Tag Archives: SDI

Simple Sunday

Posted in budgeting, budgets, camping, cooking, Flylady, home improvement, home stuff, husband, kitchen remodel, MDS, medicare, Myeloma, Uncategorized by

It’s been a nice week although weird again with the holiday in the middle of the week. I kept thinking Thursday was Monday. Oh well, it seems that we’re back on course and today is Sunday.

We did a shop a Costco on Friday and didn’t overdo it. I bought extra coffee and TP so we won’t need to ‘run’ down there for those things. We are eyeing a new TV though. Ours is about 8 years old and still works but the sound quality isn’t the best. There are some sales for the super bowl so if I think we can swing it, I will.

B’s last SDI was this last week too. He did get a notice to have his doctor fill out a form about not returning to work, so I’m not sure if they would extend his benefits to use up the little he has left or if it’s just paperwork. What I read is the maximum award is 12months, so we’ll see. We’ll try and do that next week although he sees his doctor on Tuesday and I’m sure it won’t be in the mail by then.

This month will be the big test of how we do without the SDI. I know it’s going to be an adjustment. But at least we have no big bills in January just the car tags for the old van. Still, that’s $150. I have been saving quite a bit of the SDI so that I know I won’t be adding to the savings.

Also, we had to call on his Cobra as, just as expected, the Noxafil prescription came in at$1200.  This amount was the Medicare Part D prescrpiton plan that I’m not planning on using that’s why we’re paying the Cobra amount. I am not paying that much money when last month it was 0.00 co-pay.  So he called and the Cobra payment letter was just going out. So we did it online and then now we have to wait for it to get activated by the prescription plan. After that, we still don’t know what the co-pay will be since we haven’t reached any yearly deductible.  It’s all unsettled right now but next week we should know and hopefully, it’ll be resolved.

Plus we know that within a few months Noxafil will be reduced or eliminated so then we will cancel the Cobra and just use the Medicare Part D as all his other drugs are Tier 2. I think it’s only Noxafil that is Tier 5. What a Fucking scam is all I have to say.

Today is a gym day and we will go for our walk shortly.

Flylady zone is the kitchen and I’ll start that today but finish tomorrow.

I made a new recipe last night from another blogger( Teresa Kasner)

She lives along the Columbia River in an old beautiful farmhouse. Her pictures are outstanding. So the recipe was for Chicken with potatoes and spinach in a creamy parmesan sauce. It was good.

This week is Clinic for Barclay and our overnight trip. Plus whatever stress with the prescription stuff comes up.:(

I started a list of projects for the year and we’ll see how far we get.

  1. to drop the wood stove to floor level so that the footprint is lower and less of an eyesore. We built the platform specifically so we wouldn’t be bending to put wood in but it does take up a lot of floor space. This won’t cost a lot except added stove pipe( which is pricey) but we won’t need a lot. And some stone for the floor. Our woodstove is quite efficient and we will keep it for a few more years. Eventually, we will put in a gas/propane stove. But that’s maybe 5 years out still.
  2. We will be replacing windows in my daughter’s room. This will be maybe @ $1000 as it will be 2 windows replacing one large one. The Anderson windows we bought last summer are great and very energy efficient. So that ended up @ $800( I think).
  3. I’d like to also replace the bathroom window. Same size but just more energy efficient. All the windows in the house we’re replaced when we remodeled but they are now 25 years old so an upgrade will be nice.
  4. I don’t think we will get to any bathroom remodel this year.
  5. I think we are going to try and redo some of the kitchen. The biggest thing is the counters and sink( pipes underneath) really need to be redone. Getting a new pantry system from Ikea will be first on the list as that will be freestanding.

There’s always garden work and yard work. That’s kinda ongoing.

Barclay’s official retirement date is January 30. That’s 25 years. It’s hard to let go of, I think, because of the way it all happened with him getting sick. But how incredibly lucky we are for modern science that has given him a new chance without cancer. Even I can’t say that, although I have been extraordinarily lucky that my Myeloma has responded to treatment. Well, it is what it is.

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This was our dinner the other night. A small piece of filet mignon and a Beyond Meat sausage( which are delicious BTW).

 

 

Friday stuff…

Posted in budgeting, budgets, cancer, Uncategorized by

Well, it has been a really busy week with doctor appts, chemo( still 3more days to go), Costco not once but twice. Uhgggg, I ended up going again to Costco today as the Vet didn’t get the dogs pills in on Monday. PITA.  So, it was back down. I ended up getting gas again.  Plus, I figured I’d get the stuff on sale. B has been using Orgain drinks to bolster his food intake and it was on sale. I got both the powder and the liquid. It’s pricey but since he’s lost so much weight (almost 20 lbs) the doctor and I want him to eat eat eat. He’s always been way to thin and now it’s critical he gain weight.

