Now that we have an income again, we decided to give away all of it to the orthodontist. We do have dental coverage, and all the receptionists gush about what great dental coverage we have.
So yesterday Karianne and Susan had their initial consultations. Sure enough, the doctor said, they need braces. Before I bit my tongue, I was about to ask him if he ever consults with someone who doesn't need braces. But I decided that he didn't know me well enough to get the joke, so I refrained.
Then he gave me the estimates for the work they need.
Holy overdraft Batman! Our portion is $3180. Each. Assuming Nathan's work is the same, that's freaking $9540 out of pocket! And we have GREAT dental coverage, lest you forget.
Must. Not. Hyperventilate.
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Word to the Wise
Never take five children with you to any retail venue. Trust me--you'll regret it.
Take Wednesday, for example. Megan had earned one of those insidious little Pizza Hut coupons from school for achieving her reading goal for March. You know the ones -- "bring this to any participating Pizza Hut location for your free Personal Pan Pizza". It sounds innocent, but it's a sinister conspiracy to sell pizza. I guess I left my brain in bed that morning, because I took all four kids plus an extra teenager with me to redeem that little scrap of consumerist propaganda. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to make all the other kids watch Megan eat her little fried disk of dough covered with extra cheese; I ended up buying four additional PPP's. But it would be 15 minutes until they were ready, so we went for a walk. Past the bakery where I dropped $4.20 for six orange rolls. Then on down to Payless Shoes, where it just happened to be BOGO week, so of course we couldn't just buy one pair of shoes for Susan's birthday. Nooooooooo we must buy two, to get our money's worth!
Pizzas consumed, we entered Wal-Mart. Walmart was inspired, I believe, by the devil. Not because of it's labor issues or market manipulation, but because I somehow cannot walk out of that store without having spent at least $50, even if I only had two small items on my list. On this day, the damage was far worse, because I had five adorable little and big helpers to fill the cart for me.
I've got to figure out a better strategy before April's Pizza Hut Reading Coupon comes home.
Take Wednesday, for example. Megan had earned one of those insidious little Pizza Hut coupons from school for achieving her reading goal for March. You know the ones -- "bring this to any participating Pizza Hut location for your free Personal Pan Pizza". It sounds innocent, but it's a sinister conspiracy to sell pizza. I guess I left my brain in bed that morning, because I took all four kids plus an extra teenager with me to redeem that little scrap of consumerist propaganda. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to make all the other kids watch Megan eat her little fried disk of dough covered with extra cheese; I ended up buying four additional PPP's. But it would be 15 minutes until they were ready, so we went for a walk. Past the bakery where I dropped $4.20 for six orange rolls. Then on down to Payless Shoes, where it just happened to be BOGO week, so of course we couldn't just buy one pair of shoes for Susan's birthday. Nooooooooo we must buy two, to get our money's worth!
Pizzas consumed, we entered Wal-Mart. Walmart was inspired, I believe, by the devil. Not because of it's labor issues or market manipulation, but because I somehow cannot walk out of that store without having spent at least $50, even if I only had two small items on my list. On this day, the damage was far worse, because I had five adorable little and big helpers to fill the cart for me.
I've got to figure out a better strategy before April's Pizza Hut Reading Coupon comes home.
Crack in the Dam
As I shared a few weeks ago (has it been that long already? No wonder I can't keep houseplants alive!), Tom will start a "Real Job" in mid June at L3 Communications in Salt Lake City. The anticipation of a much larger income for the last half of this year is having a strange effect on me. We've long had a "wish list" that we write down the things we would like to own, replace, or repair, and note an estimated date for acquiring/doing that thing. For the last 4 1/2 years of limited student income (which has been adequate for our needs but didn't allow a lot of extras), we've amassed quite a long list.
The first item on the list: a commuting car. Tom's 1997 Ford Ranger pickup has 90,000 miles on it, and driving 100 miles round trip per day will drive that trusty little truck into the ground pretty quick. And since this gardener needs a way to haul her manure, that just cannot be allowed to happen. So, last weekend, we went car shopping. At a Toyota dealership. Because Tom has his heart set on a Prius - Toyota's sexy little enviro-hybrid car that gets 50-60 mpg. Since he'll be driving 100 miles round trip, it seems justifiable. Having the analysts mind that he does, he spent hours entering data into a spreadsheet comparing several vehicles as to purchase price, miles/gallon, an other costs.
Now I really detest new car shopping. I don't know many people who enjoy it. So for Friday's date we went to test drive a Prius. We walked in the sparkling glass doors, and no less than five 20-something heads turned and looked at hungrily at us, like jackals stalking a lame wildebeest. There was a bit of a rugby-like tussle as they contested for the honor of serving us. The winner had dollar signs in his eyes as he walked over with arm outstretched, smiling stupidly while welcoming us. We asked for a test drive, and he all but skipped as he went off to fetch the car.
