My head is spinning with all the health insurance info I am looking at. I am going to have to go to Walmart and ask them some questions about the cost of Dh's meds. The insurance company info is a bit confusing. One of his meds he needs 180 pills for a 30 day supply, When I look online at his insurance claims history they show they were billed by the pharmacy $457.22 and that the pharmacy was reimbursed $78.54, plus my $15 copay. But in looking at the pharmacy receipt (I just refilled yesterday) on the top of the receipt it shows an amount of $166.08 and then "Patient Pay" of $15.00. The new plan the insurance is switching to offers a "Pharmacy Discount Program" of up to 50% off generics. I'm so confused at what I would end up paying if I just stay with this plan! Would I pay 1/2 of $457 or half of $166? I need to get these amounts nailed down in order to make a good decision on what to do. Hopefully the pharmacy staff at Walmart (and Target where I have 2 of his prescriptions) will be able to give me correct advice.
I'll get all this figured out this week and then when Dh goes to the pain specialist in a few weeks (yes, finally got the referral - his primary care dr. did it for us) they will probably change his meds!
I'm not in a very good mood this weekend. No matter how I work this I'm most likely going to need to come up with an extra $200 per month. When I was at work Thursday my boss said she had gone to a meeting about our company's health insurance plans, that renews in August. They are looking at an 18% increase in costs. I said, great, that means my personal plan I have dh and the kids on will be going up lots soon too. But I sure wasn't expecting the letter I got yesterday! I emailed my boss that I had her 18% increase beat with a 117% increase. i.e. HINT: where is my raise??!! Makes me mad that I'm going to have to ask for one. It's one of my pet peeves in work life. I had a wonderful, perfect review last December but was told no raise since I had one 12 months prior. Was told they might reconsider in June for those that didn't get them. Well, June has come and gone now. I feel it should be employers responsibility to initiate the reviews and salary increases, not me in there begging for a raise. GRRR!! And of course it just makes it totally worse since I see everything the company spends on....$3000 dinners with clients is common each month, huge bonus's for the owners and managers, etc. I just want $3000 for the whole year! The company is making good money, so there's no issue there.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Just wonderful..........
%$#! Just got a letter in the mail from the health insurance company I have Dh and the kids on. Due to new state laws they either have to add brand name drugs to the generic prescription coverage on the plan or drop prescription coverage altogether. They are dropping prescription coverage. I can either take the "new" plan (without prescription coverage) at about the same monthly rate I've been paying, or choose the one plan they do offer that has prescription coverage - at a 117% increase in monthly premiums! Plus it wouldn't cover the drugs as much as it has been covering.
Without insurance Dh's drugs would cost $540 a month. I've been paying $30 ($15 copay each). I pay $236 a month in insurance premiums for just Dh (plus more for the kids) and the other plan would be $511 a month just for Dh. Plus I'd have to pay 20% of the $540 medications. Did I say #$@& yet?!!
If I switch to another insurance company I'll lose out on the almost $2000 of his $3500 deductible I have met so far this year and have to start over on the deductible. #&%$!
So, it looks like I get to spend the weekend researching all my options and see all what plans are available that have prescription coverage.
Without insurance Dh's drugs would cost $540 a month. I've been paying $30 ($15 copay each). I pay $236 a month in insurance premiums for just Dh (plus more for the kids) and the other plan would be $511 a month just for Dh. Plus I'd have to pay 20% of the $540 medications. Did I say #$@& yet?!!
If I switch to another insurance company I'll lose out on the almost $2000 of his $3500 deductible I have met so far this year and have to start over on the deductible. #&%$!
So, it looks like I get to spend the weekend researching all my options and see all what plans are available that have prescription coverage.
To have credit or not to have credit
In August it will be 2 years since we filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. I think I've talked a little about it in previous posts. For the most part it was debt discharged for my husbands business debts (he was not incorporated). $5300 of it was a personal credit card.
The only debt we currently have is our home mortgage and a home equity loan. I also have a personal loan with my mom for my car that I still owe her about $15000. I make monthly payments to her for this. The only credit card I have is a Macy's. I rarely used it, we didn't owe anything on it at the time of bankruptcy and Macy's didn't cancel it. Now, Penney's on the other hand did. I had used their card regularly over the 30 years I had the account and was never late and didn't owe anything on it when we filed. But they closed it. That is the one card I miss. I never charged much over $100 on it but it was nice to have if a gift was needed and I just didn't have it to spend that month.
Part of me feels this need to "rebuild" my credit but another part of me says NOOOO - stay away from it! On the one hand a credit card sure would be nice for an emergency - on the other hand if Dh knew there was credit available he come up with all kinds of "emergencies". While I feel, on my own, I could very responsibly handle a credit card, especially one with rewards that I could use essentially as a debit card, I do not feel it would be wise to tempt Dh with having a credit card.
At this point what do I really need credit for? We've learned to save first for what we want to buy. And we've learned to buy many things used. A smarter solution than a credit card would be money set aside in an emergency fund (I'm working on that!)- to tap into when needed and repaid - just as a credit card would have to be. We have our home and if we stay here we don't need to try qualify for a new home loan. My main worry is some major house repair will hit (of course it will!) and we won't have the money in savings and have to (again) borrow from my mom, if it's something that can't wait. A credit card to fall back on would be nice.
