bills suck

[cjbear]

It's not like I'm some irresponsible adult, it's just that I've gotten deeper into debt due to life circumstances (haven't we all?). I'm trying to explore ways to get out of some debt and I keep hitting a dead end.

I got a little surprise in the mail the other day when I found that I still hadn't paid off all my medical bills from a surgery in March. It was crummy timing too because I just finished a summer nursing internship WHILE working (it's masochistic, trust me) and I FINALLY had enough money to afford some clothes and pay half on a new sofa with my boyfriend - this was my/our summer goal, not a big one, but an important one. It made me absolutly nauseated to get this bill in the mail and I realized that not only would I not meet my summer goal, but also that there was no way I would be able to pay this bill within 6 months. I'm still paying off the debt from moving to Minneapolis last year from Seattle - not only from the move itself, but also not having a job for almost 2 months and paying for all my school books (at a private Catholic school - could this get any more expensive?!?!).

My biggest question: Does anybody know of a company that helps pay medical bills over time? I've searched for a few online but I'm coming up empty handed.

My other question: This whole experience has made me want to be more of a minimialist than what I already am. Any tips on ways to save money (especially for a college student with little free time)? Maybe that needs to be a whole new thread....

[JuggBug]

Johnnypants will know.......where are you John???

[FineExampl]

If you have alot of outstanding medical bills, call the billing company directly and ask for a hardship discount. Explain your situation and see if you can get on their charity care program is possible. They might offer you a discount just for making any payment at all. I work in medical billing and do this all the time. You could get them significantly lowered. and i do mean significantly! It sounds lame, but tears can help also.

The thing is is that medical billing companies set their own rates, which means they can set their own discounts. It doesn't hurt to ask. Worse that can happen is a monthly payment plan can be set up.

And look up debt management companies in your phone book. They are usually "free" (there are service fees, but they are small) and can help make your headaches go away a bit.

[FineExampl]

Originally Posted by JuggBug

Johnnypants will know.......where are you John???

I was typing as you were typing.

[lojasmo]

Do you live near work/school? There are several areas in the T.C. where a car is not necessary. Could you sell your car?

[AirBugger]

I got my butt in a sling with medical bills once before... I found that if you just make minimal payments monthly and keep in touch with them, they won't press you for it or turn you over to collections. The key is to KEEP COMMUNICATING WITH THEM. If you disappear, then they get ugly. The good news is that medical 'dings' on your credit record don't hurt you nearly as bad as say bad credit card debt. The hardship discount mentioned by FineExampl is real... Just remember you can't get it if you don't ask! The worst thing they can say is 'no'... You have nothing to lose but a higher bill!

Regarding savings... This is what I do... I take 10% right off the top of my check and stuff it into a savings account, then I DON'T TOUCH IT, except in dire emergencies. It takes a little getting used to, but if you get in the habit now, you won't miss it at all eventually, and the earlier you start the better!

Hope this helps a little. Best of luck to you!

[cjbear]

My love for my car superscedes any financial shortcomings, unfortunately I could live without one thanks to living near a busline, but I still have to pay my lease and insurance and I would actually spend more money on bus tickets than I do on gas each month. I have however gotten a bicycle which I am fixing up as we speak so as to bike to school/work...I'm a little scared about this because it's the neighborhood of Cedar/Riverside and I do evening shifts - around there, it's dangerous enough to walk to your car alone anytime!

Recent changes that I've made to save money include switching from cable internet to DSL (comcast is the devil), putting the TV into storage (apparently, people can live without a TV!), walking to the grocery store instead of driving all the time (convenient for my neighborhood), packing lunches, avoid buying alcohol unless it's a special occasion (usually once every 3 months, 6 pack or 1 bottle of cheap wine), rarely going out (that means bar outings or shows no more than 3x a month, never spending more than $10 each time), cooking big dinners to eat later, not running the AC unless it's friggin' hot/humid, and considering switching from having a cell phone to a land line - that's a hard one for me. Food, rent (one bdrm), power are all 50/50 between me and my boyfriend. Obviously, I don't have crazy spending habits, but I think there is room for improvement somewhere.

[KatWoman]

Do you write down what you spend, or do you just have an idea how much you have on hand and how much you spend? Once I started actually writing down my expeditures I was amazed at how much I was throwing away by eating out or buying small, useless trinkets.

When I got my butt in gear financially, I started totalling what my monthly obligations were and then setting aside half of those amounts each payday. I eventually got myself set up so that bill payments go out about 2 weeks before they are due. I always try to set aside a bit for savings as well for a rainy day! Sometimes the electric bill runs higher and I have to borrow from savings, but the bill still gets paid. Going over the budget the biggest offenders were eating out and Starbucks runs

[JenBug]

I am a big believer in the budget system. Put together a spreadsheet, figure out what you take home each month from your paycheck, and allocate it all out based on your spending in the last month. You'll be surprised what sucks your money out.