We managed to escape Prius-less. Since we don't actually have any money to make payments just now, it was easy to withstand the hard sell. It was actually kind of fun to watch the poor boy deflate when we told him we didn't have any money and wouldn't until July. Hee hee! We've decided to make test driving new cars one of our date options. I think we'll try a Hummer next.
Also on the list is an upright piano, water softener system, water heater, new sofa set, upgrade the computer, upgrade & redecorate bathrooms, fix house siding, replace the broken garage door opener... you get the idea.
Now, none of these things is a "need". We have an okay electronic casio keyboard. The kids have learned to play on it, haven't they? We've lived without a functioning garage door opener for 10 months now. It's no big deal when I have one of the kids with me. Whoever sits shotgun gets the honor of opening and closing the door. They think it's fun. (At least some of them do.) We've made do with the ugly circa 1970 hide-a-bed couch given to us by my parents for the family room; it is so uncomfortable that it is actually a disincentive to television watching, which I think is a good thing. I worry that once we replace it with some overstuffed recliner capable sectional that we'll all turn into couch potatoes or some other brainless vegetable. Besides, I hate furniture shopping almost as much as I hate car shopping. And the water softener -- how important is it, really, to have baby soft clothes and uber-white socks? Soap scum comes off with a little vinegar and elbow grease, doesn't it?
So why are these things on the list? Wouldn't it be prudent to save that money rather than sink it into "stuff"? After nearly five years of pinching pennies, it's kinda hard to stop clutching the purse, you know?
I think I'm afraid to start spending money, because I may never stop. Already, just knowing that more income is on the horizon, the purse strings have loosened. I don't check prices as closely as I used to. If the kids want cookies at the store I'm more likely to say yes. I worry that I'll spend up a big chunk of the "extra" income and we won't have much left over after I'm done. It's a balancing act, and I'm not real confident in my equilibrium just yet.
The first item on the list: a commuting car. Tom's 1997 Ford Ranger pickup has 90,000 miles on it, and driving 100 miles round trip per day will drive that trusty little truck into the ground pretty quick. And since this gardener needs a way to haul her manure, that just cannot be allowed to happen. So, last weekend, we went car shopping. At a Toyota dealership. Because Tom has his heart set on a Prius - Toyota's sexy little enviro-hybrid car that gets 50-60 mpg. Since he'll be driving 100 miles round trip, it seems justifiable. Having the analysts mind that he does, he spent hours entering data into a spreadsheet comparing several vehicles as to purchase price, miles/gallon, an other costs.
Now I really detest new car shopping. I don't know many people who enjoy it. So for Friday's date we went to test drive a Prius. We walked in the sparkling glass doors, and no less than five 20-something heads turned and looked at hungrily at us, like jackals stalking a lame wildebeest. There was a bit of a rugby-like tussle as they contested for the honor of serving us. The winner had dollar signs in his eyes as he walked over with arm outstretched, smiling stupidly while welcoming us. We asked for a test drive, and he all but skipped as he went off to fetch the car.
We managed to escape Prius-less. Since we don't actually have any money to make payments just now, it was easy to withstand the hard sell. It was actually kind of fun to watch the poor boy deflate when we told him we didn't have any money and wouldn't until July. Hee hee! We've decided to make test driving new cars one of our date options. I think we'll try a Hummer next.
Also on the list is an upright piano, water softener system, water heater, new sofa set, upgrade the computer, upgrade & redecorate bathrooms, fix house siding, replace the broken garage door opener... you get the idea.
Now, none of these things is a "need". We have an okay electronic casio keyboard. The kids have learned to play on it, haven't they? We've lived without a functioning garage door opener for 10 months now. It's no big deal when I have one of the kids with me. Whoever sits shotgun gets the honor of opening and closing the door. They think it's fun. (At least some of them do.) We've made do with the ugly circa 1970 hide-a-bed couch given to us by my parents for the family room; it is so uncomfortable that it is actually a disincentive to television watching, which I think is a good thing. I worry that once we replace it with some overstuffed recliner capable sectional that we'll all turn into couch potatoes or some other brainless vegetable. Besides, I hate furniture shopping almost as much as I hate car shopping. And the water softener -- how important is it, really, to have baby soft clothes and uber-white socks? Soap scum comes off with a little vinegar and elbow grease, doesn't it?
So why are these things on the list? Wouldn't it be prudent to save that money rather than sink it into "stuff"? After nearly five years of pinching pennies, it's kinda hard to stop clutching the purse, you know?
I think I'm afraid to start spending money, because I may never stop. Already, just knowing that more income is on the horizon, the purse strings have loosened. I don't check prices as closely as I used to. If the kids want cookies at the store I'm more likely to say yes. I worry that I'll spend up a big chunk of the "extra" income and we won't have much left over after I'm done. It's a balancing act, and I'm not real confident in my equilibrium just yet.
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