Several months ago I did try applying for a credit card online. I don't even recall now who it was through (Amazon, maybe?) and was denied. No big surprise there. I should have asked to see our actual credit score then, since we got denied, but forgot I could do that. Since our bankruptcy I have kept track of our credit via creditkarma.com. And it has slowly been increasing. Of course it took a major hit right after our bankruptcy was discharged, then a few months later had pretty big increases. Then nothing for quite a while and small increases every once in awhile. I sometimes read other's blogs that after their bankruptcies they got more credit cards again. I've often wondered how long they had to wait to finally start getting approved or maybe this was during the time when anyone and everyone was getting approved prior to the ecomony fail.
My last look on creditkarma.com I took a look around the website, rather than my usual quick look at our credit scores (mine was 684, dh's was 696). They give a couple of credit cards that have a supposedly high rate of getting approved based on our credit score/history. The first listed one is through Chase. Hmm...our $5300 personal credit card discharge was a Chase card. I'm not sure they'd be so willing to give me another one. But on the other hand our mortgage is through Chase and we have never ever been late on a house payment.
And by applying for credit (and subsequently and most likely getting turned down) I understand that also takes a hit to our credit score. But again, I wonder, should I even be worrying about this at all? Our cash lifestyle is working ok and keeping Dh in check with the spending. But then, I think, that rebuilding our credit score would help if we'd like to refinance our house down the road at some point or actually act on our dream to move to an area where life is a little less crowded and costly.
I also have some concerns/ideas about our mortage and home equity loan, as a result of the bankruptcy, and will do a post about them soon. I'd love to hear other's thoughts on what we should do.
The only debt we currently have is our home mortgage and a home equity loan. I also have a personal loan with my mom for my car that I still owe her about $15000. I make monthly payments to her for this. The only credit card I have is a Macy's. I rarely used it, we didn't owe anything on it at the time of bankruptcy and Macy's didn't cancel it. Now, Penney's on the other hand did. I had used their card regularly over the 30 years I had the account and was never late and didn't owe anything on it when we filed. But they closed it. That is the one card I miss. I never charged much over $100 on it but it was nice to have if a gift was needed and I just didn't have it to spend that month.
Part of me feels this need to "rebuild" my credit but another part of me says NOOOO - stay away from it! On the one hand a credit card sure would be nice for an emergency - on the other hand if Dh knew there was credit available he come up with all kinds of "emergencies". While I feel, on my own, I could very responsibly handle a credit card, especially one with rewards that I could use essentially as a debit card, I do not feel it would be wise to tempt Dh with having a credit card.
At this point what do I really need credit for? We've learned to save first for what we want to buy. And we've learned to buy many things used. A smarter solution than a credit card would be money set aside in an emergency fund (I'm working on that!)- to tap into when needed and repaid - just as a credit card would have to be. We have our home and if we stay here we don't need to try qualify for a new home loan. My main worry is some major house repair will hit (of course it will!) and we won't have the money in savings and have to (again) borrow from my mom, if it's something that can't wait. A credit card to fall back on would be nice.
Several months ago I did try applying for a credit card online. I don't even recall now who it was through (Amazon, maybe?) and was denied. No big surprise there. I should have asked to see our actual credit score then, since we got denied, but forgot I could do that. Since our bankruptcy I have kept track of our credit via creditkarma.com. And it has slowly been increasing. Of course it took a major hit right after our bankruptcy was discharged, then a few months later had pretty big increases. Then nothing for quite a while and small increases every once in awhile. I sometimes read other's blogs that after their bankruptcies they got more credit cards again. I've often wondered how long they had to wait to finally start getting approved or maybe this was during the time when anyone and everyone was getting approved prior to the ecomony fail.
My last look on creditkarma.com I took a look around the website, rather than my usual quick look at our credit scores (mine was 684, dh's was 696). They give a couple of credit cards that have a supposedly high rate of getting approved based on our credit score/history. The first listed one is through Chase. Hmm...our $5300 personal credit card discharge was a Chase card. I'm not sure they'd be so willing to give me another one. But on the other hand our mortgage is through Chase and we have never ever been late on a house payment.
And by applying for credit (and subsequently and most likely getting turned down) I understand that also takes a hit to our credit score. But again, I wonder, should I even be worrying about this at all? Our cash lifestyle is working ok and keeping Dh in check with the spending. But then, I think, that rebuilding our credit score would help if we'd like to refinance our house down the road at some point or actually act on our dream to move to an area where life is a little less crowded and costly.
I also have some concerns/ideas about our mortage and home equity loan, as a result of the bankruptcy, and will do a post about them soon. I'd love to hear other's thoughts on what we should do.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Thursday thoughts
I was all happy that with July brings the end of Dh's cell phone contract and I can switch him to a cheaper pay-as-you-go plan, like I am on. I was looking online at his account with Sprint and see that the contract actually ends August 31st. Drat! I had specifically remembered that the reason he had to get a new phone 2 years ago in July was because our vehicle got broken into and it was stolen. But I think we waited a few weeks before we got him a new phone (that's how little he uses it) so, that put us into August. Ah well - it'll be here soon enough and then I can cut that bill down from $43 to probably $10-20 a month.
My next 2 paychecks are really going to feel "short". I'm hourly and we are paid twice a month. Tomorrow's paycheck is only an 80 hour pay period and I just realized, in looking at the calendar, that the July 15 paycheck is also only 80 hours. Those usually don't happen 2 in a row too often. Most are 88 (with a few 96 hours thrown in there). So, I am really going to feel like money is short with approximately $400 less in take home pay, than I am used to, over the next month. At least the July 31 pay check is 96 hours so I can catch up.
