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May 5, 2023    |       16 comments

What Would You Do With an Inheritance?

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Hey Blogging Away Debt readers! I’m looking for a little input this week about something happening in our lives.

Last December, my beloved Meemaw passed away. I was (still am) absolutely heartbroken and it was very unexpected. She lived an amazing life and was pretty healthy. In the end, her colon cancer returned (she’d had a colostomy bag my whole life). When she went to go have surgery to remove the newest polyps, they took her off her blood thinner before the procedure. This ultimately led her to a massive stroke.

In January, I got a notice that I was one of six people named as beneficiaries in her trust. This was a surprise to me as we are adopted into the family. I assumed everything would go to her blood relatives (and I honestly only wanted the family photos from her house), but I’m extremely thankful for whatever she’s left.

I know that she had a net worth in the millions, but I have no idea how much will be left to me exactly. However, I’ve been considering some of the things I might do with a larger sum of money.

First, of course, I’d pay off debts (the IRS and our car first, student loans if there’s enough). Having these things paid off would free up a lot of income month-to-month and make it easier for us to save. My husband has mentioned looking at houses as well, but with the way the market is right now, I don’t think that’s the smartest decision unless we have a really big chunk we could put down AND eliminate all other debts.

I also contemplated booking a vacation to Disney World (one of my Meemaw’s favorite places). I know this isn’t the most responsible way of spending any of the money, but I know it’s something she’d love to know we did.

When all is said and done, I got what I really wanted – the big box of photos from her house. Everything else is just a wonderful added surprise.

All of that being said, how would you all spend an inheritance? What things would you focus on? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

May 1, 2023    |       2 comments

Finding the Tax Problem & More Upcoming Medical Bills

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Medical bills and taxes

In the short time I’ve been writing here on Blogging Away Debt I’ve let everyone take a look at what’s been going on in our hectic lives over the last few years. More recently, we’ve faced medical bills increasing and tax problems. Well, I’ve got an update on both of those things for you today.

Chatting With a Tax Pro

As I mentioned in a recent blog post, we wound up owing quite a bit of money at tax time. I couldn’t figure out why. As discussed in the comments, I’ve made estimated payments throughout the year, etc. The problem, as it turned out, was because of my healthcare marketplace coverage that I had early last year.

The coverage lasted from January through June and covered me and my daughter. My husband didn’t get his job or insurance until April and we held on to my marketplace coverage for an additional two months just in case the new job wasn’t working out (he was hired on as a six-month temp at first).

Doing so put me in hot water when it came to filing taxes for a couple of reasons. First, any time the household income changed, I needed to update it in the marketplace and they’d adjust my coverage. So, when my husband took the job in April, I should have immediately gone in and made those adjustments. I failed to do so.

On top of that, we wound up making too much as a household to qualify for the kind of discount I was getting through the marketplace. So, I had to pay all of the monthly premiums in full (over $1,200 monthly). This was the first time I’d ever used the marketplace, so this has been a huge learning experience. Thankfully, we won’t be in this situation again this year, but with fees, etc. it really did add up!

Now that we have that nailed down, however, I can breathe a little bit and we can start paying off that debt.

Upcoming Medical Bills

A number of people close to me (and a number of you all) suggested that I go back to the doctor and get to the bottom of what’s going on, especially where my heart arrhythmia is concerned. I scheduled an appointment last week to get the ball rolling on that. We adjusted my blood pressure medication again, which seems to be helping with the higher readings I’ve been having.

The doctor also suggested that we do a 48-hour heart monitor test. I’ll be going to the Heart & Vascular Institute to have the monitor installed and then return in two days to have it removed. Hopefully they will catch an arrhythmia or episode during that time so that we can figure out what’s going on.

If they don’t catch anything, the doctor suggested I consider some sort of treatment for anxiety. While I don’t feel like my anxiety is all that bad, I know that stress can be a killer – and I have plenty of it.

There is no telling how much this will cost. Medical bills for last week’s visit will be here soon, I’m sure. We will likely hit our deductible soon though and then everything after that is easy peasy. That said, I’m really just ready to figure out what’s going on and to FEEL WELL. Here’s to hoping!

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