And if you're anything like me, you probably just hate having those medical bills hanging over your head. Medical bills can take up to 7-10 years to get off your credit report, and even tiny ones (I had one for $65!) can ding your credit, especially if you're a young student with little credit experience. If you're still in school, and you can manage it, you can take out a student loan for over what your cost of tuition is. That will get rid of the medical bill and you don't have to pay back the student loan until after you graduate, and the rates are generally low. It will also keep that medical bill from hurting your credit score and you'll have less stress because you won't have to think about it. I did that with credit card bills that my mother opened in my name (don't ask, what a mess), and the extra couple thousand on the student loan debt really didn't change my monthly payment.

Not a solution for everyone, but for neurotic people like myself, getting rid of it was easier than worrying about it day after day, month after month. I do suggest figuring out a good budget and sticking to it! The nice thing about spreadsheets is that you can tweak it and the formulas do all the hard work for you, and you can use it year after year, just changing it for how much money you make and what your bills are.

[lojasmo]

Medical bills are responsible for 1/2 of all bankrupcies. No help, I know.

Mmmmm...Cedar Riverside...one of my favorite Minneapolis neighborhoods.

[FineExampl]

Originally Posted by cjbear

My love for my car superscedes any financial shortcomings, unfortunately I could live without one thanks to living near a busline, but I still have to pay my lease and insurance and I would actually spend more money on bus tickets than I do on gas each month. I have however gotten a bicycle which I am fixing up as we speak so as to bike to school/work...I'm a little scared about this because it's the neighborhood of Cedar/Riverside and I do evening shifts - around there, it's dangerous enough to walk to your car alone anytime!

Recent changes that I've made to save money include switching from cable internet to DSL (comcast is the devil), putting the TV into storage (apparently, people can live without a TV!), walking to the grocery store instead of driving all the time (convenient for my neighborhood), packing lunches, avoid buying alcohol unless it's a special occasion (usually once every 3 months, 6 pack or 1 bottle of cheap wine), rarely going out (that means bar outings or shows no more than 3x a month, never spending more than $10 each time), cooking big dinners to eat later, not running the AC unless it's friggin' hot/humid, and considering switching from having a cell phone to a land line - that's a hard one for me. Food, rent (one bdrm), power are all 50/50 between me and my boyfriend. Obviously, I don't have crazy spending habits, but I think there is room for improvement somewhere.

First off, unless you are in a major city, having a car is very important. In my situation for example, if i took the bus it would take me almost 2hrs to get to work on time. We have only 1 bus line and cabs are pricey. If i drive, it takes me 15 minutes even with traffic to get to the office. So i vote you keep the car. Beer/wine 3 times per month or special occasions is alot, admit that you can skip it altogether and you will save a bit. Instead of bars, make your home the bar if you have to drink on occasion.

bottom line....become cheap.

and always send medical bills even as much as $5 per visit. you will never hear a nasty voice if you do. i promise that much.

if you want to ask me medical bill questions, feel free to pm me. i'll check later on.

[KatWoman]

AS far as medical bills go, if a provider puts a lien on you and records it publicly, then they are to do a Lien Release and record it once you've sastisified your obligation. Then when you receive a copy of it, you should be able to send copies to the credit reporting agencies to show that was paid off satisfactorily. If you are still making payments and it's showing up on your credit report, then have the provider notify the credit reporting agencies that payment is in progress. Hopefully then that would show up as an account being satisfactorily paid, instead of stale or in collections. Medical crap is the worst to deal with. Even mortgage lenders and credit card companies are kinder when you fall into hard times.

A few years ago I got in over my head with credit card debt and was able to negotiate with them all to lower my interest and keep it there so long as I didn't put more charges on the cards.

[FlwrPwer]

A few years ago I was taken the E.R. and had no medical insurance. The bill was about $800. I tried to get it reduced as I was only making $12,000/yr working at a preschool at the time. They reduced by about $100 which didn't help much.

I gave them $10/mo for 2 1/2 years. I was never given a problem as long as I gave them something.

[CoriBug]

I hate bills too, especially now that I have my car loan, car insurance, and health insurance automatically taken from my checking account! Eeek. I know I'm lucky - I don't pay rent or electricity/water/cable, but I do have a $2000 credit card balance on 1 card. I have other credit cards, but they don't don't have any balances.

Jen, thanks for the idea of a spreadsheet!!! Great idea. I've tried using Quicken's budgeting tools, but my nanny salary doesn't always fit their neat little categories.

