TheBanyanTree: January Thaw

[Margaret R. Kramer]

There’s a lot of melting going on.  We’re caught in the Pacific winds and
the warm air is rushing over us and melting all our hard won snow.  The
moderation will ease up later this week and we’ll be back to more seasonable
temperatures.  And there is more snow on the way.

I feel such a relief now that Christmas is over.  It’s so nice not to have
Christmas related things to do.  We made it with a cash only Christmas, we
spent approximately $1,000 including money sent to Ray’s family.  I probably
spent an extra $200 - $300 on groceries.  This is the first year I’m
tracking Christmas expenses.  Most of our Christmas went on credit cards in
past years and I would bet our Christmas costs reached $2,000 - $3,000 or
more, because using credit makes spending money imaginary.

So when I had my appointment with the checkbook yesterday, I found that
money is really tight this month, as we’re playing catch-up.  Our heating
costs have soared compared to last year and that is definitely hurting us.
But I’ll be better prepared next year for Christmas expenses.  I’m planning
to open a special Christmas account at the bank and by Christmas time next
year, I should have that $1,000 saved.

We’re still catching up on medical bills.  Ray’s last PET scan was over
$10,000 and we’re paying a portion of it after Medicare.  His four radiation
therapy treatments cost almost $90,000!  Can you imagine! We should be able
to take the medical deduction on our taxes this year.

I added Ray to my health insurance for 2008.  He does have the VA, which has
small co-payments, but I hate going there for emergencies, because he would
die before he got seen by someone.  He has Medicare, but there are
deductibles and coinsurance.  And now he’ll have my insurance, which should
pick up where Medicare leaves off, as long as it’s not pre-existing.  But he
’ll have drug coverage through me, in case he’s prescribed drugs outside of
the VA.  That should help with our medical expenses going forward.

So you can see we’re caught up in the health care crunch – more out of
pocket health care expenses.  And those out of pocket expenses are almost
un-payable when someone has a catastrophic illness.

We need a national health care plan.  No one should ever have to decide
whether to get medical care or buy groceries.  We need a plan with a level
playing field, just like Medicare.  Everyone gets the same coverage.
Employers don’t want to pay for health care anymore.  Now that the courts
have ruled that employers aren’t liable for health care for retirees,
especially over 65, watch how fast the employers stop dropping retiree
coverage.  The baby boomers are coming and no one wants to pay their
expenses.

In spite of money being very tight, I feel much better about down-sizing our
expenses instead trying to keep up with the Jones’.  For the first time in
several years, we’re living within our means.  I feel better cooking a meal
at home versus going out to eat.  I feel good because we have two cars that
are paid for – no car loans.  We have a mortgage, but no home equity loan.
We’re not robbing Peter to pay Paul.  I enjoy thinking of inexpensive things
to do rather than spending lots of money for a few hours of entertainment.

I miss having travel money, but if we can get through the next couple of
years saving and playing it close to the vest, we’ll have that money to
travel again.

I think I have a high level of fear about money, because our economy is
crashing.  I’m older, so it might be harder for me to get another job that
pays anything.  Heck, I can’t even get a raise from where I’m working now!
I now know first hand how devastating catastrophic medical expenses can be.
I have nightmares about losing the house or losing my job.  I feel like I’ve
gotten by pretty easy and my time is coming to suffer.  Maybe I’m being
paranoid . . .

But I’ve been dirt poor before and I still have the skills to hunker down
and ride it out.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com

I think in terms of the day's resolutions, not the year's.
~Henry Moore