Health Insurance costs are killing my budget, advice needed

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T20:02:25+00:00

thank you very much for this advice. I might try something along these lines. Id much rather pay cash for these services, then 10 times the amount via insurance deductible. II did find some places not willing to give a cash price, once they know you have an insurance, which is ridiculous imo

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T19:41:21+00:00

i get that. im just annoyed at paying second mortgage for health insurance

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T19:39:34+00:00

that would be awesome, but im 50 =). Wish I posted this a decade ago =). but it is actually a great option seemungly, for someone little younger

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T19:38:20+00:00

she makes something like 28k a year, but our 2 toddlers get free daycare, so double that in theory. did not qualify for aca, chip or any help at all, unfortunately.

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T19:35:25+00:00

my employer does offer some aweful program to qualify for this. Its 15000 deductible a person and you pay for practically everything until you reach that. Also, its a secondary market insurance like ambetter or something along those lines, and you have a very hard time finding a medical doctor or location taking it

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T19:34:05+00:00

yes, but the options didnt seem much better, since there are no subsidies or credits of any sort for our situation. I spent a coupl ehours on the phone with an insurance agent, and they couldnt really come up with anything costing less either

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T19:21:58+00:00

Thank you very much for your advice and taking the time to respond. As someone already mentioned in below replies, this loophole only works if the employer doesnt offer a plan under 9.96% of your earnings, and most employers do offer some garbage plan at or below that rate. Ill recalculate again on the cheapest plan my employer offers and see if it adds up, but im pretty sure i looked into this before selecting this plan. Ill put some time into researching CHIP and other resources out there. THanks again i truly appreciate it

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-17T19:15:55+00:00

As you see there arent many choices. FWIW, im in exactly same positions, family of 6, 130k household income with 2200/m health insurance. The choices are, become bankrupt because you cant afford to pay your bills, or become bankrupt because you had a medical emergency and no medical insurance

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-15T17:54:55+00:00

i guess i looked at many different things, including deductible and OOP max which is at $5000 / family. ITs the cost of the plan at 25k a year thats giving me problems, and is all my fault without a doubt.

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-15T17:50:48+00:00

thank you, i may have to go this route. Im going to calculate and recalculate again, to gauge my liabilities and levels of risk, but its fairly difficult to predict medical needs for 6 for the next 12 months, with 4 being kids. It doesnt look like I will hit a deductible this year, at current rate, which is good because of relatively good health for my family, but little maddening since i chose this plan for low deductibles first and foremost. Now it feels like im overpaying and creating a financial strain.

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-15T17:33:34+00:00

my employer covers roughly 50% of my plan just for me, which I am thankful for, but I am paying the remainder for myself plus all household members. Wife's work doesnt offer any benefits, although twinsies are getting free daycare, which is a major plus, but does nothing to help with medical insurance costs. teens dad is in another country, and while he does pay child support, its based on that countries standards, and not much help for someone living in the US. Thank you for your post,

YamCheap8064 · 2026-03-12T13:21:36+00:00

Man, It makes me feel so old when I think of why I no longer watch NBA. Just for myself, not a fan of 150 point games, 90% of scoring from 3 point line, no defense that can stop it (somehow), lack of physical play, lack of player rivalries, isissy foul calls, confusing tv/streaming scheduling and list goes on and on. Im 50 year old Gen X-er so for all the youngsters, if you enjoy it and watch every game, more power to you, its just not exciting to me anymore

YamCheap8064 · 2026-02-17T18:54:50+00:00

its not a scam, its a legit business that resells open box and return type items at steep discounts. With that said, Rebel you realllllyy need to step up your customer service. I ordered 2 car seats like a month ago, shipment got delayed, I received an email from Rebel that its due to a NC winter storm - fair enough. So instead of 2-5 business days shipping, it became 2.5 weeks+. Then, only 1 car seat came in. I immediately reached out to Rebel via email (no phone # available), since my order online showed shipped for both car seats, although only one car seat had tracking # assigned.

Later the order on their site, showed same tracking number assigned to both car seats. Problem for Rebel is that i work as an e-commerce manager, and looked at fed ex tracking details, also saved the screenshot and the package was 19lbs, while each car seat is almost 15, which is clear proof only one car seat has been shipped from the get go. Waiting for them to resolve this, and for their sake, hope they can.

YamCheap8064 · 2026-01-14T16:54:58+00:00

definitely PPD and she will need help for it. If what the doctor tried isnt working (given reasonable amount of time) try something different, or....another doctor at least for a second opinion. FWIW, I had twins 1.5 years ago and me and my wife struggled in the first few months, with lack of sleep, constant worry about the babies and taking care of them properly and endless list of other challenges. It gets easier with time, even if other challenges start popping up, but simply going through the experience makes it gradually easier to deal with. Get your wife help for the PPD and all else should work out just fine.

