Insurance sm

Pet Insurance [2008-11-09]
I have some pet insurance. It is $17 a month for each dog. I figure, for $200 a year, if the dog lives to be 15 that would be a total of $3000 over the life of the dog. Which can be less than the cost of a single operation. So I got the insurance. Andy had a minor surgery (removal of keratocanthoma) that came to $600, including $200 to have his teeth cleaned (not covered). After the deductible I got a check from the company for $300. I was pretty happy with that.

Off subject - Many insurance companie won't insure - sm [2008-11-09]
your home for certain breeds, Pitbulls and Rotweilers are two of them, also Siberian Huskies and German shepards in others. I have had huskys for years and they are the friendliest dogs in the world though they look fierce since they closely resemble wolves and are probably the closest domesticated dog to a wolf. It is unfair to the breed to mark it as dangerous because of its looks. My dog does get aggressive around other dogs but he is the Alpha male here, but with people he is just fine. I have the only husky in the world that does not bark or howl, he talks on rare occasion. The breed doesn't usually don't bark much as it is, but they love to howl. We have another dog but a female lab and the two of them are fine together. While I like pitbulls and I have known a few to be very good dogs, I will always be on my guard around them as you never know what might trigger it to become aggressive. Dogs can feel threatened over the such little things and cause such heartbreak in the process.

Increase your insurance deductibles [2008-10-21]
Build up an emergency fund and increase your auto and homeowner insurance premiums to $1,000. You’ll save hundreds per year in premium.

Insurance and pitbulls [2008-10-06]
Yea insurance companies have a black breed list that usually include Pitbulls, German Shepherds, Boxers & Chow Chows. Some pitbulls have that aggressive nature in them that can be brought out, but you have to trace back to the breeder & get the history of that dog's mom/dad's temperment.

For the pet owners: Is pet insurance worth getting? [2008-08-21]
I know there are a lot of pet owners on the Gab board so I thought I would ask. I am wondering if pet insurance is worth getting? I have one 7-year-old kitty, a 2-year-old Pomeranian, and a 4-year-old chihuahua mix. Princess, my pom, broke her foot a couple of months ago by jumping about two feet to the concrete from my lap. I usually don't take her outside, and I think she just landed wrong. It cost me about $700 get her to the vet and have a splint put on and luckily it healed and she didn't need pins. I am really thinking about it because I know pets can get pretty expensive when you have to keep taking them to the vet. Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

Insurance for Pets [2008-08-21]
I wonder if there is insurance that covers illness in addition to accidents. We had a dog who had Cushing's Disease and the treatment cost us a small fortune.

any insurance co that pays preventative??? [2008-07-21]
I am seriously thinking of switching from BC/BS as i You If you know of a major insurance company that i might look into, please let me know. thanks.

are your taxes and insurance in with [2008-07-07]
the house note? By the time you have to pay for these out of pocket, will you realize much difference; I just my thinking. DO NOT TOUCH THE 401K; you will be horribly taxed on it as income. Actually, you guys are not that bad off debt-wise, know it sounds charming, I love rock houses. If you have land, I just keep on keeping on. Good luck.

Her insurance didn't refuse to pay [2008-07-02]
I I asked very pointed questions, to which she either snapped at me or evaded answering. I said this before, but I think it bears repeating - an $800 hospital bill doesn The bite wasn I I think the OP is trying to make a mountain of a mole hill to make a few bucks. That Now, here I also think she knows she probably wouldn It If her daughter was so traumatized by it all, why hasn She was more concerned about setting up a college fund with the money she would win in court. The counseling was only an afterthought. If she wants to sue, by all means sue - after all, it is the American way. But don It all comes down to money. Read my other posts and her replies. I just happen to believe in calling something what it is, not sugarcoating it or beating around the bush. This poster knows what she Sorry, can't do that here.

Do they have homeowners insurance? sm [2008-07-01]
That's who I would have filed the claim with.

disagree. Their insurance should be secondary sm [2008-07-01]
to neighbor's homeowners and possibly their homeowners - and a report should have been made by the hospital/doctor's office on the dog bite and the dog impounded for 10 or so days - this is all a legal process

Insurance sm [2008-07-01]
It sounds like you're a great friend and neighbor! Our neighbor never gave us their insurance information. Our situation is a different because in addition to physical scars, our daughter has emotional scars from this dog bite that will take a long time to recover from. I did some research on the dog bite law. Sometimes insurance companies will cancel the homeowners policy if there is a dog bite on the property. If they don I think this is why they didn We believed them when they said they would take care of everything. I guess we're just too nice!

but you do have insurance, it's the same [2008-07-01]
I didn It It

Yes, insurance covered it. [2008-06-05]
There was a pre-certification process, which included photographs. Ugh. It took about a month to get the approval. It was 100% covered through my insurance.

