New Year, New Me... Hopefully
Don't worry; this isn't a post where I'll lie and say that I'll start exercising to lose weight or save money or any of those tired resolutions we all come up with. I want to say that this is a revelation of sorts? I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't hide what I really feel around anyone, whether it's online or in person. And that I should stop giving a damn if it offends people or make them look at me all weird. Just something personal that I've wanted to work on.
I won't lie; I do want to start losing weight, getting back into the gym. If anything, for my health. September 2015, I found out that I was diabetic. I'm not on insulin and my fasting blood sugar is actually within range. My A1c fluctuates but not outrageously. I want to steer clear of taking insulin and in order for me to do that, I have to get off my ass and get myself active and better. Changing the way I eat is going to be a bitch. And it's something I never understood about this country. They want us to be a healthy nation but eating healthy is more expensive. Organic foods cost an arm and a leg. It's like that one meme that I've seen around for a few years: "Don't show me anymore research on obesity until you can explain to me why a burger costs .99 but a salad costs 8.99"!
My husband and I have made the decision to drop his employee health insurance. I'll tell you why: the premiums were going up. My husband makes around thirty dollars an hour and works forty hours a week; he gets paid bi-weekly. We live in a state where that puts us in a higher tax bracket so they tax the absolute shit out of us. On top of that, his employee healthcare would take out roughly four hundred dollars per pay check for insurance. Yes, per pay check. And the premiums recently went up to where it would be six hundred per pay check.
Why are we paying so much for insurance and we still have to pay a copay...?
My husband finally got approved through the VA, Veteran's Affairs, for insurance and he immediately dropped his employer one. We still pay for their dental and vision, which is top notch and not so damn expensive. The plan was to shop around for myself because hello, Obamacare and their penalties. But shopping around made me realize how fucking awful Obamacare is for people in our tax bracket. Which, we knew it was when it was first introduced. But this search put it in a deeper perspective.
Why am I going to pay for health insurance where I have to pay full price to see the doc (using my deductible) when I only go about four times a year? For example, one plan costs me three hundred a month. Doctor's visit on average is ninety. This plan states that I pay full price for doctor's visits until I reach my deductible, which is five hundred. If I add in for blood work, I'll probably reach it. But that means I'm paying at least five hundred out of pocket per year on top of thirty-six hundred for insurance. If I'm going to pay out of pocket for anything, I'm better off just literally paying out of pocket!
One argument that my sister-in-law stated was that we could afford to pay for the higher priced insurance plans, especially seeing that we were paying basically eight hundred a month through his employer. Which is true. But I've yet to find a plan that simply states that we only have to pay a copay. Those high cost plans still carry a deductible with the stipulation that you have to pay for your doctor visits until you reach said deductible. I'm still looking around but so far? No good.
I'm still slowly crocheting items as well as writing. I bought a loom kit and trying to get the hang of that. It's a cheap way of knitting, honestly. But it's fun and it's something that I would want to teach my niece.
So, now that it's 2017, maybe I can start on that temperature blanket I tried to do last year. I'll make another post if I actually make a decision about it. That way, I can try to post once a week, with progress. I ain't making no promises, this time...
I've started making a Batman blanket for my sis-in-law's nephew. The plan was to have it ready for him by New Year's Eve. But his mother sent him back to his father's way before then. I feel so many emotions when it comes to him because he was supposed to be mine. As long as I live, whenever the subject comes up, I will always hold that against his mother. Well, his father because he was the one who stopped that process. Now that he's gone, I don't have the will to finish the blanket. A C2C, or corner-to-corner. I'd hate to frog it but I honestly have no idea how it would get to him, now that he's living with his father and not his grandparents. It was really nice to have him over during Christmas...
That's about it for the update. Now that I've written that last paragraph, I do think I'll frog the blanket and work on it at a later date. I want to work on a Batman blanket for my brother; see how he'll like it. Happy Crocheting, guys!
I won't lie; I do want to start losing weight, getting back into the gym. If anything, for my health. September 2015, I found out that I was diabetic. I'm not on insulin and my fasting blood sugar is actually within range. My A1c fluctuates but not outrageously. I want to steer clear of taking insulin and in order for me to do that, I have to get off my ass and get myself active and better. Changing the way I eat is going to be a bitch. And it's something I never understood about this country. They want us to be a healthy nation but eating healthy is more expensive. Organic foods cost an arm and a leg. It's like that one meme that I've seen around for a few years: "Don't show me anymore research on obesity until you can explain to me why a burger costs .99 but a salad costs 8.99"!
My husband and I have made the decision to drop his employee health insurance. I'll tell you why: the premiums were going up. My husband makes around thirty dollars an hour and works forty hours a week; he gets paid bi-weekly. We live in a state where that puts us in a higher tax bracket so they tax the absolute shit out of us. On top of that, his employee healthcare would take out roughly four hundred dollars per pay check for insurance. Yes, per pay check. And the premiums recently went up to where it would be six hundred per pay check.
Why are we paying so much for insurance and we still have to pay a copay...?
My husband finally got approved through the VA, Veteran's Affairs, for insurance and he immediately dropped his employer one. We still pay for their dental and vision, which is top notch and not so damn expensive. The plan was to shop around for myself because hello, Obamacare and their penalties. But shopping around made me realize how fucking awful Obamacare is for people in our tax bracket. Which, we knew it was when it was first introduced. But this search put it in a deeper perspective.
Why am I going to pay for health insurance where I have to pay full price to see the doc (using my deductible) when I only go about four times a year? For example, one plan costs me three hundred a month. Doctor's visit on average is ninety. This plan states that I pay full price for doctor's visits until I reach my deductible, which is five hundred. If I add in for blood work, I'll probably reach it. But that means I'm paying at least five hundred out of pocket per year on top of thirty-six hundred for insurance. If I'm going to pay out of pocket for anything, I'm better off just literally paying out of pocket!
One argument that my sister-in-law stated was that we could afford to pay for the higher priced insurance plans, especially seeing that we were paying basically eight hundred a month through his employer. Which is true. But I've yet to find a plan that simply states that we only have to pay a copay. Those high cost plans still carry a deductible with the stipulation that you have to pay for your doctor visits until you reach said deductible. I'm still looking around but so far? No good.
I'm still slowly crocheting items as well as writing. I bought a loom kit and trying to get the hang of that. It's a cheap way of knitting, honestly. But it's fun and it's something that I would want to teach my niece.
So, now that it's 2017, maybe I can start on that temperature blanket I tried to do last year. I'll make another post if I actually make a decision about it. That way, I can try to post once a week, with progress. I ain't making no promises, this time...
I've started making a Batman blanket for my sis-in-law's nephew. The plan was to have it ready for him by New Year's Eve. But his mother sent him back to his father's way before then. I feel so many emotions when it comes to him because he was supposed to be mine. As long as I live, whenever the subject comes up, I will always hold that against his mother. Well, his father because he was the one who stopped that process. Now that he's gone, I don't have the will to finish the blanket. A C2C, or corner-to-corner. I'd hate to frog it but I honestly have no idea how it would get to him, now that he's living with his father and not his grandparents. It was really nice to have him over during Christmas...
That's about it for the update. Now that I've written that last paragraph, I do think I'll frog the blanket and work on it at a later date. I want to work on a Batman blanket for my brother; see how he'll like it. Happy Crocheting, guys!
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