment ran so long it was well into the noon lunch hour (they even switched assistants towards th end of my root canal so the one assistant could have her lunch break!). I waited at the front desk for a couple of minutes, but the front desk gal never came back and no one was waiting in the waiting room, so I have a feeling she was at lunch. I just left and figured she could call me for my debit card or they could just mail me the bill, so it hasn't been paid yet.  The regular dentist has offered to spread the $450 out over 3 payments, so that is a good offer, but now I'm considering putting that on the card, if I would be offered 12 months no interest on that too.  Still thinking on that. Since I'm not exactly sure how the promotional offers work (I'm thinking it could vary per provider), if I'm not given no interest on the dental work, it would be better for me to take the dentist's offer of 3 monthly payments.

Hopefully, none of this will even be an issue or owed in a couple of months. If my company gives out the bonus for the first 6 months of the year I can use some of that to pay all this off and not have the debts hanging over my head. After not having/using credit the past few years, I much prefer not owing anything, but since we're not independently wealthy, guess we gotta do what we gotta do. Teeth gotta be fixed and pups gotta be taken care of.

On the mend

Well the vet verdict is in....puppy has various kinds of worms and no blockage in his stomach. So, good news according to the vet, as it is very treatable.  Bad news to my wallet as when we go pick him up it will be $466! Ouch. But, so glad he'll be ok soon. He's such a goofy good dog!

A sick puppy

I'm writing this with about 3 hours of sleep last night. Our 10 month old dog has been vomiting since yesterday afternoon. He threw up later in the afternoon and then again right after he ate his dinner. Since then he's thrown up about every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Poor puppy! We weren't sure whether to take him to an emergency vet (not very close by) during the night or wait it out and get him into Banfield Vet, where he's been seen since we got him and also have a wellness plan we've been paying for each month. We waited it out and then dropped him off at the vets first thing this morning. One of the vets will examine him as soon as they are done with their morning surgeries and let us know, but most likely he will need an xray, which runs about $200. The office manager did say he can utilize some of our wellness plan coverage for the exam and blood work - saving about $180 there.  So, we are just sitting here back at home waiting to hear. I hope it's nothing serious. My guess is he ate something and it's blocking him - he chews up and eats anything he can get to! Sticks, balls, etc. I really didn't need this extra expense right now - especially after paying out $400 so far on my dental work.

With the shortage of sleep and vet trip I just decided to take a PTO day off work. Once we know what's up with the pup hopefully I can get some more sleep. DH stayed up all night with him and is sleeping now. I had my final appointment for the root canal yesterday, so my tooth/mouth is still a bit sore. It was a long 2 hours sitting in the dentist chair. Apparently I can't have "normal" canals and roots like everyone else. Mine are very narrow and long, so it took her quite a bit longer to get it all done. I was pretty wiped out after I got home yesterday and then not getting much sleep last night hasn't helped.

UPDATE: Puppy had some "quite explosive" diarrhea while there at the vets this morning (but no more vomiting) that had quite a bit of grass, twigs and dirt in it! And he's pretty dehydrated. They are going to xray him and get some iv fluids in him and then let us know what they find out from the xray. So far the bill is $433........and now they are telling me they can't use any of the benefits from his wellness plan for the bloodwork - he already used them up for his neutering, so that will be another $180, if they have to do that (if the xray is normal).

While I was at our other dog's vet a few weeks ago for his annual check up I noticed some brochures for "CareCredit" on the counter and the front desk lady just happened to be on the phone with someome and was mentioning it. While I was at the endodontist yesterday I noticed the same brochures. I just checked out their website and it's basically a credit card to use for doctors and vets. High interest rate of course, but helpful if you might end up with a huge vet bill, like I am thinking we will. I went ahead and applied for it online, just so I might have a backup payment plan, if necessary and was approved for $2100. That's a big relief, especially if this vet bill ends up being $1000 or more. I can charge it to this card and pay it off over a few months.

Still interviewing.....