Did insurance cover this or how much? [2008-06-04]
nm

Obviously your on the side of insurance companies [2008-04-24]
Maybe you should educate yourself on insurance company profits rising via higher premiums despite more claims being denied due to risk. The problem is not the supposed risks, its the corporate greed. No matter how much you pay for insurance, a sizable portion of it goes to salary someone to find (and legislate)loopholes so they wonanyone Go ahead and buy into their propaganda that its other customerscausing theproblem, not their CEOThen see how much they appreciate your loyaltynext time you file a claim.

Sick of disability/insurance fraud? [2008-04-23]
I am. I II am minding my business, my tax money and my future. I thinknames of individuals receiving federal/state/VA disability funds should be made public. I I Oh yes, I know itback pain and riding his motorcyle. Common sense would not hurt - how about anyone receiving disability income specifically for a back injury should not be issueda motorcycle license/insurance. I'd appreciate hearing any measures you think would work. Please save the indignation over loss of privacy - I I If you don I hope it does not happen to you.

I agree - insurance companies are in it for big bucks (sm) [2008-04-23]
Even if they made the obese pay extra they wouldn't give the rest of us a discount anyway. Who are you kidding? Do you really think they are on our side any more than the pharmaceutical companies? Do you know much about managed care and how it affects our industry? Insurance companies make a mint and they try to share as little of it as possible.

Obviously, you haven't had much experience with insurance. [2008-04-23]
You should really educate yourself a little bit on the subject before you start with the old while we line!

cobra insurance q [2008-03-19]
i have the option to have cobra insurance but have not done so. As luck would have it now i am sick. If i call tomorrow and pay for the cobra insurance will they cover me if I go to the doctor the next day? is there a waiting period or pre-existing condition clause? TIA

you may wish to consult with your insurance company...sm [2008-02-19]
to find out how high your insurance is going to leap...she Perhaps she can pay the difference, but itAnd with all her activities, where will she find the time to squeeze in a job? In the state we live in you must havea licensed driver over 21 with anyone under 18who has a learner permit for 6 months before they can even take theactualdriving test. Once they got their license then they had to go to a driving class mandated by the state...(under 18 driver Itsafely negotiate the freeway or interstates (and donThey That Teach her as much as you can before you let her drive. Cat

Are you sure you have the traditional insurance? [2008-01-23]
You won't believe the number of providers who try to balance-bill their contracted HMO patients. Have you called your insurance company to see what you really are responsible for?If you have the old type of health insurance and the provider is a participating member, you may be responsible for 20% of the usual and customary (UC) and not the entire billing charge. How are you feeling? You sure donpayments, you should be OK. Just don't let them talk you into a large monthly payment. Be honest with yourself and agree with what YOU can afford. As for extra help, it depends on where you live. Are you the only person working in your household? You might not like the idea, but you might need assistance from your state.....this is nothing to be embarrassed about. It is your right as a US citizen. Go for it! You have already gone through onenightmare, at this time you don't need a provider pressing you for more money then they already have received. Sure, they are due their money, but they are due their fair share. Hospitals and even some doctors overcharge so much! Why don't you request an itemized bill...then go over it with a fine tooth comb. You might just find some charges that were added to your bill by mistake. Get well!

I type obturator sling procedures all the time. Insurance [2007-12-18]
xx

Insurance [2007-12-17]
Did you start a claim with the existing insurance? This happened to me, I had to do the cobra until my husband's new insurance kicked in, and they accepted the pregnancy not problem. I would call your current carrier and ask curiously. Some insurances dont have a problem as long as there was no gap without insureance. It so happened that the new insurance picked us up in just 30 days and we only paided the cobra for one month. I think when it comes to pregnancy, pre-existing does not apply, as long as there was no gap. Check it out. It was awhile ago for me.

Ex-spouse on health insurance? [2007-11-09]
My daughter just told me about a proposal her ex has suggested. He is close toa thousanddollars in arrears for back child support. Now he wants to negotiate a deal where my daughter will accept about half of what he owes in exchange for his adding her to his job health insurance. She is self-employed and has not had health insurance coverage since their divorce. I don Since he has lied about so many things I don Even if he could add her, what would keep him from dropping her for spite if there are problems down the road? Any thoughts? Thank you.

My husband is oblivious to our finances [2008-11-20]
Sometimes that It sounds like maybe your husband is too proud to tell his family that he can I I would suggest talking to the leader of his family, the person who hosts the get-togethers, and let them know that you do the finances and you just don It doesn I would certainly let your husband know that you are going to say something beforehand, but he doesn I For birthdays, we take the time to call and wish that person a happy birthday. We don My brother lives about 2 hours away, so we don Unless his family is loaded, I'm sure they'll understand. As for the glasses, I just took my son for new glasses yesterday. The eye doctor said he needs a new prescription, but I asked if just the lenses could be replaced and the frames reused. He said absolutely. Our insurance covers new frames, lenses and the exam, but my son has a tendency to break things at the most inopportune time. We just bought him these glasses in June because he broke them and according to the insurance, it wasn Now that he is eligible for everything new, we asked for just the lenses. If he breaks his frames later in the year, we can just get new frames (covered by insurance) and pop the lenses in. The only problem there would be is they discontinue his frames because the new lenses probably wouldn So, something to consider here is, if your stepchild needs a new prescription and already has glasses, then I would check with your lawyer to see if you can just buy new lenses for the current frames. The frames are what normally cost the most anyway.

