Frustratedearthmother's Journaling Journey

[sumi]

FEM, I really hope your DH's eye doesn't get worse now. The poor man went through so much with his eyes already It's good to get it all sorted and fixed (as much as possible) now, while he's working and got the insurance.

The only time I wormed pigs… I heard marijuana leaves are a good dewormer, so I got a few off the local rastas lol I guess it worked, we didn't see any signs of worms afterwards or when we bothered them.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Went online last night and made a big Jeffer's order. They have ivermectin paste for $1.89 a tube. I ordered 10! Got some other stuff in preparation for kidding season. I think my first doe is due in January - ARGH! I don't like babies that early but nobody asked for my permission to go rogue and breed on their own time timetable - they just went and did it.

@sumi.... I never heard of using marijuana for wormer. Of all things, lol! Can you imagine a pig with the munchies?

You are talking about retirement, is he or will he be 65 so he can go on Medicare?

You forced me to do some research last night and the answer ain't pretty..

No, he's not 65...he'll be 64+ when I retire and I'll probably be close. (depending on when I make the break) TRS insurance will be quite pricey for us until we both turn 65 and can make Medicare our primary insurance and then TRS will become the secondary. Even though he will turn 65 five months before me - we will be forced to pay the higher premium until I turn 65.

For the time period that we are not Medicare eligible: If it were just me retiring (no spouse) the premium would be $200 a month....add in a spouse and the premium jumps to $689 a month! That doesn't even make sense! Double the premium I could understand - but that rate is more than triple.

Once we both become Medicare eligible the premium for both of us will drop to $529...or if it were just me $140.

At that point we might consider dropping the TRS and going with Medicare and a Medicare gap insurance that might be less pricey. I haven't gotten that far in my research.

Not a pretty picture but with DH's health issues we definitely gotta have it!

I have him on a mission to get his issues taken care of. I told him last night to change the way he thinks about his job. He takes it too seriously - and to start thinking of it as the means to get his health back in line. He's such a dedicated employee that he's been reluctant to take any time for his health care - that's gotta stop.

We're waiting on a cold front today. Yay? It's supposed to be a wet and yucky cold front so I'm not terribly excited about it...

 

[baymule]

We got that cold front last night with 2 waves of hard rain. Possibility of hail, which we did not get. We got 1 1/2" last night. I dumped out the rain gauge and it has been raining all day. We got total 3 1/2" over the weekend. It was 45* at 9:00 this morning.

It might be better for y'all if you wait until you are Medicare eligible. But I am sure you know your situation much better than I do. My mother had a traditional AARP supplement through United Healthcare and NEVER paid a dime out of pocket for anything. So we got the same thing for DH. With the open heart surgery, knee replacement, shoulder replacement and the following months of therapy, we never paid anything extra. It runs him about $200 a month for the supplement. He is 73. No network, no approved doctors or hospitals, zilch. He can go to any doctor or hospital he wants to. For drugs, we use the Texas Drug Card, look it up on your phone and save your card to your phone. Show it at the pharmacy for a very good discount. It's free.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

It's cool and rainy here....yay? Cool - yes! Rainy - not so much...

No doubt it would be better to delay retirement by a year or so - but I don't want to. I may have to - but I DON"T WANT TO!!!! That's one of the reasons I'm saving every penny I can right now. Not to sound morbid - but I'm afraid if DH can't retire soon....he might not get very many years of retirement...know what I mean? He deserves to have some enjoyable non-working years. (having said that - he'll probably outlive me by a decade or so..)

Goats annoy me. Goats are stupid...that's all I'm saying.

 

[NH Homesteader]

Oh nooo.... what'd they do?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

One of the things I absolutely FORBID for my goats to do is to charge at an open gate. I will not tolerate it and it's one of the rare times that I will knock the crap out of one of 'em! It's dangerous! Case in point tonight when I was carrying a big ol' armload of hay to the buck pens.... Both Dusty and the Kinder guy rushed the gate...grazed me and I was dancing in the mud with all that hay - trying not to get tangled in the hotwire and then Dusty stepped on my foot - my bad foot...grrrr!

But - they didn't get out.

Surprised you didn't hear me cussin' at 'em, lol!

 

[NH Homesteader]

Grr boys! Not cool! They're big boys too.

 

[sumi]

Oh my word, medical insurance is brutal by you guys! Although what @baymule has sounds like a good deal and option, if viable. FEM Hang in there you two.

 

[baymule]

Oh my word, medical insurance is brutal by you guys! Although what @baymule has sounds like a good deal and option, if viable. FEM Hang in there you two.

I don't have any insurance, at my age, it's 1,000 a month. Uh..... nope.

 

[Mini Horses]

A good friend has some "Obama Care" coverage for self & DH. Because of their income, it's under $100 a month! She actually has to claim income above actual on their taxes to qualify -- DH is independent contractor, so they just claim work income not actually done. Since he has had cancer for over a year, they CANNOT let insurance lapse. My daughter is covered by same for $39 a month. Her 16 y/o daughter is covered by a state paid program for kids within qualified income families. You learn the rules & play the game! Our tax dollars pay for these programs, use them. None of us qualify for any food assistance -- that's fine we eat well!

ANYHOW ---- Bay, have you (& FEM) checked into those avenues for coverage? My state has just announced the expansion of the Federal Medicaid coverages within the state as they get more $$ from the Affordable Care Act. While this was never available for single adults with no dependent children, it is now becoming so. Plus you can get it even tho you have Medicare (that's $133 a month) and wile it becomes the secondary you can get RX & co-pays covered well by having this -- it would be similar to a medigap situation. I have more income right now than I can to qualify but, when I cut back, it can work for me. Obviously I am not looking for more than a back up for anything I might later encounter. At the lower income the premiums are often zero, or very low.

I went without any medical coverage for 11 or 12 years, until Medicare cut in @65. I've had that for almost 8 years now and never used it. I'm 73 in Jan. Very thankful for excellent health but, never know when a Mac Truck will hit ya!! These are some of the critical things we look for when we "retire"....where to get $$ for such things, especially if you have a "continuing" medical problems to treat.

By watching your earnings income, SS can be totally free of tax, Fed & most States. I claim a senior RE Tax discount offered in my county -- NOT one that tallies & requires later pay, just a discount based on a % of tax dependent on income. I get the max, $1,000. based on under $27,800 in and % of tax that would be due. It amounts to almost 1/2 of my tax bill! They require copy of taxes filed but, hey -- OK! None of the egg, lamb, pork, veggie $$ ever shows up. Not that it is substantial but, could put you over the mark.

I'm sure you all do/know most of these things but, it all helps decide what to do & when, & where there may be a better price found. Like the dead meat case at the grocery! It's like a garden, fresh eggs, milk, cheese, cream, meat -- farm raised and cost effective to add to our own well being & budget $$. Retirement is scary.