Dh wakes me up last night to tell me he forgot to tell me we are invited to a friends birthday party/bbq on the 4th. I laughed and said when were you going to tell me - a few hours before? He thinks he tells me stuff all the time but really didn't. This will be a good distraction for us that day as our previous 4th's were always spent with our best friend, who passed away last year. He loved the 4th and always had a big BBQ and fireworks. It will be good that we are busy this year, rather than sitting at home.
My next 2 paychecks are really going to feel "short". I'm hourly and we are paid twice a month. Tomorrow's paycheck is only an 80 hour pay period and I just realized, in looking at the calendar, that the July 15 paycheck is also only 80 hours. Those usually don't happen 2 in a row too often. Most are 88 (with a few 96 hours thrown in there). So, I am really going to feel like money is short with approximately $400 less in take home pay, than I am used to, over the next month. At least the July 31 pay check is 96 hours so I can catch up.
Dh wakes me up last night to tell me he forgot to tell me we are invited to a friends birthday party/bbq on the 4th. I laughed and said when were you going to tell me - a few hours before? He thinks he tells me stuff all the time but really didn't. This will be a good distraction for us that day as our previous 4th's were always spent with our best friend, who passed away last year. He loved the 4th and always had a big BBQ and fireworks. It will be good that we are busy this year, rather than sitting at home.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Amazon shopped today
I have an old black wood rocking chair. It's nothing fancy and pretty old (looks just like this one in the picture except at some point and time my mom painted it black. I can't remember what color it was before that). At one time it belonged to my grandparents, passed on to my mom, who then passed it on to me) but looks kind of cute in my living room. About the only time it gets sat on is by the cat or if there is too much company and we need the seating. It's a little creaky - but mostly it is just for looks for the most part. I have another old wood antique chair, too, (not a rocker) and it's seat cushion is next to be replaced. It's just a bottom cushion so it shouldn't be any problem finding something at a local store for cheap. I searched high and low for rocking chair cushions at local stores but found nothin'.The old cushions were 20 years old and dirty and stained. I did try washing them in the washing machine but it just didn't work out. So, it's been sitting there looking rather forlorn with no cushions. I recently got my (2) $5 Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks and applied that to the total cost. Everything I had been looking at online was at least $50 and closer to $60. I wanted something in the "red" color wheel this time. The old cushions were blue. My couch is kind of a greenish brown and our recliner is dark brown. I wanted something in the room with a pop of color this time. I'll have to keep the cat off of it - his white and orange fur won't quite match!
And best of all after my $10 discount I got it for $28 and shipped free.
Dh is on the lookout for a used desk on craigslist. He is tired of sitting at the little desk in the dining room. The family room (where my desk cubicle is) is getting cleaned out of the big items (we sold one large entertainment center on craigslist and the other one is supposed to be going to Ds's girlfriend for her new college apartment) and there will be room for a desk in the window corner. He's looking for something fairly nice and we've set a budget for $200. He found a nice cherry desk for $200 (ad said originally $900) but it had just been sold minutes before he called! I'm very happy he has changed his old ways and doesn't have a problem with buying used things now.
The closet remodel revisted
I was just remembering I was going to post some pictures of Dd's closet after we did the little "make-over" on it. The reason I waited so long? We couldn't find the other curtain panel! We finally found one she liked and they only had one in stock. We bought it, thinking they'd restock and it took months before Walmart did. We finally got the second panel and it's a touch different shade of brown, but I guess it's not too noticable.
She still needs to do a bit of organizing on the top shelf of her closet but it all looks much better than before, that's for sure! We bought the drawers, shoe caddy and the baskets on top of the unit and also a basket that is down on the floor to the right for laundry.
In the larger, tan colored basket she has all her scarves. In the basket next to that is her belts. All in all I think we spent a little over $100. Dh even followed the directions and bolted the storage units to the back closet wall :-)
In the larger, tan colored basket she has all her scarves. In the basket next to that is her belts. All in all I think we spent a little over $100. Dh even followed the directions and bolted the storage units to the back closet wall :-)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
And still no referral
And I am still waiting on the referral for Dh to see the pain management specialist! How hard can this be? Don't answer - I know - I used to work for some doctor's offices. It's NOT! Dh had his appointment at the University neurology 2 weeks ago yesterday. The Dr said she didn't do pain management and wanted to refer him to another doctor in the University. She and the intern walked out. The intern walked back in with the discharge paperwork, including a referral. We asked to be referred to someone closer to home (we live near a fairly large city that has several of these types of doctors). The intern went back out to ask the doctor and came back in with a name written on one of the other papers with Dh's "discharge" packet.
We go to checkout at the front desk and I explain to the girl we need the referral to the doctor listed on the one sheet, not the one at the University. She apparently ignored me because 4 days later the University calls to schedule the appointment. Last Monday I called the neurology clinic to ask the status of the referral to the correct doctor and nothing had been done. I had to give them all the information again and was told it would get taken care of soon and someone would call to let me know it was done.