Sorry you are feeling so down (sm) [2008-11-20]
First of all, relax. You need to go to a doctor and get on an antidepressant? No insurance? If you can get the money to go to the doc for one visit, you can get them to prescribe an antidepressant that is on Walmart's $4 list and get it for $4 a month. Call United Way and see if they can direct you where to get help with your rent. Don't worry about whether or not you have cable, you'll be okay without that unless you need it for your job? Don't worry about not being able to give Christmas gifts...just explain that you don't have the money. People will understand and your grandson can have it explained to him. I have the same isolation issues that you do because of the job. Can you go to a temp agency and see about getting a job outside of your house so you can be around people more? There is a website called Exercisefriends.com where you can meet people in your area who want exercise buddies, maybe just someone who is starting out trying to walk every day or something like that (not sure what your fitness level is). Or advertise on Craigslist for a walking buddy (but be careful of course when first meeting the person). I met one of my best friends this way and have known her for 4 years now. If you want an email buddy feel free to email me. I think everyone is struggling right now and it is hard. I would be happy to have you vent to me via email all you want. :-)

I've been there [2008-11-20]
I have been in your shoes. Last year my husband died unexpectedly at age 56, I literally woke up one morning and he was dead in our bed next to me (aneurysm). That started a downhill spiral . . . . since then I I canhow depressed III am working now and starting to pull myself up out of the dark hole I've been in. The poster above is right. You need to see a doctor. I found out that most major health systems have programs for those of us with no insurance and no money. Call their financial offices and just tell them point blank you need to be seen and you have no insurance. They will not refuse you. I found a clinic near my house that is part of a largehospital. I was able to see a doctor for a physicalandget my annual Pap and mammogram done at no charge. They gave me samples of my medications (I have asthma) for a few months until I had insurance again. They prescribed an antidepressant which worked wonders and they gave me that as samples each month. Move closer to your family. You My family has been supportive of all the decisions I Spend time with yourgrandchild, kids can make you feel so much better.If you I did. I didn Forjust myselfI was given 174.00 a month for food and it helped outtremendously. I know it You may be hesitant to take free medical care or ask for food benefits, but remember THIS IS ONLY TEMPORARY and you will get back on your feet. It may take a while, but you will make it. Good luck to you.

Has This Ever Happened To Any Of You Here? [2008-11-13]
This was unreal...I had made a trip to the store for cat food (before I became cat food LOL!) and while slowing down behind a car that was turning, I got hit in the back. No real damage, just a scruff on the bumper of my Subaru Forester, and a bit of a blow to my ego, but the dang kid who hit me was texting her boyfriend while driving and obviously not paying attention to the road. She was only 19 years old! Holy cow! I got out, she got out...still texting. She said, Wait a minute, and continued texting. I couldn't believe it. I have that hands-free voice-activated cellphone setup in my Forester that DH set up for me, so I got back in and called the police department. If she hadn't been so rude, I might have let it go, but when she pulled that, I decided to teach her a lesson. She was horrified to learn that I called the cops while she was texting. She actually yelled at me, saying, My Dad and on and on. I just stood there and looked at her. The cop got there, threw the book at her: failure to yield, following too closely, texting while driving (it's a law here now -- you can't do that) and she has a nasty fine and her insurance is definitely going to go up. She was horrified. Maybe she'll think twice before texting while driving again...before she causes real damage and people get hurt. So thatHang up and drive! Has this ever happened to any of you?

Actually .... [2008-11-13]
You should always call for an accident report whether you think you or your vehicle is hurt or not. You could have neck pain the next day, or discover the car damage was much worse than you originally thought, and you'd need the accident report to file with your insurance. So, she had no right to get mad at you anyway. Plus she was a twit, so you were in the right again! lol ... And if Daddy is going to kill her, it probably wasn't her first time being caught at it.

