One thing that the frugal journey has taught me is that one should always open mail, no matter how unpleasant looking it seems (i.e. – the letters from the bank that are too thin to be legitimate statements and probably contain news of an overdraft; letters threatening collection; phone bills, etc.).
Two letters from my brand spankin’ new dental insurance provider were awaiting me upon my arrival at home. The first one … they paid half to fill a couple cavities my beloved dentist found. I still owe about $47. That meant the next letter had to be my root canal.
And in the fine print: “Your plan does not cover root canals.” And now I owe about $1,100 for that lovely procedure which still needs a *@!$%! crown.
Oddly enough, I am calm. That could be partially attibuted to the fact that I’m dragass tired or because I do know that with two jobs and other sources of income, I’m going to be OK.
But man … every time I start making headway into my credit cards, I get derailed by crap like this. A couple of years ago it was an unexpected ultrasound that was inconclusive and barely covered by my crappy insurance and now it’s this.
OK – goal for 2009 – build an emergency fund. I have a feeling that the Rattling Death Trap is going to be next on my pain in the arse expenditures.
Ya know – they say that a person’s teeth affect EVERY aspect of their health. There was even a study done – I forget where that said poor dental health may be a factor in heart disease. And it has been shown that bad teeth can lead to premature birth in pregnant women. Ok – that being said, why does ALL DENTAL INSURANCE SUCK!?!?! Seriously – it should be covered under medical insurance. Mine sucks too – won’t cover extra x-rays if needed, low maximums, etc. I mean c’mon – who is going to go to the dentist and get something that isn’t necessary and needed? I can see not covering all the cosmetic stuff, but geez – no root canals? That’s just greedy.