Medical crisis and bankruptcy

I am currently reading an article about 'Financial Medicine' over in the Personal Finances section at The Wall Street Journal

The article states that 6 out of 10 bankruptcies are filed due to medical reasons (illness). This is a big reason I am filing so there is some comfort in that I'm not alone. I also find it interesting that there is such a stigma attached to filing bankruptcy yet over half of the reason is inadequate health care or illness. Now I know some things medically can be prevented however things such as getting into a major car accident or having an inherited disease and other issues. I will try not to get into the political aspect of our health care system and the likes.

The article encourages you to check out your policies and plan from there. What is your lifetime maximum, did you even know you had a lifetime maximum? What would happen if you hit that maximum? What about yearly maximums?

What are your risk factors? Do you know what your plan covers should one of your risk factors (Cancer, diabetes....) come into play? What about medications? I know my plan only offers a slight discount on medications.

Often times I have to go without medication if there isn't a cheap alternative because the insurance just doesn't offer enough of a discount. For instance I once got a needed RX there was no alternative to it and the RX was about $115 every 30 days I needed to take this for a few months my discount plan offered $3 off. Other times I only pay a very small percentage so it all depends on what it is covering.

You could just need something as simple as physical therapy, something else I found out is very expensive. Physical therapy is usually prescribed 2-3 times a week for at least 4 weeks, what is your co-pay? Mine is $30 a visit plus 20% of various things such as the charge for equipment used, or the massage therapist etc... for me in the end I had to decide that physical therapy was just too much money in light of having to file because of these types of reasons to begin with. I do have flex spending but obviously not enough to cover PT with possibly needing surgery too (also have to pay 20% of that, you can imagine it could get costly quick).

Karen Pollitz, a research professor at Georgetown was quoted in the article saying "It's perilous to assume that we are protected just because we have a health-insurance card in our wallet." How insightful really! For me this one sentence is so powerful.

What are you doing to protect yourself?

Photo By: jwblinn

More money OUT the door!

I really should take stock up in Dentistry, if they had such a thing. Maybe some company that makes Dental items such as the parts to make a filing or other some such thing.

I've been in pain, excruciating pain. I have to admit I'm a big ole baby when it comes to tooth pain. I just am. I have wretched teeth, they are soft and they don't like me I think, I'm sure the dentist pocket book love me though and his wife of course!

I've been going to his office since I was a wee child. I trust him completely and he works with me. In fact he is working with me and giving me some of the procedure for FREE!!! He also saw me at no charge when I was in pain! He really does care about his patients and his main concern is that they get the treatment he needs.

Here is the kicker he is doing his portion at no charge but the main portion I have to see a specialist. The specialist comes into his office twice a week he is an endodontist that will be doing the main portions to the tune of $920 YIKES!! Thankfully I have enough on my insurance still that my portion is only $184 (whew!!!).

It is important I get this done now, the cap is waiting until January when my insurance kicks in again because after this (and some other work I had done this year) I will have used all but $88 of my insurance for the year. He thinks there might be some infection in there and I am in pain that won't go away with just some antibiotics (although I AM on them). I also have a heart condition that makes it dangerous for me to have a dental infection that will keep coming back. So it isn't an option to wait you see.

The remainder of the balance (the $184) will go on my flex spending (whew again!!).

The root canal due to the tooth it is on and the difficulty of what is there will have to be an outpatient surgery. I don't have to go completely under though and that is a good thing. I am a bit scared.

I now have to figure in the cap and what insurance pays (only about half my half will be about $450) into my flex spending for next year. I like to look at my flex spending as a sort of emergency fund because that is what it is there for, yet in a way you have to be careful not to put too much money into it. I'll have to do up a post all about flex spending in case there are some out there that don't know all the ins and outs of these accounts.

Now the other option is I could have the tooth pulled, however pulling teeth sometimes leads to bone depletion in the jaw. Since I am still young I'd like to avoid that if I can. The best option is to have the root canal even though it does cost quite a bit more. Even if I did have it pulled because of the nerves that have to be removed along with it and the location and difficulty of the tooth I'd still have to see the specialist.

Too bad the tooth fairy doesn't visit me anymore huh?

Photo By: Kaptain Kobold

Even when you change your past will still haunt you for some time.

So I shouldn't have posted in more than one place that I haven't overdrawn my account since starting to make healthier financial decisions because I did it in two separate accounts now. Well the first one is my fault the second one is sort of but sort of not too.

The first one I overdrew because I accidentally used the wrong card. I have since wrote on the back the 'name' of the account so I don't do that again. I have two checking accounts at one bank and one is for bills the other is for 'spending' right now it is for groceries, entertainment, gas for the car....

So I used the bill one and there was not enough money in there, they took from my savings to cover it but there wasn't enough money there either so I over drafted plus there is a $10 fee if the bank transfers your money and an overdraft fee as well as a daily fee for the overdraft UGH!!

So far $133 overdrawn YIKES!! Just in that account. I need to sit down and talk to them and see what can be waived, I'm going to explain the situation and hope that I get someone nice to help me out a bit. I'm also going to point out that when you get your card(s) in the mail it doesn't include even the name of the account (primary, secondary, student, free checking... nothing) so it is a bit confusing. It can't hurt to ask and try.

