Net worth July 09, $170,657 (+26K, 18%)
For 2009, +94K, 124%
Highlights this month:
* This was the first month with me making no income/serverance/so on. I did a few projects for Senor Dog, but this is all him really. I am so proud of him!
* We downgraded the car for 7K.
* Paid one year of renters/umbrella and six months car insurance
* Of course, $500 for the strip club.
* I cashed out my bonds. They were up or down $20, and it just annoyed me, so I cashed it out.
* Taxable stocks up $500.
* Invested $3000 in retirement SEP-IRA because our allocation is totally messed up after rolling the 401(k) over. I had planned to stop investing in retirement, but I'll keep putting a little more in until the allocation is reasonable.
* Retirement up 1K.
* We have 85K in cash. I don't really want to invest anymore until we have a home. Maybe we'll be approaching 50% down soon!
Because of COBRA complications (we clearly make too much money for the subsidy) I didn't pay it this month, so I'll have to pay it next month. That will be a big bill!
I'm thrilled about the jumps in the progress bars! The first (100K down payment) went from 55 to 71%! The second (200K net worth) went from 72 to 85%! Pretty good progress on goals I didn't think were possible in 2009 anyway, and with me unemployed!
Update: Looks like I screwed up the math a little and double counted some cash. Guess those bars are down to 81% and 61% and we have 78K in cash.
Friday, July 31, 2009
New Auto Insurance
With Flashy Car 2.0 Trashy Car, it's time to start fresh. I loved my old insurance agent -- she even answered the phone at 8PM to complete the truck deal! But that chica quit and shuffled my policy to some dude who doesn't answer the phone.
With no excellent service luring me to a more expensive option, I figured I might as well price things out online, oh and try to finish the insurance objectives on my to-do list. All three tasks left are insurance (and estate planning), ugh.
For LAL, Costco did it. I was inspired by her to get the renters, business, car, and umbrella all in one place. But Costco doesn't do renters, at least in Texas, and wouldn't cover the business. Progressive wouldn't do business. So, for me, it was Geico that met all my needs. One (hour and a half long) phone call later, I have everything in my house covered, including the business, plus a million dollar umbrella, including business liability. HOORAY!
Flashy Car 2.0 Trashy Car was not cheap to insure, and I upped our coverage to 300/600 injury, 100 property, which isn't hard to imagine in this neighborhood: $850/6 months.
Renters, including business: $350/year
Umbrella, including business, 1M: $240/year
Go me! Looks like I'm running a couple weeks behind LAL in getting insurance stuff done. Life insurance and wills are all that's left! Not bad for one year!
With no excellent service luring me to a more expensive option, I figured I might as well price things out online, oh and try to finish the insurance objectives on my to-do list. All three tasks left are insurance (and estate planning), ugh.
For LAL, Costco did it. I was inspired by her to get the renters, business, car, and umbrella all in one place. But Costco doesn't do renters, at least in Texas, and wouldn't cover the business. Progressive wouldn't do business. So, for me, it was Geico that met all my needs. One (hour and a half long) phone call later, I have everything in my house covered, including the business, plus a million dollar umbrella, including business liability. HOORAY!
Renters, including business: $350/year
Umbrella, including business, 1M: $240/year
Go me! Looks like I'm running a couple weeks behind LAL in getting insurance stuff done. Life insurance and wills are all that's left! Not bad for one year!
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Our Health Care Fix, For Now
Until I found myself without a group plan, I never really thought about healthcare. I was blissfully oblivious to the trainwreck they call US healthcare. You either get it through work, or you're on Medicaid, right?
I didn't realize people (especially ME!) could fall through the huge, gaping cracks.
I have a family member born with a heart problem that randomly requires surgery. She's been on Medicaid her entire life. That's right, welfare and Medicaid. She never worked, or worked shady situations for cash so she could stay on the dole. I always thought she was lazy, and a leech. But I get it now.
If you aren't lucky enough to have a good group plan, your pre-existing condition will make you bankrupt, unless you are on Medicaid where it is so very free. She knew she couldn't afford to risk her health by working. We, however, decided to try to accomplish something and do something and build a business. Now, she has magical, free healthcare, I am uninsurable, and everything we've built is at risk.
Wow, did I ever get some great comments on my grave health that prevented me from getting a reasonable health insurance plan. Really, check them out here.
The one that really got me was an anonymous commenter who said when you gamble with your health insurance, you're always "all-in." That's exactly it. With our health insurance, we risk our entire net worth, plus our business. It's all-in. So, yea, maybe the risk is low, maybe really low. But it's all in! It's more risky than buying a house we can't afford or buying a maid or anything else. It could break us.
For now, we're splitting the difference (as suggested by chacha). I am staying on COBRA for $650/month. Senor Dog's new HDHP is 50$/month with a 5K deductible. Can you even believe that? His exact same plan for a woman two years younger than him is $180/month. They approved him in 1 day, didn't even exclude his eczema.
The Texas Risk Pool (never thought I'd be there) is $300/month for me, but, get this, it excludes pre-existing conditions!!! What good is the high risk pool when it excludes all of it anyway???
We'll re-evaluate in six months. Maybe I'll have a corporate job by then. Maybe healthcare will be totally different. Maybe we'll use a group of some sort. We'll figure it out then. Something should change in six months, either in politics, or hopefully in the Doghouse.
I didn't realize people (especially ME!) could fall through the huge, gaping cracks.
I have a family member born with a heart problem that randomly requires surgery. She's been on Medicaid her entire life. That's right, welfare and Medicaid. She never worked, or worked shady situations for cash so she could stay on the dole. I always thought she was lazy, and a leech. But I get it now.
If you aren't lucky enough to have a good group plan, your pre-existing condition will make you bankrupt, unless you are on Medicaid where it is so very free. She knew she couldn't afford to risk her health by working. We, however, decided to try to accomplish something and do something and build a business. Now, she has magical, free healthcare, I am uninsurable, and everything we've built is at risk.
