Debt Dumpers - 2019

[StacyStrong]

91.2 miles is so impressive. Congratulations.

Thank you! I'm trying!

 

[Tygerlilly]

Is it that you work weekends? Or don't have time to train?

I work midnight to noon on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. All the dang races are on Saturday mornings.

 

[StacyStrong]

I work midnight to noon on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. All the dang races are on Saturday mornings.

Maybe you can do some virtual races like the Marvel virtual series.

https://www.rundisney.com/events/virtual/virtual-running-series/

 

[Ngwira]

Getting healthy is starting to cost $$$$$.

I am registering for a bunch of races in the coming months. Wonder Woman 10k, Rock n Roll 10k, Hot Chocolate 15k, Fairy Tale Challenge 10k/Half. Definitely costing quite a bit and I'll have to replace my running shoes in the next couple months.

But, I'm enjoying it (even if I'm still slow!) and these races are keeping me motivated. 91.2 miles so far this year!

I have nothing budget related to report otherwise - business as usual.

Stacy, you can spend the money now on healthy food and workout gear or you can spend the money later on medicine and healthcare, right?

 

[DisneyMandC]

My $1000 student loan payment posted and I'm down to $1614! I'll make a $700 payment next week, plus my scheduled $100 monthly payment on April 10. I'll then need to wait until my May bill is created to know my final payoff amount (might be able to call them for that, not sure). Once I have the payoff amount, I'll send the final amount for that- probably around $825. Should be able to do that at the end of April. The end is in sight!

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

My $1000 student loan payment posted and I'm down to $1614! I'll make a $700 payment next week, plus my scheduled $100 monthly payment on April 10. I'll then need to wait until my May bill is created to know my final payoff amount (might be able to call them for that, not sure). Once I have the payoff amount, I'll send the final amount for that- probably around $825. Should be able to do that at the end of April. The end is in sight!

You should call for the payoff amount. Your May statement won't be the payoff amount because interest will keep accruing. If you call, they will give you a payoff quote that is valid for X number of days and then you won't have to worry about a rouge June statement with a tiny amount of interest to pay.

 

[StacyStrong]

I had my performance review. I got a 2.31% raise, which is small, but about s what I was expecting since I was just recently promoted.

Effectively a bit over a 20% raise in the past year.

 

[DisneyMandC]

You should call for the payoff amount. Your May statement won't be the payoff amount because interest will keep accruing. If you call, they will give you a payoff quote that is valid for X number of days and then you won't have to worry about a rouge June statement with a tiny amount of interest to pay.

Yeah, I think I am going to call to double check, but interestingly my statements will say "Payoff amount of $1614.83 through May 10." Which I read as if I schedule my payment for May 9, I should make it for $1614.83 and that should take care of it. But I would rather be safe than sorry.

I wish it was still the old provider because you could actually go in on the website and play with the date to see what your pay off is. So I could put in March 29, 2019 and it would tell me how many extra cents of interest I'd owe from day to day. The new provider doesn't do that though.

 

[dayvewc]

I really, really dislike insurance. Just got my explanation of benefits for a doctor visit from 2/28. Even though this was a pre-approved referral from my PCP to the only specialist in the area, it came back as an out of network visit. I called both the insurance and the doctor office to ask about it. The insurance said they have no record of this particular doctor ever being in their network, while the doctor office says that this is a new doctor to their clinic and is in the process of being added to all the insurances that they accept. Why can't insurance companies just contract with clinics and practices instead of individual doctors? That would solve this entire problem. At this point, I don't know if they will back date and correct the filing once the doctor is accepted into the network or not. It's just a pain.

