Fabulous Financials

Lots of random thoughts, so I’ll do a random update post:

Unexpected Money

When I filed my taxes this year, I had to claim the relocation benefits I received from my last employer as income, but I couldn’t write off the relocation expenses as deductions. Weird, I know, employer requirement, hard to explain. Anyhoo, because of this, I had to file a separate form with my employer and they have a process to evaluate what my tax liability would have been without the extra income. Any excess between what I paid and what I should have paid is sent to me via a refund from the employer, not Uncle Sam. Long story, short. I received the unexpected refund this week. Over $1,200.

Emergency Fund

As of today, I made the final transfer to meet my $20k e-fund goal! Because of the unexpected refund above, the balance now sits at $20.7k. I also set up a $100 bi-weekly payroll allotment for the e-fund. All extra above $20k will be earmarked for “non-retirement investing.” When it reaches $3k, I will open that long awaited Vanguard account, then redirect all extra money to to the new account.

Payday

My payroll problems were finally corrected. Benefits, tax exemptions, allotments, 401k match, retro payments/refunds, etc. - everything is kosher now. Thank da lawd! July has 3 pay periods and I plan to spend the extra cash on my rental property.

Medical Expenses

As of yesterday, the braces are completely off. BabyGirl was given two sets of retainers plus a night guard. I also made the final $250 payment, a total of ~$4,000 for 2 years of orthodontia care. Her teeth are beautiful, but with all the back and forth visits, I’m glad it’s over!

Precious’ vet bill this year was $248.69, which is $65+ more than previous years ($185 in 2007 and $177 in 2006). I’ve never had an annual vet bill more than $200, so I asked for a line by line itemized report of this year and last year. Although the secretary tried to explain the difference, I had to see for myself. About 10% was due to regular inflation that occurs every year, but one procedure was an additional $40 by itself. WTF! The reason? They send the culture to an outside lab for testing/examination and they have to pay extra for shipping/transportation expenses. In other words = FUEL!! I tell ya, this fuel crisis is hurting everything!

Car Insurance

Due to pure laziness, I didn’t research for better rates. My new 6 month (Jul-Dec) premium is $409.10 and it’s due next week. I thought this was a savings from the $468 that I used to pay, but I forgot it was reduced to $406.30 last December when I increased my deductible from $500 to $1,000. So in essence, this 6 month premium increased by $2.80. Not a lot of money, but it definitely shouldn’t be going in the wrong direction. That’s what I get for being lazy. I’m going to pay the premium in full this time, instead of the monthly payment plan. Other than saving the $1 processing fee, I just want one less bill to worry about every month.

Rental Property

My tenants are moving out this month and I’m meeting two potential tenants tomorrow morning for a scheduled tour. One is coming at 10 and the other at 11. It’s a 2 hour drive and I’m not looking forward to it. After the last tour, I’m meeting a girlfriend for lunch. She’s offered to show the property for me in the future, so I won’t have to drive down there again. But if the property isn’t rented by the end of this month, I’m turning it over to a property management company.

Edit to Add: Thank you all for bringing the blog problem to my attention. I appreciate all of the emails. I don’t know what happened to the rest of the post or why it was cut off HOURS after I published. In the original post, I provided a few updates about my summer vacation plans and my feelings about BabyGirl’s summer away, but it’s gone now and I don’t know how to fix it.

While I’m on the subject, I haven’t been blogging regularly because I’ve had quite a few computer issues lately. I don’t know if I have a computer virus or if my blog has been hacked - maybe both. So much for the Norton All-in-One Computer Protection, huh? My spreadsheets are damaged, which means all of my expense tracking and net worth details for the entire year are GONE. I’ve tried to do a system restore and file recovery, to no avail. I also keep getting “404 errors” when I publish or update posts on my blog. And some evenings, I can’t get online at all or the “high speed” connection is extremely slow. The latter may be attributed to the terrible weather we’ve had in the past few days, but trying to get online or attempting to write a blog post is challenging.

It’ll take weeks to get my spreadsheets back in order and I’ll need help with the blog issue, but everything will be fixed - eventually. If it aint one thing, it’s another. But eh, so is life. *shrug*

Blog wit’cha soon.

photo credit: Jaye_Elle

For the past three years, May has become annual exam month for my entire family. I visit my OB-GYN, BabyGirl visits our PCP (as of this year, also the OB-GYN), and Precious has her wellness visit/annual vaccines at the Vet. Needless to say, medical expenses in May exceed any other month of the year. So far, I’ve spent $356 in medical expenses, which include co-pays, Rx, and OTCs. Now that the month is over, I want to share how I saved money on Rx.

