Money gripes

[flygirl]

I had some stock that I was going to sell for a home project but I had to wait til 2/28 to have it all be LT.  Now the market is down and it’s worth about $3k less than what it was plus the company reported record earnings so it was set to rise.  I know it’s a first world problem but there is someone I’d totally love to punch in the face for it-realizing I’d have to stand in line.

[Deleted]

I'll add... My sister cashed out most of her inheritance (we received the same) at the peak of the stock market and put it down in a house plus cosmetic surgery. Her gamble paid off for now as her house has the equity plus increased value. I am also kinda miffed as if I just put it all into cash then I would be up about 30k than where I am now. I try not to think about it.

[ellipses84]

That sucks. Can you hold off for a while or try to catch a good day? The market is so volatile and is back up from the drastic drop last week. Sometimes looking at the long term history helps me, like if it’s still up from where it was a year ago, that’s better than the money sitting in a savings account. Short term can be like gambling, you win some and lose some.

My gripe is we had a very expensive vehicle month. Car tabs were due and we had to replace tires on both vehicles. Not unexpected but it sucks to shell out $2k. Gas is nearly $5/gallon here which I usually don’t complain about like everyone else does. We don’t drive much in terms of mileage but we both drive nearly every day, shuttling @kids in car seats with our very different schedules so I don’t think we can get rid of one.

[flygirl]

ellipses84, the stock hasn’t even fully recovered from the Covid down, but it was getting close so I was happy, then it tanked again.

[lessel]

Feb 28, 2022 13:40:50 GMT -5 @lemonlover said:

I'll add... My sister cashed out most of her inheritance (we received the same) at the peak of the stock market and put it down in a house plus cosmetic surgery. Her gamble paid off for now as her house has the equity plus increased value. I am also kinda miffed as if I just put it all into cash then I would be up about 30k than where I am now. I try not to think about it.

Bolded the key part here. You might win the long game.

[trissie18]

We were having issues with our well pump over the weekend and made a service call this morning. The company charged us a $189 service fee before they would even come out to look at it and none of that was applied towards the $259 bill. The service fee could be paid by credit card over the phone with no processing fee but there was a 4% fee to pay the final bill by credit card in person to the technician before he left. It wasn't a big deal to pay with a check but I much prefer paying everything with a credit card to get miles. To top it all off, DH had to leave work early to meet them at the house and since he is paid hourly, he lost 6+ hours of pay (including 4 hours of overtime) so it was a costly morning to say the least.

I did tell DH I would be less unhappy if he at least used his time at home this afternoon to do something productive like clean out our catch all mudroom. 

[simpsongal]

My main gripe is this is the time of year we catch up on savings and bills. We’re ok but with a fed tax bill and summer camp bills, things are still feeling tight. Our cabinets came in for our office finally, so we’ll need to pay the $2500 balance and we still owe our contractor his balance, and we need to buy butcher block counters.

We’ll be fine, I just want to stop paying out and start paying down.

[sadlebred]

I had a pipe burst two weeks ago. Thankfully it was more like a slow drip, and it was for less than 12 hours. There was enough damage that I decided to make a homeowners claim. I didn't know what else was damaged in the wall. The remediation company was $2000 (thank insurance!), and it took a week to dry some lumber/wood/framing that got wet. This is after they removed part of the ceiling, a whole soffit, some of the wall sheetrock, and a large area of carpet. $1400+ in plumbing bills later out of my pocket, everything is fixed. I'm currently waiting on the repair estimate to be sent to the insurance company, which should be done this week.

[chpmnk1015]

I've been looking for a new car since oct..it's time...ordering on wed.. so I have like 4 months to save more.. but, there are no deals right now on cars w the supply chain.. hoping they give me a good trade in value for mine when the time comes...

[chpmnk1015]

Another one...
Got a bill for several hundred dollars because my pharmacy billed the wrong insurance plan..we had a new one...they paid it but now want the money. Pharmacy says they can't help... so now I'm contacting 3 different insunce companies to figure this out because in the span of 5 months, I had 2. Ugh.

[ssmjlm]

Mar 1, 2022 9:23:30 GMT -5 ewall said:

I hate that I went in for my annual physical and because we briefly discussed an RX from a previous office visit (an RX that I wasn’t even taking anymore!), I’m getting charged for an office visit instead of my free annual physical. So shady. Next year I won’t respond to any of the NP’s questions.

We had that  happen last year with a pedi visit.  I disputed the bill since the pedi said we were prescribed something and I said telling me to grab some nasal spray for my kid at CVS is not a prescription.

[wildrice]

I just went to pay my H's student loan, and it looks like it has been transferred to a new servicer. As far as I recall we have not received any information about the new account. It looks like it's with Edfinancial so I guess he will need to create a new account with them to see details. I guess this is minor, but anything to do with student loans just makes my anger/stress level go up. Instead of this being a 2 minute task, now we need to figure out this new account and of course he's busy at the moment so I can't cross this off my list of things to do.