I bought a great book at my local bookstore - Money for Dummies. The author says your first goal should be to pay off all credit cards and not use them unless you can pay them off completely every month. So that's what I'm trying to do now. After's that paid off, my next goal is to pay off Daisy early.

good luck cjbear and update us!

Cori

[dgoldbe2]

No help on how to help with your medical bills, but one way to pay down your bills, particularly if you have a number of different ones, is to make the minimum payment to all but one. To that one, send more than the minimum payment, as much as you can afford.

After that bill is paid, take the amount you were paying to that bill, and add it to the amount you were paying to the next. After that one is paid, take that amount and add it to the third, etc. until all bills are paid. This includes car payments.

After all those bills are paid, take the final amount you were using to pay the final bill (you'd be surprised at how much it is), and pay your savings.

After saving enough to pay your regular bills for a couple of months, than you can re-evaluate how much you put in savings each month, and how much you keep for spending.

The other thing is to take any windfall, tax refund, lottery winnings, birthday money, etc, and use it to pay the one bill you are working on paying off.

They way to prioritize which bill gets tackled first, is by interest rate. Take the highest interest rate bill first, and work your way down. But be sure to pay at least the minimum to each and every debtor.

Just my $.02

[FineExampl]

Originally Posted by FlwrPwer

A few years ago I was taken the E.R. and had no medical insurance. The bill was about $800. I tried to get it reduced as I was only making $12,000/yr working at a preschool at the time. They reduced by about $100 which didn't help much.

I gave them $10/mo for 2 1/2 years. I was never given a problem as long as I gave them something.

This is 100% accurate. Follow this advice. You can pretty much trust me on the whole medical bill thing. It's what i've specialized in for the last 8.5 years.

I have patients who send in $2 per month cash just to stay in good standing. I don't recommend this, but it's how medical billing works.

People are quick to complain about the cost of medical care, but nobody sees the other side in that the billers (me) are usually pretty fair and decent and willing to help...provided you don't cuss them out.

[cjbear]

What a wealth of information! I feel so reassured

I'll try to set up an easy spreadsheet in Excel - great idea! Since I'm not very gifted in the ways of math, that should help. Last March I got a credit card ONLY because it was 0%APR for a year to transfer the balance on my bank's credit card (14.25% APR?!!!?!?) and I had a payment plan set up on it so that I'd pay it off before 1 year, but my medical expenses changed all that. I have thought about getting more through school loans to erase my credit card debt, but I've just been trying to borrow as little as possible since I'm already neck high in school debt (a BA in psych only looks good on paper). If it doesn't change much on monthly payments, then maybe it's not such a bad idea. I think when school starts up next week I'll have far fewer tendancies to spend money on little dumb things, especially the going out and drinking part (since I will have no free time) - I have no doubt that little things are adding up quickly. Since moving in with my boyfriend a few years ago, he has banned me from buying "trinkets", which was very upsetting at first but then I looked at all my pretty shiny things in storage and realized he was right (and that I was half human, half squirrel...ohhh, pretty shiny things!).

When I had first called the billing company, they said they want the bill paid in full in 6 months, but I'm starting to think that guy was just referring to the most ideal of situations. I'm going to give them a call again today (I can't muster up tears for it, but I can be on the brink on an anxiety attack!) and hopefully get the bill reduced a little. I'll let you know how it goes!! Thanks for all the support and tips!!!!

[FineExampl]

Originally Posted by cjbear

What a wealth of information! I feel so reassured
When I had first called the billing company, they said they want the bill paid in full in 6 months, but I'm starting to think that guy was just referring to the most ideal of situations. I'm going to give them a call again today (I can't muster up tears for it, but I can be on the brink on an anxiety attack!) and hopefully get the bill reduced a little. I'll let you know how it goes!! Thanks for all the support and tips!!!!

You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. Be sweet and play on their sympathies. Explain your situation, that you are in a bind and dont want to end up in collections, etc. Say you can afford X amount each month and ask for a hardship discount or some other kind of discount.

[JenBug]

Originally Posted by cjbear

I'll try to set up an easy spreadsheet in Excel - great idea! Since I'm not very gifted in the ways of math, that should help.

If you want my spreadsheet, let me know. It's very basic but the formulas are all there. I'll email it to anyone that asks!

[KatWoman]

Originally Posted by JenBug

If you want my spreadsheet, let me know. It's very basic but the formulas are all there. I'll email it to anyone that asks!

I'd be interested in it. My "spreadsheet" is on paper. I am not the greatest at Excel, I know about 3 formulas, that's it.

Thanks in advance. katwoman097@cox.net