Mustachian People Problems (just for fun)

[ATtiny85]

I just discovered an autopay problem that means I have paid credit card interest for the first time in my life. 31 cents. So embarrassing.

I screwed up this on my own once years ago. I had put an upper limit on the payment as a small safety net a very long time ago. Went several years never coming close, and basically forgot about it. Well of course some large purchase tripped it and by the time I noticed it I had accrued a couple bucks in interest. I hid in my basement for a week because I was sure people could just tell.

[Morning Glory]

I just discovered an autopay problem that means I have paid credit card interest for the first time in my life. 31 cents. So embarrassing.

I screwed up this on my own once years ago. I had put an upper limit on the payment as a small safety net a very long time ago. Went several years never coming close, and basically forgot about it. Well of course some large purchase tripped it and by the time I noticed it I had accrued a couple bucks in interest. I hid in my basement for a week because I was sure people could just tell.

Mine is worse. We changed credit unions because our old one did not have branches in our area and my husband forgot to update the payment account on one of his credit cards: returned payment fee from the cc, overdraw fee from the credit union,  late fee from the cc, interest from the cc. He got a couple of the fees forgiven after calling and asking but it was still over $100 for one mistake.

[Dollar Slice]

I just discovered an autopay problem that means I have paid credit card interest for the first time in my life. 31 cents. So embarrassing.

It's the worst feeling, isn't it? I got a credit card bill this summer that was suspiciously large, and with a sinking feeling I realized the previous one hadn't been paid at all. In June and July I had a really nasty problem with my shoulder causing a pinched radial nerve, very bad pain, and it was tough to use my dominant hand. Got way behind on my emails and every other life task. Just missed it. I instantly contacted them to explain and ask them to remove the extra charges etc. if I paid immediately, and they treated me like an absolute deadbeat with my history of perfect payments and 800+ credit score :-(

[Dicey]

I have a 15 year mortgage at 3.25%. I would never prepay an extra penny at that rate.

Unfortunately, I'm about 5 years into that mortgage, and the amount of principal in each month's payment is approaching 1% of the remaining balance. So despite my wishes, I'm quickly paying off my mortgage, and might never have a chance to borrow at that rate again.

We're almost 12 years into our 15-year, 3% mortgage, and I definitely have a feeling of FOMO for those who got those sweet, sweet sub-3% mortgages during COVID.

I was able to snag 2.75 during a refi at the end of 2019, could have gone lower on a 15 year but not sad we decided to go with 30 year.

I wonder which state pension funds are on the other side of the trade for all these long term sub-3% mortgage backed securities....

I see cake. Happy Birthday @rantk81!

[ChpBstrd]

MPP:
My main broker, TD Ameritrade, was purchased by Schwab. So I was changing brokerages anyway. However I spent the last few months too lazy to do anything about it. In hindsight, if I was going through the inconvenience of changing brokerages anyway, I should have earned at least $500 switching to a brokerage that had a new account bonus. Pure laziness on my part.

[eyesonthehorizon]

...
It's the worst feeling, isn't it? I got a credit card bill this summer that was suspiciously large, and with a sinking feeling I realized the previous one hadn't been paid at all. In June and July I had a really nasty problem with my shoulder causing a pinched radial nerve, very bad pain, and it was tough to use my dominant hand. Got way behind on my emails and every other life task. Just missed it. I instantly contacted them to explain and ask them to remove the extra charges etc. if I paid immediately, and they treated me like an absolute deadbeat with my history of perfect payments and 800+ credit score :-(

Name & shame! I've never heard of an issuer who wouldn't waive a first-time late payment fee after a short delay in payment. I've actually had this happen to me twice at different organizations, for similar reasons - one injury, one illness, but my issuers weren't too stringent to retain my business.

The industry term for someone who pays off their card each month is, in fact, "deadbeat," so you're half-right. But they still stand to collect payment processing fees off our transactions if we stay, plus doing so basically risk-free with 800+ credit scores, so the incentive should lie with retention.

[Dollar Slice]

Name & shame! I've never heard of an issuer who wouldn't waive a first-time late payment fee after a short delay in payment. I've actually had this happen to me twice at different organizations, for similar reasons - one injury, one illness, but my issuers weren't too stringent to retain my business.

