OT (kinda) How do you deal with financial stress, when you're already sick?

I know we're all already under a good deal of stress anyway, but for those of us who are struggling financially also...how do you deal with it? My husband and I both work full-time, so we don't qualify for any kind of help from anywhere. We're always joking about how if we could afford to eat healthy, I'd probably feel a little bit better, but the good food is just too spendy! LOL Any tips on dealing with the stress, or where to turn to for help? Or a good quality wall to bang my head into repeatedly?

Fortunately, we have health coverage under my husband's job. What isn't covered (as far as the high deductible), is taken care of under the Remistart program. That has been the one huge help we have found. There is absolutely no way I'd be able to do Remicade without insurance. In fact, I don't know how anyone could do Remicade without insurance. It makes me sad to see how expensive these wonderful medications can be. :(

Did you not have good results with remicade?

I would have been better off taking the sugar pill. Most people don't see the results they want with it and meta studies indicate only 10-15% efficacy over the placebo. If you are in remission from it, consider yourself very lucky. :)
Personally, it was a colossal waste of my money and time - resources that could have been spent elsewhere. It's a regret of mine that I didn't look at the medical literature first.

But I digress - this is about food. I have no trouble finding good food at affordable prices. Trader Joes, Farmer's markets and some local supermarket chains have competitive prices. Whole foods not so much - they overcharge for everything except a few select items.

Stress of finances... well, yeah... it sucks. And you just gotta deal with it. :D My husband is the one who freaks out over money. In my experience, it always works out, eventually. There have been times I've had to run up a credit card a little and there have been times that I lived debt free. UC has definitely depleted our savings account (which I hear about every month, lol) and taken a huge chunk out of our budgeted "free money." Having to pay minimums to 9 different places for all one disease SUCKS.

But basically, the solution to any money issues is a budget. Keep track for a month where your money goes. They create a budget of how you think you should spend your money. Compare the two. Find areas where you can cut back (husband doesn't buy $2 worth of snacks at work a few times a week. We bought some stuff at the store and he keeps it in his locker now) (skip a haircut, cut the kids hair yourself, give yourself a trim) and tack that extra money on to high interest debt and grocery budget.

There are a lot of money saving tips online. Sitting down and looking through it all might seem scary, but it really is the best way to get yourself on a good plan. And then... leave it alone. Do what you planned. My husband likes to go back and check and look and pick pick pick and I hate hearing about it. So I just tell him to be quiet and we'll look back next month again and see how we did OVER ALL not week by week or day by day. Cuz yeah... when I was really sick one week, we ate out for like every meal. Very against our budget. But we made up for it in other areas and it balanced out by the end of the month. :)

As for food; there are cheap staples to plan meals around. I suggest getting some cook books from the library and looking through them armed with sticky notes! Once you have some good recipes in mind, find out what's on sale that week and plan your meals around that. Otherwise when all else fails I turn to (or did, pre-flare) Pasta, tomato sauce (add your own seasonings and spices for spaghetti,) bananas, oatmeal, potatoes. Seriously when I was super broke and barely making rent, i could still afford those 5 things and feel like I was eating a "meal" and not just some crap. Rice is super cheap too! :)

Google is your friend when it comes to spending thrifty. :D

Tell me about it. Although we earn decent, DS has autism and we pay SIGNIFICANT portion of our income for his therapies. Since none of them accept insurance, our expensive insurance goes almost without any use, except for me, and it does not show up on any tax forms, so for Washington, we are middle class that does not qualify for any help, nor is rich enough to save for our retirement.

