Author Topic: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance  (Read 7318 times)

powersln

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Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« on: August 29, 2012, 09:38:58 PM »
Does anyone else struggle with being frugal, having a high deductible insurance plan, and having a case of hypochondria?   My wife noticed a spider bite tonight that had red lines protruding from it.   After a google search we determined it was infected.   We called our doctor's after hours phone number.   The nurse told us that if the red line coming from the bite is noticeable and isn't faint, we should get it looked at immediately.   She said if the line was faint we could just wait till the morning.  It wasn't faint.   Long story short we end up at the ER, doctor literally walked in looked at it and prescribed antibiotics.  Now we just feel stupid and we lost a good amount of money (I'm guessing the ER visit will cost $400).

Also, does anyone know of a good way of getting rid of spiders in the house?   We live next to the woods and we kill spiders on an almost daily basis.  Damn those things.

kkbmustang

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #1 on: August 29, 2012, 10:24:17 PM »
Do you have a CVS near you? They have MinuteClinics in some of them, staffed with nurse practitioners. They are about $80 for the consultation and then you can pick up any meds right there. Not sure where you are, but something like that may be a better option than an ER. They take insurance.

Lars

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #2 on: August 29, 2012, 11:15:50 PM »
I've had great luck with a couple of acute care style clinics open until 8-9 pm. The price is the same as a regular doctor visit and its probably saved us an emergency room visit every couple of years for those things that couldn't wait for morning.

Don't be too hard on yourself. One incident does not a pattern make. And there was an actual infection.

JJ

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2012, 03:12:12 AM »
Also, does anyone know of a good way of getting rid of spiders in the house?   We live next to the woods and we kill spiders on an almost daily basis.  Damn those things.

Yep, a small tub, piece of card and quick reflexes. We live by a park and get some big ones in the house (4" leg span). They jump too. I catch them and toss them over the fence. I'm sure they come back the next day. Live and let live I guess. I'm sure the lizards take some of them out, and the snakes take the lizards out. I know I'm not being helpful, but after 20 years with all kind of spiders around you get a bit more philosophical about them. I haven't heard of anyone dying from a spider bite around this area for a long time, but plenty of folk die on the highways nearby each year.

ShavinItForLater

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2012, 08:23:54 AM »
I'm guessing you don't have a cat?  I think many cats will at least kill if not also eat spiders.  We live in a 100+ year old house with plenty of places for bugs to enter, and when we first moved in we found 1 dead mouse.  Never any sign of mice again, other than fleeting glimpses of them outside (the cats are not allowed out).  We have bugs, but they generally don't seem to last long.  We had 1 cat when we moved in, now we have two, and we just added a dog.  Even the puppy we just got recently chases after flies.

Saw a reference to a Tokay gecko as a solution, they adapt to human habitats, aggressively hunt bugs, and are nocturnal, but I'm guessing that would freak you out more than the spiders.  They apparently can also bite, and apparently when they do they won't let go for several minutes/hours.  I'd try the cat first, personally.

shadowmoss

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2012, 03:42:56 PM »
I encourage the geckos in my apartment.  I like to think they know they are safe around me, as they seem more likely to stay out in the open now.  I also let spiders live as long as they stay out of my main living areas and up in corners where they belong.  I did toss the tarantula (I think it was...) out the back window after I caught it in a jar the other day, and the large roaches got away before I could catch them this morning.  I don't mind the large (2") roaches as much as the little ones I used to get in the mid-west  back in the 70's in college.  The larger ones are move obvious where they are.

I live in Honduras...

ShavinItForLater

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #6 on: August 30, 2012, 04:31:02 PM »
My puppy just killed two flies today.  Good puppy...

vwDavid

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #7 on: August 30, 2012, 04:55:06 PM »
I have heard that chestnuts deter spiders. Got to distribute new ones around the house every year. Oh, and watch it with the vacuum.

JJ

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #8 on: August 30, 2012, 05:12:22 PM »
When we moved here we had to upgrade our spider catching gear.  First time I tried to grab one of these there were 8 little feet sticking out from the jar we used to use. :).  These guys are pretty fast - they are called huntsmen. They don't use webs to catch their prey.  Instead they lie in wait, then jump out and grab an unsuspecting bug when it isn't looking.

AJ

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #9 on: August 30, 2012, 05:27:40 PM »
Holy shit, JJ! Honestly, I don't know if I could live somewhere with spiders like that. I'm way too much of a wussypants. Are the poisonous? Aggressive? Ugh...I have the heeby jebbies just thinking about it...

Nudelkopf

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #10 on: August 30, 2012, 06:17:30 PM »
These guys are pretty fast - they are called huntsmen.
Oh man! As I kid I *HATED* huntsman! If one was above a door frame, I seriously wouldn't even walk through the door. As an adult, I'm a bit more rational, especially since they're not very dangerous to adults.

And they're good at eating bugs :)

JJ

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #11 on: August 30, 2012, 06:49:11 PM »
Holy shit, JJ! Honestly, I don't know if I could live somewhere with spiders like that. I'm way too much of a wussypants. Are the poisonous? Aggressive? Ugh...I have the heeby jebbies just thinking about it...

