Week Fifty-three - That's the Way the Money Goes.....

We didn't qualify for  the medical deduction in 2012, largely because we didn't pay all the bills!  We were negotiating with our insurance for lower co-payments, negotiating with hospitals for lower costs, and waiting to see what, if anything, Medicare would do for us. 

The final word is in:  no decrease in the dialysis co-payments.  The hospitals are re-billing many charges to both insurance companies, trying to make sure THIS time that the billing is in the correct order - first BlueCross/BlueShield, then Medicare, and hopefully most of our remaining balances will be covered. Our insurance company is negotiating with an emergency room provider group to get us a refund on an overcharge from last Father's Day. They are also working to fix a $55 co-payment overcharge from my local doctor.

We got back a sizeable tax refund.  I wrote $5485 to the dialysis company, and I think there may still be a small outstanding balance.  I paid the $490 for the kidney protector.  I wrote out the $75 co-payments for our last dialysis visits, our transplant team visit (10 days pre-transplant) and other miscellaneous specialists.  I paid for the SpeedPass bill (twenty dollars per trip x 14 trips) and updated payment to a credit card that's been picking up overflow expenses (car repairs, tires and oil changes, new toilet, things like that).  I took the girls shopping for spring clothes, especially Babygirl, who had nothing that fit her at all.  I caught up the outstanding dental balance and have enough to pay for Boo'sMom's college class.

We aren't behind on anything.  Gas/electric/phone all current.  Mortgage up to date.  There is plenty of food in the cupboard and Babygirl's lunch account has plenty.

We started this adventure with a pretty solid emergency fund.  There's a couple hundred left. And we are certainly going to qualify for the medical deductible this year between the mileage (23 cents a mile!), the bills, and my lower salary.

I have $33 in my checkbook until payday next week, a tank full of gas thanks to a friend's supermarket discount card, and enough cash to get us back and forth to Philly again because someone in my church handed me an envelope with $100 in it.  And best of all, I have a gift certificate for a massage.

God is good, all the time.

DeeDee