That said, few strategies I have applied
- Meticulous (to the extent of being anal). You will realise how much you save.
- Buy food in bulk from stores like Costco and cook food at home. It really improves interaction among couples. Cook in bulk and portion. Freeze the portions in glass containers. Stuffed freezer uses less energy. Win-win, save time, cook healthy and save on utilities.
- Weatherproof your home. We live in a rental that has paper-thin walls. Now that its around freezing, the walls are as cold to touch as the refrigerator. Weatherproofing helps reducing utilities
- Cut cable, phone whatever you don't use. I removed phone line from Cablevision's triple bundle and haggled for TV. Last year they gave me basic TV and internet for $53/month, now they jacked it up to $68. If I drop TV, they would give me internet for $70. I have Hulu Plus and Roku (but would not recommend Roku to anyone).
- Cut cellphone use and install VoIP landline. I use OBi 100 with Google Voice. Now that google voice is changing policies in May, I am looking for a cheaper alternative (from free). Use such phone for max. communication. Thus, I saved $20/month from Oct 2012. My cell phone bill is $10 for 2 months on PTel. I use data from Optimum Wifi when outside.
- Install timers on all plugs. I have www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002K8M9HM installed on various plugs and set to turn off the plugs at night or when they are not in use. It turns of automatically at scheduled time and that saves me energy. According to my calculations, I will save about $40 over the year for what I otherwise pay for fantom energy. This small amount adds up over the period of time.
- ALWAYS buy good quality stuff, it pays in long term.
- Use camel3 for tracking price of the stuff you would like to buy. I have set up almost 40 of such alerts, including majority of the supplements I take. As and when the price drops, I get an email and I order ir right away.
- Use websites like fatwallet.com when you shop online. In 2 years of my limited out-of-amazon shopping, I earned $23.
- Get a good cash rewards credit card. We have Chase Freedom that we use most, Got almost $600 last year.
- I like HSA-type insurance. You pay from your pocket, but save $6400 tax free every year.
- There are ton of more ideas scattered around the web and I have a sticky floating on my desktop, as and when I come across any idea that I have not tried, I make a note of it and give it a spin. If I like it and if that works with me, I will follow it.

To note, I do NOT clip coupons. Over the period of time I have noticed that the coupons are available only for processed foods and we have barred processed foods from our pantry. The couponing style promotes unhealthy eating habits. We have enough to deal with, hence I do not want to buy 'poison' on sale.
Plus, the time and mental power that it takes for couponing and good use of them certainly not worth for me.


Stealth, I don't know where you live, but where I live, in Hudson Valley NY, organic food is not cheap. Trader Joe's is not really cheap, except for bananas. I do buy other stuff from TJ, but not vegetables. Farmer's market are way more expensive than any grocery store. I have scoured all farmer's market within 25 miles of my radius. Whatever few CSAs we have, are just as useless.

Sometimes it's having enough TIME to make healthy meals and snacks that is the problem for working people. Chicken breasts and fresh produce are not so expensive but the time to make meals when you are hungry can be missing.

Taking one day a week to make a weeks worth of dinners can work unless you're already working 60-70 hours/wk. Gotta sleep sometime.

Buying a pre-cooked chicken was always a good plan for me when too sick or too tired. You can make many different meals from it. I got the "plain" kind not BBQ or other flavorings that would make my gut unhappy. Microwaving veggies is easy (carrots, potatoes, green beans).

I bought a book called "Dinner made easy with Rotisserie Chicken" (Betty Crocker). Has multiple different ways to use pre-cooked chicken. And you can make chicken stock in a crockpot after eating it all.

Best wishes.

They say it costs 3000 a person more per year to eat healthy. That's completely out of reach for many many people.

One of my biggest dreams is to help get diets covered or subsidized by healthcare and create a business that makes weekly meals for folks on individualized diets that they can afford.

There are several programs that are trying to bring healthy foods to low income people who need it and they are making a difference. Hopefully in the next decade we can really just improve our whole food system.

*humming Imagine*

Pathogen, I'm not sure how they say it costs 3000$ more per person per year to eat healthily... That's about what we spend total per person per year. So unless eating junk is for free! Lol.

Hey JS, I hope you're feeling alright this weekend. :)

Finances often just come down to doing the very best you can. If you are having a difficult time with things it is often wise to begin keeping track of every penny you spend, and every penny that comes into your life. Total things up at the end of each month and look them over. What you look for are any spots where you feel the money you spent was not worth the time it took to earn it. I've done this for ten years, and it really does help.

