BACK TO WORK AFTER THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND

It was a rough start to the work week for me, half our opening staff called in, so I was overloaded with work all morning.  Had to take a nitro tablet to get rid of chest pains, so I decided it was best not to work an extended shift.  It's really hard to read my employers' response to my health problems since the heart attack.  On the one hand, if I just do my job, I work circles around most of the other workers, but on the other hand I'm not quite as capable of doing all the extra work I used to do.  So I'm never really sure where I stand with them, even though they are currently short on help and my medical problems hasn't cost them anything, since I'm not covered under their insurance program.  I sometimes get the feeling they would just as soon be rid of me all the same.  You'd think my boss would be a little more sensitive given that her husband suffered a heart attack around the same time I did.  But who knows???

Anyway, the stock market ended its' 5 day rally, closing down today.  So maybe I'll still have a chance to pick up some bargains over the summer.  Just have to wait and see what happens with the jobs report later this week.  If the numbers are good I'd expect to see more upward movement in the market.

I read an article yesterday about a money management company who moved their clients out of stocks entirely, thinking that the efforts to forestall default in Greece is simply a stall tactic.  While cash isn't a bad thing, I'm not so sure I'd expect the bond market to perform much better than stocks for the remainder of the year.  With interest rates so low and governments scrambling to come up with the money to pay their debts, I'm thinking it's just as iffy a proposition either way.  I'd prefer to stick to dividend stocks myself.  Still no guarantees there, but I'd choose a well managed corporation paying out dividends to government bonds any day.  I figure anything politicians have their hand in is not a very safe place for your money. 

MANAGE ON THE INCOME YOU HAVE, STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE

I used to spend an awful lot of time worrying about my finances or lack thereof.  However, by committing myself to the study of personal finance and investing, I finally came to the realization that it's not so much what you have or don't have as it is what you do with what you've got.  

As an example, during the recession my personal earned income has dropped by close to 50%, an extreme amount by any standards.  While I was thankful to have any job while so many are still out of work, it has been an ongoing challenge to manage with such a dramatic drop in income.  Then I suffered a heart attack and found myself faced with major medical bills for ongoing treatment, with no insurance to help cover costs.  At first things seemed pretty bleak, but then I remembered some great advice from one of the books I'd read.  When you're faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles, you should never say, "I can't afford it" or "I can't do this or that", rather you should ask yourself, "How can I afford it?" or "How can I accomplish my goals?"  When you make a definitive statement ("I can't afford it.") your brain accepts that as final and gives the matter little further thought.  But when you ask yourself a question ("How can I afford it?") your brain immediately goes to work on the problem and you will ultimately find a solution.  It may not be quite the answer you expect, but you will find a way to deal with whatever situations may occur.  

As for myself, when I stopped worrying about how I was going to afford to pay the bills and how I was going to pay additional medical costs related to the heart attack, and started asking myself how I could deal with the my current situation, I began to look for answers and find a way.  O.K., so things aren't perfect, but I've managed to carry on my normal lifestyle pretty much as before, I'm still saving and investing on a monthly basis (albeit in smaller amounts) and my health continues to improve, by following the advice of my cardiologist and diet and exercise.  

So what I'm trying to say is, when you've educated yourself financially to the point that you can manage on whatever income you have, you can stop worrying about what you don't have and start enjoying life again.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It really is a happy new year for me.  For one thing, after suffering a heart attack toward the end of last year, I'm still here!  Not only am I still here, but I'm doing pretty well with my recovery and luckily managed to avoid wrecking my finances with medical bills.  As soon as I hear back from the emergency room physicians billing office, I'll pay my final two bills and I'll have all medical expenses paid in full. 

I did have to dip in to my stock account to come up with enough cash to pay my cardiologist, but it was a small price to pay to be alive.  The guy does good work and I'll be relying on him for my future well being, so I definitely want to make sure he's paid!

At any rate, I was able to pull all this off by taking advantage of assistance programs from the hospital and calling the other billing offices to request discounts for private pay.  What I found is that most of them were quite willing to accept reduced payments (as much as 50% in some cases) and some even wrote off the entire amount, simply because I called and asked!  Makes me wonder if we really needed any kind of health care reform after all?  I'm thinking probably not.

I've already got a plan in place to rebuild my stock portfolio and replace the money I withdrew.  It will be a monumental task filling out my federal and state taxes for 2010 due to all the stock trading I did last year, but I'm still expecting a refund.  So I've earmarked any refund as a means to jump start my portfolio rebuilding plan and am planning on starting a new side business in flea marketing this summer.  I've located a good local flea market and will rent a booth to sell items I've picked up from rummage sales.  My goal is to buy items I believe I can quickly resell at double what I paid.  I'll get my initial inventory from items I no longer want or use from my own home.  By selling these and converting them to cash, I'll have the money I need to start my business without using any cash out of pocket.  I've done this before, back in my younger days, so it's not really new to me.  I'm excited about getting back in to the business.  It's a great way to make extra cash and a great way to meet a lot of interesting people and it's fun for me, so it's not really like work at all.  If it goes well, I may decide to cut back my work schedule at my job and concentrate on building the business.  Profits will go towards reducing what little debt I have left and building my investment portfolio.  I estimate that I should be able to recover all the money I've spent on medical expenses and then some by the end of 2011. 

So it really is starting out as a very Happy New Year for me and I hope it's going well for all of you as well!

UPDATE ON MEDICAL BILLS

It looks as though I won't be wiped out financially by my recent heart attack and heart surgery.  Just got a letter from the hospital today saying they're charitable program was picking up 100% of the bill.  I'll still have radiology, emergency room physicians and cardiology to pay, but that's a lot more doable without the extra $50,000 from the hospital.  Takes a lot of pressure off me right now, although I'd already figured out a plan B in case it hadn't worked out.

On top of this good news, had a little up tick in the stock market today and completed a couple of successful auctions on ebay, so things are looking up a bit.  Plan on paying off most or all of my credit card debt after the first of the year.  Don't want to be making payments on credit card debt along with payments on medical bills, so I've decided to pay them off and save on the interest.

HOSPITAL BILL FROM MY RECENT HEART ATTACK

Was off work for a week recovering from my recent heart attack.  Just started my second week back at work, so far so good.  Got my hospital bill in the mail today.  The grand total so far is near $46,000.  Still waiting on the bill from the cardiologist.  Also waiting to hear back from the hospital's assistance program for the uninsured.  Since going back to work I haven't been covered by health insurance, so I'm going to have to figure out how to pay my own medical costs without leaving myself in the poor house.  I told Pickles, my chihuahua, he may have to get a job :0).  He was not amused. 

RECOVERING FROM A HEART ATTACK

Went in to the emergency room Monday night with chest pains.  Turned out to be a mild heart attack caused by blocked coronary arteries.  Had stint installed to open blockage on Tuesday morning and I'm home from the hospital recovering from my first, and hopefully last, heart attack.

Now for the worst of it.  With my current job, I have no health insurance, so I'll have to figure out how to pay for all this on my own.  Not looking forward to all that, but I'm determined not to let it wreck my finances.  I'll keep readers posted on how it all goes. 

Already saved a great deal by shopping around for medications.  The original quote from a local drugstore chain was $812 for a one month supply of prescription medications.  After checking around, I got 3 months of four of my medications, plus one month of the most expensive one for $209 at the local Walmart pharmacy.  Saved well over $600 per month on prescriptions with a few quick phone calls. 

Now I'll have to work on the medical bills as they come in.