[orval]

Mar 1, 2022 10:21:17 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

Mar 1, 2022 9:23:30 GMT -5 ewall said:

I hate that I went in for my annual physical and because we briefly discussed an RX from a previous office visit (an RX that I wasn’t even taking anymore!), I’m getting charged for an office visit instead of my free annual physical. So shady. Next year I won’t respond to any of the NP’s questions.

We had that  happen last year with a pedi visit.  I disputed the bill since the pedi said we were prescribed something and I said telling me to grab some nasal spray for my kid at CVS is not a prescription.

I also had this happen at my last annual physical.  i disputed and they told me i was charged for high blood pressure and obesity.  The literal only reason i go to the annual physical is for hbp prescription which i have had for ten years!  I also will not discuss anything at my next appointment.  they wouldnt budge on the charge. BS!

[noodleoo]

Mar 1, 2022 10:53:00 GMT -5 orval said:

Mar 1, 2022 10:21:17 GMT -5 ssmjlm said:

We had that  happen last year with a pedi visit.  I disputed the bill since the pedi said we were prescribed something and I said telling me to grab some nasal spray for my kid at CVS is not a prescription.

I also had this happen at my last annual physical.  i disputed and they told me i was charged for high blood pressure and obesity.  The literal only reason i go to the annual physical is for hbp prescription which i have had for ten years!  I also will not discuss anything at my next appointment.  they wouldnt budge on the charge. BS!

This is so fucked up.  What's the purpose of a physical if you're not supposed to talk about your health? I hate how insurance/healthcare works in the US so much. 

[orval]

Mar 1, 2022 11:13:28 GMT -5 noodleoo said:

Mar 1, 2022 10:53:00 GMT -5 orval said:

I also had this happen at my last annual physical.  i disputed and they told me i was charged for high blood pressure and obesity.  The literal only reason i go to the annual physical is for hbp prescription which i have had for ten years!  I also will not discuss anything at my next appointment.  they wouldnt budge on the charge. BS!

This is so fucked up.  What's the purpose of a physical if you're not supposed to talk about your health? I hate how insurance/healthcare works in the US so much. 

It is!  They also tried to blame insurance but somebody had to send them the bill!

[niq]

I work at a company where I think the college hires are making Area Median Income for a family of four, and people spent a big chunk of the company All Hands complaining about compensation. Good lord, get a grip.

[mlkgls]

When it rains it pours. I’m having to redo my primary bathroom unexpectedly due to a leak and it was definitely not in my plan this year, or even the next few years. I suppose I could only fix the shower, but it accounts for nearly half of the remodel cost and I hate the current color and material choices of the entire bathroom. I could save money short term, but I think I would regret it. My new car fund became my remodel fund and of course my 15 year old car decided it was time for a large maintenance bill, to the tune of my entire tax refund.

I have sinking funds for various repair and home project categories, but it feels like I am bleeding money.

[sadlebred]

Insurance is only giving me $2.50 per sq foot of carpet. This means I can't get the LVP I want. I'm going to have to go with my 5th choice. I like the color but had hope for better quality. This is about $5/sq ft vs $7 for the stuff I really want. So I'd pay about $2.50/sq foot.

[AdaraMarie]

Our dentist is charging me over $200 (+what he got from insurace) for pulling out a few baby teeth in about 90 seconds with some orajel and his fingers. Plus $70 for things he did more than insurance allowed for the year that I had no advance knowledge of. Plus a charge for a filling that seems reasonable.
I tried calling about it and the girl who answered the phone was totally clueless.
I have been going to the same office for 14 years and it has never been like this before.

[midwestmama]

Our garage door broke, and a new set (we have a 3-stall garage with 2+1 doors) is about $6,000. (We are buying nicer ones than the basic model, so it should improve the look of our house from outside.) I guess it's good DH and I are just getting our annual bonuses now (and haven't spend the money already), but we were hoping to use that money for other home improvements. The one good thing is that the company we chose has a partnership with Costco, so we'll get a Costco gift card with 12% of the purchase price back. (And note to self to now always check Costco first for these types of things.)

[ny96]

We are bleeding money. We are at the start of a home renovation which was planned and that spending doesn’t bother me, but we are taking a vacation in April, going to an out of state wedding one week after the trip, I’m sure we owe quite a bit on taxes, and our property taxes are also due in April. I’m guessing that outside of our renovation we will be spending about $20k in the next month if not more.

ETA: I totally forgot about the $4000 camp bill that is due in May and doesn’t include an additional 3 weeks of camp I have yet to book elsewhere.

[dr.girlfriend]

Adding to the medical/dental frustration. I love my DH, but he is SO not money conscious.

His dentist recommended that he talk to an oral surgeon about whether he needed his wisdom teeth out. They referred him to an out-of-network medical provider, which will cost us a TON more than someone in network, and my husband didn't even seem to realize he should have asked for someone in network (or understand that our medical and dental insurance were different).