Know all your basic expenses, and look for ways to reduce them:
Rent or Home Costs: Always look at different options, including downsizing wisely. Take into account how
well it is built to keep energy and/or maintenance costs down.
Water: Not a lot of room for savings, but just use it wisely.
Power: Again, use it wisely. Also look for any deals from the utility company. I am on a heat pump
program which lowers my winter utility rates because I have a heat pump.
Gas: Use it wisely as well.
***Whatever your water heater is electric/gas you may be able to turn the temp down slightly and
save money.
Cell Phones: Look for the best available deal. Decide if you need smart phones, or if home internet is
enough.
Home Internet: If you have more than one option look for the best deal. If you live close to a library
consider if just using it there would be enough. Also get by with the least amount of service that
suffices.
Health Insurance: Tough one. Look at options again. Finding the right employer with a large group may
significantly help things. If my parents had the option my future parents-in-law have (due to future
mother in law's employment) they would save over $1,000 per month on insurance.
Medical Bills: I use a credit card to pay them so that I get at least 1% back, and then I pay it off that
month. Many facilities will work with you a bit on prices. I have a health system in the smaller town I
live near that was able to knock 10% off just by my asking when I dealt with the lady in charge of all
the billing.
Medicine: I think this one has been covered. I am blessed with excellent co-pays for medicine so I have
not investigated it a lot. A combination of free samples when you can, as well as help from the drug
companies are good places to start. Let your physician know your situation and they will try to help!
Auto Insurance: My insurance guy says it is wise to shop around every 3 years. Also, don't get tickets!
Auto repairs: Stay on top of regular maintenance; it is cheaper in the long run than letting the car
deteriorate and finding significant problems. Also, find a good local shop to go to that has fair pricing. The chain stores often nickle and dime you with things you do not need at all. Trust me, I deal with these companies every day.
Clothing: If you are really trying to pinch pennies, find a good thrift store and enjoy the bargains. Same
with garage sales. I personally find a lot of my clothes at Kohl's... but I am a card member (credit
card) and wait until they send me 30% off coupons to use, and then I use that along with sales at the
same time to get the best deals I can.
Pets: Having a pet can get costly. They are like family to me so I just deal with the expense, but my dog
needs pain pills for bad arthritis that cost $147 for two months worth. Don't take on too many animals
if you need to pinch pennies.

Other Ideas:
-Any time you need something, see if you can buy it used. My fiancee wanted a nice elliptical and so I began looking. The stores sell ones for $1,000, but the reviews of them led me to understand that this was a huge risk, and that a good one costs $2,500 or more usually. I was able to find a used $3,000 elliptical with only 32 hours on it, and got it for $1,300.
-Try not to need a newer vehicle. There is a sweet spot where you can have a reliable vehicle that costs less to insure and license. I personally drive a 15 year old vehicle; I just replaced the engine in it... but the whole repair bill came to only twice what the sales tax alone would be on a newer vehicle. There are many different routes to take here, so just figure out the numbers that work best for you and your comfort level with different vehicles.
-Look for side income opportunities. Maybe someone around you needs help with lawn care, home care... or maybe a business needs just a little bit of help. Even an extra $100 a month goes a long ways if you're living wisely.

I love finances, so that's why I think about these things. I run my own business and have real estate investments on the side. I'm looking at going back to school to study accounting and economics come summer. So... if this was too much just blame it on that. Haha

Some great advice here guys, thanks for sharing!

PathogenKiller said...
We eat almost entirely organic, nothing in a box box but quinoa pasta.

What brand do you buy and is it in bulk? I thought of this in the past. 10lb of Quinoa pasta was for $32 and shipping $56. I said WOW..
I am still in if I get Quinoa pasta uptil $2-3/lb.
I tried rice pasta by some Canadian company. Boiling that pasta was a REAL PITA.