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Posts tagged with: camping
Jul 7, 2020    |       13 comments

Dental Insurance – Short Term

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I bit the bullet this past weekend and purchased dental insurance for Gymnast, Princess and I. We haven’t had dental insurance in FOREVER. Back in Virginia, we had regular dental care through the dental schools. It was great and cheap and great!

Since the move to Georgia, we had dental coverage for the 9 months, I returned to the corporate world and everyone had their teeth cleaned, cavities filled, etc. But since then, nothing. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it and Princess has regularly reminded me. But taking the time to find a dental school just hasn’t been a priority.

At one point I did call the local dentist we used and their out of pocket costs were just way too high to me.

But I finally bit the bullet and purchased a 6 months policy for the littles and I and plan to make appointments as soon as we get back to Georgia. We all need a cleaning and I’m praying we don’t have any cavities. But we will deal with those if we do.

And Princess needs a new retainer. She got her braces taken off 6 months after we moved to Georgia. I’m hoping the dentist can help with that; otherwise, I may call her orthodontist in Virginia and see if they cover it at all. We shall see.

Bundled with Health Insurance

I am happy with the cost of this policy. It will be just around $300 for the 6 months for the 3 us and covers preventative care at 100%. I bundled it with our health insurance to save an extra $4 per month I think. That means I’m paying right at $210 for the 3 of us per month. That’s a number I’m comfortable with.

Our policy has a really high deductible ($12,500 I believe) but since we rarely and by that I mean really never go to the doctor, it’s good for emergencies.

I considered adding vision but since Princess got new glasses a year ago and I recently had my eyes checked with no change to my prescription, I decided I could save that add on for another year.

Losing My Hearing

Another motivation for this insurance purchase is that, there is a very good chance, based on the last couple of months that I am losing my hearing. It’s not significant yet, but it’s definitely to the point where I am getting concerned.

This policy, for whatever reason, also provides coverage for hearing tests and discounts on hearing aids. My guess is those are in my immediate future…or my kids are just going to have to speak a lot louder all the time. (They already get onto me for how loud my “normal” voice has become.)

As my parents have always said…”Growing old isn’t for sissies!”

Jul 3, 2020    |       8 comments

Double Dipping as a Birthday Present

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Gymnast just turned 15. And when your child needs nothing but wants everything. They are really hard to shop for. And when you do not want to pay for luggage to bring him back from visiting his Grandparents..you Double Dip.

I don’t think that’s the right term for what I ended up doing…

I bought him a couple of funny cards from the Dollar Store. And I created a gift certificate for his birthday present…

I had budgeted $100 for his birthday…$50 for a present and $50 for a birthday meal. (This is my standard birthday budget for each of the kids. I’ve shared this before.)

But I also knew I was going to spend some money on back to school clothes for him. So I added it all together and put it in a certificate. (I did tell him that we wouldn’t be going shopping until a decision was made on where he will be living this fall. If he goes back up north, he will need very different school clothes then if he remains in  Georgia.)

He is thrilled…especially with the larger number. (I had already explained it to the girls so they didn’t wonder why he was getting more $$$ than them for school clothes.) And I am thrilled that I didn’t buy him anything bulky that has to be shipped by to Georgia.

My dad purchased the birthday dinner. He typically pays for our food when we are in Texas. And 3 of my 4 siblings came. We ordered in and celebrated while respecting social distancing. And it was wonderful.

The birthday boy and I…I look at this picture and realize that I look like I’ve been working around the clock. Tired and bedraggled, but no regrets, I am making real progress for the first time in a long time!

Worth the Risk

I am so grateful that we came. We all have the nagging worry about COVID 19. But my mom is not getting any better. And seeing her, well, it’s not something I was willing to give up especially knowing that I may not be able to come back over the holidays as the virus gets worth and we go back into quarantine.

We are respecting social distancing, wearing masks and sanitizing like crazy.

The girls and I were masked and sanitized for our entire trip.

And my siblings were fantastic in welcoming Beauty to the family and gave each of the girls a birthday card of their own with a little cash. (Since they don’t really do anything on Princess’ birthday, they always make sure to do something when we are around and they make sure they are fair.)

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