Then he went to the optical shop attached to the eye doctor and spent $900 on glasses. This is the place that tried to sell me $300 frames for my 12-year-old who has worn his glasses once in his life! I told my husband there's a lot of cheaper places to get lenses, but if it's convenient he's all over it regardless of the cost, and it drives me up the wall.

[ohgillian]

My new job is great but the insurance is awful and expensive. Or, I guess, it's expensive, and I have been told it's awful.

[aspentosh]

Well, I had one but it worked itself out. We've been saving for an electric truck for awhile. He put a deposit down on the Rivian awhile ago and it's due to be delivered early 2023. Got an email from Rivian 3/1 that they were raising prices on all orders. To the tune of almost $20k extra for the truck he configured and pre-ordered. Thankfully they got A LOT of backlash and walked that back for people that had orders in, so looks like his truck is still a go.

Hadn't thought about camp yet, so that'll probably be $500-$1000 depending on how many I sign her up for.

[flygirl]

Mar 2, 2022 22:56:12 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Insurance is only giving me $2.50 per sq foot of carpet. This means I can't get the LVP I want. I'm going to have to go with my 5th choice. I like the color but had hope for better quality. This is about $5/sq ft vs $7 for the stuff I really want. So I'd pay about $2.50/sq foot.

Having to just replace some carpet myself I internally screamed WTF kind of flooring can you get for $2.50 a sq ft?  

[sadlebred]

Mar 3, 2022 20:21:09 GMT -5 flygirl said:

Mar 2, 2022 22:56:12 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Insurance is only giving me $2.50 per sq foot of carpet. This means I can't get the LVP I want. I'm going to have to go with my 5th choice. I like the color but had hope for better quality. This is about $5/sq ft vs $7 for the stuff I really want. So I'd pay about $2.50/sq foot.

Having to just replace some carpet myself I internally screamed WTF kind of flooring can you get for $2.50 a sq ft?  

Unfortunately this carpet was probably cheap 15+ years ago when it was put in by the house's former owner. The fact it held up--or mostly so--this long is pretty remarkable.

[ellipses84]

[mention]drgirlfriend [/mention] I feel you on the non-MM DH. Mine doesn’t spend a lot of money on himself but when he does he will just buy the top of the line whatever without it being on sale. Recently I asked him to get an OTC medicine at Costco and he forgot so I asked him to stop at Target later because it’s the only other affordable place. Instead he went to CVS because it is 3 minutes closer and he bought the biggest bottle of name brand stuff and it was $15 more for a week supply! That’s only a tiny example.

Worse is that his procrastination and not taking care of MM things has cost us so much money over the years. I get tired of nagging about it.

This week I went through the credit card, found all the things he subscribed to and canceled them. He’ll want to watch something and start a “free” trial saying he’ll cancel it soon and never does, so he had duplicates of sports channels he wasn’t even watching.

[RockNVoll]

Mar 3, 2022 22:39:41 GMT -5 sadlebred said:

Mar 3, 2022 20:21:09 GMT -5 flygirl said:

Having to just replace some carpet myself I internally screamed WTF kind of flooring can you get for $2.50 a sq ft?  

Unfortunately this carpet was probably cheap 15+ years ago when it was put in by the house's former owner. The fact it held up--or mostly so--this long is pretty remarkable.

I hadn't realized LVP had gone up so much in price; we installed ours three years ago and it wasn't nearly so expensive! Have you looked at the options at Costco? Looks like it's about $3/sf and there are several colors.

[jlt19]

chpmnk1015, we had a similar thing happen due to job/insurance changes and it was 100% Walgreens fault b/c the prior month I gave them the new info and the medicine was $8 or something. next month, DH picked it up and didn't question it being over $100. I tried to appeal with Express Scripts, they said it wasn't their problem or something. When I went back to Walgreens the next month, it was coming up as $100 and I fought it, saying they HAD the right info and she pressed a SINGLE button and said "oh, they just didn't do xyz last time". But, she wouldn't give me a refund b/c it wasn't w/in 24 hours. I just gave up (which is EXACTLY what the insurance and Walgreens wants us to do) b/c I have too much else going on.

ellipses84, DH is the exact same way. No concept of what things should/could/would cost if you only did a tiny bit of research.

[ellipses84]

Another DH example…last night he left his car parked on the street in front of our house and someone broke into it. He thought he locked it but there wasn’t a smashed window and they popped the trunk and stole some gear he has for work worth $3k+….It’s gear he bought himself and has to replace although hopefully he can get some discounts or friends in the industry who will give him some of their old used stuff. It happened to someone else in our neighborhood too and they caught them on video but the thief was wearing a mask. I know it’s not his fault but another example of how his carelessness and procrastination cost us a lot of money. I’ve warned him this was happening a lot in our ‘hood and not to leave valuables in the car.