 

[barkley]

I really, really dislike insurance. Just got my explanation of benefits for a doctor visit from 2/28. Even though this was a pre-approved referral from my PCP to the only specialist in the area, it came back as an out of network visit. I called both the insurance and the doctor office to ask about it. The insurance said they have no record of this particular doctor ever being in their network, while the doctor office says that this is a new doctor to their clinic and is in the process of being added to all the insurances that they accept. Why can't insurance companies just contract with clinics and practices instead of individual doctors? That would solve this entire problem. At this point, I don't know if they will back date and correct the filing once the doctor is accepted into the network or not. It's just a pain.

in my experience unless the doctor is retro added (from their date of application) to be a preferred provider for a date on or prior to your 2/28 appointment-they won't cover it.

my insurance is NOTORIOUS for processing every claim as out of network so i've taken to doing a search on their website to find individual providers listed as preferred the day i MAKE the appointment-print a copy, then i turn around and the day before the appointment and do the same. that way if the insurance company claims it's not a preferred provider-i've got it in writing where their site shows it is, on the flip side-if they don't show the day before i call the provider's office and tell them i'm canceling (and if they put up a fuss that it's only w/1 day's notice i put up a fuss that they didn't notify me that the terms of their insurance coverage changed so 'no' i won't be paying a cancellation fee).

 

[dayvewc]

in my experience unless the doctor is retro added (from their date of application) to be a preferred provider for a date on or prior to your 2/28 appointment-they won't cover it.

my insurance is NOTORIOUS for processing every claim as out of network so i've taken to doing a search on their website to find individual providers listed as preferred the day i MAKE the appointment-print a copy, then i turn around and the day before the appointment and do the same. that way if the insurance company claims it's not a preferred provider-i've got it in writing where their site shows it is, on the flip side-if they don't show the day before i call the provider's office and tell them i'm canceling (and if they put up a fuss that it's only w/1 day's notice i put up a fuss that they didn't notify me that the terms of their insurance coverage changed so 'no' i won't be paying a cancellation fee).

My problem here is that this is literally the only specialist in about a 100 mile radius. And actually, they aren't even here, the particular clinic I was referred to is teleconferencing the specialist in to do diagnosis and see patients.
One of the joys of living in the wasteland of the delta, there is no other option available.

 

[barkley]

My problem here is that this is literally the only specialist in about a 100 mile radius. And actually, they aren't even here, the particular clinic I was referred to is teleconferencing the specialist in to do diagnosis and see patients.
One of the joys of living in the wasteland of the delta, there is no other option available.

i TOTALY understand. i've gotten into huge battles with my insurance company b/c they will have no specialists under their network IN THE ENTIRE STATE (and we've got big med schools here, big 'best on the west coast' hospitals so no shortage of availablity). their position on it is 'we are under NO obligation to seek or secure providers YOU HOWEVER must use one of our preferred providers to avail yourself of coverage' but i can't do anything about it- they've got me between a rock and hard place. i retired w/a disability and they are the ONLY retiree plan my former employer offers. i've got medicare but anyone who has medicare will tell you that you MUST have additional coverage, and i don't qualify to purchase any kind of supplemental program until i'm 65 (and even then i will have to wait several years till dh reaches 65 b/c i'm his connection to health insurance under my retiree spousal benefits). it's nuts.

 

[Eureka]

when it rains it not only pours-it's a freaking typhoon! march has been AWFUL! first the big freezer bit the dust so about $800, then one vehicle needed a new battery at $130, then this weekend some road gravel cracked the other vehicle's windshield so another $100 for that.........but today........figured we would take the cracked windshield car in for the minor servicing needed (oil change, just check things out-not one of the big ones) and find out that we need $1450 in repairs/replacements GOOD GRIEF!

on the bright side it will be offset by our property taxes due in april being reduced this year by $150, and $125 in credit card rewards that i used as a statement credit so i won't have to take quite as much from the old emergency fund.

Sounds like our start to the year with a new washing machine, a leak that caused a total of $2500 in repairs, electrician bills, $1200+ in car repairs. That was all in the first 7 weeks of the year! It calmed down for us and I hope it does for you soon too.

 

[pkelly6]

For you runners: Ravennas are on sale Brooks website. Also, kellysrunningwarehouse website can help find good deals on running shoes.