Yesterday I called again. After I explained 3 times that I had already called last week and given them the information they needed to do this she finally looked it up in their system and saw the notes where I called and where they were to call me back (notes sent to the referral dept). She then transfers me to the referral department, who then acts like they have no clue what I need. I finally told her to take the time to look it up and she'd see the info from where I called last week! Then she said she'd have to get the doctor to ok this....oh my freakin' god!
I finally just told her if it wasn't going to get done today then never mind. I'll just get a hold of Dh's primary care physician and have him do the referral. Where I hung up, got online with our primary care doctor and requested the referral.
Oh and did I mention this university hospital billed the insurance Dh had when he was there 8 years ago? We gave them his new card info when we checked in.
And this place is supposed to be the premier place to get medical help?? What a joke it has been every time we have been there. All the while Dh has not had any adjustments to his pain med's now for 3 1/2 months and what he's taking isn't working too well.
We go to checkout at the front desk and I explain to the girl we need the referral to the doctor listed on the one sheet, not the one at the University. She apparently ignored me because 4 days later the University calls to schedule the appointment. Last Monday I called the neurology clinic to ask the status of the referral to the correct doctor and nothing had been done. I had to give them all the information again and was told it would get taken care of soon and someone would call to let me know it was done.
Yesterday I called again. After I explained 3 times that I had already called last week and given them the information they needed to do this she finally looked it up in their system and saw the notes where I called and where they were to call me back (notes sent to the referral dept). She then transfers me to the referral department, who then acts like they have no clue what I need. I finally told her to take the time to look it up and she'd see the info from where I called last week! Then she said she'd have to get the doctor to ok this....oh my freakin' god!
I finally just told her if it wasn't going to get done today then never mind. I'll just get a hold of Dh's primary care physician and have him do the referral. Where I hung up, got online with our primary care doctor and requested the referral.
Oh and did I mention this university hospital billed the insurance Dh had when he was there 8 years ago? We gave them his new card info when we checked in.
And this place is supposed to be the premier place to get medical help?? What a joke it has been every time we have been there. All the while Dh has not had any adjustments to his pain med's now for 3 1/2 months and what he's taking isn't working too well.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Weekend almost over already
Yesterday was a pretty un-productive day - other than Dd and I schlepping around in the pouring rain to try and find some cushions for my old rocking chair. I hadn't been in the Bed Bath & Beyond store for years. So much neat stuff - and none of it I can afford! I can't find any rocking chair cushions, so guess I will be ordering online. The only thing we bought was a sports tank top at Ross for $10 for Dd to wear while playing tennis.
I woke up this morning with a resolve to actually get something done today. I had to pick up some razors for Dh, so also managed to get some other good deals. Spent $60 total, but stocked up on quite a few things. After we got home , while Dh mowed the lawn, Dd vacuumed the house and I mopped the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms and cleaned the bathrooms.
Dinner will get started soon (dh is taking a nap) - just hamburgers and corn on the cob. The corn has been so yummy this summer! Dd made "Blarney Stones" the other day so we still have those for some dessert. I have a new recipe to try soon. It's "Red Velvet Cheescake Brownies" OMG! A coworker made some and brought them to work. So delicious.
Friday night Dh and I went to my company's big party. It was ok - we stayed a couple of hours and then headed for the hour drive home. With probably close to 400 people (mostly our customers - we only have 35 employees) there I'm sure I wasn't missed leaving early, LOL. I'm not a drinker, so don't really find it too enjoyable to try and mingle and chit chat with a bunch of people I don't know. And for some reason, while that type of food is always good while I'm eating it, it never agrees with my stomach and I paid for it yesterday - another reason it was a pretty unproductive day.
I woke up this morning with a resolve to actually get something done today. I had to pick up some razors for Dh, so also managed to get some other good deals. Spent $60 total, but stocked up on quite a few things. After we got home , while Dh mowed the lawn, Dd vacuumed the house and I mopped the kitchen, laundry and bathrooms and cleaned the bathrooms.
Dinner will get started soon (dh is taking a nap) - just hamburgers and corn on the cob. The corn has been so yummy this summer! Dd made "Blarney Stones" the other day so we still have those for some dessert. I have a new recipe to try soon. It's "Red Velvet Cheescake Brownies" OMG! A coworker made some and brought them to work. So delicious.
Friday night Dh and I went to my company's big party. It was ok - we stayed a couple of hours and then headed for the hour drive home. With probably close to 400 people (mostly our customers - we only have 35 employees) there I'm sure I wasn't missed leaving early, LOL. I'm not a drinker, so don't really find it too enjoyable to try and mingle and chit chat with a bunch of people I don't know. And for some reason, while that type of food is always good while I'm eating it, it never agrees with my stomach and I paid for it yesterday - another reason it was a pretty unproductive day.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
College tuition and financial aid
I've become a mini expert on college financial aid - haha! Last week my son's girlfriend came to me looking for some advice. She is transferring into a private 4 year college in August (as a junior) and needs $15,000 in loans to cover the rest of her tuition and board. She had applied for loans at her credit union and 2 banks, with her dad as co-signer. All turned her down because her dad's credit score was too low....a 650. (that's another post in itself). She wasn't sure what to do and her parents had seemed to just be content to let her figure this all out on her own. Should she try to apply without his as cosigner (her score was 780, but she's only had credit a year or so), should she try to ask for smaller amounts and split up the loans with different banks? She was starting to really stress out.