Wow, did I ever get some great comments on my grave health that prevented me from getting a reasonable health insurance plan. Really, check them out here.
The one that really got me was an anonymous commenter who said when you gamble with your health insurance, you're always "all-in." That's exactly it. With our health insurance, we risk our entire net worth, plus our business. It's all-in. So, yea, maybe the risk is low, maybe really low. But it's all in! It's more risky than buying a house we can't afford or buying a maid or anything else. It could break us.
For now, we're splitting the difference (as suggested by chacha). I am staying on COBRA for $650/month. Senor Dog's new HDHP is 50$/month with a 5K deductible. Can you even believe that? His exact same plan for a woman two years younger than him is $180/month. They approved him in 1 day, didn't even exclude his eczema.
The Texas Risk Pool (never thought I'd be there) is $300/month for me, but, get this, it excludes pre-existing conditions!!! What good is the high risk pool when it excludes all of it anyway???
We'll re-evaluate in six months. Maybe I'll have a corporate job by then. Maybe healthcare will be totally different. Maybe we'll use a group of some sort. We'll figure it out then. Something should change in six months, either in politics, or hopefully in the Doghouse.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Hell Nawl, Chase!
This may be the beginning of the end of my relationship with what used to be Free Business Checking at Wamu.I dumped my personal Wamu accounts a long time ago, and I couldn't be happier at Fidelity, who actually has some service. But I stayed with the Wamu business account because it's not so easy to close your business account, and the options just aren't as good when you need to deposit physical checks often, and it's an LLC account.
Today, Wamu's business login finally sent me to Chase, where it was a different game. It warned me about fees headed my way and "changes" to "enhance" my banking. I approached with caution.
Chase wanted to charge me $3 to transfer MY money to another account. Oh, hell nawl! If I'm leaving 10K in your hands with no interest, I'm not paying fees on anything, especially $3 for freaking ACH! So, I did it backwards and pulled from Fidelity instead. We'll see if that works.
The second Wamu/Chase dings me with a single fee, I'm taking my business over to Capital One.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Got a New Car
Well, it's over now, and it went just as planned. Flashy Car sold, no problem. It had two cracked rims (oops) and a crack in the fender, so it went for less than expected. Another reason I'm glad to have a cheaper car now!
Flashy Car 2.0 Trashy Car we bought for a little over 15K, and it's worth about 18 or 20 on eBay. With all the warranties (I'm feeling risk-averse at the moment!) we paid closer to 18K. This time, cracked rims or the auto-detecting windshield or whatever will be covered.
I'm expecting a check for 7K, but I'm not sure it will come this month. How do you like that??? DOWNGRADING A CAR? A car that we own! Ever seen that one? Even Jim laughed. That's a first (and probably a last) for us. I don't even think I've seen that on a blog!
Again, in Texas, you only pay sales tax on the difference. So, again, the cost with swapping out our cars was the warranties, which I need on rims like this! I'm happy with Trashy Car, it's really not that different than Flashy Car.
Really, I think it was just time for a change. So much has changed in the last six months, Flashy Car just felt like a hold-over. We had Flashy Car a little over a year, and she had a good run. It feels a lot better now to have a cheaper, easier to fix car.
I'm expecting a check for 7K, but I'm not sure it will come this month. How do you like that??? DOWNGRADING A CAR? A car that we own! Ever seen that one? Even Jim laughed. That's a first (and probably a last) for us. I don't even think I've seen that on a blog!
Again, in Texas, you only pay sales tax on the difference. So, again, the cost with swapping out our cars was the warranties, which I need on rims like this! I'm happy with Trashy Car, it's really not that different than Flashy Car.
Really, I think it was just time for a change. So much has changed in the last six months, Flashy Car just felt like a hold-over. We had Flashy Car a little over a year, and she had a good run. It feels a lot better now to have a cheaper, easier to fix car.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Asthma Excluded, HELP ME!
After I found out I was approved for health insurance, I finally got the documentation.
My asthma has been excluded. Actually it's a 5-year "waiver" that is removed after 2 years if I have no asthma treatment, if I put in a written request with all my medical records. Great. And it also waives any other respiratory infection or inflammation and "emphysema, bronchitis, pneumonitis, pneumonia, cyst, tumor, sinusitis" and so on... You know, for all my pre-existing pneumonia and cysts.
I would have been denied if I had required more than one waiver. Great.
I consider my asthma very mild. I have a low-dose inhaler I use a couple weeks a year, and I have a billion of them stocked up. But if I were to get, say, swine flu, it would turn into asthma for me. And it looks like if I get pneumonia or a cyst, I'm just screwed.
This is now a much more risky gamble. Over at Goliath Debt, his wife had no health insurance when she had their baby, and now the complications have destroyed their finances. I think it's easy to say (in hindsight) that that level of gambling is stupid. Hospitals are expensive!!! Of course you should have some coverage!
Now, without hindsight, I have to decide whether to gamble. If we take the HDHP, I can't seek any treatment to manage my mild asthma to get the waiver lifted, and the waiver could bankrupt us if I don't manage my asthma, or if I get the swine flu.
I could really use some help here. I feel like I have no idea what I am doing in the wild west of individual health care plans. The fact that I even have to make this choice, $1200/month for COBRA, or $200/month with no asthma coverage, pretty much makes me want to cry.
My asthma has been excluded. Actually it's a 5-year "waiver" that is removed after 2 years if I have no asthma treatment, if I put in a written request with all my medical records. Great. And it also waives any other respiratory infection or inflammation and "emphysema, bronchitis, pneumonitis, pneumonia, cyst, tumor, sinusitis" and so on... You know, for all my pre-existing pneumonia and cysts.
