The Joy of Health Insurance 2

I followed up on my $1500 ER bill that should have been $200. My insurance is expensive, and it has very clear co-pays. There's no percentages, there's no exclusions. I looked it up. Then I was mad and I called.

The insurance company was totally moronic. The polite lady in India couldn't even find an ER charge or pre-approval and had no idea what the insurance company might or might not have approved. Nice.

She asked me a bunch of stock questions:
+Did you lose coverage on this plan because of a divorce or job change? No, and shouldn't you know that!
+Did you have any experimental procedures? I hope not.
+Did you use a vendor like massage or a chiropractor? I wish.
+Do you fill your drugs somewhere else? BINGO

Now, I think that would have been obvious to the moron on the phone that I have no Rx coverage through this particular company, but hey maybe it should have been obvious to me too. The company just changed that in January to have separate medical and Rx. It's a different vendor, a different card. I've only used it once early in the year to mail order. I didn't even think about that different vendor, and I hadn't even realized that the ER might need both cards.

So, I responded to the hospital's letter with a copy of my Rx insurance card and a letter explaining. I hope that's enough to clear this up. The stock questions can't get me much further, methinks. *crosses fingers*

Ah, The Joy of Health Insurance

I should have known that my ER visit would not be as easy as a simple $200 co-pay. The optimist in me wanted to believe that the system works, that you get what you pay for through expensive insurance, and that the world is full of generally good people.

I got my bill from the hospital. I'm baffled. It has a bunch of codes and abbreviations. I can't figure out heads or tails from it. I did catch a $400 pregnancy test which I did not need or want, and $200 for a vial of morphine. Nice.

The total was $12,700. O.M.G. Because of my insurance, I got a 5K discount, bringing the total to $7,700. Of that, the hospital said that my insurance company agreed to pay $6,200, so I have to pay $1,500.

Uh, how about no. Not going to happen. I'm going to pay my $200 co-pay. There's very little I hate more in the world than phone tag with bureaucracies. But a $1,500 bill is enough for me to do it. Sad thing is, I have no idea where to start. None. I think I'll start with the insurance company. We'll see what a "platinum" plan is worth, after all.

Why I Heart Roth

Warning: Math-Heavy Post! I only have 4K left to go on my 401K, but I changed it to Roth. I earn way over the cap for a Roth IRA, so a Roth 401(k) is the only Roth vehicle I have.

A Roth 401(k) is the same as a regular 401(k) if taxes stay the same. I'm serious, though I did this math a billion times. Even Jonathan's math agrees. This one is kind of hard to stomach, but here's the math. I am investing $10,000 now, assuming 10% growth and 33% taxes now and 40 years later. 33% is my current rate

Roth = $10,000 * (1-.33) = $6,700 initial investment
Regular = $10,000 initial (untaxed investment)

After 40 years:
Roth = $6,700 * (1.1^40) * no taxes = $303,000
Regular = $10,000 * (1.1^40) * (1-.33) = $303,00

That initial hit down to $6,700 feels like a big hit. But remember, a Roth is the same if taxes stay the same. By investing in a traditional 401(k), I am saying to myself and to the world that I think my taxes are going down, that is, they will be less than 33%. That's untrue, I hope.

I have decided that I believe my taxes will increase. First, even if taxes stay the exact same, I hope--nay, plan--to be in the 38% bracket by earning over $350K combined. I aspire to be, and will be in the highest bracket. In the example above, that 38% bump alone turns $303K into $280K. Ouch.

Second, I believe taxes will increase because of our fundamentally broken social security and health care systems. I believe those taxes will fall on the high-earners (me) to care for an entire generation with no nest egg. So, even if taxes stay mostly the same, I think they will be raised on people like me.

I now have a new goal to invest the maximum, $15,500 (over 23K pre-tax) in my Roth 401(k) next year.

New Goals

I set and then revised some goals for the year. I'm on par to achieve all of them.

I'm going to set some goals that may not be this year or next year, and they might not be in order, but I need to think longer term.

1. pay off credit cards Done 4/08
2. 2007 IRAs Done 3/08
3. 2008 401(k) maxed out Done on autopilot
4. Business is profitable Done 7/08
5. 15K wedding savings Done 9/08
6. pay off car #1 Done 8/08
7. pay off car #2 Done 11/08
8. net worth 50K Done 9/08
9. 15K emergency/wedding fund Done 12/08
10. net worth 100K
11. 100K saved for down payment

Car Fixed From Hate

A couple weeks ago we took my ridiculous, flashy car to a gay nightspot. We never thought of it as a big deal. This is a big city with a lot of diversity, gay clubs seemed pretty benign.