DS thought his job interview on Monday went well. He was interviewed by a team of 3 and was there for over an hour and a half. The lead interviewer (a supervisor, I think) said they don't usually show the applicant around the office during the first interview, but they did for DS, so that seems like a good sign.  They are having him come back for a second interview next Monday.  So, we await the outcome of all this some more. At least they told him right then that he was getting another interview and when, rather then waiting several days for a call to find out if he even was being invited back for another one.  He looked quite sharp in the new dress clothes he went and got at Kohl's the night before. Some nice gray slacks (that he got on clearance for $18 - 70% off!) and a nice dress shirt. Hair all cut and looking very professional.

They also suggested that in the couple of areas of the position he is not familiar with to do some research online and learn what he can about it between now and then. He's a quick learner when it comes to computer stuff, so I don't think that will pose a problem for him - other than I asked him this morning if he was able to find what he needs to learn about online and he said he hasn't looked yet......that's the way he is, though and I just need to not let it bother me. He'll get it done on his own time.

There is a possibility DD might have a part time summer job where I work! I mentioned to my boss yesterday that she is starting to look for a weekday summer job. Her current job is only on weekends and she wants to find something to do during the week. My boss asked what type of work and I said she would prefer to get into some office type work/experience and she said they may be able to use her in one of our departments to help with a project. So, we are going to keep our fingers crossed for that one also. DD could just come in when I'm in the office 3 days a week (otherwise, she's not driving 38 miles each way for a low paying part-time job, haha.).

The case of the crushed pill

When we were with my grandma in the hospital one day a nurse came in to give her her medications (the one's she always takes) and my mom mentioned one of them (with a yellow coating) to the nurse, that is has to be crushed. The nurse was very surprised that this pill was being crushed, as apparently pills with coatings on them should never be crushed. She went on in quite detail as to why this is and was sure that the nurse from the prior day shift would not have crushed it either. My mom said she didn't know, but 5 years ago the doctor told them to start crushing it because the pill would go right through my grandma and come out in her colostomy bag (sorry, TMI!). They've just been crushing it and giving it to her with applesauce.

The nurse said she was going to go call the hospital pharmacist and see what he said and she came back and said he recommended them not crushed. My mom said she would check with grandma's doctor (which if course she forgot to do). Like I mentioned - this nurse was going on and on about this and why it shouldn't be done.

Fast forward to Sunday, while we are all at my mom's for Mother's Day. We are in the kitchen and she is getting my grandma's pills ready and getting out the crusher to crush her yellow pill. I ask her if she asked the doctor about it (no, she keeps forgetting), BUT, she tells me as she's pouring the crushed pill contents into a little bowl, "I've just been picking out as much of the yellow coating as I can before I put it in the applesauce"

OMG! I say "MOM! That's not what the nurse was talking about! It's not the COATING that is bad for her. Coated pills are time realeased into the system. Crushing them can cause all the medication to go into the system at once.  That is what the nurse was concerned about!"

Goodness! So, I finally think my mom understands. I told her they've been crushing this pill for 5 years with no effects, so I'm sure it's ok, but just to make sure to first question this if they are ever told to do it on other medications.  Then I sent her an email yesterday, before she took my grandma back to her caregiver's place, to be sure to tell her caregiver she doesn't need to spend a half hour picking out yellow coating from the crushed pill every day!

Lots done

It was a productive Saturday around here yesterday. The sun was out and made for a great day. In the morning I went and bought a sprinkler (we only have one for a 5000 sq ft lawn) and then grocery shopping. DH wanted 2 of them, but the sprinkler said it would cover up to 3900 sq ft. It was $20 and I though it would cover most of the back yard. Not even close! Maybe if we moved it around 5 times while watering - haha! But DH liked all the settings it has, so decided to keep it. Our lawn is looking like a bit like it's "under construction" at the moment. It got all thatched last week, which makes for an ugly looking lawn for a couple of weeks, I guess. DH (or I should say DS did the work) got some lime and weed and feed applied. There is an area in the front where the dogs pee and ruined the grass, so the guys put up some poultry fencing around it and reseeded that area and reseeded an area in the back that got pretty much killed from some really hot weather we had last summer and didn't really come back to life much.