Anyway, this has not been a thrifty week at all. I’m not sure if I’m just going to not go to the store for the rest of the month or just minimally. I do need milk and almond milk so that’s more$ right there. Oh well. It’s only Feb 8 so that’s a while till the end of the month but as of right now, I’m over budget. I’ve been budgeting $200 a week for everything, food, and non-food. It’s actually been spot on. Since we do provide food for our adult children it’s more than if it was just the 2 of us. My daughter does pay rent/food but my son who’s in school full time we let slide.

I’ve also been on the phone a lot, which I greatly dislike, arranging payments for the hospital bill for B’s port placement and the surgeon. I did the one over 4 months at $350 a month and the other over 10 months at $270. They were very accommodating but still not really budget friendly. Well, at least they let us do payments.

We haven’t heard back from the financial coordinator about the insurance for the transplant or sending off the BM kits to the brothers. Maybe next week.

Next week I have an appointment with an SS advisor about Medicare. We are both still covered by B’s insurance but I’m thinking if I switch over to Medicare then that will give us an idea of what our monthly amount will be. I’m sure it’s more than what we pay now but it has to be done sooner or later. So, we’ll see what he says. I need to be sure the drugs I might need in the future such as the Velcade I was on will be covered or at least after we pay the initial amount of our responsibility. Honestly, sometimes I feel as if we are just bumbling thru. Take the SDI, we really had no idea what to put in the form and it was initially rejected.  Then after calling them and waiting forever on hold, we had it figured out.  Still, sometimes I wonder how are we going to navigate this stuff.

Any suggestions for Medicare would be most welcome.

Well, on a more positive note, I’m making a BBQ chicken pizza for dinner and leftover gourmet veggie for the Dad.

 

 

All good, for now.

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We made it through the storm but boy did the Sierra get a boatload of snow.  I think it was over 2 feet and that’s a lot.

There was wind from around 8 pm to midnight and then just like that it turned off. Kinda weird.  NO trees down but some branches and I don’t think it was over 25 MPH. There were some gusts but they were tolerable and we could sleep. There have been times in the past when the wind sounded like a freight train coming thru and that’s a big wind.

Today was busy. B had platelets and we had to deal with SDI first off. We got an email saying his benefits application had been denied. So, of course, we freaked out. We called and after a 30-minute wait explained what had happened. The person was helpful and I think we’ll be able to fix it.  But the problem is with HR and how to use B’s sick leave and PTO. We really didn’t know what we were doing and actually still don’t but I hope we can figure it out next week. B spoke to HR today and she said you need to use PTO first over sick leave which is the exact opposite of what the SDI guy said so…… Also, she will look for the for EDD sent over 2 weeks ago stating what they will do.  I hope by next week we can figure it out.

It’s quite scary since how will we pay stuff. The reason B is still working ( sorta obvious )is that we don’t have a lot of retirement built up. We still have a mortgage and a second.

But I think we will see it thru ok.

Then after his infusion, I took him home and took our 20-year-old van in for a smog and to pay DMV. So I first go to Speedee and their machine is down. Okay, I go to the next one Quick lube and because the car is over 20 years old their smog machine won’t work. So I go down to the next local one and its a-go but I did have to wait with every derelict this side of Sacramento( well it seemed that way). Geez, what can I say 2 of them didn’t have teeth.  So finally 45 minutes later I’m on my way to AAA. It was all a PITA but it got done.

Tonight I’m just doing a small homemade pizza. I have dough from the freezer and I’ll just do sauce and cheese on top. B is still not eating but he is getting better and he says the mouth are sores are greatly improving.  Yay!!!!

Well, off for now to watch some Vera or Poirot.

 

No Spend January

Posted in decluttering, home improvement, Uncategorized by

I’m going to do a no spend month. If you’d like to do it too, it’s pretty easy.

Basically, you don’t buy anything non-essential. Food, pet supplies, household stuff is allowed but no extra stuff.

HDT quote

I plan on not buying anything from Amazon.  If I need something such as Rid-X which I do get from Amazon, I’ll just either wait or go to Home Depot. So, no clothes, coffees out unless we use a gift card.  We do have a Panera one that maybe when B feels better we can go.

I’ve done this before and it really does make one aware of the things that money is spent on.  Generally, I don’t buy a lot of extra stuff but still, there is some.  I didn’t ever feel I saved money per se, but it did make me more aware of where I spent money.

On another note, I’m almost done with the SDI form so we will do that soon. There are a few things were not clear about but overall it is straightforward. I think this will take us thru the transplant and then after that, we will need to do something else.

On a fun note, if you have Netflix, there is the new MarieKondo series called Tidying up. I’ve watched 2 and it was fun. She is a really sincere person and I like her approach. It’s definitely worth watching.

Today is a gym day, but I’m not feeling great(probably stress) so I’ll just do some weights. There is the Koffee Klatch lunch but I’ll probably skip that too even though I’d like to go.

Dinner is unknown…