we did just the opposite, but now bills alone about 2,500.....
Posted By: sis on 2005-12-02
In Reply to: We decided to simplify! We ditched - Keepin' It Simple
We had a place similar to yours on a slough with lots of wildlife...loved the wildlife. Used to sit out on the deck and watch the great blue heron, raccoons, muskrats, ducks, etc. But never got it paid off as we kept building on as kids came along (3). We were there 30 years and finally sold to move out of the flood zone and into a new, easy-maintainance one story with smaller yard up near the hospital. The other place was so hard to paint and maintain that I knew we had to move before we couldn't take care of it anymore. Problem is our mortgage alone is 900$ month! Not as steep as others on this posting, but lots for us as the MT thing is not bringing in the money I expected! The house is worth lots more than we paid for it, and I keep saying we should sell it and rent until the big housing "adjustment" that I keep predicting, but family won't budge!
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I pay all of our bills but I never would
He makes money and I make money and we should each be able to spend some of that on ourselves if we desire. The only time we really consult the other on any purchase is if that purchase is over a certain amount. I do not ASK him if I can buy anything for my business. If I need it and we can afford it, I buy it. If it is a major purchase that might involve a credit line, I would definitely discuss it with him but not ask his permission. It should be shared. When you get married, you are sharing, not one person owns you/controls you or vice versa. I would be willing to bet that at some point during his little outings, he has chipped in for beer. I doubt one person would be willing to supply all the beer for all the guys every single get-together. My DH used to play softball and there were lots of times they'd hang out and have a few beers after and all the guys chipped in for their share of the beer. If he's telling you the beer is always provided for free, I would have a real hard time buying that. Sounds like you are an understanding wife and you deserve time out to go to lunch or do whatever (and some of that time should be without your kids to give you some alone time, too). If he can't see that, he needs a reality check! Leave him at home with the kids for a weekend and see how fast he wants to run out that door once you get home! lol
Can you really pay your bills with only 29K though???
nm
If you have bills to pay you take whatever
you can get. You can refuse a job, but the work will just go to India or some other country and the company can get rid of all but a few MTs who will edit the work.
I have been in this business at least 20 years. I make better than most people these days, but I have not had a raise in 5 years. I have been offered at least 8 positions the past 6 months and not one of them offers what I make now. I test very well, usually getting at least 98 on the highest level of testing, I can do any ESL given to me, I do all Op notes, so I would be an asset to any company, but none will offer me what I am making now, much less offer me more.
Pay bills or make a
list of things I need or want.
Do you have bills that NEED to be paid?
If there is no other job but those with companies that send work offshore, are you going to refuse to work for them? How do you feel about stores that sell merchandise that was once manufactured in US and now outsourced to another country? How about the very merchandise itself. Do you check to see if Liz Claiborne or Nike or other favorite brands are outsourced and decide against buying them, hoping that somehow you are going to force these goods to be manufactured in US and are you willing to pay higher prices to justify American workers wages?
What bills could we possibly have?
That was exactly what one doctor said to me when he called wanting my services and I told him what my charge was. He was in a town 15-20 minutes away and since tapes were the "in" thing", I charged for picking up and delivery, minimal charge.
Well, he thought that was ridiculous and told me I didn't have any "expenses" associated with this job, so what was I charging him for other than doing the reports. BTW, he got my name and number from his partner in the office who thought my charges were more than reasonable and willing to pay for it to get what he called "great" service.
Of course, we have no expenses, we live free, not having to eat, buy gas, pay all the same bills they do. You know, the necessities of life!!!!!!
Go figure!!!
Keep the bills out of sight--sm
For me they are the biggest distraction. I can ignore the phone, tune out the noise but those stinking bills in my line of sight are the worst. I either have to go online and pay them or call so and so and tell them why I am late. I don't pull them out until after I am done or before I start. Otherwise, they stay in the drawer. Now, I keep the paid receipts on top of the desk to remind me why I work like a mule!
High bills
In Georgia, it's not unheard of for the power bill to exceed $300 during summer. In fact, it's expected. I can't believe the posters with two-digit bills. My water bill is $65! Everything around here has gone up in the last year. My doing MT was supposed to be for extras and fun money, but it's not turning out to be so.
I have plenty of bills to pay...
Hubby had open heart surgery and was off work during the busiest season last year. I now handle ALL the bills except his truck insurance and truck payment to the tune of at least $5000 a month and that doesn't include the $75,000 hospital bill that the insurance doesn't pay. I couldn't do that if I didn't stick to my guns. Sure, we're not in the best of shape right now, but we are scraping by with a little ingenuity and things will get better for us...but I surely will not work for peanuts,never have, and never will...and neither should you.
You have to prove you're worth it that extra $.01 or so,(ahem), but in reality, we really need to stick together. Fighting amongst ourselves doesn't solve the problem.
that's determined by your bills!!...
There is an easier calculation but I think most companies require 1200 lines a day nowadays. Some 800 to maintain fulltime. One way to figure it is that you take the amount of lines x cpl and divide by 8. If you typed your other stuff in word, check the line count to see what you have done on a good day when paid by the hour. Hopefully you are getting paid characters and spaces as opposed to just characters.