I would have been denied if I had required more than one waiver. Great.
I consider my asthma very mild. I have a low-dose inhaler I use a couple weeks a year, and I have a billion of them stocked up. But if I were to get, say, swine flu, it would turn into asthma for me. And it looks like if I get pneumonia or a cyst, I'm just screwed.
This is now a much more risky gamble. Over at Goliath Debt, his wife had no health insurance when she had their baby, and now the complications have destroyed their finances. I think it's easy to say (in hindsight) that that level of gambling is stupid. Hospitals are expensive!!! Of course you should have some coverage!
Now, without hindsight, I have to decide whether to gamble. If we take the HDHP, I can't seek any treatment to manage my mild asthma to get the waiver lifted, and the waiver could bankrupt us if I don't manage my asthma, or if I get the swine flu.
I could really use some help here. I feel like I have no idea what I am doing in the wild west of individual health care plans. The fact that I even have to make this choice, $1200/month for COBRA, or $200/month with no asthma coverage, pretty much makes me want to cry.
HSA Hunt, 2009 Version
Whew, not much has changed since last time I looked at HSAs.
The top HSA search results are still from 2005. Kiplinger's reviews are from the ancient past of 2006. The accounts are still clunky, full of fees, at one-off banks. I wish I could just fire a HSA up at Vanguard or Fidelity, and I would have already done it.
And no PF blogger seems to even have an HSA, not to mention blog about their administrator. AHHHH!!! It's awful even finding the fees buried in these awful accounts at random banks.
I did manage to find an account that lets you invest the whole amount in mutual funds, so that's an improvement, but not a great one. I also found a weird rule about a testing period or something that they pro-rate your contribution if you haven't been on a HDHP for a year, so we can put in $495/month. Not much.
In theory, HSA is the best way to invest in the entire tax code. It goes in AND comes out tax free, including the growth, for your future medical expenses. It's like a super-Roth! But not in practice. The best investors' HSA account I can find is here. It has fees of 39$/year, plus .08%/quarter. OUCH. For, say, 5K that's about $50/year! For such a teensy account, that's a lot of work and a lot of fees.
As self-employed people, we don't really need more tax-advantaged accounts. I never thought I'd say this, but there's no way we can max them out. If we set up a solo K, we could put in 50K/year! Of course, that comes out taxed, and the HSA does not.
So, there are two possible HSA strategies for us:
(1) Get the cheapest possible account at some random bank, and put in only what we need to use for our health needs. Try to spend it all in the next few years.
(2) Use an investors' account, riddled in fees, and invest the whole amount, $500/month until we get corporate health insurance. Try not to spend too much of it because of all the fees.
I need to make a decision soon. Help!
Update: These accounts are a pain, so I never set one up. Turned out to be a good choice because we got corporate health insurance soon after that.
The top HSA search results are still from 2005. Kiplinger's reviews are from the ancient past of 2006. The accounts are still clunky, full of fees, at one-off banks. I wish I could just fire a HSA up at Vanguard or Fidelity, and I would have already done it.
And no PF blogger seems to even have an HSA, not to mention blog about their administrator. AHHHH!!! It's awful even finding the fees buried in these awful accounts at random banks.
I did manage to find an account that lets you invest the whole amount in mutual funds, so that's an improvement, but not a great one. I also found a weird rule about a testing period or something that they pro-rate your contribution if you haven't been on a HDHP for a year, so we can put in $495/month. Not much.
In theory, HSA is the best way to invest in the entire tax code. It goes in AND comes out tax free, including the growth, for your future medical expenses. It's like a super-Roth! But not in practice. The best investors' HSA account I can find is here. It has fees of 39$/year, plus .08%/quarter. OUCH. For, say, 5K that's about $50/year! For such a teensy account, that's a lot of work and a lot of fees.
As self-employed people, we don't really need more tax-advantaged accounts. I never thought I'd say this, but there's no way we can max them out. If we set up a solo K, we could put in 50K/year! Of course, that comes out taxed, and the HSA does not.
So, there are two possible HSA strategies for us:
(1) Get the cheapest possible account at some random bank, and put in only what we need to use for our health needs. Try to spend it all in the next few years.
(2) Use an investors' account, riddled in fees, and invest the whole amount, $500/month until we get corporate health insurance. Try not to spend too much of it because of all the fees.
I need to make a decision soon. Help!
Update: These accounts are a pain, so I never set one up. Turned out to be a good choice because we got corporate health insurance soon after that.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Learning to Love the High Deductible
When I read this post (I Heart My High Deductible Health Plan) forever ago, I thought it was crazy. I thought it was so crazy I remembered it months later! How could anyone *heart* their high-deductible plan? It's 5K before anything kicks in!!!
That was before I did the math. When I was working, we were paying $650/month to cover the two of us. I didn't even notice because it silently disappeared like my taxes. When I got laid off, COBRA bumped that to $1300/month, and then I noticed! I bet most people don't even know what they're paying every month. I didn't.
My birth control was $80/3 months on the expensive insurance. I thought I was covered and that was good. Now, on the new plan, I'll pay $60/month or $180/3 months. Big deal, I could buy a whole lot of birth control and still come out way, way ahead.
And then there's the negotiated rates. My insurance company paid my doctor $60 when I had a cold. It paid my gyno $125 (though that's covered by the new plan). I had no idea. My vet costs more than $60!
We could go to the doctor a whole lot and still come out ahead. You just have them bill your insurance and then they bill YOU with that cheaper rate. DUH! It's so obvious. I can't believe I didn't see how brilliant that was when I read that article forever ago. I guess I wasn't ready for its brilliant truth.
The critical paradigm shift is not cringing at the point of sale. That is, I shouldn't expect to walk out of the ER without a bill. It's not like I didn't pay the stupid bill last time, I just never saw it because it sneaked out of my paycheck (and my employer) silently. I paid it, twice over.
