Frugal Fun - A Toad in My Flower Pot

It looks like this one - it is an endangered Houston Toad? We have a pair of them!


Tiny (my little 11 pound rat terrier) and I were outside early this morning repotting a couple of our herb plants. Who are the herbs for? Tiny, of course! She loves to eat fresh pieces of broken mint and also enjoys the earthy scents of thyme, rosemary and oregano.

Imagine my surprise when I looked down into the now empty pot of mint and found a toad inside! This is the second big toad we have found this week. We found the first one hiding underneath a mud hole beside the sidewalk.

Toads are frugal bug eaters. We don't mind sharing our container gardening space with these guys, yet next time I hope the toads won't almost kill my mint by digging underneath them and depriving them of water!

Frugal, Flavored Iced Tea

My son and I drink lots of water - tap water, filtered into the Brita pitcher, usually.

However, we do get tired of drinking water all of the time, so I make up a couple of decaf iced teas that taste great and beat the heat. We're always watching our weight, so we use Splenda if we want a sweet tea.

Here's the recipes for our favorites - peach or raspberrry

1 bag decaf flavored peach or raspberry tea
2 bags decaf black tea
Approx. 20 ounces of boiling water
1 ceramic tea pot

Steep for 5 minutes. Allow to cool, or pour over lots of ice.

Yum, I think I'd better go make some now!

Living without health insurance

After reading my last post, you are probably wondering, how does this idiot woman make it without health insurance? I will be glad to elaborate. I don't think any of my ideas are perfect, it's just that I've learned to make do after three years of living without health insurance.

A little background about my family situation. I'm a single mother for the past 11 years supporting an almost 15-year old son who is the light of my life. I also lovingly support a cat and a dog, although unfortunately, they do not qualify for tax relief of any sort. I generally fall about $1,000 - $3,000 short any year of qualifying for the Earned Income Credit, therefore disqualifying me of any significant discounts on my tax bill. I do get monthly child support from my ex, although I would consider it insignificant, in light of the fact that it never even came close to paying for a monthly childcare invoice. I'm ranting, I know...

So back to the subject, how do I make it on no health insurance?

1. Pay cash only at the doctor's office.
2. Tell your doctor you are a cash patient, especially if they are working for an HMO.
3. Be prepared to argue or discuss your medical fees with the clerk at the front desk. Explain that you are paying cash and have no health insurance up front. I know this is embarrassing! Be tough - your home finances should be treated as a business decision, too!
4. Be informed - know about the medical tests that have been requested for you and what benefit they have for reaching a diagnosis. I had to cut out several medical tests recently, just because I couldn't afford them.
5. Know your targeted health risks. Mine are heart health and diabetes. Your family history might suggest cancer or some other high risk illness.
6. Ask your doctor for a generic drug, free samples, or a low cost over-the-counter alternative.
7. Sign up for any prescription discounts that you may qualify for such as Partnership for Prescription America, etc.
8. Walmart and Target now have $10.00 or less generics. Ask for a generic alternative, if possible.
9. Do you really need to go to the Emergency Room? Do your ABC's - does it involve Airway/Breathing or Circulation (Bleeding)? If you can't breathe or are bleeding badly, definitely go. Otherwise, consider waiting until regular doctor's hours for a visit, or try one of the smaller 24/7 emergency clinics.
10. Home remedies - I was fortunate enough to come from a pioneer Texas family. One set of relatives was from West Texas and the other from North Texas. Luckily these traditions have been passed along verbally from one generation to the next. Don't know any home remedies? The internet is a great resource.
11. Live healthy, be proactive about your health. Take care of yourself including your dental health, eat right, be active.

Let's all pray that our health care system in America changes with the next Presidential election. I don't have the answers, yet I know something better awaits us. In the meantime, take care of yourself...Terre

Health care in America, or lack thereof...

Dear Presidential Hopeful,

Team Hillary, you will need to convince me thoroughly about how you will change health care in America, after thoroughly messing it up during the first Clinton administration. Even as I worked diligently in my Fortune 500, Working Woman recommended jobs, you made my single mother life a living hell. First, I had to give up my favorite family doctors, then I had to change over to the preferred provider network, and finally I gave up and just threw in the HMO towel.

After working myself to death in corporate America, I quit working for that number one company, and started the life of a contract worker. Now I have less stress, no commitment to my job, AND NO HEALTH INSURANCE.

Sure, I could have stayed on with the number one company, but as I tell my current co-workers frequently, the amount of money I spend on health care today is no different than it was three years ago. If anything, my health care expenditures are less!

Believe me, I am not advocating that anyone live life without a safety net. I'm just stating that had I stayed at the top company, I would surely now be dead of a heart attack and financially drained, because there isn't much difference in my mind financially by having no health insurance.

Whereas I used to pay low co-pays, a trip to the emergency room less my $75.00 or $100.00 deductible would no less, wipe me out. As I signed my rights away to pay what health insurance didn't cover, I also signed myself up for being billed outrageous fees, only to learn that my insurance (buyer beware - that insurance was self-insured by the company I worked for, and they were really making the rules) was only going to pay for 1/4 of it, if at all. That left me holding the financial bag.

Tell me, Mrs. President, how are you going to fix the messes you made during the first Clinton administration?

Welcome to My Blog!

Dear Reader,
As I sit here at home this weekend, my bank account is $241.00 lighter after a trip to the doctor yesterday and no affordable health insurance. Please don't feel sorry for me, I'm just stating a fact.

It's going to be tough until I make it to the next payday. Maybe you're in this same situation, too? That's why I'm writing this blog...to give others hope that we can make it.

I try to live my life based on these principals:

1. Live stress free, or as close as humanly possible.
2. Be a decent and ethical Christian woman who makes everyone around her feel accepted and loved, whether it be at home, work or in my day-to-day living.
3. Pay cash for everything, live on the income I make, live frugally.
4. Live for today, hope for a better tomorrow.
5. Pull myself up by the bootstraps whenever possible.
6. Be thankful for all my blessings!

I'm hoping my blog generates a lot of ideas and that you, my reader, will enjoy the journey with me. Please post often! Cheers, Terre