If you figure you can put out only 800, which is still a good bit, 800 x 0.08 cpl divided by 8 would be $8/hour. 1200 lines would be 12 an hour. So, if you are currently making 10 an hour, you would have to put out 1000 lines a day for $10 an hour.
It can be done.
What? Not only easy, but I did it Still pay bills.
But I do make what I need to pay my bills
so I am satisfied and like I said, just work part time, not full, work the time I want.
for tracking congressional bills
http://thomas.loc.gov/
Kansas utility bills
Hi, I live on the Kansas/Oklahoma border have a 3000 sq ft home (2 levels) and 2 boys who don't know how to close doors. Anyway, our last electric bill was $260.00. This was keeping thermostat at 80 upstairs with ceiling fans going in every room. If it gets too warm, you just go downstairs where you have to wrap up in a blanket as there is a good 10 degrees difference in temp. I have to admit, I thought mine was high but am now thinking we don't have it too bad. Good luck to all and hopefully, we will still be able to pay these next year at this time and the rates won't have put us all in the poor house.
arkansas utility bills
Wow. I live in a 6 room house and my last bill was 328.00. We have very high rates here.
Used to, but compared electric bills
I used to never turn my computer off. Then my grandchildren visited me for 3 wks. Because I did not want them playing on my computer (they had their own laptop), I kept mine off when I was not working. When the electric bill came it, it was almost $60 less, so from that point on, I began turning it off between the hours of 5 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. plus my days off (and I get more done around the house as well) -- continued with the same savings. Figured I can buy a new tower for $720 a year in savings.
I keep the unpaid bills on my desk
and put the college tuition bill right on top. Money motivates.
Single person and bills
How does any single preson today make ends meet as an MT? I work a 2nd job and still way behind in bills. Job-hunting for a full time position other than MT is fruitless, as employers take on look at all of your years in transcription and ask you how you think can do anything else. It seems like a curse. The dreaded "transcription" word is getting me nowhere fast when it comes to breaking in to other clerical work. Had I know this would be the case, I would have left the MT field years ago. I can do SO much more than transcription if given the chance. Maybe I should lie on my resume and not mention all the years of transcription.
Opposite for me
As I sit here in my suit, blouse, nyons, heels and pearls I just gotta feel a little feel like I am not in the norm as to what I wear to work. Guess I will have to change the dresscode in my business. I was thinking of letting up a little and not requiring the nylons but at the last minute just could not do it. Perhaps in 2007 I won't be so strict with myself. What do ya think?
For me it was the opposite
At my last in-house job, the company (hospital) itself as a whole was fine, but the beyotches in the transcription department were beyond belief. I don't say anything about them to people who know them, but it is a BAD situation.
Oh, no...just the opposite!
I've got one that hits pause for every sentence. Trouble is, he starts yakkin' before he unpauses, and pauses it before he stops yakkin', so I've got no beginning and no end on every sentence he dictates. To top it off, he's a speed dictator too. ARRGHH!
Really, really annoying! I'd rather listen to empty space.
And I'm the opposite SM
If this were one top with two arms, then I would agree, but since it is two separate tops (the top of the left arm and the top of the right arm), I would make it the tops of the left and right arms. But that Catholic school education feels like a billion years ago, so God only knows if I'm remembering the rules correctly.
I did the opposite...
I had been doing clinic and acute care, then was trained to do radiology.
I found acute care and clinic work to be far more interesting and enjoyable than the Radiology, so Rad transcription pretty much bored me senseless most of the time. I did it for 5 years, then switched back to the acute care and clinic work.
If you're up to a challenge and enjoy MT work in general, I think you'd really enjoy it. It will probably seem overwhelming at first, but you'll know some of the basics from radiology and should be okay.
Good luck and keep us posted!!!
Nice doesn't pay the bills. They still only pay .06 line.
You need to be a speed demon to make any money there and top pay is still only .08 per line at 225 lines per hour. No thanks. I prefer to work a 40 hour work week, not an 80 hour work week.
Curious, how much of household bills is BF carrying?
is withdrawn?
If you are carrying the lion's share of the bills, then you surely will be better off when you have cut the ties and are in your own place.
If he is carrying a good bit of the bills, and you are then responsible for them when he moves - whoa - think about this. Will any childsupport you manage to get suffice for what you are taking on that he is paying now?
I worked as one, too. It paid my bills. Barely.
I hated that job because I could so totally empathize with the people I was collecting from. Plus, we had to be real hardnoses. The thing is that our "numbers" were tied to our bonuses. The more you collected, the more money you made. I lasted 9 months and received two raises and promotions to keep me there before finally finding another job. By that time, I had developed sleeping problems and an ulcer and started smoking again.
There were a few bills that Arnold would not sign - not passed
x
Oh dear, maybe you could pay some bills or surf the net while she's impressing herself
Insurance companies already know. Doctor bills them you know.
I'm not running for political office. Who would be interested in my medical records and what could they do with them if they did have them?