A lightbulb went off as I suddenly remembered my recent reconnection with on old high school friend who's job is that of a university financial aid advisor! I got a hold of her and she was just a wealth of very helpful information that I could pass on to son's girlfriend. The next day girlfriends dad applied for the "Parent Plus Loan"- was approved instantly and girlfriend's all covered and one less thing to stress over. I was so glad I remembered that I could ask this friend for advice.
I had told my mom about it over the phone that night and the next day she was at her boyfriends (still seems strange calling a 78 year old man her boyfriend!) family gathering where his daughter was talking about college for their daughter and they weren't sure how they were going to pay for it all and the financial aid was so confusing. My mom put her on the phone with me and I passed along all the info I had to her. I haven't heard back on her yet, but she was really happy to have the info and the steps to take in the whole process.
It will be great for me too, come January of 2014, when Dd and I have to find our way through this same situation. I hadn't really thought of it much as an option, (unless Dd gets scholarships) as my mom will pay her tuition, but it sounds like we definitely need to go through the whole financial aid process first, to at least see if she qualifies for any aid first.
A lightbulb went off as I suddenly remembered my recent reconnection with on old high school friend who's job is that of a university financial aid advisor! I got a hold of her and she was just a wealth of very helpful information that I could pass on to son's girlfriend. The next day girlfriends dad applied for the "Parent Plus Loan"- was approved instantly and girlfriend's all covered and one less thing to stress over. I was so glad I remembered that I could ask this friend for advice.
I had told my mom about it over the phone that night and the next day she was at her boyfriends (still seems strange calling a 78 year old man her boyfriend!) family gathering where his daughter was talking about college for their daughter and they weren't sure how they were going to pay for it all and the financial aid was so confusing. My mom put her on the phone with me and I passed along all the info I had to her. I haven't heard back on her yet, but she was really happy to have the info and the steps to take in the whole process.
It will be great for me too, come January of 2014, when Dd and I have to find our way through this same situation. I hadn't really thought of it much as an option, (unless Dd gets scholarships) as my mom will pay her tuition, but it sounds like we definitely need to go through the whole financial aid process first, to at least see if she qualifies for any aid first.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Lost in referral land
Dh recently had his long awaited appointment with the "expert" neurologist at the University. Well, it was a big fat 3 month wait and waste of time at a nearly 3 hour appointment. NEVER going back there again. We said that back in 2004 but I think we really mean it this time! His primary care physician's referral back to this neurologist was specifically for pain management. After a 3 month wait, then almost 3 hours of poking, prodding and questions by the intern, the neurologist comes in and says she doesn't do pain management and wants to refer him to a different doctor at the University. No thanks - please refer us to someone close to our town, so we aren't driving 2 hours each way, using $15 in gas and $10 to park. Of course they messed up and didn't get the referral taken care of. Sigh..... It was so disheartening to wait 3 months to get some advice on managing his pain. Waste of time and money when this neurologist could have told us from the beginning that she couldn't help him. After the 2 hour drive up there in rush hour traffic, $10 to park, 3 hours of letting the student intern get in his "studying" and then an hour and a half back home (traffic was better then) I ended up having to take the whole day off work.
So, now I am waiting for the new referral to get to the pain management doctor/clinic this is in our town. They actually have their main office in the city next to ours, but from their website I see they also have a new office in our town that they see patients at 2 days a week. That sounds so much easier for us! Hopefully it won't take too long to get an appointment. The medicine combination Dh is currently on is barely helping.
I also spent half the morning today filling out the online application for social security disability. I'm sure he'll be denied as he was back in 2003 or 2004 or whenever it was that he appealed and was told he could work 2 whole hours a day so he wasn't eligible! Ya, I'm sure Dh could have found a great paying job for 2 hours a day. This time Dh is willing to get an attorney, so I'm sure he'll eventually get disability or SSI. I'm not even sure he has enough work "credits" anymore, since he's hardly worked the last 10 years and what little work he did he was self employed, working enough to keep the business afloat but not enough to actually show a profit those last 8 years or so, so nothing was paid into Social Security. Anyway, at least I got the ball rolling and maybe down the line we'll get something to help our monthly expenses.
Friday night we get a "free" night out. My employer is having a big 25th anniversary party for our company, customers and manufacturers. Big shindig with lots of foods, desserts, a band, gifts, etc. I really don't want to go, but pretty much have to make an appearance, so we'll go. Hopefully Dh will feel like going, he's had a pretty rough week pain-wise and I might have to end up going by myself. When I switched his prescriptions to Target pharmacy one of the pills must use a different manufacturer. They are same size and shape, but Targets pills are white instead of blue, as Walmart's where. Dh says since he started taking the white ones he doesn't feel like they are helping him very much and he hasn't been getting as good of sleep. Is this in his head?? I guess when his next refill comes up I'll switch this one back to Walmart.
I've been so tired myself lately. It seems I get woken up several times during the night, almost every night. I'll get woken up by one of Dh's friends calling late at night or Dh talking loud (he has a loud voice), then I'll get woken up when he comes to bed at 2am or whenever it is, then shortly after he's snoring. Then later either the dog or cat wants outside! No wonder I'm so tired during the days. I need to get something figured out. I need to buy some more ear plugs, that's for sure.
So, now I am waiting for the new referral to get to the pain management doctor/clinic this is in our town. They actually have their main office in the city next to ours, but from their website I see they also have a new office in our town that they see patients at 2 days a week. That sounds so much easier for us! Hopefully it won't take too long to get an appointment. The medicine combination Dh is currently on is barely helping.
