Tuesday

Casadena · August 2023

What's new today?

Casadena · August 2023

Forgot to mention yesterday that we took the boys to see a Laurie Berkner concert (kids artist) since G was feeling good over the weekend. It was so fun and i got a little teary watching them dance and giggle together. Will definitely go back when she's in our area again!

Plugging through a few work things today, off tomorrow for appointments, work Thursday, then off Friday for my hair appointment - so the week feels very short!

VarunaTT · August 2023

Mostly SSDD. Just grinding away at work. Nothing too interesting going on. RIght now, I'm just waiting for the weekend, b/c I have tickets to see Spirited Away on the big screen!

Went over to mom's last night, for what was supposed to be a simple process of setting up a new phone/provider for her. How silly of me to imagine simplicity! IDK what was going on, but the order woudl just NOT go through. Finally, just before I left and had messed about with some other things on her computer, I tried one more time and it worked. Whew.

We also discussed selling the house. We are going to meet with a real estate agent that I am friends with and I would use this month, just to get the education we both need. I also showed mom the community I'd like her to move in to, and after she saw all the amenities, she was far more interested than before. Hell, I'm not THAT far away from 55 and they look good to me! They are patio homes, with all utilities included (including internet), lawn maintance, snow removal, washer/dryer, on-site 24/7 maintanence, trash service, plus a "concierge" service which is one of the local home healthcare companies providing basically a personal assistant for a set amount of hours included.

mrsconn23 · August 2023

That sounds like an amazing plan for your mom, @varunatt. Good luck and I hope it works out.

DH and I are in a little bit of a transitional hell at the moment. We were going to work on the office this past weekend since he's WAH with me now when he's not traveling. Welp, we had a leak in our master bath we've known about for a little bit (because of a spot on our living room ceiling) and decided we were going to tackle it after vacation. The spot got much bigger when DH was OOT last week, so we pulled up the toilet on Friday. That led to the floor and subfloor having to come up. And now we're knee-deep in the midst of a bathroom reno (except the shower). The office will have to wait, le sigh. I do need to go shopping for a new shower curtain and rugs.

School starts tomorrow. I think we're ready.

I have a work dinner tonight, where I'm meeting new people, and of course, I have a massive zit forming on my chin. I hate having to cover zits with makeup, but this thing may as well have it's own zip code on my chin. Ugh.

SSDD otherwise.

short+sassy · August 2023

@VarunaTT, my husband is 10 years older than me and already over 55. We are thinking about changing our phone service to T-Mobile. They are having a special where it is only $27.50/each for two lines, for people 55+. We are currently with Metro PCS (who use T-Mobile's towers anyway) and pay $40/month per line. So not a huge savings. But still, $25/month cheaper.

We considered 55+ places when previously thinking about moving to Ocala, FL. There are TONS in that area. Including an entire 55+ city (The Villages, FL) of 130K people. I can see the appeal. They often have a lot of amenities, including some household bills that are covered like you mentioned. Though 55+ is a bit of a misnomer because that's the minimum age. Most people in those communities are in their 70s-80s.

At least in FL, it seemed those houses were also cheaper. I assumed because the buyer base is limited. There was also a correlation between how cheap the house was and how high the HOA fees were! Ooof! Some of those HOA fees were eye-popping.

Some disappointment and anger yesterday. I got the insurance renewal for one of my rental properties. It's with that Louisiana Citizens "last resort", semi-government insurance. Last year, the LA State Insurance Commissioner approved Citizens being able to raise insurance rates by 63% for existing policies, upon renewal. As such, I was already expecting it to be raised 63%.

But that's the max., right? That was the STRONG impression, if not outright saying it, that the state and local governments and the media gave last year when it happened. Hence my confusion when I saw an increase that was more than 63%. I called my insurance agent. Who had to call Citizens to get the scoop.

The real story is that Citizens couldn't raise the average rate for the state more than 63%, but that limit was not "per policy". And they raised the rates in the New Orleans area by 76%, across the board.

I'm already past how awful and outrageous insurance is here. But this made me mad about all the government officials who at best "misled", if not outright lied to people about how these Citizens increases are done.

So now I'll be shopping insurance rates. Again (sigh). There are more insurance companies in the market now and rates have gone down a bit. Hopefully I can find something better.

CharmedPam · August 2023

Sounds so cute @Casadena
i fhink about those 55+ communities a lot. I’m more than likely going to be single the rest of my life and I think I’d benefit from those. Having people around sounds good to me!

