Where else could you hope to find this astonishing story that appears today in the Times business section? So…the question is, in the brave new world, who will be the masters and who the slaves: the bionic avatars or the living beings? My money’s on the living beings: if we can create these immortal objects, we can leave aggression out of the design.
It’s been a quiet week, more or less, in the Valley of the We-Do-Mean Sun. Summer is here…which reminds me, I forgot to turn the water on the potted plants in front. It’s already 1:00 p.m. — damn things are probably dead.
Oww ow ow!!!! The flagstones are so hot they burned my feet! It’s a wonder anything can stay alive out there, even in the shade. What a place! 🙄
It’s still cool enough (sort of) in the mornings and evenings to go out for some exercise. Cassie and I jogged 1.66 miles yesterday, by circumnavigating the park at 5:00 a.m. and jogging around the usual doggy-walk track at night. She was less than thrilled about starting in on that routine this morning, though. Wonder why…?
Someone over in the One Percenters’ part of the neighborhood has put up one of those curbside library boxes! It is so cool! They even set out a garden bench next to it. I dropped off an Alexander McCall Smith novel, recently read, and picked up an old novel by one Andrea Camilleri, purchased sometime in the past for £12.99 from a British bookseller. McCall Smith’s wonderful Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series delighted me; having read through all those books, I decided to try one from the Corduroy Mansions series. It wasn’t as entertaining as the Africa books, but it was OK.
Ah, but in this day and age we need not trouble ourselves with spending pounds and pence on good reading material. Digital browsing notwithstanding, Frugal Scholar and Miss Em have figured out how to break even, if not make a profit, on the purchase of books.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Accountability contemplates ways to get your reading matter at minimal cost — and along the way offers a surprising tip on how to shave some time and money off Amazon book purchases.
I really enjoyed this particularly bright flash of common sense from Evan at My Journey to Millions.
At Debt Roundup, Grayson tells a hilarious (not to him, I fear) story of yet another moment of customer disservice. A potentially expensive one, we might add.
TFB’s rumination, at The Financial Blogger, about what he would do with his time if he could work up the nerve to quit his job leads to a very interesting projected schedule. Anyone who wants to get serious about building a blogging empire should read this.
Money Beagle speculates that we are not in a stock market bubble, and explains why.
Revanche over at A Gai Shan Life has rejuggled her retirement savings. She’s decided she really likes Vanguard.
Donna Freedman has a nice post on managing satisfaction in life.
At I Pick Up Pennies, Abigail is enjoying (heh!) another trip through the bureaucratic maze that is America’s medical system.
Speaking of the which, did you see eye-popping story, also in today’s Times, about what — really! — drives up the cost of medical care in this country? Holee mackerel!
Eemusings and New Hubby visit Angkor Wat, where they have an encounter with one of the locals. Don’t miss the video! The images of the temples are pretty amazing, too.
Nicole and Maggie stir up some conversation over at Grumpy Rumblings of the (Formerly) Untenured with a rumination on whether some people relish misery and drama.
Crystal has added a new province to the Blogging Empire: a newsletter. Go here to sign up — Budgeting in the Fun Stuff has always been full of good ideas, and this newsletter promises to carry on the tradition.
Speaking of books and blogs, I should be finishing up my proposed e-book. And so, to work!
Thank you kindly for the mention. I can laugh now about the story, but didn’t at the time.
I ran across your blog, and saw the post about Medigap plans.
It’s been awhile since I looked into this originally, but I believe the medicare gov website has an area where you can supply your zip code and it tells you all the stuff about plans like prices in your area that you were looking for at the state agencies and the lunatics on the phone from various companies.
I went with AARP for Medigap and Plan D. They charged me $0 to apply. I’m not worrying about AARP bellying up. They also don’t have lunatics handling the phones, but actual humans who know what they’re doing and are courteous.
I fork out $168 a month at age 70 for Medigap in my state, for plan F, as you know this is the plan that pays for a lot plus I never have any copays or deductibles, so things are much simpler.
I have had no trouble with their approving meds on Plan D. The one time I needed approval they did it in 1 day.
I don’t plan to revisit this every few years. I have been happy with them for a number of years with minimal increases each year. They seem to charge somewhat more than the companies in your chart, but the last thing I want to do if I get really sick is arguing with idiots from the insurance company. I’d rather know I was with a good company.