I also spent half the morning today filling out the online application for social security disability. I'm sure he'll be denied as he was back in 2003 or 2004 or whenever it was that he appealed and was told he could work 2 whole hours a day so he wasn't eligible! Ya, I'm sure Dh could have found a great paying job for 2 hours a day. This time Dh is willing to get an attorney, so I'm sure he'll eventually get disability or SSI. I'm not even sure he has enough work "credits" anymore, since he's hardly worked the last 10 years and what little work he did he was self employed, working enough to keep the business afloat but not enough to actually show a profit those last 8 years or so, so nothing was paid into Social Security. Anyway, at least I got the ball rolling and maybe down the line we'll get something to help our monthly expenses.
Friday night we get a "free" night out. My employer is having a big 25th anniversary party for our company, customers and manufacturers. Big shindig with lots of foods, desserts, a band, gifts, etc. I really don't want to go, but pretty much have to make an appearance, so we'll go. Hopefully Dh will feel like going, he's had a pretty rough week pain-wise and I might have to end up going by myself. When I switched his prescriptions to Target pharmacy one of the pills must use a different manufacturer. They are same size and shape, but Targets pills are white instead of blue, as Walmart's where. Dh says since he started taking the white ones he doesn't feel like they are helping him very much and he hasn't been getting as good of sleep. Is this in his head?? I guess when his next refill comes up I'll switch this one back to Walmart.
I've been so tired myself lately. It seems I get woken up several times during the night, almost every night. I'll get woken up by one of Dh's friends calling late at night or Dh talking loud (he has a loud voice), then I'll get woken up when he comes to bed at 2am or whenever it is, then shortly after he's snoring. Then later either the dog or cat wants outside! No wonder I'm so tired during the days. I need to get something figured out. I need to buy some more ear plugs, that's for sure.
Friday, June 8, 2012
Job searches and doctor visits
My son's seasonal job technically ended May 1st or so, but they asked him to stay on for the few hours they have here and there for him throughout the summer. He agreed, but told them he was looking for full time work now that his 2 year degree program is finished next week. We had hoped maybe he could get a little unemployment benefits due to the drastic cut in hours, but just found out today he is 95 hours short of the 680 hours needed. They can only calculate based on his hours reported through March 31st. Dang! The good news is this quarter is over in 3 weeks, which gives him enough total hours, and he can re-apply next month, if he still hasn't found work. I think it would give him about $138 a week, which would sure help him.
He's been applying for lots of IT jobs, but nothing is coming up, not even interviews. He has been making a little income on side jobs - computer repair work and website work. When fall comes along and if he still hasn't found anything I will start pushing that at this point he's just going to have to take ANY full time job he can get, even if it's not in his field, even if it's not the money he wants to be making. He can keep applying for jobs in his field, but with not going back to finish his 4-year degree at this time, he has to have some kind of job. I fear even that will be hard to find, in this current economy. At least he has some work experience now and that helps a bunch. Worse comes to worse he can go back to this seasonal part-time job when it picks up again in late Fall. He may just decide to get his 4-year degree if he can't find work in the next few months.
I'm sure glad I'm not young and trying to start out in this economy. Though I guess I'd rather be young trying to find a job than be my age and out of work looking! That would be so scary, especially being on one income.
I got the first explanation of benefits on the nerve conduction testing Dh had to have done. With his high deductible ($3500) our share due to the doctor will be $645. That will come out of the almost $3000 I have in savings. I knew we were going to have some big doctor bills this year and that is why I just deposited those bonus's I got and didn't tell dh we had that money. Now I can pay them right away and not have to make payment arrangements. I also plan to call them and ask if I can get any kind of discount by paying the balance in full. I used to work at doctor's offices and that was standard practice to give people a discount for paying a big balance all at once, if they asked. Next week he sees the neurologist at the University and then I will know more if we'll have to use the deductible all up. We have $850 of the deductible met so far, so the most I'm going to be out is $2650 and after that it's just our co-insurance amount.
I've been switching all Dh's prescriptions over to Target pharmacy, from Walmart. The prices are the same, but they are so much faster! I can drop off a new prescription and they have it ready in 10 minutes. When I go to pick up a refill there is never a line. At Walmart new prescriptions take at least 30 minutes or more to fill and I always have to stand in line (I hate standing in lines!) at least 15 minutes just to pick up a re-fill. Plus, with Target I get "Pharmacy Rewards" of an extra 5% off a shopping trip for every 5 prescriptions filled. This is on top of the 5% I get using my Target Red Debit card.
He's been applying for lots of IT jobs, but nothing is coming up, not even interviews. He has been making a little income on side jobs - computer repair work and website work. When fall comes along and if he still hasn't found anything I will start pushing that at this point he's just going to have to take ANY full time job he can get, even if it's not in his field, even if it's not the money he wants to be making. He can keep applying for jobs in his field, but with not going back to finish his 4-year degree at this time, he has to have some kind of job. I fear even that will be hard to find, in this current economy. At least he has some work experience now and that helps a bunch. Worse comes to worse he can go back to this seasonal part-time job when it picks up again in late Fall. He may just decide to get his 4-year degree if he can't find work in the next few months.
I'm sure glad I'm not young and trying to start out in this economy. Though I guess I'd rather be young trying to find a job than be my age and out of work looking! That would be so scary, especially being on one income.
