August 15, 2000

Welcome to 0nly4Homebuyers Issue 23
Come over to Creative Mortgage Company and see what we have been up to!
Our site has been completely redesigned. Come
See!http://www.creativemortgageco.com/
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Contest just for moms! Enter to win $75 in Baby Bucks, or vote in our
Photo Contests! Auctions, message boards and prizes all at Mom's Life!
http://www.momslife.com/
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Good Credit or Bad! This is the place to go.
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Beat the Stress of Moving

Did you know that DEATH, DIVORCE, & MOVING are the three
most stressful experiences in life? Below are some tips to
help you beat one of the big three, moving!

1. Be prepared. There is too much to do to panic at this
last moment. You will wonder if you will ever get this move
completed, you might feel sick to your stomach.....it will pass
if you have prepared yourself for the move. Did you notify
the utilities? The post office? Make a list of all the things
that need to be done and cross them off once completed.
That way, you will know they are done.

2. Keep that picture in your mind. Your new home, once
you are in, all the furniture in place, your pictures up, the fresh
new paint, the kids in their new school, all that extra room you
are going to have for your growing family. Envision your happy
family in their new home. Get excited! This is a good thing!

3. Be flexible with the amount of money you have available
for this move. Keep an extra pad of a couple thousand dollars
if possible. Moving is expensive and you are going to want to
buy new things for your new home. That old rug just won't go
with your new decor! Your now have four windows in your
kitchen instead of just two.

4. If you are packing yourself, start early. Begin with the
attic or basement and just pack up things that you are not currently
using. Then move on to your closets, pack up your winter/summer
clothing. Then go to the nick nacks and pictures. If you start a
month or more ahead of time, it won't be nearly so bad! If you are
using a moving company, call and arrange for pickup a month or more
in advance.

5. If possible, get someone to watch the kids on moving day.
A child under foot is not fun when you are trying to pack up last
minute items (or unpack for that matter).

6. Order dinner out. Better yet, go out to eat and take some
time to unwind. It will still be there when you get back and you get
a chance to see your new surroundings.
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Can Health Insurance Make You Sick?
by Tammy Harrison

If your employer offers you a health insurance plan, you may not
realize the entire amount of premiums that are contributed per month -
until you decide to quit your job to be self-employed. My husband
received a nice benefit package from his previous employer (an
institution of higher learning) and when we decided to start our own
business after our first child was born, one of the major financial
dilemmas we had to face was what to do about health insurance.

After discussing our options with my doctor, she encouraged us to
participate in the COBRA plan offered by the university at least until
our daughter was three months old. At that time, we had to pay $564 per
month to remain active with our health insurance company. Now, I don't
know how your monthly expenses add up...but we could eat, have air
conditioning or heat, cable television and water for that amount per
month!

During that three months, we had every insurance representative
we could find give us their sales pitch. Knowing that we had to
cut back on expenses to make our home-based business a success,
we realized that health insurance was unaffordable for the average
person starting out on their own. Every insurance plan presented
to us wanted at least $300 per month in premiums, and most of the
plans would not cover our pre-existing conditions for one year.
In effect, we would be paying over $3,600 in premiums alone
(not counting the co-payments for doctor visits and prescriptions)
before the insurance would pick up the tab on my husband's
sinus allergies or my dermatological allergies.

After some serious number-crunching, we realized that ove
the course of a year we paid nearly $7,000 in insurance premiums!
Then, we added up the medical expenses paid by us and by the
insurance company (even the delivery and birth of the baby) and
it came to less than $5,000. The reason for this is that as insured
on a group health plan, the risks are spread out amongst all of the
plan participant, some of who are using more health insurance and
some who use less.

We then began to look at our out-of-pocket expenses for doctor visits.
Our baby would need well-baby checkups every few months and I
would need my annual exam and my husband would need his yearly
physical. All of those expenses added up to less than $500 per year.

We could well afford to pay the doctors directly for our care
compared to paying an insurance company "in case" we needed care.
With that decision made, we moved on to major medical insurance.
This insurance usually has a higher deductible than health insurance
in exchange for lower premiums. We found a well-known, reputable
company that offered us a major-medical insurance policy for less
than $110 per month with a $2,500 deductible. The only catch was
that the major medical would not cover pregnancy -but, we could
live with that while we raised our first child and our first home-based
business.

Over the course of that first year, we created our own medical savings
account and set aside $190 per month. We were also able to take
some tax advantages by purchasing the insurance through our company.
At the end of that year, we had nearly enough saved for an emergency
deductible in case of hospitalization.

But, despite the shock of health insurance premiums making us sick...the
inevitable happened. No, not an emergency appendectomy. I became
pregnant with child #2 and we made the decision for my husband to return
to full-time employment. The university he works for now picks up the
entire cost of premiums but we still have our medical savings account
that we started nearly five years ago just in case the high cost of
health insurance makes us sick again!
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copyright 2000 Tammy Harrison. Tammy Harrison is a wife and
mother of three children ages four and under. She has a degree
from Mizzou in Human Environmental Sciences, Consumer
Economics and Management, Personal Financial Management.
She is the Independent Creative Representative for
Home-Based Working Moms (http://www.hbwm.com), email
HBWM_Creative_Rep@... to HBWM free
eNewsletter at mailto:hbwmoms-e-news-subscribe@egroups.com
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ATTENTION! Now there is an alternative to paying all those
High insurance premiums! Introducing Affordable Health Care!
Did you know that PPO's and HMO's are NOT insurance?
$40.00 per month covers the entire family. No limitations,
Pre-Existing conditions, OK! Learn more! Send a blank email to
mailto:creativehealthcare@...
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Wellness Inside and Out - - create lifestyle wellness with state
of the art products you can trust. For product info and specials visit:
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for a complementary wellness consultatation and Sign up for health
and wellness tips at http://www.topica.com/lists/wellnessinsideandout
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FREE SHIPPING, FREE GIVEAWAYS, FREE GREETING CARDS!
Get a jump on your holiday shopping! Large selection of gifts
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Come on in to the Awardwinning Mall of Treasures. Hundreds of
shops and services under one roof! Our merchants offering all
sorts of specials! Your one stop shopping mall
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Take a stroll through Cranberry Village to visit quaint little shoppes
and meet the local townfolk. While you are there, be sure to read
our current addition of The Cranberry Villiage Gazette to get the
latest on our "eccentric" residents!
http://www.cranberryvillageshops.com/
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Free to Enter! Contest Cover Girls "Puzzler" http://www.cgafghans.com/
Win a Nap/travel set: includes pillow and afghan(completely machine
washable)in red, white & blue. Retail Value: $54 Drawing date: 9/1/2000
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If you havea suggestion for an article, please email me directly at
cmc@... and tell me what you would like to see!
See you next month!

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