Got hit from behind at a stop sign [2008-11-13]
Got out of the car and went back to see that the car that hit me hadlo more damage than mine. Went up to the car and nobody would roll down a window, three guys all on their cellphones (at that time anyway) so I stood there, got out my cellphone and called the police.Tapped on the window then and found out none of them spoke English. Told them in English not to move. The police came and went back to them, came to my car and said they were all illegal immigrants, was not their car, driver didnfriend AND of course, no insurance. His pen was flying as he was writing up those tickets in his car and asI pulled out I saw squad cars surrounding the car and I bet INH was on their way too. Didn

I'm a dog lover, and most dogs love me. - sm [2008-11-10]
I can be walking down the street, simply make eye contact with one and smile without saying a word, and the dog will usually rush up to me, wagging his tail like crazy and acting all silly and lovey-dovey. In the past, some of the absolute sweetest dogs I'd ever known were pits & rotties. But that was in the ྌs, before the big 'gangsta-dog' thing became popular. Then people started breeding these dogs more for a surly attitude than for good temperament, and it seems to be a dominant trait that's getting passed forward, even when unintended. So fast-forard to 2 weeks ago. I was out walking in my neighborhood, and was coming up a long flight of sidewalk stairs that go up the steep hill I live on. Halfway up, I saw a big brown pit bull standing there looking at me. I had seen him running loose on my street earlier in the day, and wondered whose he was, but then forgot about him. He had an aggressive body-language that I didn't like. But I'm not afraid of dogs, and continuned on up the steps, and talked to him nicely as I reached the top. But then the dog totally went off, and began barking, growling, and making charges at me. I knew to stand my ground, and first tried sweet-talking him. Didn't work. If I tried to slowly move away from him in any direction, he'd come around and try to come in at me from behind. There wasn't a soul around. I tried scaring him off, but that only exacerbated the problem, so I decided to just stand there and let him do his thing. 20 minutes later, he was just as aggressive as ever, maybe worse, because his charges were coming closer and closer. The only 'weapon' in my possession was a single can of cat food in a plastic bag, that I'd walked down the hill to the market to buy. Considered whacking him with it, but didn't want to be in that close to him. Turns out the owners were in an apartment right across the street. A couple finally came out and called off the dog, stating Oh, we didn (I doubt that - the dog had been out all afternoon.) Anyway, I told them I'd call the sheriff and/or animal control if I ever saw him out again. When I got home, I called animal control anyway, and filed a formal complaint, so that if he bit anyone in the future, there would already be a complaint against him, and he likely would not be released from the shelter. Animal control said they'd follow up with the owner, which hopefully they did. In the meantime, I did 2 things: I programmed the sheriff's phone numberinto my cellphone, which I now slip into my pocket whenever I go out for a walk. Good thing to do, anyway. The other thing is I went to Army-Navy Surplus, and bought a cannister of professional-grade pepper spray. Not the wimpy, .02% 'dog-repellent'. I doubt that would stop a pitbull. I got the 15% stuff that will bring a 200-pound, raging crack-addict to his knees and keep him there for more than an hour. That goes into my pocket, as well. Now I can walk & bike with peace of mind. Meanwhile, those pitbull owners should consider themselves very lucky that their dog went after someone who knows dogs, is not afraid, and didn't RUN. If a timid woman, or worse, a child, had come up those steps that afternoon, the resulting attack might have made the 6 o'clock news that night. There are probably still some gentle pits left out there, but I think their numbers are declining because of the current fashion statement of being a 'big bad gangsta, with my big, bad gansta-dog'. They want their dogs to intimidate people, and then they wonder why they can't rent an apartment or get homeowners insurance to cover dog bites. In some cities you have to post a $30,000 bond in order to keep one. It's little wonder that unwanted pits and pit-mixes are clogging up our animal shelters. I feel sorry for the animals, but if I were adopting, I wouldn't want the financial liability of owning one.

I had to place my mom in a nursing home [2008-11-09]
temporarily when she broke her hip the first time. It was very hard. (I had made a promise to her that I would never put her in one when she got older.) I visited her every day and every day she begged to come home. Shedidnand encourage her to keep up because the sooner she could walk with little assistance, the sooner she could come home. The PT team was great, too, always encouraging her, and she did her best. I found out that they had a hairdresser that came in every week and I paid to get her a haircut and style. After that, she kind of settled in a little bit, but still begged to come home. Thank heavens, she was only there2 months. I don't think I could have stood it much longer. Then when it was time to come home, she wanted to bring the furniture with her. LOL They had cherry dressers and headboards. It was almost like a regular bedroom. Momhe sat there for hours. No one came to see if he needed anything. The room was awful, so small andcheap furniture with old iron hospital beds. Reminded me of a regular hospital. Talked to his son and that's all the insurance company would cover for him so he was stuck. As the other poster said, research the homes as much as possible. Go when the activities and/or PT is taking place and just watch. Talk to the people that live there if possible. Talk to activity director, DON, etc. before deciding. Check the rooms. Watch to see if the CNAinsurance runs out; i.e., where the patients go after that. Mom would have been transferred to the first (MediCare) floor, but she came home before that.

It happened to me. (sm) [2008-11-09]
We had all sorts of vet bills from previous dogs, and then were hit with health bills of our own (both DH and I), and insurance that didn't turn out to be very good, and suddenly the reality was that we couldn't afford to care for our 2 dogs responsibly. We didn't have these dogs very long, but I'll be heartbroken if they aren't adopted.

