I started this blog today for many reasons. There is an old saying that through adversity you can triumph so that is why I am here. I will give you a little background on me first that will explain to you my intentions. It is a little long winded, I promise my posts will notbethis long. I just want everyone to know me and why I am doing this today.
I have been married for almost 12 years to my wonderful husband Carl. We have 2 daughters Sierra 9 and Ashley 6. We are your typical middle class family with a twist. I worked in customer service for over 15 years. My husband, by trade, is a Union Bricklayer. The economy basically took that stability out of our lives. I have been a stay at home Mom since my oldest was born. I have ran a daycare business out of my home, been a preschool teacher and owned my own embroidery business to help make ends meet. He has been laid off since February 2009. At first we did okay. He already had a second job which has now become his primary job. The crunch has really started to hit us this past year. We lost our awesome medical, dental and vision coverage last August. We could not afford to pay the cobra. Fortunately my husband is also retired Army, therefore we do have insurance through Tricare with a 3,000 deductible for heatlhcare only. We thought we can do that. Last December things really started to unravel. Carl also has a kidney stone disease. He can be in the hospital from a day or longer it just depends. Last year he was admitted December 3 and was not released until December 23. He had 4 surgeries in 3 weeks. If you know how most of the middle class lives it's no work no pay. I am unable to concentrate on just my husband being sick , all of the other worries begin to take over. We are still trying to work it all out. We are still behind on almost everything, we are stressed to the max and feel as if we are running in circles. Once we get our heads above water, a tsunami comes and knocks us back under.
Yesterday, we had to take our daughter to the dentist(no insurance), cringing as I walking the door. The Doctor tells me that she has an abscess tooth and needs to go to a specialist. I spoke with the dental hygienist, who knows we do not have insurance and she advised me to call first to make sure that they will take a payment plan, she said that it is usually $1,000.00 to start. My eyes well up. How am I going to do this? I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I get home to find out that my husband has another kidney stone. I go downstairs to start making phone calls. I called the specialist office and explained that my daughter had an abscess tooth. She immediately starts taking all of my information. She gets to the dreaded question " who is your insurance through?" I cringe again and tell her that we do not have dental insurance. Her whole demeanor changed. I asked her how much something like this typically cost. With a snotty attitude she said that she could not be sure until they saw her. I asked if they had a payment plan. She said that the procedure would take 3 appointments and that the only thing that she could do was collect 3 payments of $334.00 at each appointment. I wanted to crawl under a table. I asked her if she could refer me to a dental clinic that might be cheaper. Her attitude grew even more snotty, like I was wasting her time. She said that we could call the the dental clinic at SLU but that it would take forever to get an appointment. She then rushed me off the phone. At this point I am now crying,my daughter is in pain and we don't have the money to fix it. My wheels started to turn, I searched and searched the Internet for discounted dental clinics or children's programs. There wasn't much out there for what I needed. I called back to Ms. Snooty to find out how much the initial consultation is ,$87.00. She then reluctantly referred me to a program where you can apply for a short term loan for situations like this. My husband went to bed and I went to the front porch for some cocktails and reflection. Praying to God to help me figure this out. Still awake at 12:30 am Carl's awakes and tells me we have to go to the hospital. I get the kids out of bed, take him to the hospital come home and brood some more.
When I woke up this morning I called the college. They were significantly cheaper, but I still needed to figure out where that would come from. I decided that I would try to get the loan and go from there. I applied for the loan and was accepted. So I call the specialist back to set up the appointment and advised her that I had been approved for the $1000.00 that she had stated it would be yesterday. She said " I really can't tell you how much it is going to be until we see her. It could be anywhere from 200.00 to 1200.00." ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I asked if the 87.00 included in any of the prices that she throwing out to me. She said as long as the procedure is started that day. I said let's just make the appointment. So I still don't know how much this is going to be but I have to take care of my daughter.
Finally, this brings me to this blog. I got into the shower finally about 12:00pm, school starts tomorrow, husband having surgery at 2:45, I am babysitting today and on the verge of a breakdown. In the shower my mind works fast. The fact of the matter is that are a lot of us out there who have been getting along just fine until the economy crashed. Now we are all in unfamiliar territory. We have always had dental and vision and all the perks. We have never had to ask for a payment plan or if there are programs available for those without insurance. It is very clear to me that there are not very many people out there willing to give you the information either. You practically have to beg for it or spend hours on the Internet and phone trying to figure it all out. You will now have a place to turn for almost every situation. If I do not have the answer I will find it for you. I will be giving advice on all aspects of saving during these trying times. Many of us hide behind our doors feeling as if we are alone and that everyone else is doing so much better. When in reality we are all in the same boat. It is time that we come together as a community and as human beings to offer advice and help to one another.We can all make through this!
I hope to help you to save money no matter what your situation. We should not be ashamed. This isn't because of bad planning, misjudgement, ignorance or laziness. As my Mother would say " It's just life". My husband and I work hard everyday to keep what we have. We are not looking for a hand out just places to turn to help us save money where we can. This blog is available to anyone who chooses to participate. If you need just need someone to talk to, if you are looking for assistance or discounts, or if you would like to add your own advice. I hope that this blog will become all I dream it to be and more. I welcome you all to The Secrets of Saving.
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