So, walking out of the ER with a $200 bill is NOT GOOD. Instead, I should focus on the money we save with this plan, and we can easily shoulder small expenses, even our 10K deductible, if something happens. It's a whole new way of looking at healthcare...
That was before I did the math. When I was working, we were paying $650/month to cover the two of us. I didn't even notice because it silently disappeared like my taxes. When I got laid off, COBRA bumped that to $1300/month, and then I noticed! I bet most people don't even know what they're paying every month. I didn't.
My birth control was $80/3 months on the expensive insurance. I thought I was covered and that was good. Now, on the new plan, I'll pay $60/month or $180/3 months. Big deal, I could buy a whole lot of birth control and still come out way, way ahead.
And then there's the negotiated rates. My insurance company paid my doctor $60 when I had a cold. It paid my gyno $125 (though that's covered by the new plan). I had no idea. My vet costs more than $60!
We could go to the doctor a whole lot and still come out ahead. You just have them bill your insurance and then they bill YOU with that cheaper rate. DUH! It's so obvious. I can't believe I didn't see how brilliant that was when I read that article forever ago. I guess I wasn't ready for its brilliant truth.
The critical paradigm shift is not cringing at the point of sale. That is, I shouldn't expect to walk out of the ER without a bill. It's not like I didn't pay the stupid bill last time, I just never saw it because it sneaked out of my paycheck (and my employer) silently. I paid it, twice over.
So, walking out of the ER with a $200 bill is NOT GOOD. Instead, I should focus on the money we save with this plan, and we can easily shoulder small expenses, even our 10K deductible, if something happens. It's a whole new way of looking at healthcare...
Friday, July 24, 2009
More Good News! Health Insurance!
There it was, waiting in my email inbox, one week and one day after we applied. We got approved! Hooray! I guess the system works for me after all (knock on wood).
After all the hoops I had to jump through and the general confusion, I was concerned. Actually, I was terrified. You could probably tell that in my alarmist tone. For us, this was way more than money. If my asthma (or imaginary lady problems) had cost Senor Dog his small business, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. If he had to go back to a cubicle to get my inhaler... I don't even want to think about it.
This process has given me a small glimpse at the other side. When your body is bought and sold, when your records are analyzed with a fine-tooth comb, when your prescriptions decide where you can work. It makes me very hesitant to have anything at all on my record (and to have my records!). But I guess it turns out that if you're in your mid-20s with a mild inhaler, you're fine! But good luck if you have diabetes or cancer.
So, we had COBRA for $1200/month for three stupidly wasteful months. Now we pay $200/month for emergencies, and we self-insure for the small stuff. It's the same company even! I'm guessing we'll spend maybe a grand or two in a year. We're out 10K if something really bad happens.
Now we have all new concerns! Like our new insurance doesn't cover drugs at all, so we better learn to use that Costco drug pricing chart when we're at the doctor.
After all the hoops I had to jump through and the general confusion, I was concerned. Actually, I was terrified. You could probably tell that in my alarmist tone. For us, this was way more than money. If my asthma (or imaginary lady problems) had cost Senor Dog his small business, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. If he had to go back to a cubicle to get my inhaler... I don't even want to think about it.
This process has given me a small glimpse at the other side. When your body is bought and sold, when your records are analyzed with a fine-tooth comb, when your prescriptions decide where you can work. It makes me very hesitant to have anything at all on my record (and to have my records!). But I guess it turns out that if you're in your mid-20s with a mild inhaler, you're fine! But good luck if you have diabetes or cancer.
So, we had COBRA for $1200/month for three stupidly wasteful months. Now we pay $200/month for emergencies, and we self-insure for the small stuff. It's the same company even! I'm guessing we'll spend maybe a grand or two in a year. We're out 10K if something really bad happens.
Now we have all new concerns! Like our new insurance doesn't cover drugs at all, so we better learn to use that Costco drug pricing chart when we're at the doctor.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Good News?
It seems like a really long time since I've had good news, but I think I have some today!
First, my former client, Jim, called with a heck of a deal on a car like Flashy Car but a lot cheaper.
At the end of the day, we should have 10K less car. Yay! This sounds really great. We still get a nice car, just not nearly as rare. We can sell the rare car, and we have less tied up. We paid 30K for flashy car, and we should be able to get that out of it (I hope!). I will call itFlashy Car 2.0 Trashy Car!
Also, Vanguard processed my old 401(k) in a speedy two or three days, and it's now all pending but accounted for in my Vanguard Roth IRA (for the Roth 401(k)) and the regular IRA (for the rest of the 401(K)). Go Vanguard! It would have been awful if there had been problems with that!
First, my former client, Jim, called with a heck of a deal on a car like Flashy Car but a lot cheaper.
At the end of the day, we should have 10K less car. Yay! This sounds really great. We still get a nice car, just not nearly as rare. We can sell the rare car, and we have less tied up. We paid 30K for flashy car, and we should be able to get that out of it (I hope!). I will call it
Also, Vanguard processed my old 401(k) in a speedy two or three days, and it's now all pending but accounted for in my Vanguard Roth IRA (for the Roth 401(k)) and the regular IRA (for the rest of the 401(K)). Go Vanguard! It would have been awful if there had been problems with that!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
More Problems Getting Health Insurance
I got a call today from the broker that some of my voluminous medical records for my grievously bad health haven't been provided in the twenty seconds they were supposed to be.
In that I already talked to a nurse about every doctor I've ever visited, I'm not sure what could be missing. The broker didn't know either. Nice.
So, I'm supposed to call every doctor I've ever had to ask them if they've provided all my records to the insurance company. I'll get right on that...
This whole process is very dehumanizing. I've been interrogated on what kind of interior and rims I have, but it's my BODY. This process is just awful. Back in the cushy corporate world of magical, good insurance, I had no idea what it's like in the wild west of the free market.