I think it was my Citi 2% cash back, but they did actually refund the fees and everything. The minute I saw the second bill with the previous unpaid bill, I contacted them and offered to pay both bills immediately if they would cancel interest and late fees and not ding my credit, and explained what happened. I just meant that the way they talked to me was humiliating and condescending. I've had this card for a long time and never been late on a payment or paid less than the full amount. I was really annoyed that they would treat a long-time customer like that. And also, I dunno, if you see that a long-time customer with perfect payment history is about to miss a payment, maybe drop a robotext or robocall? It's not hard. They would rather you screw up and collect those late fees. There was no big capital letters "YOU MISSED A PAYMENT!" e-mail or anything. Just the normal bills.

[ChpBstrd]

I just meant that the way they talked to me was humiliating and condescending. I've had this card for a long time and never been late on a payment or paid less than the full amount. I was really annoyed that they would treat a long-time customer like that.

You're not the customer. The vendors you buy from are.

[Dollar Slice]

I just meant that the way they talked to me was humiliating and condescending. I've had this card for a long time and never been late on a payment or paid less than the full amount. I was really annoyed that they would treat a long-time customer like that.

You're not the customer. The vendors you buy from are.

I mean, we're both the customer. But vendors are kind of trapped into accepting Visa and Mastercard and paying them a fee. I have a hugely wide choice in which credit cards I use and can easily close this account and deprive them of whatever low-maintenance money they're making from me. I certainly wouldn't recommend them to anyone after this.

[Adventine]

Funnily enough, I had a similar experience with Citi customer service several years ago. I needed help paying a bill but the phone rep was so condescending and rude, I was kind of taken aback. I remained polite til the end of the call and put the experience out of my mind.

A few days later, I got a call from a different person from Citi. They profusely apologized for their other rep's behavior, asked me some more questions about my experience and how they could do better next time.

Apparently someone in quality control had been listening to the first call, flagged it, and escalated it to someone else to do damage control with me, their customer. I was impressed. I still bank with Citi today.

[ChpBstrd]

I just meant that the way they talked to me was humiliating and condescending. I've had this card for a long time and never been late on a payment or paid less than the full amount. I was really annoyed that they would treat a long-time customer like that.

You're not the customer. The vendors you buy from are.

I mean, we're both the customer. But vendors are kind of trapped into accepting Visa and Mastercard and paying them a fee. I have a hugely wide choice in which credit cards I use and can easily close this account and deprive them of whatever low-maintenance money they're making from me. I certainly wouldn't recommend them to anyone after this.

Are you paying them or are they paying you? My Citi DoubleCash card pays me hundreds of dollars per year, so technically Citi is my customer. The people who pay Citi's bills have credit card terminals or website interfaces. Perhaps Citi is unafraid of losing users like ourselves because they have one of the best offers in the industry for users like ourselves. I rationally won't shred my Citi DoubleCash card due to poor phone agent service because I'm in it for the money - not to be treated like a customer. If I have to spend 2h on the phone with them each year (I don't) then maybe I'm making $200/hour for that time.

[Dollar Slice]

Are you paying them or are they paying you?

If I go to the grocery store and spend cash instead of using Citi's card, Citi makes a little less money. The grocery store is still their customer/vendor. But I stopped being their customer, and in the end that's where the money comes from. The end user of the cards.

[eyesonthehorizon]

I think it was my Citi 2% cash back...

I have that card & another with Citi, & learned they are actually serviced by separate teams. The Costco card apparently requires either separate systems they need to be trained on, or just a higher standard of customer service overall, as the service was starkly different. The Doublecash team feel like a mass market team who don't expect to be in the job for long.

Banking service centers often segregate their successful people toward profitable markets with higher wealth clientele, so now I am wondering which card @Adventine had, if remembered. Odds are someone after you complained about the same person, & the manager investigated their recent calls.

[Dollar Slice]

I have that card & another with Citi, & learned they are actually serviced by separate teams. The Costco card apparently requires either separate systems they need to be trained on, or just a higher standard of customer service overall, as the service was starkly different. The Doublecash team feel like a mass market team who don't expect to be in the job for long.

