Health Insurance, Bankruptcy, And The Power Of Community

Everyone thinks that health insurance is there to keep them solvent should they get sick, but it doesn’t work that way. I’ve talked to far too many people who got seriously sick and could no longer work and when they lost their jobs, they lost their insurance. My friend with the brain tumor is starting to figure this out: The system is stacked against people who get sick, especially if they have health insurance through an employer.

The Statistics

It’s pretty sad, but statistics in a Harvard study published in Health Affairs, pointed to half of all bankruptcies in 2001 coming from medical debt. Of those that went bankrupt due to medical bills, three quarters were for people who at one time had health insurance. If that’s not enough to make you sit up and take notice, nothing will. Health insurance is really no insurance that 1) You will be able to pay all your bills, if you get seriously ill, and 2) That they will cover all the medicines and treatments that you need.

Opt For Community Support To Help Meet the Shortfall

That’s where local community based programs in your area and getting informed on any financial programs for your particular disease become highly important. We’ve decided to work with a program called Project Compassion, here in NC, to establish a support team of volunteers for my friend. Along with that, we are beginning to look over some of the financial assistance available for people with brain tumors. I found a comprehensive list here: Financial Assistance List from The American Brain Tumor Association . I’m sure there are other such lists for different diseases, depending on what you have.

Your Neighborly Experts

And, a network of people who have gone through the system helps too. Right now, we have one person who has gone through the process of collecting disability with the Social Security office for a member of her family who also had a brain tumor. Her understanding of the system will be invaluable. The way I found out about Project Compassion was through another friend who had to set up a support team for a friend of hers who had a stroke and had some cognitive deficits and needed round-the-clock care. He was uninsured when he had the stroke, yet they managed to take care of him and he is doing quite well in the community now. We can’t rely on the government programs, the health insurance system, or any other profit-oriented system to help in these types of cases. It really requires community support, since the United States refuses to put a national health care system into place that will make these types of cases the exception, and not the norm.

Contact Professionals, If You Need To

Yet another friend told me that when he got into a car accident and his wife became ill, he applied for disability and it took over four years to get it. They amassed over $200,000 in medical debt, in the meantime. He eventually hired a lawyer to submit all the proper paperwork, in exchange for some of the back pay on the benefits they were refusing to give him. He said he was later told that 99% of all Social Security disability claims are automatically rejected UNLESS there is an attorney who submits them. Then, they go into a different pile where they are given the attention they deserve. Is that true? I don’t know that we can doubt it at this point, seeing how incredibly callous our governmental policies and health insurance companies tend to be. I think that where something demands compassion, the care should never be organized nor implemented by profit-driven companies or agencies. It’s absolutely nuts.

Build Community Now, Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

So, build your network of friends, a loving community, now, because when times get tough, you know that’s what it takes to get you by. And, if you can’t be bothered to participate to help someone else when they are in dire straits, that sort of thing eventually changes when you’re the one in dire need. It’s a good thing to cultivate compassion now, while we can be thankful for all the good things in our lives – like perfect health.

We’re A Culture Of Snoops Now

Not that I mind, but I think it’s kind of funny (as well as a bit scary). Yeah, so now if we’re trying to figure out what someone else is up to, you can check them out on some social networking site like MySpace or Facebook. I’ll even go so far as to admit that I snoop on my daughter’s profile that she granted me permission to view one time, and I visit it to make sure she’s doing okay and not getting into trouble. But, I suppose prospective employers are looking over my shoulder too and I’m wondering how they figure out which person with my name is me. I mean, there are multiple people with the same name and some are nitwits and others aren’t. If you happen to have the same name as a famous porn star, or something like that, I guess you’re just plain out of luck when prospective employers check the Internet.

Anyways, here are some clever ways in business to snoop on your competition online:

• Check out Alexa.com and find out their traffic ranking and sites that link to them. You

• Check out www.backlinkwatch.com to find out who is backlinking to them and if you might convince them to be your customer instead!

• Download webceo from www.webceo.com and find out what keywords your competitors are targeting and then put the same ones up on your web pages.