When we came back to the parking lot, someone had egged the cars. That's right. Some angry, bitter person had bought several dozen eggs and threw them on cars parked at this spot in the blazing heat. That bitter person seemed to focus on the nicer cars, so I got two. Oh joy.

I took it to get it fixed. They had to repaint two sections. $300. O.M.G.

My first instinct was that having a flashy car made me a target. But that's not it, this was just some unhappy soul.

I then thought that if I drove a less flashy car, it might be cheaper to fix. Fixing things on a nice car is not cheap. But, if I had a cheaper car if it would have been the same. Even if I had the old Honda we gave a needy family member, I probably would have fixed it. The Honda it would have cost a couple hundred I bet. You just can't fight hate by selling your nice car.

Power Bill Sluething

I called the power company about my crazy $424 power bill. They said it was based on real meter reads, and then sent me this worthless email about how space heaters suck energy. Uh, that's clearly not my problem.

I talked to the condo president. He said they fixed all the meter problems, and that March and April were estimated but May and June they had real readings. Sure enough, we have shiny new meters and it matches the bills.

So numbers. In the last six months, I used the following kWh:
957, 1222, 694, 882, 771, 851

Last month was 3,047. WHOA CRAZY.

So, changes.

* new dryer. At the very end of June, we got a new dryer installed. It's a really nice one, and an Energy Star one, so I doubt it is more power-hungry than the old one. Plus, we barely used the dryer at all in June because it was mostly broken in June.

* self-employment. Since March, fiance works at home a lot. He runs a lot of stuff for the business and he runs the big TV and the A/C. That takes some energy, but that hasn't changed since March.

*the heat. Usually we only run one of our two air conditioners, but the grueling summer heat makes us run the first a little more, and we had to turn on the second. I'm guessing that's the problem. That second unit must be broken or really, really inefficient. I'll have to get someone out to look at it.

Not a Foreclosure: An Update

A while back, I posted about a friend who bought a house she couldn't afford with her boyfriend. I got an update through the grapevine.

Her house must have been in pre-foreclosure because her parents got it out of foreclosure by loaning her (GULP) 15K. O.M.G. Based on her parents' past drama in college (scary gambling), I seriously doubt they could afford that. But hey, who knows where that money came from.

She got a bit of a raise by doing all the travel and taking suck projects, but she can't afford the house. It will take years or another boyfriend until she can afford the upkeep on the house. I guess until then she'll drag her parents down with her. All that for a house that is too big in too expensive of an area and with too many upkeep costs.

Stories like this make me a proud renter. I am in no rush to buy. And when I do, there is No. Way. I will get ripped off.

Small Canadian Differences

In my heavily medicated recovery days at home, I got to spend some time with the TV, the Netflix, and the Tivo. Tivo, ah she knows me so well. Tivo recorded four episodes of a Canadian show called "Maxed Out" on some mysterious cable network called Style.

Maxed Out was kind of like Big Spender with Larry Winget, but without the screaming and the crying (the best parts!). It was a kinder, gentler, more Canadian Big Spender. Oh, and people actually seemed to succeed in the pseudo-follow ups, unlike on Big Spender.

So, I liked Maxed Out. But I liked it even more because of the small Canadian changes that made it exotic, not like just watching another episode of Suze Orman.

* "no-fee" bank. Wha? Isn't that just a bank?

* "out-of-area cell" and something called "long distance" on a cell. Huh? I knew I had to call my friend when she was in Canada, and she couldn't call me, but if I had long distance on my cell, Mami would be learning Skype real quick.

* multi-colored money from something called a self banking machine. Oooh aaah!

* years of back taxes. Don't they have automatic withholding?

I loved Maxed Out, and I set Tivo to record the rest. I wonder what Larry Winget is up to, since he is not doing his U.S. show anymore.

Preparing for Emergencies

I ended up in the ER this weekend for 10 hours. It was embarrassing and painful, and I barely avoided surgery. In the end, the fall-out is: 2 days off work & $200 co-pay. No big deal.

But it could have been worse. If I had been off work for a month, we would be screwed. After a month, I'm not even sure I would still have a job. We could probably make it on fiance's self-employed cash flow, but it's so unpredictable...

