I was going to entitle this blog “motherfucker.”
I got another bill from the endoscopy procedure.
$899.
Why the fuck do I pay so much in insurance?
And get so damn little?
Which I am sure will be on my mind tomorrow when I go in for my dentist appointment.
The last time I was there the dentist said I should get a mouth guard.
And of course, it’s not covered by my dental.
I am not sure what my dental covers, truth be told, I’ve paid a ton out-of-pocket for the work I have had done.
The mouth guard will run about $400.
Which I have been preparing myself for and have not more animosity about it, I need it, I don’t want to grind my teeth at night, why am I stressed?
Bwaahahahahaha.
Sigh.
But I wasn’t expecting another damn bill from the endoscopy.
It feels like I just paid a bill.
For about $900 not even a month ago.
However, there it was, all cheerful and cheeky with its return envelope in my mail tonight when I got home.
Ugh.
I opened it and tried to not pay attention to it, I got a phone call right as I did.
Give the person on the line your complete attention, they are important, not this stupid letter that looks suspiciously like a bill.
Looks like a bill because it is a bill.
I looked at it after I got off the phone.
$899!
For things your insurance doesn’t cover.
There was a big block of letters in the billing area, “insurance company does not cover,” well isn’t that terrific?
I was about to fish out a stamp and write a check and put it in my wallet to mail tomorrow, but then I thought, fuck it, save the stamp, just pay it now, get it over with.
I have the money, I was just hoping to put it towards a new place, not old medical bills.
I got online.
I got logged into their weird payment system.
And!
I don’t have a bill there!
No bill means nothing to pay.
I wondered about that, was I billed twice?
I decided to just double-check and I called the number on the bill and logged into my account, which confirmed that I have nothing outstanding!
Zero balance.
I just chucked the bill in the trash.
Fuck you bill.
The nice thing, now that I don’t have to pay the bill, fingers crossed it would suck if that suddenly changed, but the nice thing was that even though I had a momentary hissy fit, I wasn’t really balking at paying it.
I was just going to get it over with and pay it.
I am grateful for that in my life.
That I pay my bills when I get them.
I don’t like owing money and I have worked really hard for the last 13 years to be really clean with my money.
I don’t always succeed.
But I don’t owe any money to friends or to medical institutions (it would seem).
I owe money on my car, but I tell you what, with the exception of one month, I have paid double my car payment every month.
I am pretty happy about that.
I plan on making a payment tomorrow, I do them on the 4th when the payment is due, despite not really owing one, my next payment isn’t due until December, I’d rather just keep the habit going and I’ll pay tomorrow.
Hell I may even just pay it tonight to get it out-of-the-way since I’m writing about money and finances.
And, of course, I owe on my student loans.
But I’m not in default and I do pay them when I’m not enrolled in school.
I also don’t owe any money on any credit cards
Or, as the case may be, the one card I have.
In fact, I am thinking it’s time to cancel the damn thing.
I got it last year after being persuaded by a friend and haven’t used it once.
I could be accruing travel miles and such, but really the thought of using it wierds me out.
I had credit card debt, and a fair good bit of it.
I worked really fucking hard for a few years and got it wheedled down and then, yes, upon the suggestion of a lawyer, I filed for bankruptcy.
It’s a little complicated, but basically I spent two years busting my ass to pay off debt that was mostly acquired when I was in early sobriety.
I had run up my cards, got sober, and then was so broke and destitute for my first year that I never made any payments.
And boy howdy did that add up fast.
The interest on the cards skyrocketed and it was worse than paying off a loan shark.
I think I had 9% on one card that went to 28%.
And the other had started around 12% and was at 31%.
My lawyer basically told me I would never get out from under it, that I had made a huge effort to rectify the situation, I really had, worked so much for those years to work with the collection agencies, to the point I was on a first name basis with two different women, made amends financially, did the work, read front to back twice “How to get out debt, stay out of debt, and live prosperously,” by Jerrold Mundis, that I had records of all my payment plans, of everyone I had talked to, that I kept track of how much I spent and that I hadn’t any other debt, was huge.
I handed the lawyer such an enormous amount of spending plans, budgets, records, and notes that he literally was able to turn around the case and file it within two weeks of me seeing him.
I guess normally it takes longer because the lawyer has to do all the work that I had been doing for the past years.
So.
Yeah.
I’m not really interested in that kind of thing happening again and though I understand my friend’s reasonings, I think I am going to just cancel it.
Feels better.
Not as good as throwing away that medical bill.
But damn close.
Damn skippy close indeed.
Auntiebubba 