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Snowballing bills

4K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  Anna43 
#1 ·
Right now bills are snowballing down on us. Dh had dental surgery last week $600 had to be paid upfront. He now needs denture repairs/replacement to the tune of $3,000 which will need to be paid within the next 60 days. Then the car insurance for 6 months $513 and the household insurance $770 are due between Christmas and New Years -- those are budgeted but painful. To top things off I went to the dentist today with a tooth ache and found out I have a cavity (first in 20 years) in a tooth with a cap so the cap will need replaced $900 plus the cavity taken care of plus I have a cracked molar that needs a cap and possibly a root canal which is going to approach $2,000. I'm thinking I will have the molar pulled rather than putting $2,000 into it. On top of all that I'm retiring at the end of this month so losing my income. My boss wants me to "consult" for a few months to help my replacement get on her feet so I'm thinking I'm going to do that and hope to get the dental bills paid quickly. Our monthly medical expense budget is $600 without adding in all this extra dental plus all the insurance increases January 1. I'm thinking this a test of faith -- I need to trust the Lord to see me thru this financial crisis and not panic!

On the upside my pantry and my freezer are full, Christmas is taken care of and my commuting expenses will disappear when I retire or at least decrease greatly depending on how often I need to "consult". I'm seriously considering selling my car and going down to just one vehicle which will help on car insurance and license. I also should have a few dollars coming in on items I sold on consignment.
 
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#2 ·
So sorry. Medical bills are the hardest.

I'm surprised they will replace the cap. When I had a problem in a tooth that already had a root canal and cap, the dentist just drilled through the cap and put in a filling. Yes, I have a gold cap with a filling in it - quite funny.

Ask if you can switch your auto insurance to every month. My insurance company gives me the option. I can pay as much as I want so I can pay one month this month then 5 months next month or just monthly if I want.

Congratulations on your retirement!
 
#3 ·
dental problems are expensive.. I work in the dental field and sometimes we can get to cavities under crowns without having to replace the crown but it depends on where the decay is. Just remember that it costs more to replace a tooth than to fix it. Also I know you probably dont want to finance it but some dentists offer programs like CareCredit that allow you to pay a little at a time with no interest for 12 months.
 
#4 ·
I've seen the CareCredit used by several of my clients. Our dentist didn't mention it so I'll have to investigate. $6,000 divided by 12 is $500 a month so I'm not sure it would benefit us much as I don't have another $500 available for medical even if we give up eating.

Low income people generally have terrible teeth as do their children because there is no way to get dental work unless you have lots of money. There are very few free dental clinics. There are also very few dentists who will accept a patient who is on Medicaid. Our dentist was paid over $4,000 for work on my m-i-l but refused to see her once she was on Medicaid. That same dentist asked me how I was going to pay for $500 worth of work -- we'd been with him for 25 years and had always paid our bills so I was more than a little insulted to be asked that question. He retired earlier this year a very rich man. I'm looking for a dentist with a bit more of a social conscious who is willing to do at least a little pro bono work each year.
 
#5 ·
Well my boss officially asked me to continue working two days a week for the next two (few?) months. All earnings will go towards the dental mess. Dh got official work his dentures will be $2,500 so slightly less than anticipated. I'm putting off my dental work until his is paid for barring major pain issues.
 
#8 ·
If you live near a dental school.. it's waaaaaay cheaper there. You are still getting topnotch care via the instructor - but the costs are significantly less. You might want to check that out.
I don't know where you live, so I couldn't research dental schools in that area. But look on line and see if there's something close enough.

Best of luck to you!

Cheers!
 
#9 ·
Nearest dental school is in Iowa City which is 4 hour drive east and south of us so not practical. In fact, I think that may be the only dental school in Iowa.

I just worked out my budget for 2013. Unfortunately the $600 per month I've budgeted for medical has already been exceeded. I just wrote checks dated 1/1/13 which totaled $1279.20 and that's before we get into actual medical expenses. I know $2,500 for dh's dentures plus $340 for RX to meet deductible, plus any RX I need filled, plus diabetic supplies, plus my dental (which I'm hoping to put off for a couple months but will be around $2,000), plus dh has an eye appointment. YIKES. I did not put any of my temporary earnings into the budget and will apply them 100% to medical expenses. Next step is to organize everything for 2012 tax returns.