If fiance had been out of work a month, the cash flow would be no big deal. But his health insurance requires a $5,000 deductible. We don't have $5,000 to make sure he gets the care he needs.

This crisis has opened my eyes to our cash-poor position. It doesn't feel like it matters when you have big DINK salaries coming in regularly, but in reality we're really close to the edge if something serious happened. I don't ever want to borrow money from family or hold credit card balances again. I'm making that $5,000 in cash a priority.

A Plan for the Debt

Now that the business is paid off (yay!) and we have some truly DINK-worthy income, it's time to make some priorities. Current debts:

Car #1: 4,934 (7% -ouch!)
Car #2: 26,576 (4%)
Total: 31,510

So, the plan.

Step 1: Pay off car #1 (hopefully later this month)
Step 2: Save 5K for the wedding
Step 3: Split any extra money between wedding savings and Car #2

This should give me about 10K in wedding savings in the next couple months and also significantly reduce our debt load. I really need more than 15K for the wedding big-ticket items, so I guess I'll reevaluate soon. Later in the year, I might put Car #2's loan on hold, well minimum payments, as I pile up some cash.

We Made It! We Did It!

The big check we've been waiting on came in. Ten grand. Wow. The business is paid for and then some.

I was shaking when I was holding it. I've never seen a check that big except my tuition checks! The teller at WaMu had to call over her manager because she couldn't deposit checks that large. (I wonder what her limit is?).

With this money, he can write his first paycheck out of the business. That's right, he can write his own paycheck. Wow! Write a paycheck. Write a paycheck to himself.

I'm trembling as I type this, and I deposited that check five hours ago. This is big. This is maybe even bigger than graduation. He did all this on his own. He dreamed it up and he executed. He made his own niche skill, he made his own connections, and he is making his own way. Now he writes his own paychecks. I am so very proud of him. For his talents, for his creativity, and most of all for his bravery.

I Can See The Light!

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! The business debt is

$2883.53

Wow. It has been a long haul since the $18,350 in start-up costs for the business. But now it is almost over. We are almost back to DINK status. Just one of the outstanding checks, and profit.

All hands in the car!

Stashing Cash for the Wedding

As debt reduction grows closer and closer and I can (again) taste being debt-free, I know I can't do it (again) because I have to save some cash.

We are cash flowing wedding expenses for now, but that's not going to work. We're going to have to write some big checks. Caterer (9K), venue (3K), photographer (?). Lots of money, cash money.

It's really hard for me to look at huge amounts of cash when I am staring at ugly account balances in red. Dave Ramsey says women need savings, that they want a cushion. Not me. I want the red gone. I'll even use all the cash in my wallet and redeem my coins for it. You bet I would cash out "savings" even if they were for the wedding.

The only way I am going to be able to achieve my wedding savings goal is to hole away some money in my ING account that I only check once a month for net worth calculations. Current balance: $32. I have a Wamu savings account, but that's too close to my Wamu checking. I also have a Fidelity money market account, but that's too close to Fidelity bill pay. So, ING it is. It's out of sight, it's fairly hard to get to, and I won't feel tempted to pay off debt from it. Well, I'll feel tempted, but I am not going to.

I'm going to put in $500/paycheck for now. I'll have to think of a number that is a goal so I can track the progress. I've never really had a savings goal before, only a debt goal. It will be really hard for me to have both at the same time. Really hard.

What Happened to the Power Bill??!!

Good googly moogly! What is going on with power!

I have a 1,400 sq. ft. townhouse with a shared wall. My power bill is from $80 (winter) to $160 (last month, May). June's power bill just came in.

$424

Four-freaking hundred dollars. First, I think there's a problem with the meters and the condo association. I'll have to deal with that. But even if it gets cut in half, that's still a ton! This is Texas, so I expect summer to be high, but that's crazy! What the heck happened?!

Good thing I don't live in a McMansion.

Rebalance Done

I don't have a deep explanation for this. It's better than it was before, at least.

This is a random snapshot from some point at the middle of the day yesterday. I put my portfolio into Morningstar--it has the COOLEST tools to analyze your portfolio. It even recommends better funds. I don't have access to any of them, but good to know those recs are there. So, I use its price quotes to find the value of my bazillion tiny retirement accounts. It wasn't easy to make pretty charts in Google Docs, for that I think Excel is better. But this is what I came up with.

