Long live the 2.9%

Very slow reimbursement from both my insurance company and my FSA (because that's dependent on the former) and I was panicky because I definitely don't have $3,800. Enter the 2.9% that US Bank is still offering. Whew. It's the same deal I got in August and didn't realise amid the credit crunch that it was still there. Saving my bacon. Yes there's the 3% fee, but that's better than the 14% I'd be paying in finance charges on AMEX so we're good.

Now back to paying down, but April is way lost. 

$3800+ at the dentist

While I hope to get a chunk of that reimbursed through my dental insurance and some of the rest of it covered via my FSA, that still hurts.

What I'm hoping for...

$1195 reimbursed from dental insurance

$1979.28 to drain my FSA (damn, should have contributed more.)

Leaves me to cover: $625.72

I hope, if it all works that well.

I'm so done with all major dental work this year.

February Net Worth

is posted here. Not great, but not as bad as it looks. The tax refund helps, but the pending reimbursement for my dental work means the dental work is showing on my credit card balance because the one check I've received has not posted and I'm expecting a mid-month direct deposit of the rest, which means the dental work will be paid off before the bill is due. But in the mean time, they show in my credit card balances. I suppose it will balance out because my dental work Wednesday will then be on the card until I get reimbursed. Insurance reasonably speedy so I can't complain, too much.

Now that my paycheck has been right I can see the difference in my FSA. Last year's election: 200, this year's, 3000. Total difference in 2x/month paycheck? $50 or $1200/year. I think that works out well in my favor. It also makes paying for the dental work far less painful. Further, the fact that I'll use the bulk of my FSA combined with my 2K dental insurance limit on dental work scares me. 

I yucking ate my yeef...

Which was essentially what I said a few years ago while undergoing root canal on a bottom molar. I have AWFUL teeth. Case in point, that root canal is currently being retreated along with one on an adjacent tooth. Not to be left out, the tooth on the other side also decided it needed a root canal. Needless to say I am far above the $800 max in claims to be eligible for the dental rollover. I thought I'd get one of the crowns started this year so had been saving the $850 I had left of the $2000 eligibility for that. That isn't going to happen so instead I'm getting statements of services rendered that I hadn't submitted to use up the difference.

This was also exacerbated last week when the crown on the second molar from the right on the bottom broke while eating... an M&M. Perhaps that was my diet's way of telling me I shouldn't eat that. I got an emergency appointment earlier this week and a dentist reattached it. It lasted all of two days when, I think, the clamp from the root canal the specialist was finishing, knocked the crown off. Oops. So another appointment Tuesday. Because this crown broke as well as the one on the adjacent tooth (which had already broken twice before), I now know I need to get three crowns. Enter my excitement at learning how I can use my FSA. I'm going to use it to pay for the dental work that's over and above plan limits. 

Yes, I have $2k available in 2009 however crowns are covered at 50% out of network. I know the 30% "discount" in-network (although I looked at prices and it's not 30% because the out of network dentist is cheaper) and that it would then be covered at 60%, but I'm not changing dentists for the three teeth they're already working on. Maybe after the fact but I'm not changing mid procedure.

You know, it's not NYC rent that's killing me so much as my teeth!

A good money day...

Money-wise, today was a good mail day...

For all the bad things you hear about rebates, whether they're legit, whether you'll get what's promised, I got my monthly Walgreen's rebate pretty quickly. Mom actually told me she got hers a few days ago and I was bummed and wondering where mine was. And it arrived today $16.50 on the Walgreen's gift card (including the bonus of $1.50 for having it on the gift card as opposed to cash). Still a good deal in that I regularly shop at Walgreen's.

and for a few more dollars, I was reimbursed for the recent root canal.  Better yet, it took only one phone call to my insurance and it was for exactly what I expected it to be - down to the penny. Sweet. Only question is whether I'm using it to pay off the bill on my credit card (now transferred to 2.9 for life), use it on the higher 4.9 for life as a part of my overall snowball or use it for the next two months student loan payments. I'm thinking the 4.9 since it fits with the overall strategy and lets me re-allocate tomorrow's paycheck to student loan and the payment due on the 2.9.

Selling old dental crowns?

When my dentist gave me the crown that went kerfluey (highly technical, I know) last time, she suggested I explore selling it. I had no idea people bought old growns for the gold in them. A Google search gave me some interesting information, I'm going to have to look further. I know it's not much money, but I'll take pennies over a broken crown. Subsidize the new one :)

Current economy

Discussion with some friends about Friday plans and one said she was just having "Drinks in, gotta deal with the economy." A good thought. While this week's mess hasn't hit my industry directly, all of us in the city are starting to get hit indirectly. 

What should be done?

I can see the argument that buying lunch (and or buying groceries) are helping the local shops, especially those in my office building half covered by scaffolding. I swear, you can't see the construction-slowdown here. Everything is under scaffolding. 

I was good and bad in May when I got the stimulus check. It came right before graduation and I spent half on clothes for work and half went toward paying down debt. That said, I need to buckle down. I spent a lot on something I probably shouldn't have but won't regret. So starting next week is the physical and fiscal diet.

I just got the statement for my last root canal. $1440. On the plus side, I read up on my insurance coverage and I should get reimbursed. I need to submit the claim tomorrow and hope for the best. 

$1440 gone

and not even to something fun but dental work. I'm going to see what might get covered, but right now that's on AMEX and I'm facing the prospect of not one but two more crowns. One new and one to replace the one that self-destructed in the chair this morning. Not fun. Not at all.

On the plus side, the Giants won, good start to the season! 

Net Worth + 1,001

Wow, didn't expect that much of an increase. I think the numbers almost work now although neither my 401k nor my Roth IRA are factored in. It would have been better had I not had some rather large but necessary expenditures (more dental work) but I'm still happy with that. 

Expected issues this month:

• more dental work (1 crown, 1 root canal re-treatment) whose coverage is uncertain. This is the first time I'll be filing with my new insurance.
• Although I just charged the December trip, that will be paid off with the account set aside for that purpose so that will be a decrease but a planned for one.
  
• Hopefully student loan consolidation will be complete to enable one payment that includes principal payment. 

I don't expect to incur any further debt and really want to begin paying this all down.