I got the first explanation of benefits on the nerve conduction testing Dh had to have done. With his high deductible ($3500) our share due to the doctor will be $645. That will come out of the almost $3000 I have in savings. I knew we were going to have some big doctor bills this year and that is why I just deposited those bonus's I got and didn't tell dh we had that money. Now I can pay them right away and not have to make payment arrangements. I also plan to call them and ask if I can get any kind of discount by paying the balance in full. I used to work at doctor's offices and that was standard practice to give people a discount for paying a big balance all at once, if they asked. Next week he sees the neurologist at the University and then I will know more if we'll have to use the deductible all up. We have $850 of the deductible met so far, so the most I'm going to be out is $2650 and after that it's just our co-insurance amount.
I've been switching all Dh's prescriptions over to Target pharmacy, from Walmart. The prices are the same, but they are so much faster! I can drop off a new prescription and they have it ready in 10 minutes. When I go to pick up a refill there is never a line. At Walmart new prescriptions take at least 30 minutes or more to fill and I always have to stand in line (I hate standing in lines!) at least 15 minutes just to pick up a re-fill. Plus, with Target I get "Pharmacy Rewards" of an extra 5% off a shopping trip for every 5 prescriptions filled. This is on top of the 5% I get using my Target Red Debit card.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Lots of little expenses
It seems like extra money is just going out the door in little increments every day lately. Dd, who at the beginning of the school year did not want a yearbook (said she would just get one her senior year) decided she does want one, since she'll only be at the high school for one class each year for her junior and senior years. She kind of feels like this is her "last" year there, so wants the yearbook memories. So, since we didn't pre-order, it's now $65. Then she needed $10 for a school function.
Ds, who said he didn't need to buy the computer course textbook for his class when the quarter started last April, now decided he needed the book to finish up a project due at the end of the quarter. So there was another $62.
I was trying to find a new rocking chair cushion set to replace the dirty, many years old one currently residing on my old wood rocker. I did try to wash it but it didn't help much. I couldn't find any rocker type cushions (where I need a long back cushion that ties at top of chair, too) and tried some regular cushions I found at Kohl's, but they didn't look right. So I got the $32 back and put that money (and then some!) towards Dh's birthday present. I am waiting on $10 in Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks and then I will put it towards a cushion set ordered from there.
I also ended up chipping in half on the present Dd wanted to get him as it was quite a bit more than she had thought it would be to make.
Then the guys wanted to watch a race on Pay per view and that was $25.
I've really tried to offset these costs by making more meals at home, using the Amazon gift cards to reduce the cost, I'm putting off getting my hair cut as long as possible, and instead of spending $8+ for a box of hair color I just tried the root dye kit that I got with a coupon for $3.88. It should hold me off awhile longer. I also saved about $12 in gas today by working from home instead of having to go up to the office today. (Gas prices are just ridiculous - $4.25 I last paid for mid-grade)
Ds and I were shopping for a Father's Day gift she wants to get her dad. A world map poster. We searched several stores and no on has one. We went to Office Depot and the guy said they don't carry them anymore but said we could go over to their print and copy center, have them copy a map image from google and they could print and mount it on foam board. Good idea! They were very helpful, but it the end the image just got too pix-elated when made into a 24x36 poster size. If it had worked we were going to spend $30 to have this done. I got home and looked for one on Amazon.....found one that is one it's way for $5!
Ds, who said he didn't need to buy the computer course textbook for his class when the quarter started last April, now decided he needed the book to finish up a project due at the end of the quarter. So there was another $62.
I was trying to find a new rocking chair cushion set to replace the dirty, many years old one currently residing on my old wood rocker. I did try to wash it but it didn't help much. I couldn't find any rocker type cushions (where I need a long back cushion that ties at top of chair, too) and tried some regular cushions I found at Kohl's, but they didn't look right. So I got the $32 back and put that money (and then some!) towards Dh's birthday present. I am waiting on $10 in Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks and then I will put it towards a cushion set ordered from there.
I also ended up chipping in half on the present Dd wanted to get him as it was quite a bit more than she had thought it would be to make.
Then the guys wanted to watch a race on Pay per view and that was $25.
I've really tried to offset these costs by making more meals at home, using the Amazon gift cards to reduce the cost, I'm putting off getting my hair cut as long as possible, and instead of spending $8+ for a box of hair color I just tried the root dye kit that I got with a coupon for $3.88. It should hold me off awhile longer. I also saved about $12 in gas today by working from home instead of having to go up to the office today. (Gas prices are just ridiculous - $4.25 I last paid for mid-grade)
Ds and I were shopping for a Father's Day gift she wants to get her dad. A world map poster. We searched several stores and no on has one. We went to Office Depot and the guy said they don't carry them anymore but said we could go over to their print and copy center, have them copy a map image from google and they could print and mount it on foam board. Good idea! They were very helpful, but it the end the image just got too pix-elated when made into a 24x36 poster size. If it had worked we were going to spend $30 to have this done. I got home and looked for one on Amazon.....found one that is one it's way for $5!
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Neighbors again...
The water well is fine (knock on wood) and that's the only time we ever have to deal with those neighbors. It's the neighbor directly on one side of us who has gradually been grating on our nerves and as the weather gets nicer and we want to be outside more and have windows open, we are finding ourselves on our last nerve!