Pet Insurance [2008-11-09]
I have some pet insurance. It is $17 a month for each dog. I figure, for $200 a year, if the dog lives to be 15 that would be a total of $3000 over the life of the dog. Which can be less than the cost of a single operation. So I got the insurance. Andy had a minor surgery (removal of keratocanthoma) that came to $600, including $200 to have his teeth cleaned (not covered). After the deductible I got a check from the company for $300. I was pretty happy with that.

Root planing [2008-11-06]
I had that done last year. It was not bad and I am a chicken when it comes to the dentist. Dentist numbed the side the hygenist worked on and it is a diff kind of high-speed instrument especially for plaque removal. It isan ultrasonic tool for teeth.I do not remember seeing any blood, but of course they suction all of the time. This instrument uses water and it is like a mist. My plaque was not that bad. In fact they could have done all four quadrants at one time instead of staging it. They just numbedwhat certain quadrant in case your teeth are sensitive. It was worth it too. I go every 3 months to get cleaning and checkup and do the flossing thing and have a WaterPik to boot. That price is just about what I paid too, but my dental insurance covered most of it. Hope this helps out. It sounds worse than it actually is.You should be able to see a diff in the gums too. I know I have. I have a great dentist too. I dreaded it, but after it overI felt like I really worried too much about it. I do not think anyone likes the dentist. I do not think that you would regret it. Good Luck.

I had it done a couple of years ago too [2008-11-06]
It really was not that bad. My understanding of why they only will do two quadrants at a time is that it is because they will not numb up both sides of your mouth at one time, so it is an upper and a lower quadrant done together. My sister also had to have it done last week, but the weird thing is they only said she needed two quadrants done (I believe on the same side, so upper and lower). She or I neither one could get our heads around that, so she decided to treat herself and have the other two quads done as well. Also, I do not have dental insurance, but had bought a plan from dentalplans.com (had the Patriot Plan at the time I had this done). It was about $90 per quad with the plan, but around here it was $300 per quad without the plan. Good luck!

I had my child's cord blood banked eight years ago [2008-10-31]
This was much more costly way back then. I compared many companies and finally decided on CBR (Cord Blood Registry). They are definitely the most reputable. The originating fee was $1200 and the maintenance fee is $95 per year. The procedure itself is virtually effortless. You are first sent a kit which you provide to your physician. At the time of your child My doctor was more than willing to perform this simple step at the time of my child Then, after collection, the kit is sent via courier to a deep freezer (I think mine is in Arizona). This is such an exciting prospect. Talk about life/health insurance. Just imagine what can be done with these cells many, many years from now. Will mychild never have to develop cancer? Could a spinal cord injury be reversed? Could he be cloned? Just imagine the possibilities. Truthfully, eight years ago was an eternity in this business of cord blood banking. I feel it is truly cutting-edge technology. Yes, it was costly, but when I think about the truly invaluable possibilities,I felt compelled to have this done. Now, it is much more affordable than it was back in the beginning stages of this technology. This is even much more valuable when siblings are involved. I, however, only have the one child. I don With my medical background, there was just no way I could not do it. Sorry I got so lengthy about this, but I am a huge advocate of this concept.

Think it through sm [2008-10-24]
This profession can be very depressing, you can feel so isolated, sit too long which makes you gain weight, have health problems, etc. It is demanding, overhelming, andnot to mention these days, very demeaning and a lot more negative stuff. We are greatly misunderstood. No one knows but us what we put up with. You have to get yourself feeling better about you before you make any decisions. This economy has everyone down because it looks so bleak. In divorce everyone loses, you, the husband, the kids. Self-esteem is very important. I donschools in your area which teach massage, hair dressing,dental hygiene, etc., these people will see you as a client at almost no cost to you. You could get a massage, a new haircut, or have your teeth cleaned for zilch.I found when I got down, I would get myself a manicure at Wal-Mart for $12.00 and if I couldnSupercuts for a quick cut and go home and set my hair myself. (Regis Salons - Google them) owns many of these places, the fancy ones in the mall, along with the walk-in el-cheapo franchises). Do all you can to uplift yourself which is hard with the hours and demands you have to put up with donWhen you have had a personal and spiritual (just say a prayer is all) makeover, your self-esteem will start to return and then you can probably have a talk with the hub about how lonely and rejected you feel and how you feel you are being ignored and lonely. Dondepressed because my husband throws a fit when I use that word. Many times I felt like you as my husband worked over 12 hour days, ate, went to bed, etc., and everything was left to me to handle. I almost felt as if he were avoiding being home. However, we have stuck together, my kids did well (I think because they were not from a broken home) and to tell the truth, Iflame you and if it doesnComes the Dawn and I try to live by it, Google it and print it out. My very, very best to you. Perhaps the prayer board can help. I do not claim to be religious, but I do believe in miracles!!.You are worth it, feel better about yourself, we love you and if no one else has told you that today, we will!! We are the brain behind the machine, not the machine.