The next one is I must have had my checks somewhere in my old checking account, where I'm still getting my direct deposit, and then distributing the money myself until I know I have what is needed where figured out to a science, because someone stole two checks. Now that account is overdrawn, I'm still waiting on the copy of the check so I can make a dispute and a police report. In the mean time my account is overdrawn and I have no money. For the first time in ages I had to borrow some money from my mom (which makes me feel like total crap) for gas in my car. She had $20. If push comes to shove I may have to figure out a way to work on Thursday as I'm not sure I have enough gas.

I will be closing this bank account because they are being total jerks. For instance there is a $28 fee to stop payment on any checks. If you do an investigation and see my checks were indeed stolen I think it would be good customer service to waive this fee but not so. I will give them another chance to waive this fee but I find it absurd to pay and I have spoken to other bank employees for other banks and they all say their banks would waive that fee in this case.

There are other consequences here as well... I have major tooth pain and a slight fever, which likely means infection. I have no cash to go to the dentist. I'm not borrowing the money for that, I do get paid Friday after all. My flex spending is frozen right now because they are disputing something or another that has me quite confused. I can submit a bill I've paid but not use my flex spending card (I get a debit type card so it can come right out of there right away and I don't have to wait for reimbursement).

See I have no money because I got paid on Friday and by Friday evening this is what happened I hadn't had a chance to transfer any of the money. I have stopped my direct deposit for now, I'll just have to cash my check the old fashioned way. I also saw I had other overdraft/bounced fees in the account from a few days before when the check tried to clear the first time. So they've tried this check twice now. I looked in my check book and sure enough the check trying to clear and the next check are missing. I had mandatory inspection and repairs recently by the city (not my complex) that I wasn't home for not sure if it could have happened then or what. There is no one really in my home but my checkbook has been coming to work with me the past 2 weeks since I needed the routing number and it has been in my work bag so I guess there is a slight possibility there too.

Photo By: og2t**brzegowiec

WWYD Wedensday: Discretionary Income

I was reading online and stumbled upon a WWYD link. I thought it might be fun to answer the question.

Being in the situation I am in now, I would choose option B. I know what having no emergency fund can do to a person. Not only what no e-fund does financially but your health too the stress is pretty high. I'd rather take a extra time in paying off debt and have the cushion there. It never seemed an option for me so I'm working on that right now.

Chances are you'll run into some unexpected expense in the 12 months you are paying off the card, or at least that is my experience. Car repairs, home repairs, unexpected medical bills... the list can go on and on.

So WWYD? Please explain... especially if you'd pick option A. I want to hear from you.

Photo By: pickuppennies

Budget Headaches

That panic of what is in your bank account and what you can budget is terrifying. I've avoided it long enough. I spent some time this afternoon going over a rough estimate budget. This budget doesn't even include yet my savings or a true emergency fund. It does include $600/year for car repairs, but it includes no clothing allowance and no room for other emergencies.

As it stands at this very moment I need an extra $133.68 a month, once you add in other emergencies, funding an emergency fund, clothing allowance, and other expenses for my child (ie. extra curriculars that weren't included), money for a mini vacation for us.... I'll need a considerable amount more. Oye!

All of this doesn't even mention the amount I'll need to get caught up as well.

Also, I'd like to start doing screen shots and sharing them but I'm not sure how to do that on blogger so any tips are helpful there.

There are minor changes I can make to adjust but not much, things are already pretty bare bones as it is, and the items that are not bare bones have contracts.

What I'm doing wrong... or it takes 30 days to make a habit!

There are several things I know I'm doing wrong and why I've always had financial crisis. Its not that I'm totally frivolous but that I do indeed have a limited income. Although, I do make enough money to make it and have some savings. So what am I doing wrong?

I know I get caught up in the save a little here and there theme of frugality and it does save, but it frustrates me and I quit. Mostly, what I'm doing wrong Sisterly Savings spoke about in her post today Organized Bill Paying. I know I'm not organized at all it is part of my ADD I spoke about in my initial post.

My first goal is to get organized to kick that off I'm going to organize my finances this week by creating a new budget. I have opened a new bank account that has two checking accounts. One has certain features which were appealing and the other has other features I found appealing. I am also going to open an ING Direct account and will have my savings at the credit union for my loan payment. Oye! Just posting the amount of accounts to keep track of has me in a panic. Never fear though, that is the best way for me to stay organized. Sounds backwards doesn't it? Well each account will be for something different. If I mix my bill money in with my emergency fund I WILL spend the emergency fund because I'm not organized enough to not do it. I must organize myself in a way that will be effective for me.

I already have one of the spiral books to hold bills in it that Sisterly Savings speaks about in her post, the problem is I have never actually used it. So that is on my agenda for my budget and financial organization plan. I am also going to make a plan for some of my wants and needs. I'm not ready to post about those quite yet because the plan isn't ready by a long shot.

My newest motto is it takes 30 days to make it a habit. I need to start making healthy financial habits, I have identified my biggest problem which is the organization now I must tackle the issue.

My next step will be to organize my home, in small steps. Big steps overwhelm me so small steps are the way to go a project every weekend is good even if it is just one cupboard or two eventually the kitchen will be organized in an efficient manner.

What are some of the best ways you organize?
Do you have a financial system that works for you? Feel free to share.