Neighbor has adult drug addict, ex-prison inmate son living at his place now for the past 9 months or more now. Apparently how he makes money is selling firewood. He has cut down almost every tree on their lot. (like I said today, as he was cutting down one of the few remaining ones...eventually he'll run out of trees!) He cut down the majority of them last fall and we listened to constant chainsawing and wood splitting. He also gets cut trees from somewhere and brings them home and saws and splits them. We got a break for about a month or so, last month, when he got hauled back to jail for violating his parole.
Now he's back and we listen to his chainsaw going ALL day and all evening. We'll hear him splitting wood for hours late in the evening, sometimes until midnight. Dh mentioned to our neighbor (both the dad and son) that it was getting a bit annoying to listen to that all the time several months ago, but it obviously has done no good.
I guess I'll have to be the "bad neighbor" again and call the county and see if there are any noise ordinance laws or maybe some time limits he can do this. He is basically running a business in a residential neighborhood (not zoned for business) and the noise is constant. Like Dh said - it's one thing to listen to a neighbor run their chainsaw on occasion while they work on a project or get firewood ready for winter, but not every single day. Why can't people just be respectful of their neighbors and do what is considerate and right?
Neighbor has adult drug addict, ex-prison inmate son living at his place now for the past 9 months or more now. Apparently how he makes money is selling firewood. He has cut down almost every tree on their lot. (like I said today, as he was cutting down one of the few remaining ones...eventually he'll run out of trees!) He cut down the majority of them last fall and we listened to constant chainsawing and wood splitting. He also gets cut trees from somewhere and brings them home and saws and splits them. We got a break for about a month or so, last month, when he got hauled back to jail for violating his parole.
Now he's back and we listen to his chainsaw going ALL day and all evening. We'll hear him splitting wood for hours late in the evening, sometimes until midnight. Dh mentioned to our neighbor (both the dad and son) that it was getting a bit annoying to listen to that all the time several months ago, but it obviously has done no good.
I guess I'll have to be the "bad neighbor" again and call the county and see if there are any noise ordinance laws or maybe some time limits he can do this. He is basically running a business in a residential neighborhood (not zoned for business) and the noise is constant. Like Dh said - it's one thing to listen to a neighbor run their chainsaw on occasion while they work on a project or get firewood ready for winter, but not every single day. Why can't people just be respectful of their neighbors and do what is considerate and right?
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sunday evening
Made a quick trip to Rite Aid today to use up $2 in UP Rewards. I picked up 2 packages of Stayfree that were 2/$5 and get a $2 UP Reward back. I also used 2 $1 off coupons, along with my $2 UP Reward, which made them $1 out of pocket, along with the new $2 UP Reward to use in future.
Then Dd and I went in search of our favorite family meal - Bertolli Meal Starter, Chicken Marsala (they have been hard to find lately). We went to the first grocery store that was closest, that also has a Starbucks. I still have some money left on my gift cards from Xmas/Birthday, so we got in line to get some white chocolate mochas. We get up to order/pay and the nice couple in front of us had paid $5 towards our order! They were so sweet :-)
I finally found the Bertolli frozen meals at the 2nd grocery store and they were on sale for $5.99. They only had 2 left of that kind, so I grabbed both and used one for our dinner tonight. Wish I could've gotten a couple more.
I'm loving my new computer. Ds got all my documents, photos and programs copied over for me, so luckily I didn't loose anything or have to try to remember all my favorite websites and passwords, etc. The keyboard is nice too, not so noisy.
Then Dd and I went in search of our favorite family meal - Bertolli Meal Starter, Chicken Marsala (they have been hard to find lately). We went to the first grocery store that was closest, that also has a Starbucks. I still have some money left on my gift cards from Xmas/Birthday, so we got in line to get some white chocolate mochas. We get up to order/pay and the nice couple in front of us had paid $5 towards our order! They were so sweet :-)
I finally found the Bertolli frozen meals at the 2nd grocery store and they were on sale for $5.99. They only had 2 left of that kind, so I grabbed both and used one for our dinner tonight. Wish I could've gotten a couple more.
I'm loving my new computer. Ds got all my documents, photos and programs copied over for me, so luckily I didn't loose anything or have to try to remember all my favorite websites and passwords, etc. The keyboard is nice too, not so noisy.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Happy Friday computing
I finally got my new computer for my home office yesterday! Our IT guy had ordered it from Dell, so it took about 10 days to get. It actually came in last Friday, but I was not in the office and yesterday was my first day back in the office since then. I thought our IT guy was going to install the memory card reader he had to order separately and get the remote connection all set to go before I took it home, but it appears he really didn't do anything but take it out of the box and give it to me. So....I sit here this morning, only able to access my emails and not my whole desktop, waiting for him to email me that he's in the office so I can call him and get this remote connection set up.
My personal IT guy - Ds - will need to copy all my programs and files over from my old computer, hopefully he finds time to do that today. I miss all my Firefox settings, links, and favorites! I have a feeling this isn't going to be much of a productive day for actual work getting done.
For a very short work week (I had taken Tuesday off, too) this sure has been a long drawn out week!
My personal IT guy - Ds - will need to copy all my programs and files over from my old computer, hopefully he finds time to do that today. I miss all my Firefox settings, links, and favorites! I have a feeling this isn't going to be much of a productive day for actual work getting done.
For a very short work week (I had taken Tuesday off, too) this sure has been a long drawn out week!
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