Think it through sm [2008-10-24]
This profession can be very depressing, you can feel so isolated, sit too long which makes you gain weight, have health problems, etc. It is demanding, overhelming, andnot to mention these days, very demeaning and a lot more negative stuff. We are greatly misunderstood. No one knows but us what we put up with. You have to get yourself feeling better about you before you make any decisions. This economy has everyone down because it looks so bleak. In divorce everyone loses, you, the husband, the kids. Self-esteem is very important. I donschools in your area which teach massage, hair dressing,dental hygiene, etc., these people will see you as a client at almost no cost to you. You could get a massage, a new haircut, or have your teeth cleaned for zilch.I found when I got down, I would get myself a manicure at Wal-Mart for $12.00 and if I couldnSupercuts for a quick cut and go home and set my hair myself. (Regis Salons - Google them) owns many of these places, the fancy ones in the mall, along with the walk-in el-cheapo franchises). Do all you can to uplift yourself which is hard with the hours and demands you have to put up with donWhen you have had a personal and spiritual (just say a prayer is all) makeover, your self-esteem will start to return and then you can probably have a talk with the hub about how lonely and rejected you feel and how you feel you are being ignored and lonely. Dondepressed because my husband throws a fit when I use that word. Many times I felt like you as my husband worked over 12 hour days, ate, went to bed, etc., and everything was left to me to handle. I almost felt as if he were avoiding being home. However, we have stuck together, my kids did well (I think because they were not from a broken home) and to tell the truth, Iflame you and if it doesnComes the Dawn and I try to live by it, Google it and print it out. My very, very best to you. Perhaps the prayer board can help. I do not claim to be religious, but I do believe in miracles!!.You are worth it, feel better about yourself, we love you and if no one else has told you that today, we will!! We are the brain behind the machine, not the machine.

Increase your insurance deductibles [2008-10-21]
Build up an emergency fund and increase your auto and homeowner insurance premiums to $1,000. You’ll save hundreds per year in premium.

However... [2008-10-17]
Marriage is defined in the Bible as man/woman...not man/man, woman/woman...Our country~~~YES IT IS OUR COUNTRY~~~was founded on the Bible and God and Christianity. When people go out and publicly protest and demand rights, then YES...it is being shoved down OUR throats! Homosexual marriage is against the beliefs that this country was founded on and should remain illegal. Homosexual couples should NOT qualify for the same benefits as heterosexual couples do...insurance, for example. This is God But, with the way WE'VE~~~yes WE~~~ have shunned God, He'd have every right to turn his back on us and let us wallow in our own mess...

Help! I live next to parents and they ...sm [2008-10-15]
are driving me mad, well my dad is anyways. I have always lived on my parents land next door to them. I live in a mobile home. Well my mom and dad divorced this year because my dad was cheating. He was calling another woman up to 10 times a day, going to her house, has give her everything he has. He owned cattle and sold them and got $32,000 for them. Well the money disappeared and he was broke before long. This woman he is cheating with is on disability and lives in a house and has a SUV. Her daughter has a car and son a truck and none of them work. Mama has looked on his bank statements and seen where he is making their payments. Well of course mom put him out. Like to never got him out. He got a mobile home and parked it on the land. She got 3 acres and the house in divorce. He has the remaining 7 acres. Well he puts his mobile home on his part and refuses to hook it up. He is staying in this trailer with no power, no sewage, nothing. There is only a bed. He has had the money to hook it up right. My mother has offered him part of the furniture and a TV. He doesn He refuses to live like a normal human being. Then he comes to my moms house every day when she gets off of work and wants to come in and take a shower. She is like no we aren You have a trailer and you go hook it up and take a shower over there. Well it has water to it he just doesn Well that is his own problem. He chooses not to have it hooked up because I guess he wants an excuse to come over to moms. Well she tells him no. Then he comes to my house and sits and sits. He comes over because he has no furniture and no TV or nothing. He comes and rumages through my cabinets and bums food. If me and my mom are at my house and decide to cook something he invites himself over there and helps himself. I have never seen anyone who was so annoying. I can He refuses to get a washer or dryer which without electricity it wouldn So he comes to my house and says can I wash my laundry? Well gues what? I end up doing it cause he doesn Then he leaves it there and expects me to finish it. I can not hardly do my work because he comes over and says are you busy? I just wanted to talk. I won Then he just sits there. I am at my wits end. I just want to move. He came over and said can I borrow a duffle bag? I said ok. I give it to him. He says I am gonna go buy one and I will bring it back. I never have got it back. Then he comes over and says can I borrow an ice chest. I let him borrow it and never get it back. He bums off of everyone here but this other woman and her children he gives whatever they want. He has taken money from me and my sister. He has borrowed money against my sisters extra vehicle she had paid for. He asked and she let him. he didn THis is his own daughter he did this to now. My husband had a pickup in my dads name because his credit wasn Big mistake. When the truck was almost paid formy dadborrowed money against the truck behind our backs. THen the truck is stolen and insurance has to pay it off. Well it was worth more than what was owing so we got the differnece. Well he had borrowed $1600 against it and said he didn So it came out of our insurance money from the truck. Finally when we knew he had some money we had to bug him and bug him for the money and he said $1000 is all he owed. He borrowed $1600 and paid one note on it before the truck was stolen. So we were out about $500. He takes from his children. I am at wits end. I want to get far far away from him. My sister lives an hour an a half away and she seems pretty lucky right now. What the heck to do?