Information Gathering: When I stopped by the pharmacy to pick up two Rx - one for myself and one for BG - the cashier said my total was $100. What?!?! Wait a minute. I already pay $91 for premiums every pay period and $30 for each specialist visit. I could not understand why I had to pay so much for an Rx, which is usually $7-$20 each.

I asked the pharmacist if there were any generics available and she said no. Now what the heck kind of special medication is this with no generic version? Then I asked for the name of the meds so I could go home and look them up online. When I logged into my insurance provider’s website, I searched for the Rx name, its purpose, side effects, alternatives, etc. After about 10 minutes, I found exactly what I was looking for…and a bonus…the primary active ingredients. Armed with information and a better understanding, I made a few phone calls.

First up, I called my insurance company. I wanted to know WHY my out of pocket costs (OOPC) were $50 for each Rx. I was told because the meds were “non-formulary” which is just another word to mean “not on the HMO preferred list so you’re on your own sucka!” Yea…ok.

First Rx: Then I called my doctor’s office to explain the situation. I asked the nurse if there was a reason the doctor prescribed THAT specific med. I explained that my insurance company had a “preferred med list” and there was another med with the same % of the primary active ingredient. I also asked if she could call in an alternative Rx, which would make my out of pocket costs $10 vs. $50. We discussed the purpose of the original med and why my doctor preferred that specific brand. I don’t have a medical degree, so I was not about to press the issue, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. After hearing the hesitation in my voice, the nurse asked:

Nurse: How close are you to the office?

Single Ma: I’m at home right now. About 15 minutes away without traffic. Why?

Nurse: We might have a sample here in the office. Let me check.

Single Ma: [on hold]

Nurse: Yes, we have a sample. Will that solve the problem for you?

Single Ma: Of course.

Nurse: We close at 2pm today. Stop by to pick it up when you can.

Single Ma: Great, thanks!

OOPC: $50 –> $0

Second Rx: I called BG’s doctor and had a similar conversation. They didn’t offer a sample, but they agreed that one of the alternatives would work just fine - reducing my out of pocket costs from $50 to $10. The nurse called in the alternative Rx and I was all set.

While waiting for the prescription to be filled, I browsed on my insurance provider’s website. I discovered that a 30 day supply would cost $10 but a 90 day supply would cost $20. Hmm…another $10 savings. So I called the pharmacy to make sure they received the alternative Rx and asked if they could fill a 90 day supply. I was told the doctor would have to authorize it because some meds have to be restricted. Otherwise, they could only dispense a 30 day supply.

You know what I did right? I called BG’s doctor back! LOL I asked them to call the pharmacy again and specify a 90 supply with 3 refills vs. a 30 day supply with 11 refills. She said no problem, and within minutes, it was done. Great!

OOPC: $150 for 90 day supply ($50/30 days) –> $20 for 90 day supply

This experience taught me a very important lesson. In order to save money on Rx, I should:

1. Understand the Rx
2. Understand the details of my insurance coverage
3. Ask for FREE samples first
4. If #3 is N/A, ask for the generic alternative
5. Never be afraid to ask the doctor to explain their med choices

One of my girlfriends thought I was out of my mind to question WHY my doctor prescribed a certain med, then had the nerve to ask for an alternative. LOL I told her these doctors are “practicing” but I’m not a guinea pig. Besides, this is MY body, MY money, and ultimately MY decision - so I have a right to know, ask questions, and understand. And you do too!

At the end of the day, we received the appropriate meds and saved $180.

photo credit: mag3737

After nearly 2 years, BabyGirl is having her braces removed this morning.

After nearly $4,000 out of pocket, I am exhaling this morning.

Let’s hope her pain and my money were worth the sacrifice for a beautiful smile.

Update: Top brackets off, bottom in 4 more weeks. 2 sets of retainers, $500. Damn!

I’m writing this post as a memory for what is yet to come. Today was the first day I’ve seen $4.00+ gas prices in my neck of the woods.

Regular: $3.75 (same station was just $3.72 on Monday)

Plus: $3.89

Premium: $4.02

I stopped to fill up this morning and the total price exceeded $47.

My little Honda Accord. Ugh!

It’s $3.72 where I live. How’s it look in your neck of the woods?