They can give a painful bite apparently, but unless you're decrepit you should be ok.  They aren't aggressive and if you're a wussypants, they are way more of a wussypants.  They are very fast, which can be freaky, but you get used to it.  The main danger is when they climb out from behind the sun visor in your car when you're doing 110kmh!

bogart

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #12 on: August 30, 2012, 08:00:57 PM »
I've got no wisdom on the spiders, and I'm sorry you're out for a likely unnecessary ER visit, but ... my understanding of how one "should" use high-deductible health insurance (or any insurance) is this:  have the full deductible readily available to spend if needed.  Easier said than done, perhaps, but ... look, maybe you (or your wife) overreacted, but of course that's the problem with medical expenses (an aspect that IMHO often gets downplayed in discussions of the virtues of high-deductible plans) -- they're typically something you incur when something unpleasant has happened and/or is happening, often (somehow -- I blame Murphy, of Murphy's law fame) after hours, and it is typically true that (a) if you ask if you should be seen, the person guessing at the other end of the phone will err on the side of caution, and (b) there is some low-likelihood but non-trivial problem that you want to make sure you aren't being affected by (at least in my experience, this is usually the case).  So, I wouldn't call this hypochondria, I'd call it life, and be prepared for it. 

MooreBonds

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #13 on: August 30, 2012, 09:21:42 PM »
I have both a high deductible individual insurance plan, AND I have issues with spiders (Brown Recluses) ever since I moved into my home 3 years ago. :)

I might have received my first bite a few months ago (suspicious 2-hole wound, but didn't really fester or do anything funky). But even with a spider like a brown recluse, you're not guaranteed to have a nasty reaction - it all depends on how much venom gets in/on the wound, how deep it is, etc. There are only a handful (literally, like 3 or 4) of truly poisonous spiders out there, so you'll likely have far greater dangers to face on a daily basis from other sources. Having said that, it still freaked me out when I walked into the bathroom at 11pm the other night, and saw a medium-sized brown recluse sitting on the window sill under the bottom of the blinds.

Depending on your spider(s) that you have issues, with, you'll have different ways to deal with it. With Brown Recluses, some of the best course of action is to simply put an assload of glue traps down, similar to these:

http://www.diybugstore.com/catchmaster_glue_traps?gclid=CICv0aDxkLICFYdNTAodXTcACQ

(just a random google search brought up the above website - search around). The rule of thumb with spiders like huntsmen and brown recluses that are 'hunters' and search out prey is that you can never have too many glue traps! I have 4 in each room (basically, one per wall) throughout my house. Initially, they were pretty prolific in catching quite a few, and the spiders caught has decreased as time goes on, as there are simply fewer of the buggers around to catch. However, if you have issues with web spinners, putting down 100 glue traps won't do much to catch them since they don't travel much.

Also, with any spider, keep your place clean! While spiders can live up to 1 year without eating, if you are vigilant about keeping your entire house (basement too!) very clean by picking up dead bugs and such, then the spiders will have absolutely no reason to stick around because there's nothing for them to eat.

There are a few commercially available spray solutions with chemicals that do a relatively better job at keeping some spiders at bay - some chemicals won't outright kill them on contact like with ants, but can do a pretty good job of attacking them (there is also some dust you can apply to under your baseboards that attaches to spiders and dries them out). Again, just depends on which specific spiders you have issues with.

Perhaps the glue traps would be best to start with, so you can at least catch a few of them to see exactly what you're dealing with. And believe me - those glue traps work! In fact, they work so well, after accidentally flipping/dropping them on my hardwood floor a few times in the same spot, the glue substance actually physically pulled the 3 layers of polyurethane coating off of my floor! And don't throw the glue traps away after 1 month if they catch stuff - remember that more bugs (even spiders!) in the glue trap will only attract more spiders because of all of the bait. Those glue traps can easily last over 1 year and still be just as crazy sticky as when you first took the shipping paper off of the glue. The only problem is when you have dust bunnies floating around and other crap - that'll find those glue traps and eventually settle on it. My suggestion is to fold them over and not leave them flat open (reduces the dust, and not as unsightly to your guests to see 2 or 3 spiders stuck in a glue trap).

fiveoh

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #14 on: August 30, 2012, 09:59:30 PM »

kkbmustang

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Re: Frugal + hypochondria + high deductible insurance
« Reply #15 on: August 30, 2012, 10:57:36 PM »
This is an email I sent this morning, so I feel your pain. I am an equal opportunity bug/spider/snake hater. The cockroaches we've been getting are ginormous, make me squeal and want to vomit.

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Re: We're Being Invaded by Cockroaches

John-

Can you come out as soon as you are able. We are finding cockroaches everywhere. Blech. And we have a roly poly colony trying to set up shop in our bathroom. Bizarre.  I'm still recovering from back surgery and am home pretty much anytime other than school drop-off and pick-up time. 

Thanks.

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Since I'm new to MMM, by way of comparison, what do you all pay for pest control on an annual basis? My guy is an independent guy (I like to use small businesses when I can) and he is trustworthy, on time, and we've been using him since 1999ish. Aside from one house we no longer own with mice issues (new construction in a neighborhood full of new construction), we've been paying him about $145/quarter. He will come back as many times as necessary if a problem isn't addressed with no extra charge. I've only had to do that once.

Is that high? Reasonable? We live in DFW, if that helps.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!