We have a city ordinance about pit bulls [2008-10-06]
You have to provide proof of $100,000 insurance to have it; it cannot roam free; and anyone has the right to kill it if they feel they are under attack. If your pit is found running free, it is put down. Pits do not have to be used for fighting to be aggressive. It is part of their nature - far more aggressive than other dogs. Yes, I've had plenty of up close and personal experiences with pits that were friendly but that has nothing to do with their underlying aggressive nature. Dangerous animal.

Insurance and pitbulls [2008-10-06]
Yea insurance companies have a black breed list that usually include Pitbulls, German Shepherds, Boxers & Chow Chows. Some pitbulls have that aggressive nature in them that can be brought out, but you have to trace back to the breeder & get the history of that dog's mom/dad's temperment.

I had an ex husband just like that [2008-09-22]
And the current husband was like that. I have been opening his eyes, such that he is much better. He wanted joint accounts, put me on everything. But I kept back, donhis account and he didn I just write him a large check each payday and he writes out the bills, then he puts in an equal amount of money out of his checkand writes out more bills. This way I I had to play HItler with the ex, he was so bad with money. I gave him 4 checks a month already filled out for a set amount for gas in his truck. Then I gave him an allowance. If he used less gas through the month, then he got to keep the extra money as his own reward. Then I would write out bills and over pay them deliberately, so that there would be a credit balance, or write out in the check book that I had taken $100 a month out for cash purchases, without actually taking the money out, kept a running total, so that if he would come to me and look at the balance, he would think there was less money and then he would know if he could spend or not (He wasn That way I would have money I needed in the account to cover bi-annual expenses like car insurance.

Anyone who has had LASIK eye surgery [2008-09-02]
I I My eyesight isn I generally wear contact lenses and I So, has anyone out there had LASIK eye surgery and what was your experience? Would you do it again? I My insurance doesn't cover it.

I never thought about thyroid... [2008-08-29]
I just looked it up a little bit and most of the symptoms are me to a T. Unfortunately,My husband just lost his job so I don So going to the doc is out of the question for a little while. School is starting next week and with 3 kids to buy shoes, backpacks, clothes for, etc. money is too tight. I Thanks for the idea though.I appreciate it. I I also have depression so when I get so fatigued I feel useless, bad for my kids, husband, etc which compounds my depression. So I Thanks again!

Remember too well [2008-08-27]
We live in Mississippi now but lived in Florida a very long time, from Miami to Jacksonville and the panhandle. We did sit through a few 1-2 level hurricanes but were fortunate only a few days without power. After Katrina, so many of our friends and family were severely affected from New Orleans to Gulfport. We sat here in MS without power for over a week but lost nothing in it. We did have neighbors and friends that had their homes leveled by huge falling trees and three years later before one got their insurance to cover properly for them to rebuild. We were 200 miles inland with a lot of severe wind damage, so I am sitting on pins and needles knowing another one is heading in this general area and so many friends and family along the coastal areas. Lets just all pray for everyone's safety.