AARP is selling plans from United Healthcare. Understand that you’re not buying insurance from AARP–you’re buying it from an insurance company that has made a deal with AARP. It isn’t necessarily the cheapest or even the best coverage.
The Hartford is the company that carries the AARP homeowner’s and auto insurance. Contrary to prevailing opinion, they are not the cheapest for older adults, and the company treats its employees like dogs — as a result, customer service may not be the best.
The government sites do indeed list all the insurers for Medigap. There are so many and their pricing is so various that you are left having to call every one that seems to be even remotely affordable and inquire about what they would charge you personally. Prices shown in government handouts are only approximations of what these companies actually charge.
If you sign up for or make a change in Medigap coverage after the initial “open enrollment” period when you’re first signed up for Medicare at age 65, you will have to go through underwriting, meaning you may or may not be accepted and even if you are, you may end up paying a great deal more than advertised. For each company that you call, you have to spend your time jumping through punch-a-button phone hoops and explaining, often several times to several different CSRs, what you want. The cost I was charged for applying is an underwriting fee — because I decided not to stay with a company that raised its rates almost $450.
That company, United of Omaha, turns out to be notorious for offering low rates to people just coming on to Medicare and then jacking the prices through the roof after a couple of years. An insurance agent told me this a year ago, when she was trying to herd me into a Medicare Advantage plan — because she was high-pressuring me, I blew off everything she said; but as it develops, other sources and now personal experience confirm her report. The government sites describing Medigap insurers do not provide consumer information or any clue to how consumers are treated. The federal government used to have a site rating insurers based on consumer complaints, but if it still exists, I was unable to find it, after much searching. I believe they’ve taken it down.
Plan D coverage varies widely by insurer. Some cover this med or that med fully; some cover them partially; some refuse to cover specific medications at all. This is why you have to sit down with a list of whatever drugs you’re taking, get online, and go through the formulary for EVERY plan offered in your state, searching for one you can afford that will cover the drugs you have to take. It is also why many elders have to take a bus or drive into Mexico or Canada to buy their medications at halfway reasonable prices, or risk getting caught buying them online.
Fortunately this blood pressure med costs less than $8 at Costco — I didn’t even ask the Part D carrier about it; just paying for it out of pocket looked like a great deal less aggravation. The copay was probably more than that.
The New York Times is such a good paper….leave it to them to write such a timely article. When DW had her colonoscopy I was in shock as well. Sure my insurance covered most of it but before the “negotiated price” was taken into account the cost was significant despite having no complications. To ad insult to injury we get calls yearly from the firm that did the procedure yearly to “remind” DW to get a colonoscopy…despite the fact that there has been nothing irregular and that several sources have said every 5 years is acceptable. Our system is truly broken….
I’m thinking Bicentennial Man. Anyway, thanks for the links. Will check them out.
You’re welcome. I don’t catch your drift about Bicentennial Man…:-D Must be a generational thing!
So, I take it Cassie is better? I was worried a few days ago when you wrote that she was sick and you were taking her to the vet.
She is better. Whatever was ailing her must have been a passing bug. She’s going to the vet today, though. Needs her teeth looked at, and she’s taken to licking a foot as though it hurts. Hate to give the vet a chance to gouge me with an expensive tooth-cleaning, especially since I’ve got another $350 bill coming up this month. But if she has a dental problem, it needs to be taken care of.
Thank you for the mention! And I now really want to look into curbside library boxes…
Oof, dental cleanings. To be fair, it really is super important to have a good clean mouth but they really are scary-expensive. I was just inspecting Doggle’s mouth the other day and I think he’s probably due …
Yesh. There are some products (wuz going to type “chemicals”: hidden negative!) that supposedly delay or prevent plaque deposition on dogs’ teeth. One, you put in their water; another, you spray onto the teeth (assuming you can do so without risking a quick beheading…). Asked the vet about these today; she knew they exist, but didn’t seem to be very knowledgeable about their efficacy or safety. Her remark was that the best strategy is simply to brush the dog’s teeth regularly…and then admitted that she doesn’t like to do that any more than any of her clients’ humans do.