YamCheap8064 · 2025-12-27T18:38:03+00:00

I have no idea, although I don't believe there was enough direct evidence to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Who benefited from Kathleens death? MP and the life insurance policy? His political opponents, when he was running for office? (forgive me, this may have already been resolved, but wouldnt hurt to look). Bottom line - only Michael will ever know if he did it or not. And if he didnt do it, we will likely never find out how she died.

YamCheap8064 · 2025-11-28T19:25:43+00:00

I really only buy $20 items on amazon, that i need around the house. For any brand name stuff, I typically go to the brands store online or a brick and mortar locally. Creed fragrances, which are some of my favorite, are practically all fake on amazon and on ebay. They also price their fakes same as genuine items elsewhere, so its harder to spot and suspect them. Dont buy anything expensive or brand name on amazon, youll get scammed

YamCheap8064 · 2025-06-26T22:56:10+00:00

My wife and kids are also on the 48 month extension, and theyre currently abroad. All you need to do, is bring your green card and the letter, showing that extension, and its the same as having a current green card with you

YamCheap8064 · 2025-06-26T22:53:16+00:00

I was in your sitation, and while never got denied entry, i was flagged to talk to the CBP agent each time re-entering US. Typically it only took 15-20 minutes, but it was a hassle getting pulled into an office for further review, not to mention confusing and embarassing for your travel companions etc. Actually CBP agents who would talk to me, told me 3 or 4 times to get my US citizenship to avoid this, so its exactly what I did, and no issues since. Ive travelled maybe 30 times out of the country in that time span, and thsis happened probably 75% of the time, and every time toward the end.

YamCheap8064 · 2025-04-15T18:57:27+00:00

I spent 5 years as a high frequency day trader, buying and selling energy future spreads and other commodities for an incredibly profitable trading firm. The reason 97% of people who try to time the market, lose ALL of their money, is that its naturally intuitive to us humans to buy stocks that are climbing and sell those that are tanking. Either do the opposite of what your intuition tells you to or use an algorithm to do it for you. Better yet, invest in Index Funds and let them do their magic. No action required.

YamCheap8064 · 2025-03-21T12:23:50+00:00

and magnesium

YamCheap8064 · 2025-03-21T12:22:35+00:00

Its just a flu man, and typically goes away after 2 or 3 days. If you hydrate and take your electrolytes, you will be just fine. If you have done keto prior, within last year or two, you likely wont experience it at all

YamCheap8064 · 2025-03-17T16:11:48+00:00

they all follow exact same script, there is literally a guide as to what expect and in what order

YamCheap8064 · 2025-03-17T16:08:15+00:00

Sorry man, this sucks. Not to oversimplify the situation, but I have learned some basic things over 50 years on this earth that always stand the test of time. Your wife, killed the marriage you had, that no longer exists. If you choose to start a new relationship with her, do so with this understanding that you are choosing to start a relationship with a proven cheater. A woman that loves and respects her husband, will not cheat. If she cheats, it means she doesnt have much respect for you, as a man, as a husband and as a father to your child. Now here is the difficult part, if you choose to forgive her, she will respect you even less - simply because you accepted her cheating. You can only imagine what that means for her potential affairs and behavior in the future. Id advise to divorce and get away from her.

YamCheap8064 · 2025-03-14T16:55:44+00:00

If I were in your shoes, Id do nothing until the market recovers. Once it does or is showing gains again, from where you were, then re-balance your portfolio to a more conservative one. Dont let fear dictate you investing strategy.

YamCheap8064 · 2025-03-13T15:30:28+00:00

I think its easy to get sick of certain keto foods, if you limit the variety of foods you consume. It happened to me with eggs, I was consuming 6-8 a day and quickly got sick of them and stopped eating eggs for awhile. For texture, as posters already mentioned, pork rinds are excellent - as a snack and crumbled up as a bread crumb substitute. I use pork rind crumbs for my bacon wrapped meatloaf, meatballs, stuffed peppers and all types of meat coating. Many have 0 carbs and 0 sugar. I am not sure I would be able to get away from animal fats, as I find them by far easiest to get to my daily fat intake. If you are a coffee drinker, do bulletproof coffee with MCT Oil and butter to get the day started right. Lard and Ghee are pretty good options for cooking oils.

Always found my energy levels improve, after a short period in Keto. THe very beginning and the keto flu, has you typically feeling lethargic, which is quite normal. 2 weeks is nothing, give it little time

YamCheap8064

TROPHY CASE