In that I already talked to a nurse about every doctor I've ever visited, I'm not sure what could be missing. The broker didn't know either. Nice.
So, I'm supposed to call every doctor I've ever had to ask them if they've provided all my records to the insurance company. I'll get right on that...
This whole process is very dehumanizing. I've been interrogated on what kind of interior and rims I have, but it's my BODY. This process is just awful. Back in the cushy corporate world of magical, good insurance, I had no idea what it's like in the wild west of the free market.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Phone Tag For Health Insurance!
Warning: TMI, involves a gyno!
After playing phone tag all morning, I finally got in touch with a nurse at the health insurance company who had a barrage of questions to ask me about my grievously bad health. They seem to have magically transported all the records from every doctor I've ever visited, already. Much faster than I expected.
(That must be an awful job to ask all the follow-up questions to the people who are going to be denied!)
She asked me everything about my asthma. What I've taken, ever, what kind of inhalers I have, when I was hospitalized, how I feel about my asthma. Whew.
But the real problems came from the only doctor I visit regularly, the gyno. When I went in for plain jane exams and birth control, he coded it weirdly. One of the visits, I had menstrual disorder. *cue ominous music* Once, he coded me for an infection. I was baffled. These were just regular exams!
I didn't even know what to say. I wasn't aware I had awful lady problems. Wait, I don't have lady problems! I'll be even more angry if imaginary lady problems make my insurance denied.
After playing phone tag all morning, I finally got in touch with a nurse at the health insurance company who had a barrage of questions to ask me about my grievously bad health. They seem to have magically transported all the records from every doctor I've ever visited, already. Much faster than I expected.
(That must be an awful job to ask all the follow-up questions to the people who are going to be denied!)
She asked me everything about my asthma. What I've taken, ever, what kind of inhalers I have, when I was hospitalized, how I feel about my asthma. Whew.
But the real problems came from the only doctor I visit regularly, the gyno. When I went in for plain jane exams and birth control, he coded it weirdly. One of the visits, I had menstrual disorder. *cue ominous music* Once, he coded me for an infection. I was baffled. These were just regular exams!
I didn't even know what to say. I wasn't aware I had awful lady problems. Wait, I don't have lady problems! I'll be even more angry if imaginary lady problems make my insurance denied.
License to Dog
It's time again to keep my four-legged dog street legal with a license to dog. It's $10/year for fixed dogs, and you have to prove they have their rabies shot.
The thought crossed my head this year that the license is a waste of time and that I could just skip it. We've never been asked for it. Not at the vet, not at the daycare, not at the dog park.
I can't figure out how much the fine is, but let's say it's pretty high, $60. The odds of me getting the fine are very low, but it would take a long time to make back those costs. Also, I wouldn't want to get in trouble with the landlord or the doggie day care, when she starts going again.
So, feeling risk-averse, I renewed her license to dog. Online, $10. Easy as that.
The thought crossed my head this year that the license is a waste of time and that I could just skip it. We've never been asked for it. Not at the vet, not at the daycare, not at the dog park.
I can't figure out how much the fine is, but let's say it's pretty high, $60. The odds of me getting the fine are very low, but it would take a long time to make back those costs. Also, I wouldn't want to get in trouble with the landlord or the doggie day care, when she starts going again.
So, feeling risk-averse, I renewed her license to dog. Online, $10. Easy as that.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Requested Medical Records
The health insurance company has requested medical records for our new private insurance plan to replace COBRA. This should be exciting.
I was last treated for asthma nine months ago, with a refill for the lowest-dose-possible inhaler. That should be an exciting record to review.
Senor Dog had some eczema last year. Don't want to pick anyone up with serious conditions!
I wonder if this is just a delay tactic. It would really suck to have gone through all this and then have to wait another month to get denied by some other company.
If we can't get insured, and if we have this much red tape, I'm not sure who can get insured. Honestly, if we get rejected, it will be even worse than getting rejected for a mortgage. I can't even think about it emotionally.
I was last treated for asthma nine months ago, with a refill for the lowest-dose-possible inhaler. That should be an exciting record to review.
Senor Dog had some eczema last year. Don't want to pick anyone up with serious conditions!
I wonder if this is just a delay tactic. It would really suck to have gone through all this and then have to wait another month to get denied by some other company.
If we can't get insured, and if we have this much red tape, I'm not sure who can get insured. Honestly, if we get rejected, it will be even worse than getting rejected for a mortgage. I can't even think about it emotionally.
Finally Got the 401(k)
After an hour on the phone with Fidelity on July 9 to roll over my 401(k), the checks finally showed up on July 19. That's absurd.
So, now I have to insure and mail 50K in checks that are made out to Vanguard. There's no reason I should ever have these in my hand! It makes me really nervous to send these. I did it priority, with $500 insurance, not that it helps. Fidelity just sent it regular mail, when they finally got around to doing it a week later.
Fidelity also dinged me with a lot of fees. (I thought they were better than that!) I can't even figure out what they were because I don't have a final accounting yet, and the account is missing from my online log-in!
This is the only time I've ever been disappointed in Fidelity. I guess they're not too concerned about the customer service for making customers ex-customers.
So, now I have to insure and mail 50K in checks that are made out to Vanguard. There's no reason I should ever have these in my hand! It makes me really nervous to send these. I did it priority, with $500 insurance, not that it helps. Fidelity just sent it regular mail, when they finally got around to doing it a week later.
Fidelity also dinged me with a lot of fees. (I thought they were better than that!) I can't even figure out what they were because I don't have a final accounting yet, and the account is missing from my online log-in!