Banking service centers often segregate their successful people toward profitable markets with higher wealth clientele, so now I am wondering which card @Adventine had, if remembered. Odds are someone after you complained about the same person, & the manager investigated their recent calls.

Interesting. I rarely need to interact with credit card companies at all, so I haven't had much experience there. It is impressive that they called to follow up with Adventine! I was in a similar situation where I just kind of brushed it off afterwards and gave them the benefit of the doubt - thinking that customer service reps dealing with non-payers probably deal with a lot of bullshit artists and liars and why should they believe me. Mine was an online chat, so also harder to discern tone of voice and etc. I'm not about to complain and make someone's job harder over something like that. But it was definitely a negative impression of the company.

I bank with Chase (and am also a signatory on my elderly parents' bank account in case of emergencies) so I would expect to get much nicer service there, even if I only have a lower level Chase card. I assume they would see the linked accounts.

[Adventine]

At the time, I wasn't even part of Citi's lucrative US client base yet. It was a card issued by Citibank Philippines. I guess I must have qualified according to whatever metrics they had for high-value PH customers. Or I could have just been very lucky with a quality control agent randomly listening into that call.

[sonofsven]

This discussion reminds me of my experience with Bank of America years ago, when online banking and bill pay was in its infancy.
I had, for the first time in my life, FOUR overdraft fees in one month! What?
I immediately called the CSR and begged them to remove them, as a good customer with a perfect payment record up to that point, etc. And they did it. Whew.
A few months later, it happened again!
What they were doing was changing the order of deposits and debits to generate OD fees.
Say you look at your account on Monday, and it shows a deposit coming in on Tuesday, and debits going out on Wednesday.
Then you check again on Friday, and it shows the deposit came in Wednesday, after the debits on Tuesday, and now you owe four OD fees, because they take out the biggest one first so all the small ones that follow are overdrafts as well.
So I called the CSR a second time, but this time, "because I had a history of OD fees", they wouldn't credit me. Burn!
I remember distinctly telling the CSR that the bank was going to get sued for this, and I immediately changed my main checking account to USAA, who I'm still with (and no OD fees, ever).
Sure enough, a few years later, I got a letter in the mail regarding a class action lawsuit vs Bank of America.

[Sibley]

This discussion reminds me of my experience with Bank of America years ago, when online banking and bill pay was in its infancy.
I had, for the first time in my life, FOUR overdraft fees in one month! What?
I immediately called the CSR and begged them to remove them, as a good customer with a perfect payment record up to that point, etc. And they did it. Whew.
A few months later, it happened again!
What they were doing was changing the order of deposits and debits to generate OD fees.
Say you look at your account on Monday, and it shows a deposit coming in on Tuesday, and debits going out on Wednesday.
Then you check again on Friday, and it shows the deposit came in Wednesday, after the debits on Tuesday, and now you owe four OD fees, because they take out the biggest one first so all the small ones that follow are overdrafts as well.
So I called the CSR a second time, but this time, "because I had a history of OD fees", they wouldn't credit me. Burn!
I remember distinctly telling the CSR that the bank was going to get sued for this, and I immediately changed my main checking account to USAA, who I'm still with (and no OD fees, ever).
Sure enough, a few years later, I got a letter in the mail regarding a class action lawsuit vs Bank of America.

Realistically, there are reasons why the big banks have bad reputations. There are nuances to each, but all of them suck in one way or another. The determining factor is do they suck in a way that you can tolerate. The smaller banks also have issues, often related to them being small.

[ixtap]

When I had a mortgage with BoA (not my choice, they bought it), they made some kind of mistake that made it look like I had missed a payment. Basically, they charged a bogus fee nearly equal to the PI, then took that fee from the next payment and applied the remainder to escrow. It was straightforward to get the fee reversed, and I think everyone had it reversed automatically within the month. But I really had to escalate to get the missed payment fee reversed. And it seems I recall they were going to recalculate my PMI or increase interest slightly because I no longer qualified for a perfect customer discount or something that would continue to affect payments. Oh no you blipping are not. I just remember it felt like they had an incentive to make the original "mistake" as it would increase their revenue from all but the most diligent of customers.

