MMR: Medical Updates, 401(k) Tidbits, and Some Politics

Yeah, here’s another one of those “catch all” posts. It works here for a few reasons. One, I wanted to update on a few previous items. And two, I have a giant post coming out Wednesday of the political variety that I spent all weekend writing. So I’m just kind of out of gas when it comes to writing anything else right now of substance. So I’ll just go bullet point style through some things and call it a day!

Also, if you haven’t read my Q’s Adventures on my recent trip to Boston, it’s just below this one. Give it a read. I included pictures!

Insurance Update

So, I was having loads of problems dealing with the insurance company and their insistence on not applying all my out of pocket charges to my deductible. So I took a new route, and tried to get my out of pocket charges down to what was charged to my deductible, and that worked! I told the doctor’s billing people about how the insurance company took a huge discount when applying their bill to my deductible, and they agreed to lower my bill by that amount! So, problem solved. Although I still feel the insurance company could have been more helpful, I’m glad to have this over with. And this was the cheapest way for all of this to get resolved as well, so that is nice. Now I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

I think I’ll drop the Bellagio a line and tell them the financial hardships their buffet has caused me. See what they say about it.

401(k) Tidbits

So, I have this 401(k), and its doing quite well. And I was reading online about financial stuff, and one of the things everyone I read was saying was…get your 401(k) started early (check). The only thing more important than that in the long run is paying off credit card debt. And I was all “oh shit, I have credit card debt, maybe I should pull some money out of my 401(k) early to pay that off completely so I can stop paying all that interest rate money.” The plan was to pull out enough so that after taxes and the early withdrawal penalty, I could pay off both of my credit cards completely; which would have been awesome. Then I would have upped my contribution percentage a few ticks to start making it back.

But no, I got shutdown on that one right away. Apparently my 401(k) plan does not allow for active member withdrawals. That was only allowed for employees who have been in the plan since the Duratek days. I can only take “hardship” withdrawals, of which “credit card debt” does not apply (obviously). So that’s slightly frustrating. I mean, I only wanted to pull out like a third of the total value of the thing…and I was going to up my contribution to make it back over time…since I wouldn’t have to be spending so much money each month paying down my debts. Also, this is my money! Why can’t I get at it? I understand that I’d have to take some hits, both in taxes and early withdrawal penalties…but shit, if I’m willing to put up with that, I should be allowed access to my money.

This is what I get for not being smart about my economics. I mean, the credit cards are slowly getting paid down, so it’ll clear itself out in due time. But I was really jazzed up about the possibility of clearing it all out in one fell swoop and then going from there. Ah well…it’s probably better for my future retirement prospects if I don’t fuck with my account right now. Even though it would be nice to be debt free. My cc debt isn’t crippling by any means…just a nuisance. Wouldda been nice to be rid of it. Just have to do it the long way instead.

The 2012 Republican Field for the Presidential Nomination

So, on Wednesday, I have this huge post coming out about the Republican field for the Presidential election in 2012. It’s really long. It was longer, but I cut a lot out of it. Its really just an overview of the candidates, but there’s 14 different candidates I take a look at. I broke it up into a few groups, and picked out my current favorites. If that’s something that interests you, feel free to give it a read. If not, then feel free to ignore it. There’s only minor Democrat bashing in the post. It just happens to be about Republicans, because that is what I am registered as. Also, I’d be a terrible Political Science major if I didn’t write a giant political post every now and then on my blog. So, yeah, look forward to that one.

Hawaii

Hawaii is just days away for me! And I, for one, could not be more excited. It’s been YEARS since I’ve been to Hawaii. YEARS! I’m going to sit on the beach. I’m going to snorkel. I’m going to play golf. I’m going to fly first class (yo, pops, thanks for the major hookup!). It should just be a very nice, relaxing week hanging out with my parents in a tropical paradise! What’s not to love?

Needless to say, I probably won’t be doing an MMR next week…unless I really feel so inclined. I mean, I’ll probably be busy. Maybe I’ll post some pictures from the trip as I go along, though. We’ll see. Either way, there will be a Q’s Adventure when I get back. Maybe one really long one…or maybe I’ll break up the trip into a few posts. Depends on how much we do!

Anyways, I leave Saturday morning, so feel free to start being jealous then!

Aloha!