Remember the talk about me getting a job? Well, I think I have found a good solution for us. There are a few companies that allow you to take customer service calls from home. A good friend of mine works for two of them. Normally, I wouldn’t be interested in a non-conventional job like this, but I know two people who are doing it and making money. So I’m going to trust it and see how it goes.

I don’t know all the exact details but it seems pretty flexible as far as setting your own schedule. Which is key since I want to be able to spend time with the kids and allow my husband the freedom to work as much overtime as he wants. Plus the draw of no commute is a real bonus. I will actually be getting paid for every minute I’m away from the family and no gas wasted.

I don’t know about the money yet. It’s not 100% clear because it depends on what types of calls you take and then it pays for each minute you are on a call, so if you aren’t getting back to back calls then you aren’t making as much money as you could be. So it’s hard say, but I know they have to pay at least minimum wage. Which for the flexibility I’m getting I’m willing to give it a shot.

Another great bonus is that you only have to take 2 calls every 60 days to stay employed. So if things pick up at my husband’s job I can easily keep this option open for the future. Besides, I’ve done plenty of call center work in my life, I know I can take these calls in my sleep.

The bad part is that you have to have a phone line dedicated just to taking these calls. Which costs us $20 a month. But I’m getting over that by telling myself that all jobs have costs. Spending nothing on commuting will make up for this extra phone line.

 So that’s the plan. I applied today so I’ll let you all know how it goes.

Picture by Vince Welter

I got a letter from my son’s doctor saying that our insurance denied the claim to pay for his visit on January 30^th. Needless to say I was freaked out. The letter stated we owed them $150. What was more terrifying was that he has had two more doctor’s appointments and we have filled three prescriptions since then. That’s a lot of potential bills that could be coming. We called the insurance company right away but the recording said they closed at 6:00. It was 6:04 on Friday night. So we had to stress about it all weekend.

I called again first thing yesterday morning and was told that they have it on record that we have another insurance that is primary. Luckily it was easy to clear up. I’m not sure why they thought we had another insurance, but supposedly it’s all fixed.

All of this answered one question that I had. I always wondered how much it actually cost to go to the doctor if you don’t have insurance. Now I know that it’s $170, at least to see this particular doctor. (The $150 I owed them plus the $20 I paid at the time of the visit.) That’s a lot of money! Then we also fill two prescriptions each month that cost us $30 in copays but the total cost would be $160 without insurance.

In January we paid $50 in copays and $165 for the insurance itself. So that totals $215 out of pocket expenses for us, and the insurance paid $280 on our behalf. That is pretty amazing. I can’t believe we come out ahead. And that is a pretty average month. Someone around here ends up at the doctor at least once a month. In April we have three doctor’s appointments scheduled. The insurance company better get their checkbook out!

Picture by Fillmore photography