The Crazy Cost of Health Care

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Stethoscope & ophthalmoscope
photo credit: a.drian

The cost of health care seems crazy. I had some lab work done last month and for one lab test I was charged $110. My insurance company decided that a fair amount for this test was $7. My total bill of over $450 was reduced to a total of $50.50. If I wouldn’t have had health insurance I would have been ripped off. This experience makes me wonder if the lab seriously overcharging at $110 or the insurance company is seriously underpaying at $7 or both.

I think that something needs to be done to better the nation’s health care system. I’m not necessarily advocating a nationalized health insurance plan. There would be plenty of drawbacks to such a system. I’m not sure what the answer is. For now, I just plan to keep my health insurance,check out my health care costs ahead of time as much as possible, take better care of myself, and hope for the best. With luck this will keep my health care costs from getting too crazy.

Becoming a Nomad Blogger or ?

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XelaPeristyle
photo credit: Infrogmation

After discovering the site JetSetCitizen a couple days ago and reading all the “nomad” bloggers he linked to I have decided that I too could become a nomad blogger. It doesn’t take too much money to live abroad. My blog doesn’t quite make enough money to cover what my living expenses would be while living abroad but it comes fairly close. If I were to work in the U.S. a few months of the year and live abroad the rest of the year I should be able to cover all my living expenses and even get ahead a little.

After thinking this over for a very short time I made a rash decision and purchased a plane ticket to Guatemala for a three-month stay. I probably should have thought this over a little longer but I had only slept three hours the night before and that often leads to me making hasty decisions. Hopefully, this one will turn out all right.

I’m already having second thoughts because I keep thinking of the other things I want to do like buying a house or van. It is possible to do both I just need to come up with a plan. Now that I’m out of school I’m having a hard time deciding what to do next. My plan for now is to hike for about a month and a half and then go to Guatemala for three months. After that I’ll decide on a more permanent plan. Fortunately, I have the money to be wishy-washy for a while.

Another post that inspired me was Nora Dunn’s post on how to travel full-time for less than $14,00 a year.

The picture at the top isn’t mine but I used to visit that park almost every day when I lived in Xela, Guatemala. It is a beautiful little park.

Alternative Income Activities This Month

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I have a goal of doing something every day this month to make extra money. We are just a third of the way through the month and I can see this goal is going to be difficult to meet. I want to come up with a different alternative income activity for every day and I’m already running out of ideas and falling behind. Here is what I’ve done so far this month.

  1. Launched a PPC campaign.
  2. Pinecone Survey.
  3. Law School Survey.
  4. Capital One Purchase Checks. Check out this FW thread to see how to make money with these credit card checks.
  5. Order dollar coins.  Here is a FW thread on making money ordering dollar coins.
  6. Moved money from non-interest bearing account to 5.01% APY reward checking account.
  7. Sold extra books to Half-Price books.
  8. Medical Study.
  9. Added new Adsense ads to Tight Fisted Miser and Bank Bonuses.com and tweaked placement of existing ads.
  10. Sold CD at Second Spin.

None of these items are very big money makers and in the case of the PPC campaign it might be a money loser.  I need to come up with some money making ideas that have more potential.  If you have any ideas you want to sure I’d love to hear them.

I’m Doing It! Buying a Small House or Van

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Little House
Little House

It has been my dream to buy a small house or a van to live in for quite some time. I’ve never done it though because the circumstances weren’t quite right. Well, sometimes the circumstances were right but I came up with some other excuse because I was afraid to actually take this step.

I’ve decided it is time to actually do this. I’m interested in the house in the picture. It is currently for sale for $15,000 but is already under contract. If the buyers back out I plan to buy it if it doesn’t have any major problems. The house is rather small at 504 sq. ft. and has 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom. That will be big enough for me.

If I can’t buy this house or find a similar deal than I’m going to go ahead and buy a van to live in. This would be a lot cheaper upfront although probably more expensive in the long run. The real estate agent is going to let me know in a couple of weeks if the house becomes available again. In the meantime I’m perusing the real estate listings and vans for sale to find another deal. My goal is to have a house or a van purchased by the end of next month.

Frugality and Weight Loss

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scaled perspective
photo credit: billaday

Many bloggers like to compare personal finance and weight loss. It is an easy analogy to make. Both usually involve setting a goal and working toward it. There are fairly simple rules you have to follow to be successful (spend less than you earn, eat fewer calories than you burn) but yet success can be difficult. Following a strict budget is similar to following a strict diet. Both require a measure of self-discipline. It seems that if you are successful at one you should be successful at the other. This isn’t always the case. I have my personal finances under control but am still struggling to lose weight.

I’m not sure why this is. It might be because it is easy for me to not spend money as I don’t have a strong desire to spend money on most things. I do have a strong desire to eat junk food though. This is hard for me to overcome but I think I might be making some progress. I haven’t eaten fast food or bought any junk food so far this month other than my free Mcdonalds. Of course, it is only the eighth day of the month so this isn’t much of an accomplishment but it is better than usual and I feel that I will be able to forego eating junk food this month. What is working now is just thinking of the negative consequences of eating the junk food. This still seems like deprivation though. I want to get in the mindset where eating healthy is its own reward and something I look forward to. I don’t really get excited about eating healthy foods. If you have any ideas on how to change this mindset I would like to hear them.