My company decided to change insurance companies, effective January 1st. Treating our son and ourselves this past month has been a learning experience. Back during open enrollment times, the wife and I decided we were going to middle of the road insurance (out of three choices) where before we had chosen the best offered. The only real consequence we could see was a $100 higher deductible, and we really wanted more money coming in per pay period.

We also decided not to manage a flex spending account this year. For those not familiar, a flex account is money deducted out of your check, tax-free, that sits in an account earmarked for extra health-related items like dental work(other than cleanings), contacts and/or glasses, some over-the-counter medications like cold or allergy medicine, etc. A couple caveats: You’ve got to front the money for these things and then submit the reciepts for reimbursement. Also, any money still in the account unclaimed at the end of the year is LOST to you. USE IT OR LOSE IT.

Some companies put your flex money on a debit card; ours never did. We decided not to deal with the account this year for many reasons:

1. Healthcare reforms mean 70% of the medicines that qualified for reimbursement in 2010 would now require a doctor-issued prescription if I wanted my money back.

2. This past year I logged the amount of time spent on organizing, scanning, faxing, emailing reciepts and checking and double-checking that refunds had been posted to our checking account. The amount of hours spent doing that could have brought in enough money for new tires for my car had I spent it freelancing.

3. Last year we contributed the maximum amount, got a ton of dental work done, bought more than enough contacts and pairs of glasses, yet still found ourselves scrambling in December to spend the rest of the money. We bought even more ridiculous amounts of contact solution, “gift” medications to send to my family overseas and  meds our son won’t need for another year and a half.

4.  Not contributing to a Flex account PLUS choosing the slightly less awesome insurance gets us to our goal of a significant amount more take-home dollars per paycheck.

Fast forward to 2011 . . .

January 7th the wife and I needed to use a walk-in clinic when we contracted strep throat and bronchitis respectively, simultaneously.  The one we’d been using now cost 5 times as much so we drove across town and went to the cheaper, crappier one.  My wife is still having symptoms.

My wife has also spent 8 hours so far researching what physical therapist, private, clinic-based or otherwise, we will be able to afford now that the one we’d been seeing for 7 months has become prohibitively expensive.  I still don’t understand all the details, but the first question we’ve been able to answer is: YES, this would have happened even if we’d selected the best insurance. It isn’t the level of insurance that’s the problem, its the different provider.

This new company has more than a few differences . . . has different rules with how services are billed and whether or not they’ll cover them at what amounts . . . its kind of a mess.  So the irony is that the time (money) we thought we were saving by not screwing with a flex account is now being spent re-learning how to manage (not waste money on) services with this new insurance.  We’re still trying to find an in-network, covered therapist that bills as an office visit rather than as outpatient services AND is close enough to our home to get there, have therapy, and get back at a time conducive to the child getting his meals and naps on a decent schedule.  This whole situation just rubs me the wrong way.

At least I have new tires.

The past few days I’ve been reflecting on how lucky I am.  A recent visitor to this site pointed out how it is clear from the little details I write about (saving for plane tickets, cheap Christmas gifts, etc.) that my family and I are not truly poor.  He’s right.  At least we were ABLE to see our extended family and give gifts at all.  We’ve gained quite a bit of ground since I started this site back in 04-05, when I stole condiments and toilet paper from fast food restaurants, worked 3 jobs, drove a car without heat or functional wiring and never had enough to pay the winter heating bills.  Yesterday I put in a full day at the corporate grind but was able to come home around 5, eat homemade soup and take a quick walk to the park with the family.  Sure, I had to put in extra work hours after the family went to bed.  Sure, we live paycheck to paycheck when business is slow, but things could be so much worse.

Some examples:

My uncle is a butcher.  This used to be a well-paid skilled trade but with the advent of Wal-marts and the like his hours/pay/benefits were increasingly cut.  When his father gifted him the rest of the money he needed to finally have hip replacement surgery (after 3 years of a painful limp) he was laid off, in part due to the time off he required to recover from surgery.  His daughter-in-law’s family of five lives in his basement since they can’t afford to live anywhere else while the household’s single earner looks for full-time work.  They pool resources for food and advise their son against borrowing money to go to college.

A friend inherited her mother’s home, the home she grew up in, but can’t afford to pay the mortgage.  She is trying to figure out how to create a makeshift kitchen upstairs so she can rent out the second story.  This way she could pool that money with what she makes in her minimum wage jobs and possibly stay in the house.  Single and without a working vehicle until her friend can fix it, she has to hitch rides to work and leave her 6 and 8 year old sons at home all day, compulsively checking in with them by phone when they’re not in school.  This is the only way she can put food on the table.

Sometimes what you learn to do when desperate becomes habit and continues to help save money: I stopped stealing toilet paper but still take home extra condiments and napkins.  I do my own car maintenance.  Friends know me to accept any free stuff I think I can use.

My uncle returns any clothing gifts if he knows they’re from somewhere he can buy food instead.  He figures that when he DESPERATELY needs new jeans instead of kind-of needing them, he’ll look for some at Goodwill or Salvation Army first.   He also only eats out about three times a year; I know one of those times is on his birthday.  I wish he didn’t need to do this.  At the same time, I admire his ability to plan ahead.  How would the world be different if everyone stopped eating out and sold or returned items they wouldn’t use?

One of my friend’s jobs is at a resale shop.  She looks for better work but never wants to leave entirely, in part because of the discounted and free clothes/furniture/household items she can get for her family.  She frequents the day-old produce and baked goods.  She haggles anytime she can.

For now, I can pay my mortgage and carefully scrape together money for extras.  If the time comes again where I can’t do either . . . I’m even more grateful to have family and friends.

Feeling a little guilty about going so long without a post, yet the time with family was all worth it.

Due to our family’s careful budgeting before the holidays we were able to have a modest vacation with small splurges on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve.  This trip, we spent the majority of our money on meal preparations and gas (driving across the state to see everyone).  Unfortunately, a few relatives have been in poor health.  Much of our time in Michigan was spent visiting with them in places still on dial up or even without internet all together.  I’m shocked at how little this bothered me – I’m glad our time with family was spent, for the most part, without digital distraction. We all enjoyed reminiscing, reading, sledding  and just catching up with everyone.

One thing I didn’t plan for: The wife, son and I all coming home sick.  We had formula and baby food but almost no “regular” food in the house so we ate canned soup and rice and beans for three days until one of us (the wife) was well enough to go to the store.  I had a chance to watch the documentary FatHead over the holiday break and although I take some of the information with a grain of salt, I accept the fact that, as far as nutrition is concerned, fat is not the enemy.  We’re going to tweak our diets and grocery budgets to include more fatty (aka cheaper) cuts of meat while being just as mindful of calorie count and serving size as we always were and see what kind of an impact it has.  I’m betting the richer flavor will help me be satisfied eating a bit smaller quantity.