 

[jen7233]

I really, really dislike insurance. Just got my explanation of benefits for a doctor visit from 2/28. Even though this was a pre-approved referral from my PCP to the only specialist in the area, it came back as an out of network visit. I called both the insurance and the doctor office to ask about it. The insurance said they have no record of this particular doctor ever being in their network, while the doctor office says that this is a new doctor to their clinic and is in the process of being added to all the insurances that they accept. Why can't insurance companies just contract with clinics and practices instead of individual doctors? That would solve this entire problem. At this point, I don't know if they will back date and correct the filing once the doctor is accepted into the network or not. It's just a pain.

That would be annoying. My insurance company also requires approved referrals in order to see specialists, and they will do the search for an in-network provider, if they are going to approve it. They send out a letter of referral with the doctor's name and information on it, so I hang on to that for the office visit just in case but it has an authorization number on it and also online, although I have to admit I find the insurance websites cumbersome to look through and just want the hard copy mailed to me. Does yours provide any proof of a referral? I get living far from medical specialists, I've been in that situation before in places we've lived prior to here, and it's not fun to have to drive an hour and a half or two hours to get to an referred specialist. Even here with our overabundance of medical care, there are still occasional things I run into issues with our insurance, minor, thankfully we have insurance, but, still have to go through the process of see our PCM, be referred, wait for authorization, authorization is sometimes off where I'd expect to be seen and only on the provider list, etc.

I'm having issues with my shoulder that are getting very uncomfortable to deal with, I've had shoulder issues for years and it's long documented with doctor visits, medication, have been through many rounds of physical therapy. My last round ended in December, and honestly didn't help too much, some but it came right back. Considering looking into other options now see if any steroid injections will help, hopefully more imaging, and considering surgical options now as uncomfortable as it is and the constant clicking in joint and hard to do things requiring anything overhead without the joint pain and sound.

 

[AmyAnne]

I get it. I am not doing meetings this time around, but when I first did WW I remember the kinds of crazy foods people would find that had 0 points but were full of icky preservatives and weird chemicals. DH and I buy very few processed foods because we prefer fresh ingredients. We cook from scratch at least 6 nights per week. This has been true forever, not just since starting WW last week.

I've been thinking about this, since I need to get serious about eating better (and losing the ten pounds that have crept up over the past few years). DH and I are mostly empty nesters and are pretty good about eating low-carb at home, but I need to get better about planning food to take to work so I don't end up eating stuff from the cafeteria (which is mostly not low-carb).

I'm curious, if you're not doing the meetings, what do you get from joining WW (as opposed to just following the program on your own)?

 

[pblack]

Today was payday for DH and I and i'm finally starting to see the difference that paying off majority of our credit cards has made. Most of our bills come out of these 2 paychecks (I only get paid once a month, DH gets paid twice) so we usually don't have a whole lot of money leftover after we pay everything and set aside some money for savings. In the past I've had to "borrow" against the rent our roommate gives us to pay for our normal bills instead of being able to use it to pay down debt or use it towards something fun, but i'm very excited to say that we actually had about $250 left over today after everything was paid! We would have had about $325, but I paid a little to our last big credit card and saved a little to our travel savings. This is a big step up for us since sometimes we'd have barely $100 leftover. Once I receive my roommates rent check it will go straight towards our big credit card balance and bring it down to $1500 owed.

Now i'm just sitting over here impatiently waiting on Avengers Endgame tickets to be released.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

Just finished up a big project to develop a memo on drafting data sharing agreements that my boss asked me to do last minute to help her make an important deadline. Man I am exhausted, but so glad I was able to come through because my part of the project is about $10k on the contract and we wouldn't want to miss out on that money. Plus, now I look like a hero for coming to the rescue at the last minute.

Just got the quote for the wet bar install plus backsplashes for the wet bar and kitchen. $2640, which is close to what I had anticipated at $2500. They estimate another $1200 for the fireplace, though I had some questions because the way they worded that quote was a bit confusing. If it costs that much to do the fireplace, we will probably skip that for now. I just can't justify it, even though I would love to get that done too.

