Playbook Update - Insurance

Remember the playbook? I'm so happy to say that although I'm falling behind on the summer goal (which is quickly becoming a joke), I am making progress on the playbook. After much, and I do mean much, research I finally applied for a health insurance policy. Gosh, after all of the debate over health insurance and all of the horror stories, I was a little intimidated and careful to answer each and every question asked. The last thing I want is to have a claim denied or my insurance policy rescinded because I neglected to answer something incorrectly.

Medical - On yesterday I received confirmation that my application had been approved with no adjustments. That means that the underwriters didn't find anything to exclude or anything that would cause the rate to be more than what was quoted. Yippee!! I will be able to continue with my beloved high deductible health plan but now I have to shop around for another health savings account (HSA) at a financial institution. Currently I do not pay any fees for my HSA because my employer covers them. Now I'm on the hunt for an account that won't charge me fees. There's something about me paying you to hold my money that just doesn't sit well with me, not at all!

As far as the cost, I budgeted $250 for my monthly insurance expense ... and that was to cover both health premiums and HSA contributions. The plan I have is $91.18 per month so that means I'll contribute $158.82 per month to my HSA (the IRS limit is either $2,900 or $3,000 for single payers). Oh yeah, prior to completing the app, I checked with my medical providers to see if they accepted the insurance that I was applying for, yep they all do!

Dental - I'm going to pass for now and just pay for the cleanings out of the HSA. The cost benefit for dental insurance isn't worth it to me. I'd pay about $40 per month with a $50 deductible, only to get $1,000 of coverage. So $40 a month equals $480 a year - plus the $50 deductible is $530. So you're telling me that I have to put in $530 to get $1,000, no thank you. Since my dentist charges about $100 for cleanings, I'll just pay it on my own. The way I see it, I come out ahead. Now let's just hope that I don't have any major dental work needed. If I do, I'll get some insurance at that time and wait out the exclusion period. LOL.

I'm getting closer to the great exodus!

The $36 Sandwich and Fruit Plate

Yesterday I was craving a sandwich (panini to be exact) and some fresh fruit so I proceeded to take me and my cravings to Publix to get all the fixings for my make-shift panini. Nearly $36 dollars later I had almost everything (the avocados didn't look too good so I ventured to Kroger where they were $1 each). I'm wondering if I would have been better off just buying the sandwich and some fruit from the deli or even another sandwich shop such as Quiznos.

***10 minutes later***

Apparently there is some kind of internal problem that's preventing me from uploading the receipt. I'll post the link at the end if you're interested in viewing.

So, did this unplanned $36 trip to the grocery store bust the budget? I mean after all, it's not secret that I constantly struggle to stay on budget at the grocery store. Luckily I did not go over budget this time - reason being, I haven't been cooking so I haven't spent much of the grocery shopping allowance. Ha! By default I'm still ahead. Hey, I'll take a win however I can;-). Whooty Hoo!!

P.S. As promised, click here to view the grocery list.

Summer Goal Update 2

If at first you don't succeed, try again, and again, and once more. Yep, that's what I'm going to do. I set a goal to run 100 miles by the end of August. It can be argued that I failed miserably. Seriously, from the looks of it I wonder if I even tried?! Oh well, I'm lacing up the running shoes and striving to accomplish the goal again through the end of September. Even though I didn't come close to my goal, I did better than the sidebar reflects. Somewhere along the way I stopped updating my tracking sheet, thinking to myself "I'll remember how many miles I ran and update it later." Yeah, NOT! So here I go once again, 75 miles to run by September 30th. Can I do it, yes; will I do it, hmm, we'll see. Here is the infamous crossroad that often eludes many, the intersection of desire and discipline. We often have desires for a preferred end but lack the discipline or stamina to see it through. The way I see it, desire is the vehicle and discipline is the gasoline, you can only run on fumes for so long. Someone once told me to never let my car get below 1/4 of a tank of gas because garbage can get into your fuel line which will eventually cause your car to run badly. The same is true with our goals, when we become less and less disciplined, "garbage" begins to fill the gap and before you know it, we're off course and heading towards a different destination - the repair shop to get retooled and refocused, if possible. Now that I'm refocused, let's see if I can keep the tank at or close to full.

How Did That Happen?

Yikes ... how did that happen? Wow, remember when I said I would let my hair down a bit and take a break from frugality (here)? Well, now I remember why I budget in the first place. You see, I didn't just take a break, I broke the budget! Yes ma'am, yes sir, I just lost my ever loving mind. In the words of Sophia from The Golden Girls, picture this ...

Georgia, summer 2009, warm weather, extended daylight hours, cheap flights, new restaurants, the euphoric feeling of life that summer brings, yes, all the makings for a good excuse to loosen the budget just a tad. A tad indeed is what I hoped for, but as it's been said, give someone an inch and they'll take a mile. According to citibank, I have a balance of $711.99 on my credit card! What, huh, just for the month of July?! Funny how those little $20 and $30 transactions added up to a number much bigger than I imagined. Please believe me, $712 is way outside of my comfort zone for frivolous, unaccounted for spending.