Before the post gets buried below regarding credit - very long message sm [2008-08-24]
I just wanted to share with the posters who were considering bankruptcy. Unless you are on the verge of losing your home, I would strongly encourage you to consider another option. Bankruptcy does not just go away after a few years. It Even if you rebuild your credit afterwards, it A friend and my in-laws also filed bankruptcy in the past. My in-laws filed over 20 years ago and have recovered financially but it My husband is a credit card spender. I would only spend when I had the cash and did not depend on credit. It didn Our spending habits combined nearly led to our financial demise a few years back too. This is what I did and I hope you give it a try and it works for you too. I started with a complete inventory of all of our bills, separating them into three categories. Home (mortgage and utilities) Credit cards - (lowest balance to highest balance regardless of the APR) Miscellaneous bills (entertainment, clothing, food, gas, fast food, etc.) Since the Home category is pretty consistent every month, I set up a budget for that first. I went back through our utility bill for the year prior and chose the highest month bill of the year and added that amount to our mortgage amount. Next, I reviewed our telephone, internet, and television (satellite) bills. On average, I was paying about 230.00 per month for them all combined. Way too much in my opinion. I started shopping around and found a bundle package with Verizon. Now I pay 153.00 per month for unlimited long distance telephone, satellite TV, and DSL service. Saved $77.00 per month, just doing that. Then I added this amount to the mortgage and utilities. This totalled amount is what I know I absolutely have to pay every month and I better make sure it's in the account. Next, I did the Miscellaneous. I I started going over what was spent where and learned that we spent a lot more than we really needed to. I set up a weekly grocery budget and a fun budget. If there was anything extra at the end of the week, it was divided evenly between the two and added to the next week. I do this every week until the end of the month. If there is anything left over, that amount is divided in half again and half is divided again and added to the following week's budget (grocery and fun), the other half is locked away in the savings account. The money for monthly gas was a little trickier when the gas prices skyrocketed. I first had a set limit for gas each week but did have to adjust that. I did manage to adjust it a little bit upwards and still be able to pay the cards down (see below.) Also, every time I spend cash, no matter if the amount is $5.01 and all I need is a penny, I don Instead, I will give them $6.00 and get 0.99 change to put in my giant size espresso cup of change. When the cup gets full, the change is rolled and turned in to the bank as a deposit into the savings account. My cup last gave me $281.00 change to put in the savings account. That was in March. It Nobody touches the cup! They might lose a finger or even a hand! That being said, and having two set amounts for each budget, I then subtracted that amount, plus the Household amount from our combined monthly income. Lastly came the dreaded credit cards. To be honest, I was floored when I learned just how much credit card debt we had. My husband had wracked up over $40,000.00 in credit card debt alone. Since he paid his own credit card bills each month, I had no idea. Even worse than that, he is very inconsistent about paying his bills on time so he had late charges and the interest rates were way the heck up there. It was terrible. I took each of his cards most current statements and started from the lowest to highest balance. The lowest one was about 1200.00 but the interest rate on it by that time was 22%. This is where I started. I had him call the company and basically gave him a script to go by (my name wasn He requested a decrease in his APR on each and every card. Two of the five card companies agreed on the first call. The 22% card was reduced to 11% so they cut it in half. Not as low as I would like but it was a start. Another card was up to 31% and they reduced that to 20%. The other three didn't budge the first time. This is where I made two The first one was MS Money software. I highly recommend it. You can set up your checking, savings accounts, print your checks, balance your checkbook in about 5 minutes, pretty much a no brainer software that really keeps you in line with your bills and spending as long as you remember to faithfully enter any debit card purchase in your check register provided with the software. It will also link to many banks to update your balances online. You can also set it up to remind you for upcoming bills. (Maybe if the husband had used this earlier, we would not have been in this situation?) The second purchase was about $8.00. An accordion file folder for the monthly statements. Husband always threw his away and I cana dumb idea that is. KEEP them. Organize the tabs for each bill and put your statement in when you pay each bill. I also write the date and the amount when I make a payment somewhere on the statement, then keep them in chronological order. The actual payments came next. The smallest balance card was paid off first. All of other cards only got the minimum payment PLUS $1 more. I started doing this just for my own peace of mind I guess but I learned later that this actually helped us a bit when negotiating the lower APRs on the three more stubborn cards. It may have only been $1 extra but it was EXTRA payment and, believe it or not, they do look at that. Excluding the card to be paid off first, I added up the minimum payments of the remaining four cards (plus the extra dollar to each of those) and decided on an amount to pay the lowest balance card to get that balance moving toward 0 as fast as I could. In this case, I decided on 200.00. This left me with a little over 200.00 extra (I call it mad money but it really goes into savings anyway -planning ahead for birthdays, auto insurance, Christmas, and emergencies.) I had that card paid off relatively quickly in a few months. When it was paid off, the card was cancelled and that 200.00 was added to the minimum payment (plus $1) on the next lowest balance card. After the first month of this, once again, had the husband call his credit card company and ask for a reduction in his APR. This time it was granted. Should also mention that this card was one of the three that refused the request the first time. The first six months or so of this wasa mildly painful transition. He was used to whipping out a credit card, I was used to having cash on hand for whatever I wanted. It wasn't going to happen anymore. Finally, I wasdown to the last remaining card (754.00 per month payment by this time, having applied the payments for each card to the next as they were paid off.) When I got to this point, I started shopping around for cards with rewards programs and started comparing those cards. The last card I was paying on also had a rewards program but not quite what I wanted. I wanted to know if the terms were negotiable. It was! How about that! So, instead of losing a valuable customer the card company decided to keep me. Now I get 3% back on purchases of most things as long as I pay the balance in full every month (which I do). Any kind of air or rail travel purchased with the card is a 6% reward. I no longer use a debit card. The husband is not allowed to get a credit card again but instead, takes a certain amount of cash every week. Say what you want but he got us into this mess pretty much so he has to live with it now. It I find that I average about 400.00 per month AFTER the rewards bonuses kick in so essentially I am able to bank another $354.00 per month in savings. It adds up quicker than you might think. Should also mention that we have two teens still at home and they can really be expensive. They were made a part of the plan and do their part to help out too. Their contribution is mostly the avoidance of fast food all the time. They can come home and have a meal or eat before they leave. Things like that. Sorry for the lengthy post but hopefully I can help anyone else get out of a potentially bad financial situation like we faced.