So...some of you may know from my previous entries that my daughter broke her leg last week. I decided to look on our insurance site to see how the charges are looking.
I'm not sure if all the charges are there yet, I sure hope so, because right now the total is $6039.71. That includes one ER visit, with x-rays, one pediatrician visit, and another doctor's visit at the Children's Hospital with more x-rays and a cast.
Luckily (?) we have already met our $4500 deductible this year, so I think our out-of-pocket cost will be 10% of our total bills, so around $600.
Wow, what do people with no insurance do? It's crazy. I'm very thankful we have health insurance and we can absorb the cost of this with our emergency fund.
Anyways....today is Friday and my 4-year-old doesn't have school and my 1-year-old is also home with me. My husband usually works from home but I suggested he go into the office today so that I don't have to work so hard at keeping the kids quiet while he's working.
I've realized, now that my daughter is in a cast and can't swim or go to parks, how much time I usually spend with my kids doing those 2 activities and how much I miss doing those things! Going to parks, being outside riding bikes, etc. are my go-to activities for cheap entertainment with my kids. Because typically on a Friday with the 2 younger ones we'd be at a park right now.
So instead, our big outing today was going to Petco. I needed to get some pill pockets for my cat (he's 17 1/2 years old, has stomach cancer, but is still holding on!). A trip to Petco with my kids is very entertaining because we stop and look at all the animals. Ferrets, birds, mice/gerbils/rats/hamsters/guinea pigs, frogs, turtles, snakes, lizards...and of course all the fish. It's like a mini-zoo trip. And we can easily stay for 30 minutes checking out all the animals. Does anyone else do this with their kids?
Other somewhat frugal things I'm doing today:
I saw that the Disney Channel has Return to Neverland on this afternoon, so I'm recording it for a future family movie night at home.
I got an e-mail from Groupon this morning for $5 off any deal. And they have a Studio Movie Grill deal for $5 for a movie and a drink. So I bought 3 movie/drink tickets for a total of $10 (that's $3.33 a movie ticket, not bad). I should preface this by saying that we rarely go to the movies. I think my kids have been to a movie theater once so far this year. So my plan is to take my 2 boys to see that Hotel Transylvania movie sometime in the next few weeks. Since this is one of those theatres with tables and real food, I'm going to try to keep it frugal and go at an off-eating time (like a mid-afternoon show) and just order one thing of food to split. Like popcorn, or french fries.
Our spending splurge:
We decided, last minute, to sign up for another Parents' Night Out that is tonight. We usually try to have a date night once a month, and there is a local church that does a Parents' Night Out childcare for a reasonable amount of money. We already had our date night 2 weeks ago, but there is another local church that is now doing this for slightly cheaper (it costs a total of $24 for our 3 kids combined and that includes pizza for them for 3 1/2 hours). So we decided to splurge and have a second date night this month. DH and I are just going to go out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant.
How's your Friday going?
Friday Savings and Spending
September 21st, 2012 at 04:34 pm
September 21st, 2012 at 04:59 pm 1348246748
I hope you get itemized medical bills as the number of x-rays is shocking as is the ER charge. It's frustrating that that traumatic event started with a mis-diagnosis. Accidents happen and I truly believe Medical Insurance should be compulsory for all. There would be a lot more competition and rates would be more affordable.
September 21st, 2012 at 05:16 pm 1348247784
September 21st, 2012 at 05:23 pm 1348248217
I think I've learned a lot from this medical experience. In the future, I think we'll try to skip the emergency room all together unless my kid is bleeding or about to die. I just didn't know any better this time, it seemed like the logical place to go. Next time I suspect a broken bone, I will just call around to orthopedist offices and see where I can get in on that day or the next. Lesson learned!
September 21st, 2012 at 11:35 pm 1348270514
Jerry
September 22nd, 2012 at 03:00 am 1348282827
September 23rd, 2012 at 03:59 am 1348372789