This is the only time I've ever been disappointed in Fidelity. I guess they're not too concerned about the customer service for making customers ex-customers.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Applied for Health Insurance
COBRA is killing my budget, so I'm going to try for the scary, scary free market. I gathered up every Rx bottle and went over every EOB to make sure I could disclose everything I knew about our mid-20s health.
I have asthma and about the mildest inhaler possible that I don't even use. Senor Dog got a cream for some eczema last year. We had a few antibiotics, some birth control, and that's it. I put it all on the form. It was surprisingly hard, and we have practically nothing.
The plan I applied for is $200/month with a 10K family deductible. That means if I land in the ER again or we get in a car wreck, we're out 10K. In that case, we're slightly worse off than COBRA. Assuming our average use, heck, even our above average use from the ER, it will be cheaper.
I was surprised I was upset about maternity. Heck, I plan on adopting, not getting knocked up, so I'm not sure why losing maternity knocks the wind out of me. I guess it feels like closing a door (for now) that I couldn't control. Rationally, I know this plan covers pregnancy complications, and that L&D is only a couple grand anyway, so we would still come out ahead. But I still feel kind of sad that there's no baby for now.
There's a lot of other stuff it just doesn't cover. Rx drugs have something like $500/year -- after your deductible. It doesn't cover suicide or cutting or mental health or nuclear accidents or war injuries. I guess if I get attacked in a war and need Rx drugs and counseling, I'm screwed.
I have asthma and about the mildest inhaler possible that I don't even use. Senor Dog got a cream for some eczema last year. We had a few antibiotics, some birth control, and that's it. I put it all on the form. It was surprisingly hard, and we have practically nothing.
The plan I applied for is $200/month with a 10K family deductible. That means if I land in the ER again or we get in a car wreck, we're out 10K. In that case, we're slightly worse off than COBRA. Assuming our average use, heck, even our above average use from the ER, it will be cheaper.
I was surprised I was upset about maternity. Heck, I plan on adopting, not getting knocked up, so I'm not sure why losing maternity knocks the wind out of me. I guess it feels like closing a door (for now) that I couldn't control. Rationally, I know this plan covers pregnancy complications, and that L&D is only a couple grand anyway, so we would still come out ahead. But I still feel kind of sad that there's no baby for now.
There's a lot of other stuff it just doesn't cover. Rx drugs have something like $500/year -- after your deductible. It doesn't cover suicide or cutting or mental health or nuclear accidents or war injuries. I guess if I get attacked in a war and need Rx drugs and counseling, I'm screwed.
Health Insurance is a Rip-Off
I've been digging through my COBRA trying to find every doctor I've ever visited and everything I've ever been prescribed to apply for private health insurance. Of course, they don't tell you that, then it would be too easy.
I did find my benefit descriptions, with all the EOBs from all my doctors. Remember when they only paid my gyno $125? They paid the plain old doctor $60 when I had a bad cold. $60!!! What am I paying $1200/month for???
The only actual use of my health insurance was my trip to the ER with the initial bill at more than 12K. With that included, my lifetime benefits in the last three years on this plan are 8K. Without the ER, it would be pretty much nothing. That makes me want to puke. What am I (and previously my employer) paying $600/month for?
Why can't I just pay the $60 to go to the doctor and get insurance for cancer or a car accident or something like Morrison says in her comments? Heck, I'd even pay the 6K ER bill if I could self-insure it.
I did find my benefit descriptions, with all the EOBs from all my doctors. Remember when they only paid my gyno $125? They paid the plain old doctor $60 when I had a bad cold. $60!!! What am I paying $1200/month for???
The only actual use of my health insurance was my trip to the ER with the initial bill at more than 12K. With that included, my lifetime benefits in the last three years on this plan are 8K. Without the ER, it would be pretty much nothing. That makes me want to puke. What am I (and previously my employer) paying $600/month for?
Why can't I just pay the $60 to go to the doctor and get insurance for cancer or a car accident or something like Morrison says in her comments? Heck, I'd even pay the 6K ER bill if I could self-insure it.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A New Place?
A friend offered to let us rent out his townhouse while he's in Dubai for a year. It would be a little more rent, but it's a way, way nicer place. Granite, garage, huge closets, insane kitchen.
In many ways, the neighborhood is even better than our current neighborhood. Places are even more expensive, land is worth even more. The bars are fancy, there's a gourmet cheese shop, there's sushi and chic nightclubs and fancy wine shops.
One problem. The Section 8 complex across the street. It's huge, and it's been there at least 10 years. When the developers put it in, the proposal assumed the place would be destroyed in 20 years, and they aren't far off. There was nothing there then, but since then a bunch of fancy bars and townhouses have taken over.
When he first moved in, someone would come turn on his hose so the water ran all night (who would do that?!), and he had to put a water control thing in the garage. The houses get tagged all the time. People sleep in your yard, there are always dozens of people just hanging out outside the complex at any hour of the day with shopping carts and trash and it's awful. There's no way they can afford anything in that neighborhood. It sticks out as badly as possible.
I have a gut reaction to the Section 8. I don't want to live near it, I don't even want to drive by it. Been there, done that, over it.
In many ways, the neighborhood is even better than our current neighborhood. Places are even more expensive, land is worth even more. The bars are fancy, there's a gourmet cheese shop, there's sushi and chic nightclubs and fancy wine shops.
One problem. The Section 8 complex across the street. It's huge, and it's been there at least 10 years. When the developers put it in, the proposal assumed the place would be destroyed in 20 years, and they aren't far off. There was nothing there then, but since then a bunch of fancy bars and townhouses have taken over.
When he first moved in, someone would come turn on his hose so the water ran all night (who would do that?!), and he had to put a water control thing in the garage. The houses get tagged all the time. People sleep in your yard, there are always dozens of people just hanging out outside the complex at any hour of the day with shopping carts and trash and it's awful. There's no way they can afford anything in that neighborhood. It sticks out as badly as possible.