I spent an hour or so pulling weeds from all the red rock areas around the house, where all our flowers and plants are. All the thuja trees we planted last fall are growing great and I love just walking down the property line to see how they are growing. Then I helped the guys repaint my window boxes and get them put back up. We pulled them down when we had the house painted a year and a half ago and never got them put back up. The cedar boxes were white and pretty bad looking, but a coat of the dark brown paint to match the trim spruced them right up. I can't wait to plant flowers, but that will have to wait until the end of the month - no money left in this paycheck, that's for sure.

You know those Lowe's commercials where doing work on your house/yard inspires all your neighborhood to do the same? Well, we at least inspired one neighbor! Our "good" neighbor to the left of us is just a single guy about our age who has never done much with his yard. He has some lawn area out front, but only mows it if its getting really long. Most of the time DH just mows it for him while he's out doing our yard. He has a few apple trees next to the fence between us. Well last weekend he actually got out there and did a bunch of tree trimming and mowed his lawn. He had a huge pile of branches loaded on his little flat bed trailer. Well, the other day, before he got home from work, DH and DS went over there with the wood chipper and chipped it all up for him. He drove up just as they were getting finished and was so surprised and happy he almost cried. He said he was taking Friday off as a vacation day just so he could get that all taken to the dump, which probably would have taken him a couple of trips. DH told him to go ride his Harley on his day off, instead. He's a good guy (kind of a home-body) and has lent us his quad every year to use during racing season (he never uses it) and various other tools and things we borrow on occasion. That nice expensive quad has been parked in our garage for the last 4 years and every year when racing season is over we try to take it back to him and he says "nope, I know where it is if I need it". Friday and yesterday he spent all day out in his yard putting some nice stone circle borders around his apple trees. He said to DH "you know, the only reason I'm doing all this is for you guys, LOL. You keep fixing your place up, so I feel like I should too". Too bad the Sanford and Son junk yard neighbors on the other side will never feel that way.

Then I talked DH into going to watch the races with DS last night. It's a 2 hour drive to the track each way, so a long trip and I hate for DS to do it by himself, anyway. Especially coming home 11pm or so. Plus, an afternoon/evening without DH is a rare treat, LOL. They left about 2:30 so they could get up there in time to stop at DH's favorite burger place near the track and have dinner. I took a nice nap while DD unwound from a busy morning at work and then she took me to back to dinner at the restaurant she works at. YUM! I love breakfast for dinner. I tried to talk her into going to Salvation Army afterwards to just look around but she wanted to get back home and get ready for a friends birthday party she was going to. So, I got a nice evening just me and the dogs. Watched a movie on tv and then went to bed before 10. DD got home a little before that - she wasn't staying too late since she has to work this morning.

Off to my mom's later this afternoon for pizza for dinner and enjoy some family time. My grandma turns 95 tomorrow, so we've got lots to celebrate.

A good Target run

I went to Target last night with my list and coupons. My previous trip there to pick up a prescription (it's a $4 one, so I don't bother with getting that one at Costco) gave me a catalina coupon for a free box of General Mills cereal (we picked a good old favorite - Wheaties). I also had a 5% off your total pharmacy reward (for filling 5 prescriptions) and a $5 off your $50 purchase coupon. One of the items on my list was Miralax (DH needs due to a side effect of one of his meds), which is $16.99. There is a generic store brand version which is $2-3 cheaper, but with coupons I can usually get the Miralax brand a bit cheaper. I found a Target store coupon online for $2 off and was able to stack it with a $3 off manufacturer's coupon I found on coupons.com.

Using my Target red card I also saved another 5% off my total.  All in all - with the discounts and coupons I saved $21.58! It always pays to check online and look at the store coupons offered to see if there is something you use and especially nice when you can stack that savings with a manufacturer's coupon.