[Morning Glory]

When I had a mortgage with BoA (not my choice, they bought it), they made some kind of mistake that made it look like I had missed a payment. Basically, they charged a bogus fee nearly equal to the PI, then took that fee from the next payment and applied the remainder to escrow. It was straightforward to get the fee reversed, and I think everyone had it reversed automatically within the month. But I really had to escalate to get the missed payment fee reversed. And it seems I recall they were going to recalculate my PMI or increase interest slightly because I no longer qualified for a perfect customer discount or something that would continue to affect payments. Oh no you blipping are not. I just remember it felt like they had an incentive to make the original "mistake" as it would increase their revenue from all but the most diligent of customers.

Wells Fargo got sued for doing something similar with car loans: charge extra for some kind of insurance without telling people,  then a late fee because the full payment wasn't made. Many did not find out until the repo man showed up.

[Josiecat22222]

Wells Fargo and their BS charges are why I left that bank. 

That said, I think all of the banks are in the business of making money and engage in some garbage tactics (some more legal than others).

For example, interest rates on mortgages and loans went up with the Fed's rate hikes.  But my interest rate on my savings/money market accounts only went up to market rates when I went to the bank and asked why I was not getting a competitive rate.  Like insurance companies and cable companies, they rely on inertia and people not thinking to go and ask questions.

[Reynold]

For example, interest rates on mortgages and loans went up with the Fed's rate hikes.  But my interest rate on my savings/money market accounts only went up to market rates when I went to the bank and asked why I was not getting a competitive rate.  Like insurance companies and cable companies, they rely on inertia and people not thinking to go and ask questions.

My in-laws were banking at Citibank, and my DW was monitoring their accounts.  Twice in a couple of years Citi charged them a $10 fee with no explanation or description on the statement.  When called they immediately reversed it, but no explanation for the charge was ever provided.  I wondered how many people never spotted those fees and just paid them. 

My DW also saw that the savings account they had there paid 0.01% interest.  Not 1%, 0.01%, around 2015.  She went in to get them switched to an account that at least paid 1%, because they had a couple hundred k in there so it was real money each year.  They assured us that the account was being switched. 

Two in person visits and 4 months later the switch finally happened. 

[Josiecat22222]

@Reynold, exactly!

I just can't see how that is anything other than corporate malfeasance.  I really try to give the benefit of the doubt in my interpersonal relationships, but that stuff is clearly corporate greed in my mind.

[ChpBstrd]

Interestingly, you just don't hear these kind of malfeasance stories about local community banks or credit unions. Only the big brands.

[ChpBstrd]

My credit card just snail mailed me a paper check for $4.86 because I had accrued some rewards and not done any spending. It's like, "Can I just give you permission to hold that money on my behalf? Aren't you a bank?"

Wasted 3 minutes depositing it via my phone and throwing it in the trash.

[Sibley]

Interestingly, you just don't hear these kind of malfeasance stories about local community banks or credit unions. Only the big brands.

Malfeasance? No. Incompetence and poor security? Yes. Pick your poison.

[Morning Glory]

My credit card just snail mailed me a paper check for $4.86 because I had accrued some rewards and not done any spending. It's like, "Can I just give you permission to hold that money on my behalf? Aren't you a bank?"

Wasted 3 minutes depositing it via my phone and throwing it in the trash.

You made $97 per hour,  not bad

[LennStar]

My credit card just snail mailed me a paper check for $4.86 because I had accrued some rewards and not done any spending. It's like, "Can I just give you permission to hold that money on my behalf? Aren't you a bank?"

Wasted 3 minutes depositing it via my phone and throwing it in the trash.

You made $97 per hour,  not bad

No, they made infinite loss per hour because they already owned the money, but had to pay electricity for moving it to a different account.

[ixtap]

I discombobulated the other middle aged woman dropping her car off at the collision center by riding my bike home. She actually stepped away from talking to her own ride to congratulate me and comment that I must live near by, then her eyes got wide when I told her my neighborhood. I felt it necessary to say it was only ten miles to calm her down, but it had the opposite effect so I muttered something about my usual ride...