I have a gut reaction to the Section 8. I don't want to live near it, I don't even want to drive by it. Been there, done that, over it.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
2010 Wedding Schedule
Whew, I think I got out of the stupidly expensive destination wedding. Well, I tried at least by sending an email that we still can't commit when I don't have a job. Hopefully that will stop the nagging.
Meanwhile, the weddings keep pouring in! In 2010, we have weddings in Miami, London, and Vegas. These happen to be awesome places that I would love to vacation anyway. They are also places that are actually meaningful to the people getting married, well, except Vegas, but that's a whole other tradition.
Anyway.
That pretty much settles our travel for next year. It takes time and money, and well, we're done with our vaca days and travel budget with that many heavy travel weddings. That said, I bet we can even go to London for less than that stupidly expensive Caribbean destination wedding.
We're so old that I thought our friends were done, I guess I was wrong. I guess when you're around 30, your wedding gets even bigger! We're also hitting the first round of divorces the same time as the next round of weddings!
Meanwhile, the weddings keep pouring in! In 2010, we have weddings in Miami, London, and Vegas. These happen to be awesome places that I would love to vacation anyway. They are also places that are actually meaningful to the people getting married, well, except Vegas, but that's a whole other tradition.
Anyway.
That pretty much settles our travel for next year. It takes time and money, and well, we're done with our vaca days and travel budget with that many heavy travel weddings. That said, I bet we can even go to London for less than that stupidly expensive Caribbean destination wedding.
We're so old that I thought our friends were done, I guess I was wrong. I guess when you're around 30, your wedding gets even bigger! We're also hitting the first round of divorces the same time as the next round of weddings!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Not Forced or Personal Responsibility
I can't stand it when people whine about things they control and pretend like they have no choices.
When you have cancer, you have no choice. When you get laid off with your whole department, you have no choice. When your house burns down, you have no choice. Most of the time, you control your own destiny.
This whiny post from Stew over at Gather Little By Little is one of the worst. Stew doesn't want his wife to work outside the home but they are "being forced into this decision simply because it makes good financial sense." Sorry, buddy, nobody forced you to do anything.
You could downgrade your home. You could get a better job or a second job. She could start an Etsy store from home or babysit some kids. You could move to a cheaper area. You could downgrade your lifestyle. Nobody forced you to do anything. If teaching preschool is what finally lets you actually save a little money and pay off your student and car loans, you could probably use a better job anyway.
The comments are very thoughtful and reflective on what seems to be a tough choice for many. But to pretend like it isn't a choice is just silly. Of course it's a choice. It's a choice you have to admit you control and just make it, like an adult.
When you have cancer, you have no choice. When you get laid off with your whole department, you have no choice. When your house burns down, you have no choice. Most of the time, you control your own destiny.
This whiny post from Stew over at Gather Little By Little is one of the worst. Stew doesn't want his wife to work outside the home but they are "being forced into this decision simply because it makes good financial sense." Sorry, buddy, nobody forced you to do anything.
You could downgrade your home. You could get a better job or a second job. She could start an Etsy store from home or babysit some kids. You could move to a cheaper area. You could downgrade your lifestyle. Nobody forced you to do anything. If teaching preschool is what finally lets you actually save a little money and pay off your student and car loans, you could probably use a better job anyway.
The comments are very thoughtful and reflective on what seems to be a tough choice for many. But to pretend like it isn't a choice is just silly. Of course it's a choice. It's a choice you have to admit you control and just make it, like an adult.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Life Insurance
I'm envisioning the job I'm interviewing for on Friday as happening. I'm trying positive thinking or The Secret or something.
It also means I'm wrapping up all the loose ends while I have some spare time, like finally making the wedding photo album.
And then there's life insurance.
I really need to finally get this going. I quoted it out almost a year ago, back when I thought we needed a half mil a piece. (Gawd, have I procrastinated that long???) Now, I just need to get this done.
Again using Ing Reliastar through Zander, here's our rates for 250K
15 yr (me) $137/yr
30 yr (me) $207/yr
15 yr (him) $157/yr
30 yr (him) $257/yr
For 500K,
15 yr (me) $210/yr
30 yr (me) $350/yr
15 yr (him) $250/yr
30 yr (him) $450/yr
AHHHHH! WHAT DO I CHOOSE? How much do I need?
It also means I'm wrapping up all the loose ends while I have some spare time, like finally making the wedding photo album.
And then there's life insurance.
I really need to finally get this going. I quoted it out almost a year ago, back when I thought we needed a half mil a piece. (Gawd, have I procrastinated that long???) Now, I just need to get this done.
Again using Ing Reliastar through Zander, here's our rates for 250K
15 yr (me) $137/yr
30 yr (me) $207/yr
15 yr (him) $157/yr
30 yr (him) $257/yr
For 500K,
15 yr (me) $210/yr
30 yr (me) $350/yr
15 yr (him) $250/yr
30 yr (him) $450/yr
AHHHHH! WHAT DO I CHOOSE? How much do I need?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
School Lunches, Summer Version
The local channels have been running heartbreaking commercials.
Over half -- OVER HALF -- the kids in the local school district qualify for free school lunches. The commercial says this is probably their only nutritious meal during the school year, so there's some sort of giant bureaucratic thing to give them lunch during the summer. The commercials say you should help in some mysterious way.
Holey moley -- over half?!?!?!
This is just sad, but seriously -- How can these people afford kids? How sad is it that over half the parents in our (public) schools can't afford, say, $40/month to feed their kids lunch. The pound where I got my dog wouldn't even give you a dog if that were true. You sure as heck wouldn't make it through adoption.
I feel like Senor Dog and I can't afford kids because we only have COBRA (though I guess they have government insurance), we can't afford private school and daycare, we sure can't afford a Chinese tutor. I can't even imagine being responsible for a kid when you can't even afford to feed her. Sad.
