photo by audi_insperationI took my two big kids to the dentist yesterday. Audrey was scheduled to have a cavity filled and Willy, his first check-up and cleaning. Being self-employed, we do not have dental insurance and pay through the nose for health. So, we pay cash for all dental procedures. I was ready to pay the total in full with my “medical” envelope and receive the office’s 10% cash discount.
In the middle of Audrey’s procedure, the assistant came out and sheepishly said, “The cavity was deeper than we thought.” Turns out the dentist had to perform the kid’s version of a root canal.
I thought, “That doesn’t sound cheap.” And it wasn’t. Our total for the day was $571–much more than I had expected and the office had projected. And guess what? The boy has two cavities. $300 more in January.
This stinks, but is not devastating. In the fall of 2006, Will & I attended Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. What we learned transformed our financial life.
We have been saving religiously every month for the past two years for an event just like this one. We intentionally say no to some stuff that we can afford to make sure our fannies are covered. We had cash to pay our midwife for Nate’s birth in 2007, the dentist yesterday and enough to cover our January visit. And more for the future.
This is one lesson I’m glad we learned the easy way: save, save, save for a rainy day and make sure your umbrella is big enough to cover your fanny. And my fanny’s always bigger than I think.
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Save. Save. Save for a rainy day. That is GOOD advice! If you would like to pay less for your prescription medications see if you can find a discount card. I found one at http://www.rxdrugcard.com. Let me give you an example of the savings. I’ve seen ads on TV for Caduet. It has two ingredients. One is Amlodipine and the other is Atorvastatin. With my RxDrugCard I can get 30 tablets of Amlodipine for $9 and 30 tablets of Simvastatin for $9. I’ll bet they are charging more than $18 for this new drug! I think that RxDrugCard.com is the best drug card available for prescription discounts. The monthly family membership fee is only $4.95! You can’t beat that!
Great post. It is so, so, so important to have an emergency fund. I am self-employed also, so I know where you’re coming from. Lily mentioned RxDrugCard.com – I’ve never checked them out, but here’s another to add to that list:
http://www.togetherrxaccess.com
It’s a free card for those without prescription coverage. It’s limited in what it covers, but it’s saved me a little bit of money, so better than nothing – I hand over that and my AAA prescription discount card, and find out which one will save me more, heh. And those “Get XX gift card when you transfer a prescription” coupons are nice to have too!!
You probably wouldn't have guessed it, but your blog encouraged me. I'm a new reader to your blog & today's entry is very timely. Last night, my husband and I had the dreaded budget meeting. I say dreaded because I'm not good with money and budgeting is stressful, although leads to peace in the long run. We had a choice last night to allocate money towards a move (we are expecting our 1st baby in March & we live in a 1 bdrm apt) or toward savings. After much talk, we decided to stay where we are and put the money in savings. And we feel so good about the decision! We don't know how much time I'll physically need off work so this will help with expenses during maternity leave. And we don't NEED to move right now. When you analyze decisions in light of NEEDS vs. WANTS, sometimes the decisions become more clear.
Star Char: Oh, thank you for commenting! I am glad you feel like you made the right decision to not move. And congratulations on your first baby!
Angela
My husband's employer gives the option of a medical reimbursement account which is for paying out-of-pocket health-related expenses for you & dependents, and is funded by monthly PRE-TAX deductions from your paycheck. You need to be careful when deciding on the amount, however, because if you don't use it you lose it. We send in the paperwork & get our reimbursement check within a week. It has been a HUGE help in paying medical bills in full. Worth asking your employer about!
I am SO thankful we have good insurance. Although my son needs $3,000 in dental work and unfortunately we dont have anything saved up. This is a great post! Thanks.
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