The hilarious thing is she looked much fitter than me. (Good thing I caught the autocorrect to "fatter"!) I think it just never occurred to her (nor the receptionists, but they were more on the amused side of bemused) that this was something one could do.


As to the ongoing topic. I have had one bank that makes you forfeit any remaining rewards when you close an account. Amex, maybe? But usually, they *need* to get it to you. Can't close the account without clearing the books. I think it was Chase I was never able to get it set up to send rewards to my bank account. Called to cancel the card and they finally set it up as the best way to get me my $3.

[FireLane]

My MPP: I get too much free stuff in the mail.

I get lots of junk mail from charities asking for money. Sometimes they enclose "free gifts," mostly notepads and address labels.

I use the notepads for shopping lists and to-do lists. But I only use up a few sheets a month, and I get new pads faster than that. And I hardly ever use the address labels. I don't remember the last time I wrote and mailed a paper letter.

Also, I get a free pen every time I vote, and Little FL is always bringing home goodie bags from school parties that have pencils, markers and other stationery. I don't write enough to use these all up, but I also don't want to throw away good stuff that still has a use, so they just keep accumulating.

[secondcor521]

My MPP: I get too much free stuff in the mail.

I get lots of junk mail from charities asking for money. Sometimes they enclose "free gifts," mostly notepads and address labels.

I use the notepads for shopping lists and to-do lists. But I only use up a few sheets a month, and I get new pads faster than that. And I hardly ever use the address labels. I don't remember the last time I wrote and mailed a paper letter.

Also, I get a free pen every time I vote, and Little FL is always bringing home goodie bags from school parties that have pencils, markers and other stationery. I don't write enough to use these all up, but I also don't want to throw away good stuff that still has a use, so they just keep accumulating.

I periodically donate excess of that sort of stuff to places like my local library, or the local home for young parents, or the YMCA.  No tossing, no excessive accumulating, and they appreciate stuff they can use.

[Morning Glory]

My MPP: I get too much free stuff in the mail.

I get lots of junk mail from charities asking for money. Sometimes they enclose "free gifts," mostly notepads and address labels.

I use the notepads for shopping lists and to-do lists. But I only use up a few sheets a month, and I get new pads faster than that. And I hardly ever use the address labels. I don't remember the last time I wrote and mailed a paper letter.

Also, I get a free pen every time I vote, and Little FL is always bringing home goodie bags from school parties that have pencils, markers and other stationery. I don't write enough to use these all up, but I also don't want to throw away good stuff that still has a use, so they just keep accumulating.

Someone mentioned Menards on another thread. Now that I don't live near one I don't have much use for address labels either. 

[Dicey]

When I had a mortgage with BoA (not my choice, they bought it), they made some kind of mistake that made it look like I had missed a payment. Basically, they charged a bogus fee nearly equal to the PI, then took that fee from the next payment and applied the remainder to escrow. It was straightforward to get the fee reversed, and I think everyone had it reversed automatically within the month. But I really had to escalate to get the missed payment fee reversed. And it seems I recall they were going to recalculate my PMI or increase interest slightly because I no longer qualified for a perfect customer discount or something that would continue to affect payments. Oh no you blipping are not. I just remember it felt like they had an incentive to make the original "mistake" as it would increase their revenue from all but the most diligent of customers.

Ooh, I see cake! Happy birthday, @ixtap!

[LennStar]

My MPP: I get too much free stuff in the mail.

I get lots of junk mail from charities asking for money. Sometimes they enclose "free gifts," mostly notepads and address labels.

I use the notepads for shopping lists and to-do lists. But I only use up a few sheets a month, and I get new pads faster than that. And I hardly ever use the address labels. I don't remember the last time I wrote and mailed a paper letter.

Also, I get a free pen every time I vote, and Little FL is always bringing home goodie bags from school parties that have pencils, markers and other stationery. I don't write enough to use these all up, but I also don't want to throw away good stuff that still has a use, so they just keep accumulating.

How about you donate a few notepads and pencils to one of the charities? They can definitely use them and maybe you can write it off from taxes?