Over half -- OVER HALF -- the kids in the local school district qualify for free school lunches. The commercial says this is probably their only nutritious meal during the school year, so there's some sort of giant bureaucratic thing to give them lunch during the summer. The commercials say you should help in some mysterious way.
Holey moley -- over half?!?!?!
This is just sad, but seriously -- How can these people afford kids? How sad is it that over half the parents in our (public) schools can't afford, say, $40/month to feed their kids lunch. The pound where I got my dog wouldn't even give you a dog if that were true. You sure as heck wouldn't make it through adoption.
I feel like Senor Dog and I can't afford kids because we only have COBRA (though I guess they have government insurance), we can't afford private school and daycare, we sure can't afford a Chinese tutor. I can't even imagine being responsible for a kid when you can't even afford to feed her. Sad.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Not Paying Taxes
I met a realtor at a bar, a friend of a friend, who looked like the kind of girl who did pageants as a little girl. Of course, I'm no fan of realtors.
She actually bragged to me, practically a stranger, that she hadn't paid her taxes in four years.
I know, I know. Paying quarterly taxes sucks. That 8K check killed my whole month. But it's still better than picking a fight with the IRS.
Like Kelis -- who hasn't filed since 2002, according to her divorce. How can you live like that??? Don't you worry about it? Don't you think about it at night?
I was always confused by JW's IRS problems before his blog folded. How could it ever get that far? Why wouldn't you just do it at tax time? Four years later, that 8K check (and all the other ones you missed!) are a whole lot scarier.
Why on earth would you brag to a stranger that you don't pay your taxes? And, my word, would you really want someone who doesn't do their taxes doing the deal on your biggest asset?
She actually bragged to me, practically a stranger, that she hadn't paid her taxes in four years.
I know, I know. Paying quarterly taxes sucks. That 8K check killed my whole month. But it's still better than picking a fight with the IRS.
Like Kelis -- who hasn't filed since 2002, according to her divorce. How can you live like that??? Don't you worry about it? Don't you think about it at night?
I was always confused by JW's IRS problems before his blog folded. How could it ever get that far? Why wouldn't you just do it at tax time? Four years later, that 8K check (and all the other ones you missed!) are a whole lot scarier.
Why on earth would you brag to a stranger that you don't pay your taxes? And, my word, would you really want someone who doesn't do their taxes doing the deal on your biggest asset?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Still Dodging the Destination Wedding
Since I last talked to Bahama Mama about her ridiculous destination wedding (posts here and here), I've gotten weekly "reminder" emails. She called once and I didn't pick up. That's how I feel about this wedding.
She left a voicemail about "checking on our plans." Guess a deadline is coming up for their fancy resort in some place they've never been.
I thought it was interesting people continued to comment on those destination wedding posts about their selfish brides in Lala Land. Boy, did that hit a nerve!
I don't want to spend 1K on anyone's wedding. I don't want to use up my precious little vacation (well, Senor Dog's precious little vacation) to go to an international destination that has no connection to them and that I have no interest in visiting.
I also hate that I have to be dishonest about it. I have to say we can't afford it, or we don't know about our vacation days, or make something else up so I don't hurt her feelings. I wish I could say the truth. It's stupid to make everyone you know spend 1K on your wedding, you have no connection to the Caribbean, it's alienating to send a bunch of naggy emails, it's nasty to pressure your friends into your stupidly expensive wedding. Oh, and you're a selfish diva if you expect all of your friends to shell out 1K for your party!
I'm shocked that she thinks this is OK and normal. I blame the bridal media.
She left a voicemail about "checking on our plans." Guess a deadline is coming up for their fancy resort in some place they've never been.
I thought it was interesting people continued to comment on those destination wedding posts about their selfish brides in Lala Land. Boy, did that hit a nerve!
I don't want to spend 1K on anyone's wedding. I don't want to use up my precious little vacation (well, Senor Dog's precious little vacation) to go to an international destination that has no connection to them and that I have no interest in visiting.
I also hate that I have to be dishonest about it. I have to say we can't afford it, or we don't know about our vacation days, or make something else up so I don't hurt her feelings. I wish I could say the truth. It's stupid to make everyone you know spend 1K on your wedding, you have no connection to the Caribbean, it's alienating to send a bunch of naggy emails, it's nasty to pressure your friends into your stupidly expensive wedding. Oh, and you're a selfish diva if you expect all of your friends to shell out 1K for your party!
I'm shocked that she thinks this is OK and normal. I blame the bridal media.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Net Worth June 09: Not As Bad As It Looks
Net worth June 09, $144,219 (-6K, -4%)
For 2009, +68K, +90%
I keep telling myself this isn't as bad as it looks. This isn't as bad as it looks!!! We had some serious cash outlays this month that would have been hard to cover even with both working. Considering this was a self-employment month where not much cash hit, this isn't so bad. Next month will have more cash and (hopefully!) less expenses.
Major expenses:
$1K to fix the car some drunk plowed into
$2,400 for COBRA for May and June. Gulp.
$8K in Q2 taxes
Two weeks of travel, led to increased food costs and such
The good:
The market was up a tick, almost $600 in the retirement accounts
$2,500 invested in taxable stocks
For 2009, +68K, +90%
I keep telling myself this isn't as bad as it looks. This isn't as bad as it looks!!! We had some serious cash outlays this month that would have been hard to cover even with both working. Considering this was a self-employment month where not much cash hit, this isn't so bad. Next month will have more cash and (hopefully!) less expenses.
Major expenses:
$1K to fix the car some drunk plowed into
$2,400 for COBRA for May and June. Gulp.
$8K in Q2 taxes
Two weeks of travel, led to increased food costs and such
The good:
The market was up a tick, almost $600 in the retirement accounts
$2,500 invested in taxable stocks
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