I’ve been experiencing some really bad shoulder pain the last month, sometimes I can’t even move my arm. Everyone’s been telling me to get it checked out. I was on my rally page for United HC yesterday. If we do certain health things throughout the year, we can redeem up to $300 in giftcards. Ironically enough rally had an orthopedic program that gave me $75 in gc if I signed up. I just finished the call with the nurse, and I think that call was all I needed for it? She really didnt give me any info but a list of specialists to call, that I could have looked up in network myself - but I’m trying to bank up rally points lol.

ei34 · August 2023

@Casadena we like Laurie too, that sounds so fun

@short+sassy boo on all the insurance stuff

I like the idea of 55+ communities too, though when I'm 55 my kids will only be in their mid-twenties and will probably still need a launching pad for another few years. But maybe someday, who knows.
The kids are over the HFM and I'm over them having it. I do think they've passed the point of contagiousness as the blisters look a lot better today, no new ones and no fevers.

short+sassy · August 2023

I hate United HC for a lot of reasons. Unfortunately, that is who my employer uses. We don't have any programs like that. It seems very bare bones.

What especially drives me nuts about them is their constant telephone harassment. It's like, between my employer and myself, we pay you insane premiums for very little payout on your end (it's a high deductible plan). So do you really have to inundate me with telemarketing phone calls and mail also?

That whole "talking to a nurse" thing is one of their aggravations. They call me every month or two wanting me to schedule a conversation with a "diabetes educator" nurse, aka they're maybe an expert in Type 2 diabetes. Not the type I have. Every time they call, I beg them to stop calling me about this. After still trying to talk me into this "free benefit", despite my EMPHATIC NO. They then claim to do something with my file so that I no longer receive these calls. Until the next call comes like clockwork.

Same story with their reminder phone calls to see the dentist.

Same thing with constant snail mail about checking my A1C and cholesterol levels. Which I have also repeatedly asked them not to mail me, but the onslaught continues. They don't even pay anything for my lab work or doctor's visits, so STFU about it.

Lots of useless e-mails from them also, but I've never complained about that.

I do not understand why they refuse to honor my wishes to just be LEFT ALONE.

CharmedPam · August 2023

Oh, I’ve never experienced that with united. The nurse I had was very pleasant and she asked ME if I wanted the follow up call. That constant calling would be annoying - but I never pick up my phone so maybe I don’t even know they’re doing it? Lol.
You probably hate the plan your company chose with United amd not United itself. My ex had them too, and when we divorced I had to switch to my company’s plan and noticed a few differences like co-pay amounts, deductibles, etc. it’s what our companies chose. The biggest thing I noticed was his plan offered (in my eyes anyway) my life saving gastric sleeve surgery and mine did not.
my friend worked HR at her old company, and was trying for a baby, so she got to put her company health policy together and guess what she added? Affordable IVF options! She got pregnant down the line too

banana468 · August 2023

Oh DH got acquainted recently w/ the UHC lady who was studying Chiquita's case. He now knows her phone number so it goes to "ignore". Luckily it appears that they're paying for her care so I'll at least take that but know we're now in for the repeated calls / assessments now that our kid has an autoimmune disease.

Casadena · August 2023

Ugh I get those calls all the time too - from a BCBS nurse who can help "manage" our case/bills/etc. I talked to them once but literally all she did was say she didn't know the answers to my few questions and pointed me to the websit - safe to say i definitely know way more about my insurance coverage and billing. Over the last few years i've truly just stopped answering my phone - if it's important someone will leave a message...

short+sassy · August 2023

@CharmedPam, unfortunately, with the side gig work I do and the various calls I make for my business, I feel like I have to answer my phone or I could be missing out on something important. The occasional bogus telemarketing call happens. But in this case, I'm their customer! So it's outrageous to me that a business will purposely ignore what their customers want, over such unimportant information.

Some of it is principle also. I find all those dumb phone/snail mail reminders patronizing. They aren't my parents. They're my insurer. And I've been taking care of my health just fine without them, my entire adult life.

On a better note, that's amazing for your friend! I feel like insurance rarely has any coverage for fertility treatments. Certainly helpful she was in a position to cherry-pick the medical insurer, lol.

CharmedPam · August 2023

Oh crap; maybe I just set myself up for some more calls….

charlotte989875 · August 2023

Thinking of you @MNNEBride, that’s a lot.

@mrsconn23. Are you doing it yourselves?

An all day offsite at work. We have another one on Thursday but a bit of a break tomorrow where I will actually get work done.

Tuesday

Re: Tuesday

Choose Another Board

Search Boards