[Sibley]

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

[secondcor521]

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

Probably too late, you probably already thought of it, but any chance of moving the surgery to 11/30?

[ixtap]

When I had a mortgage with BoA (not my choice, they bought it), they made some kind of mistake that made it look like I had missed a payment. Basically, they charged a bogus fee nearly equal to the PI, then took that fee from the next payment and applied the remainder to escrow. It was straightforward to get the fee reversed, and I think everyone had it reversed automatically within the month. But I really had to escalate to get the missed payment fee reversed. And it seems I recall they were going to recalculate my PMI or increase interest slightly because I no longer qualified for a perfect customer discount or something that would continue to affect payments. Oh no you blipping are not. I just remember it felt like they had an incentive to make the original "mistake" as it would increase their revenue from all but the most diligent of customers.

Ooh, I see cake! Happy birthday, @ixtap!

Thanks! We actually went out to eat, so not our most Mustachian celebration ever, but DH was fully present for the meal and walk, so I thoroughly enjoyed despite getting soaked through on the way home.

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

Ugh!

[Sibley]

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

Probably too late, you probably already thought of it, but any chance of moving the surgery to 11/30?

Can't unfortunately. And if I'd realized the timing, I could have rescheduled the MRI to fall into the new plan year, but too late now. That happened last week.

[Josiecat22222]

@Sibley, I'm so sorry that you have had a crummy year.  I'm writing in commiseration (they say misery loves company).  I am in the same boat.  Having been pretty healthy for most of my life, I had a high deductible plan.  This year, I have found out that means it doesn't cover anything really until the deductible has been hit and "uncovered" or "unauthorized" procedures don't always go towards that amount.  We are able to absorb the cost, but I really hate the American health insurance process.

[ChpBstrd]

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

Probably too late, you probably already thought of it, but any chance of moving the surgery to 11/30?

Can't unfortunately. And if I'd realized the timing, I could have rescheduled the MRI to fall into the new plan year, but too late now. That happened last week.

Is it too late to max out flex spending?

[Alternatepriorities]

MPP: My minimalist desires are in direct conflict to the tools required by my desire to be a frugal home owner by doing almost everything myself. On the bright side today I was able to take apart the disposal unit in the kitchen sink with tools I already own and fix it for free rather than buying a new one. Those specialized bolts are supposed to mean "no user serviceable parts"...

[Sibley]

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

Probably too late, you probably already thought of it, but any chance of moving the surgery to 11/30?

Can't unfortunately. And if I'd realized the timing, I could have rescheduled the MRI to fall into the new plan year, but too late now. That happened last week.

Is it too late to max out flex spending?

Done.

The US health system really does suck. Luckily, I can afford it. I feel bad for the people who can't.

[Raenia]

Ugh, I feel you on the health insurance. We just had a baby, and we're trying to figure out if our deductible/OOP will reset when we add the baby as a dependent. We've been debating changing plans at next enrollment, but if our deductible is reseting anyway, we should do it now. On the other hand, if adding the baby doesn't count as a new plan, then we definitely want to keep the old plan for the rest of the cycle. Definitely going to hit our OOP once the hospital bills come in.

This will involve multiple calls with insurance reps, because we won't trust the answers we get on the phone until we've heard the same thing consistently. If we pick wrong, we're out thousands of dollars that should be covered.

I'll admit, though, this doesn't feel like a MPP problem to me, this feels like a regular people problem. If anything, it's more of a regular people problem - at least we could afford to cover the difference if we screw it up.

[Sugaree]

Today is the first day that I can update my TSP contributions for the upcoming year in order to max it out next year.  And the website is...having issues.  There is an archaic paper form that I can fill out and give to an HR specialist, assuming that any of them are in the office.  But it's neither fillable nor able to be digitally signed so I'd have to print it out, fill it out by hand, and then either walk it over to the HR office or scan it and email it.  Then still not be confident that the changes would actually go through.  But, at least I'm not trying to change insurance plans.  The same website that handles the retirement contribution settings also does health insurance changes and open season is going on now. 