I like international--it's a big world. I don't see any reason to tie up my money in the U.S. economy just because I happen to live here. The funny thing is, the advice is the same everywhere. In Australia, invest in Australian stocks; in Europe invest in European. I don't buy it. I want to be diversified in a much deeper way. Besides, my life (jobs) is already tied to the U.S. economy. Going forward, my 401K will increase the starred accounts, so the blue and gray will (hopefully) grow.

And it's always good to know your percentages are not far off Jonathan's. I bet that man uses more charts than me!

I Heart My Personal Trainer

I posted earlier when I got a personal trainer at the gym next door about a month ago. This has been one of my best expenses yet--money well spent. I feel just incredible. I haven't actually lost any weight yet, but I'm in a better mood, I'm more alert, less stressed.

The benefit of paying the trainer for me is that if I already shelled out the money, I have to go. I can't just do it "later." Before, I was signed up for two hour sessions a week, for $60/week. I changed that the three half-hour sessions at $15/session for $45/week.

I've actually started to enjoy the gym--that has never been true. It helps that it's a really nice gym. The space is beautiful, very clean, nice towels, laundry service, etc. Without those things, I'm not sure I would go at all. Oh, and paying my trainer $45/week.

The other tool I really like is the Nike/Apple iPod gadget thing ($30) that tracks how far or fast or long you have run. I can already see an improvement in a month--I'm going to keep getting better.

This is really a great expense. In the short run, it makes me get in a habit. It forces me to make time to work out. In the long term, I have a coherent work-out plan and know what I'm doing in the future. I'm actually proud of myself.

More Buying for the Wedding

Whew, the money keeps flowing. I'm glad I can cash-flow these expenses Just bought a couple more things for the wedding.

I went to etsy.com. Those crafty ladies can custom make you anything!! They are incredible. I bought a custom multi-cultural, interracial cake topper ($20) and a flower girl dress that was exactly what I wanted ($75). I bought a few samples of some invitations ($30). Those ladies are so talented. I LOVE etsy!

After I got the bridesmaids all fitted, I ordered their dresses ($500). This expense, though not cheap, was not negotiable to me because I have always resented, maybe even hated buying expensive bridesmaid dresses. Such a ridiculous "tradition."

So, I have spent so far:

Dresses: $700
Other Apparel: $575
Reception: $20
Venue Deposit: $1,000
Catering Deposit: $500
Stationary: $30
Website: $20

Total: $2845

Starting the Rebalance

Inspired by Mrs. Micah's financial confession, I confessed that I needed to rebalance my almost 50K in retirement funds. Clearly, Fidelity 2050 and Vanguard 2050 are just not aggressive enough for me.

The problem. All of that money is in a billion different accounts! We have old his and hers ROTH IRAs & Rollover IRAs. The active accounts are a SEP-IRA (his) and a 401K (mine). Whew.

One of the rollovers and the SEP have less than 1K in them. This makes reallocation really difficult. The largest account, the 401K, also has the most limited options, and it will continue to grow the fastest. Yikes! How am I going to rebalance that?

I decided to make my 401K about 2/3 international, and make it all international going forward. That will continue to make my portfolio more and more international. As for the rest, well, ugh.

I went to Jonathan's portfolio. He also has a lot of model portfolios from various books and such. I just stole his categories and added mid cap because I have a good mid cap fund in my 401K. I got rid of the bonds, that left me with these categories, and these rough percents. I wrote down what I want ideally, though I knew this would not happen with my strange account balances and choice. I had to break out a pencil I revised this so much.

US Total (large cap) 25%
Mid Cap 15%
Small Cap 15%
REIT 5%
International 20%
International - Emerging 20%

Off to a good start!

Got My Other Wedding Dress!

Not so long ago, I got a used, big, white wedding dress (90% off!) for formal parts of the wedding. For reasons I can't quite explain, I also wanted a traditional dress from my culture.

I just ordered the traditional dress. It was a little more than I would have liked, $350, but the seamstress really had a good eye, and I loved her other work.

Both dresses will require a little tailoring, maybe $100. That makes BOTH dresses, with tailoring, $800. Not bad!

Personal Finance Confession Project

Mrs. Micah posted a financial confession. She said to tag yourself and confess. So here goes.

I have almost 50K in retirement invested. But it's all in either Vanguard 2050 or Fidelity 2050. That means I have bonds and cash and a lot of other things that don't match my incredibly aggressive goals and style. Lazy investing, really. LAZY.

I'm thinking about how I am going to reallocate. I want a really aggressive 100% stock, heavily international portfolio. I'm going to get it done this month. Thanks for the confession Mrs. Micah.