Since the majority of the transactions were less than $30, I'm not going to spend too much time trying to add up each and every purchase. There is one culprit that I think requires me to be in the financial hall of shame for July. You'd have to really know me to understand the gravity of what I'm about to say ... I spent $201.60 on freaggin costume jewelry last month! Yes, $201.60. Now, I'm not even a jewelry kind of girl, definitely not costume jewelry. You know what happens, a friend invites you to their "party" and if you're like me, you want to show your support so you buy something (my friend is not the type to pressure you, she actually hates that I feel this way). Because you want a good deal, you offer to host a "party" as well, giving in to the gluttony of getting something for free or darn near free. Then you have a party and of course, you can't have a party and not purchase more stuff because you're getting all of these great deals, right?! Granted, I have some fabulous pieces that I absolutely love, and honestly, I'm happy that I have them. It's a good thing for Lia Sophia that I was on a frugal hiatus or I wouldn't have purchased any of it. I have them, I love them, it was a weak moment, I'm over it. Oh yeah, in case you're interested, you really can't beat their return policy and yes, I am very happy with my selections - 9 necklaces and 4 pairs of earrings.

The remaining balance consists of an airline ticket for $139.40 and a bunch of this and a little of that. Wow, so how did that happen, yeah, I think we all know.
P.S., I primarily use my credit card for online purchases, travel and recurring monthly expenses such as the gym and netflix. It's paid off every month.

Reality Check

Intentions are great but I can't seem to convert them into executable actions as it relates to this blog. Honestly, a day doesn't go by without me thinking about typing a post. Most of you are fully aware that I'm working on a career transition. It's been bitter sweet because things have picked up at the new career (the sweet) but they've also picked up significantly at the existing career (the bitter). So, my reality check is this, regardless how much I desire to blog consistently, that may not be a reality for the next few weeks or months, while I'm juggling two careers.

Remember the proposal that I submitted? It's in the final stages but guess what, I submitted another proposal to a new potential client last week and now I'm waiting on the verdict. If this proposal is accepted it would yield 50 - 95% more than the first proposal. Go me!!

Since I hope to transition soon one thing that I need to do immediately is apply for health insurance. This site has been helpful in providing options and quotes. If I'm not successful going at it alone, I'll try an insurance broker. My first preference is to go with a high deductible health plan so that I can continue with my health savings account. I soo don't like HMOs so I'm definitely trying to stay with a PPO. Something about getting permission to see a specialist just doesn't do it for me.

Until next time,

New Snack In The Stash

Do you remember the summer goal I started this month? Well anytime I finish a fun I feel like I'm close to starving. You should see me when I enter my house. I'm grabbing for anything that I can get my hands on, several things at once ... digging in the cereal box, unwrapping slices of cheese, reaching for this morning's left over turkey bacon, you name it. It's really a sight to see and I often end up eating crap that makes me feel like my run was sabotaged by the goulash of processed carbs and high fructose corn syrup that I devoured in 15 seconds flat. All of this brings me to my new love, Larabars.

A Larabar is my saving grace after a run. It's the "original" fruit and nut food bar and what you see is what you get! Check the ingredients list to the left (dates, almonds, pecans, ginger, cinnamon & cloves). That's it! I've tried several flavors and they are all delicious. Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on some of the other fruit or energy bars? Good golly miss molly ... the list is the length of my arm. Although a bit pricey, I'm pretty pleased. Around my way they are priced anywhere from $1.19 - $1.69 each. Regardless, I'm happy to include them in my go to stash for snacks.

The Rubber Meets The Road

Sorry for the dark week but somebody has been really busy! Remember that proposal I mentioned a few weeks ago? Well it was accepted so I've been a little buried preparing for that and doing everything else that needs to get done - not to mention wrapping up a course that I must complete by 7/31.

Ideally I would like to stay at the corporate gig until 1/31/10 but that possibility is more bleak now than it was a few weeks ago. I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, I guess it just depends on whose lens you're looking through, but it is getting more and more difficult to balance the two. The demands at both places are increasing - the corp gig wants more of my time and the dream career is picking up steam as well - case in point, the accepted proposal mentioned earlier. Because of the pull in two directions, I'm barely making it and feeling like I'm not doing an excellent job in either area. I'm over worked, extremely tired and not getting much sleep. I know, cry me a river right. But hey, it's the truth.

The liberation fund is not quite where I want it to be, thanks in large to several financial interruptions that have blind-sided me. I take the good with the bad, that's life. The good - I have not touched (i.e. make any withdrawals) the liberation fund or the e-fund. The bad - I have not been able to stack my chips in the lib fund the way I want to. The savings momentum decreased significantly when the plumbing and car repairs decided to lay claims to my money.

So where does that leave me? Hmm. That's the million dollar question. I'm reassessing a few things, trying to determine a more realistic time for the great exodus. Assuming no more interruptions and short of money falling out of the sky, I probably won't have my lib fund stocked to a level that provides me the most comfort. However, I will not sacrifice the greater good for a few grand ... I'll take the leap first. After all, from where I sit, the worst that could happen is that I return to corporate.