Not everyone bills based ona 65-character line
An MT billing gross lines would stand to lose a great deal with a smaller font.
See, not so confusing.
DH pays the big bills and know he won't have more taken out on him, we don't share checking ac
I have mine and he has his but like I said before, he pays for my car, his and the house note. Just moved here in 2004 and not planning a move, ever hopefully! But, as in my previous post, I have as regular employee been told to take off everything that pertains to my working at home (before becoming IC), room, DSL line, phone (have to have to use the DSL), computer, printing materials, all so I keep all receipts in all years plus we have 3 tax bills for 3 different properties for this past year (just sold a home where I used to live) but all that is kept. What I am saying is I have been told for years as an employee working from my home ok to exempt these. I do not like TAX TIME!!
Sounds great. You gonna pay the bills for
nm
A husband to take care of the bills and the health
nm
You need to talk to the people who pay the bills where you work. nm
x
I always thought it was the opposite of ...
guy, only now you can use guy for both sexes I think.
13-year-old opposite
Wow my 13-year old stepdaughter is opposite. Will not wear girl clothes and wants to buy out of the boy's department. Then she gets all her good tshirts outside and ruins them with stains, holes, etc. She is very very difficult. I almost wish she would try to wear my makeup.
I learned it exactly the opposite...
back in 1980 I learned that disc was for the spine and disk was for anything ophthalmological ......
I have the opposite problem. (sm)
My hearing is too acute, and although it makes transcribing easier, if there is any background noise at all, it is the bane of my existence. I actually went to an ENT doc once to see if there was some way to tone it down a little! He just laughed. :(
woman of the opposite sex
That's hilarious! Thanks for the belly laugh. I needed it today.... LOL.
Mine are the opposite
I do look up lost dictation for my docs, they have been with me for many years --one has been for 18 years, they do give me Christmas bonues -- usually half of a month's invoice - they do give me Birthday cards, they always say "thank you", they always pay on time, never a bounced check or a question on my line counts, but then I go the extra mile for them. They have talked about VR and EMR's but find it it too time consuming yet. Maybe some day I will lose them to that but that is the way of the industry right now. Right now I just thank my lucky stars for the accounts that I have and appreciate them as much at they appreciate me. Yes, I do put up with rattling of x-rays and papers and dictating in a car or at a soccer game and when it becomes too bad, I do say something and it changes. But in the most part they are pretty good. Sorry will not share them with anyone.
Patti
Just the opposite here. I do great
on the test and then a few days later start to get into the account and wonder if I should really be doing better than I am doing and if they really believe it was me testing! LOL!!
I had just the opposite experience.
Bytescribe was too cumbersome and then there's the issue of three installs...Express Scribe just released a new version and there is a Special Audio Process under File that can help clean up files.
My account is just the opposite
We have been given the green light for over-time this week and next. It was slow but steady November through February but now it's a whole new ballgame. I'm not complaining, though!
I am just the opposite of what you are talking about
I set myself to make a certain amount each pay period, have to have X amount per day and that is what I make.
My experience has been the opposite
There are some ESLs that I actually prefer to their American-born counterparts. Depending on the specialty, you can almost count on them for more lines per report. However, my experience to date has been that the good, audible, consistent, doctors who enunciate even with an accent are going to VR. Left behind are the speed mumblers, hem-hawers, and self-editors, along with the accent so thick and recorded in such a way that it sounds as if he has crawled inside the microphone/mouthpiece. In places where they have dared to put everyone across the board into the VR systems, the above dictators will cross your desk for editing; at least when they've been kicked out before getting to VR, I can get my normal line count for typing them; if I get them after VR has swiss-cheesed them, I get paid half that for trying to tease apart what was said by the dictator from Hades from what brainless VR thinks was said.
In my perfect world, the MTs left transcribing the VR rejects should be making 10 cents a line, and anybody cleaning up VR should be making no less than 6-7 (assuming the nice clean dictation balances out the crud).
And I am hoping just the opposite of
VR being done away with. I love it, mine is an excellent platform and with all the ESLs we have now, I don't have to rack my brain to find out what they are trying to say. Thank goodness for VR and I hope the hospital I work for keeps it.
But if that account is paying your bills, you must negotiate and be flexible. IMO
I know you can only lower a little bit, but to let them know that you are flexible and care about keeping their account may just encourage them to stay with you. I can't afford to let an account go without just a little negotiation.
Does paying your bills rely on offshore? No. Easy
asdf
Yep if I needed a job, beats not eating/paying bills - nm
xx
Totally opposite of my experience
When I started and they installed everything on my computer, they also updated my AOL IM buddy list and I had the ID of everyone else working on the account I was on, as well as team leads, account coordinators, office personnel, etc. It was so easy to IM someone and get help. It still is. My coordinators get back to me immediately. They are always available. Also, the account specs for every account are right there online and easy to access. I've been there about 18 months now and have never been happier. I haven't experienced any of the problems mentioned here.
My geek told me the opposite. He said that
if you leave it on all the time, the computer is vulnerable to hacker attacks because they're probing your ports even with a firewall on. They know how to get through firewalls and web browser security glitches.
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