We are still working on painting the basement. Almost completely done with the primer and then DH will work on painting the ceilings. Once that is finished, we can tape and then I will paint the walls. That will be the end of our major part of the project and the rest will just be coordinating with the builder, putting in the tile flooring in the fitness room, installing the closet organizers and having Home Depot come out to install the carpet once everything else is done. I still need to order the tile for the backsplashes and the rubber tile for the fitness room, but everything else is pretty much accounted for now. This has been a longish road, but I am so glad that we will soon have a completely finished basement with a giant playroom for DD.

 

[Jen and Ashwin]

I'm curious, if you're not doing the meetings, what do you get from joining WW (as opposed to just following the program on your own)?

Well, you get the app which is basically the tool that you need to follow the WW program. It has changed a lot since I did it back in college and I don't have any of those old materials anymore, so I wouldn't be able to follow the program without the app. It is also a really nice tool. Unlike back in college (when there was no app or even smartphones), the app lets me scan labels and calculates the points values for me. I can also create recipes within the app or modify recipes that they provide. There is also a social media platform within the app that is fun to check from time to time for inspiration. And the app syncs with my Apple watch and automatically calculates and tracks my fitness points.

Meetings were really helpful to me in the beginning with WW, especially since there wasn't an online alternative back then and I was just starting to understand my issues with weight. But now I feel much more about to work the program without attending them.

I tried loosing weight for a while with MyFitnessPal, but just wasn't really moving the needle, so I guess I don't mind spending the money to join WW. DH tried using MyFitnessPal too but didn't really stick with it. I think having a limited number of points each day is easier mentally for us than 1200 or 1500 calories. And with DH doing it with me, it makes it much better. Yesterday, DH took DD on a walk and he fit into a jacket that was too small for him just a short time ago. We got to cheer ourselves on for making great progress.

ETA: The app also have the function to contact a WW coach, though I haven't used that before, so can't say how good/helpful that function is.

 

[dayvewc]

That would be annoying. My insurance company also requires approved referrals in order to see specialists, and they will do the search for an in-network provider, if they are going to approve it. They send out a letter of referral with the doctor's name and information on it, so I hang on to that for the office visit just in case but it has an authorization number on it and also online, although I have to admit I find the insurance websites cumbersome to look through and just want the hard copy mailed to me. Does yours provide any proof of a referral? I get living far from medical specialists, I've been in that situation before in places we've lived prior to here, and it's not fun to have to drive an hour and a half or two hours to get to an referred specialist. Even here with our overabundance of medical care, there are still occasional things I run into issues with our insurance, minor, thankfully we have insurance, but, still have to go through the process of see our PCM, be referred, wait for authorization, authorization is sometimes off where I'd expect to be seen and only on the provider list, etc.

I'm having issues with my shoulder that are getting very uncomfortable to deal with, I've had shoulder issues for years and it's long documented with doctor visits, medication, have been through many rounds of physical therapy. My last round ended in December, and honestly didn't help too much, some but it came right back. Considering looking into other options now see if any steroid injections will help, hopefully more imaging, and considering surgical options now as uncomfortable as it is and the constant clicking in joint and hard to do things requiring anything overhead without the joint pain and sound.

Yeah, I guess the problem was that they didn't approve a specific provider, just the visit through the clinic. It's just all a big mess.
I find it amusing that they don't contract with clinics or practices or hospitals, but the approve services through them.

I had an MRI done on my back last week (in network, thankfully), I've been laughing since I read the results.
I'm paraphrasing slightly, but there is a paragraph that says "There is an observable cyst measuring 2.5 cm by 1.7 cm that, in retrospect, was visible in the comparison images from 2 years ago, but is much more visible in these images."
Basically, as I understand it, HEY! There's something there we should have seen 2 years ago when we first did this, but we missed it. OOPSIE!! Our Bad!

I go back to get the 'official' results explained in a couple more weeks, so I'll try to remember to ask about it then.

Just trying to swim and not sink for the moment.