We received $60 in gift cards for Walmart, $100 for Target and $50 for Fareway which will help a bit. I used $25 at Fareway for steak for New Year's eve plus some specials I found. Best was a sack of overripe bananas for 99¢ most of which went into the freezer for smoothies but we also had several for snacks and one went into an apple salad. There was very little waste.

We are going to shop tomorrow for dh a new winter jacket as the zipper broke on his. Hopefully we will find a super dupper bargain on a quality coat.
 
#10 ·
Those dental bills can sure add up fast. I'm sorry you have so many of these to figure out how to pay. We were fortunate that even when we were making well under 28k for a family of 4 we always had dental insurance. Not necessarily good insurance but some. We once had to finance a bit under 5k with the dentists office when we were in our 20's for dh.

I don't know anything about your personal situation so this may not apply at all. However if one is able to stack and sort boxes UPS part time employees get free benefits that include dental once 90 days are up. A friends of mine whom is a music teacher specifically went to work part time there after we told her that just because with them being self employed their ins. was really high. They also have a lot of retired from their previous profession people doing the sorting and loading.
 
#11 ·
I'll turn 70 in March and have serious arthritis in my thumbs so its really time for full retirement for me. In fact, I need surgery on my left hand in the not too distant future to try and regain use of my thumb. Dh has been disabled since 2001.

We found dh a new winter jacket at Penneys on sale for $25 so that went well.
 
#13 ·
Well, here we are in April. My medical budget ($600 per month) for the year (3 years?) is shot. January $1,619.52, February $1,996.94, March $1,448.62. So far for April I've racked up another $1,400 in dental bills above the $600 medical budget. I'm praying this is the end of unbudgeted, unplanned for medical expenses for the next couple of years!! I've been cutting in every other place possible and throwing those $'s into medical. So far I've not taken anything from savings, but am afraid that I'll have to in June to pay car insurance and again in Sept. to pay taxes and again in Dec. to pay car insurance and house insurance since that money has been going to medical. We'll see.
 
#14 ·
I am still on DR baby step number 1, but this is a real eye opener for me. You stated earlier that you are 70. Are these medical costs after what Medicare pays? Or do you not get Medicare? Does Medicare cover dental? Sorry for all the questions, but after seeing this I don't feel like I will ever be able to retire.
 
#15 ·
Part of the monthly medical expense are premiums for supplemental insurance $158.10 & $162.30 and for RX insurance premiums $37.60 & $34.10 Note these are EACH monthly premiums. No family plan we each have to have our own policies. The monthly budget does not include the $104.90 & $104.90 withheld from Social Security for Medicare premiums.

Dental is not covered. Eye glasses are not covered although eye exams are covered for the portion that is considered medical exam but not vision exam. Hearing aids are not covered. RX insurance does not cover 100%. First there is a deductible ($325) then dh has $2 copay. Then there are RX items not covered. I'm fortunate in that all of my RX are under the $4 ($10 for 90 days) plans at various pharmacies so I don't meet my deductible in a year. Dh on the other hand meets his deductible by mid February each year. In April his out-of-pocket for RX was $81.41 and in March it was $68.22. Our dentist has received $3,760 from us since 1/1/13.
 
#16 ·
Anna, I hope you get to enjoy retirement....it's really tough to live on SS.....medical bills can add up fast ......Paid $2700 for 3 months supply of one of my meds in Feb which pushed me into the donut hole......so now I only had to pay $300 today for another 3 months supply....which is good for us....just at the beginning of the year is tough....I have been going to my dentist for over 20 years and he is very expensive but I refuse to change....I hate dentists and even after 20 years I still get nervous about going.....he has been super nice and told me I could make payments now that I have no insurance...getting old is hell!!!!!
Good luck....I commend you for working till you are 70....I had to retire at 64 due to server RA....my new meds really works even tho it is expensive....Hopefully I can continue taking......my advise for the younger set is to save, save, save.....take care of yourself............medical bills can wipe you out and it is something that you can can't always control......
 
#17 ·
Taking good care of your physical health while you are younger will provide your best chance at good health in retirement. There are a lot of things that you can't control, but there are many that you can. For instance, our $3,500 dental was new dentures for dh who refused to go to a dentist for 30 years plus was a smoker for 40 years.

Go for an annual physical. Have regular dental and eye exams. Exercise. Keep your weight at a healthly level. Stop smoking. Stop drinking. Don't participate in dangerous high risk activities. Use your seat belt and drive defensively. These you can control.

If your health is optium, then you have a better chance to survive the things you cannot control.
 
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