[Catbert]

Today is the first day that I can update my TSP contributions for the upcoming year in order to max it out next year.  And the website is...having issues.  There is an archaic paper form that I can fill out and give to an HR specialist, assuming that any of them are in the office.  But it's neither fillable nor able to be digitally signed so I'd have to print it out, fill it out by hand, and then either walk it over to the HR office or scan it and email it.  Then still not be confident that the changes would actually go through.  But, at least I'm not trying to change insurance plans.  The same website that handles the retirement contribution settings also does health insurance changes and open season is going on now.

Couldn't you just wait a day or two until the website is back to its normal level of government glitchy? 

[Sugaree]

Today is the first day that I can update my TSP contributions for the upcoming year in order to max it out next year.  And the website is...having issues.  There is an archaic paper form that I can fill out and give to an HR specialist, assuming that any of them are in the office.  But it's neither fillable nor able to be digitally signed so I'd have to print it out, fill it out by hand, and then either walk it over to the HR office or scan it and email it.  Then still not be confident that the changes would actually go through.  But, at least I'm not trying to change insurance plans.  The same website that handles the retirement contribution settings also does health insurance changes and open season is going on now.

Couldn't you just wait a day or two until the website is back to its normal level of government glitchy?

I suppose.  I'm trying to get it done before I leave for Thanksgiving. 

[Sibley]

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

Rejoice! My coworker is incompetent! However, it turns out my insurance deductible and OOP max resets on 1/1/24. The deadline to be covered on 1/1 is 12/1. This is excellent for me right now, as I have hit my deductible and only have $1500 left in my OOP max - and there's an MRI, surgeon consult, labs, and eye appt (that they can run through as medical because of an unrelated allergy problem which is impacting my eyes) that haven't been submitted yet by the provider. Not done yet: surgery, and at least 2 dr appts by year end. Cross your fingers there are no surprises anywhere.

[ixtap]

I did a health incentive thing for HSA money. It requires two appointments and when I went to schedule the second, there was one appointment available before they go on vacation until Dec 26. Today I was reading through materials to encourage DH to do his incentive activity and realized that it is two appointments *at least seven days apart*. My appointments were on a Wednesday and the following Tuesday. I think I am just going to try a different activity to get it over with!

[eyesonthehorizon]

Been a crappy year in terms of medical. I have hit my deductible, and I believe my OOP Max as well (bills haven't come in yet). I have a prep procedure after Thanksgiving, and surgery scheduled 12/1.

The problem? My insurance resets on 12/1. I'm going to hit the deductible and very likely OOP max on the first day of the plan year, but it's going to cost me thousands of dollars that I didn't think I'd have to pay.

Rejoice! My coworker is incompetent! However, it turns out my insurance deductible and OOP max resets on 1/1/24. The deadline to be covered on 1/1 is 12/1. This is excellent for me right now, as I have hit my deductible and only have $1500 left in my OOP max - and there's an MRI, surgeon consult, labs, and eye appt (that they can run through as medical because of an unrelated allergy problem which is impacting my eyes) that haven't been submitted yet by the provider. Not done yet: surgery, and at least 2 dr appts by year end. Cross your fingers there are no surprises anywhere.

Fingers crossed! I didn’t have enough information to really comment (& did not want to give false hope) but I thought it positively bizarre that your reset would occur in December. Calendar year is all I have ever seen.

[Josiecat22222]

My MPP is that my lovely and thoughtful friend surprised me with a full homemade dinner last night, but unfortunately, I had already cooked and prepped and meal planned for the next few days.  Truly an MPP.  There is an abundance of delicious homemade fresh food and I now have to rework the menu plan/grocery list because I won't have to cook for the next five days.  Just need to make sure none of my bounty goes off during that time!!!

[LennStar]

My MPP is that my lovely and thoughtful friend surprised me with a full homemade dinner last night, but unfortunately, I had already cooked and prepped and meal planned for the next few days.  Truly an MPP.  There is an abundance of delicious homemade fresh food and I now have to rework the menu plan/grocery list because I won't have to cook for the next five days.  Just need to make sure none of my bounty goes off during that time!!!

Luxury problem indeed. Can't you freeze it?