• Use Google Alerts with your competitors name to find out news about your competitors.

Unrealistic Real Estate Agents Contract Forms: Earnest Money Proving A Fraud Among Buyers and Realtors

So, I called my lawyer and asked if she thought it was a good idea to offer the back-out buyer half the earnest money, in exchange for releasing half back to me without going to small claims court. I heard that this is sometimes done and it would make up for the loss on the townhome deposit, which I had put down due to her conditions to move out in less than 3 weeks time. The real estate attorney said to go ahead and have the real estate agents draw up a letter to that effect and she would review it. So, I called my realtor and told her that’s what we were doing.

Why Earnest Money Is A Fraud

I get a call back later that this offer that I intend to make is not correct because the real estate agents are saying there is wording in the contract forms now that give half the earnest money to the real estate firms should a buyer default. I was like:”What?! What good is earnest money if it isn’t protecting the seller?” She was adamant that they got half the earnest money, which of course, is unrealistic in the extreme. I said to her:”Give it all back, then.” From what I understand, small claims courts will divide the money anyways. If the seller gets half, and I get half (which goes to the realtor), I end up with zero and a whole lot of trouble for nothing. If my option is to give it all back or take her to court for the realtors benefits, she gets 100% of it back.

My Liability Is Their Gain?!

Think about it folks, these real estate agents believe that because they put wording in a contract giving them a piece of the seller’s pie, that we’ll go to court for them and make ourselves liable for them! I said:”What possible incentive can I have to go after money that isn’t even mine? And, if you think that I am going to take on all the liability while you take the money, it doesn’t work that way! Give it ALL back.”

Shame, Shame, Shame!

She was stunned, and kept saying:”Oh my, oh my! But, she’s in the wrong!” And, I said I didn’t care because either way it was a loss to me and it wasn’t right to put me in that position as a seller. The earnest money was supposed to protect me. What did they do to wriggle their way into that money? Absolutely nothing! Yet, they think I’m going to court to collect what amounts to their money for them? I say, let the real estate agents sue the buyer if they think it’s their money. I’ll just stay out of it and next time I will make sure this clause is not in the contract when I sign. She said it was a standard clause now. PURE GREED on their part, I’m sorry, but true. Are there no honest people out there anymore!!! It’s downright SHAMEFUL.

What Wal-Mart Does Right

I’m pretty sick of green groups singling out Wal-Mart like the poster child of big, bad, corporate, exploitation bullies. Green people for years talked about the big consumerism and Wal-Mart monster that appealed to that mass consumerism and a throw-away society. Liberal people snub Wal-Mart for its employment practices. Wealthy people snub Wal-Mart because they’d rather shop at Whole Paycheck. Don’t get me wrong, there is a little truth to all these statements. But, I’ve also noticed there are many things that Wal-Mart does right.

For instance, they hired Adam Werbach to help them become more environmentally friendly. Mr. Werbach had spent 17 years before that working on environmental activism through his leadership in the Sierra Club and other notable environmental organizations. Shortly after that Wal-Mart started offering the new CFL light bulbs and organic food.

The fact that Wal-Mart does provide employment for many people shouldn’t be overlooked either, in an economy that is hemorrhaging jobs everywhere. While I’m not keen on some of their noted unfair practices, the fact is – a job is a job. You get paid and it helps put food on the table for your family. That’s a HUGE benefit these days.

Now, another fellow blogger is noticing that Wal-Mart is also starting to not offer products that consumers are finding to be to be unsafe, like items that are products like baby bottles and infant formula cans that have a chemical called BPA. This chemical is approved by the FDA, but consumers are much more aware these days that not everything that’s on a store shelf is safe – no matter what government agency approves it. So, now Wal-Mart is being attacked for usurping the role of the FDA. It’s never ending the kind of criticism this company gets.

And, no one remembers that it was Wal-Mart’s beautifully efficient distribution system that ended being the most help in getting needed items into the New Orleans area during Hurricane Katrina, before and after the storm.

Honestly, I like Wal-Mart and I think they are doing many things right and are willing to change and evolve as they learn what works in our capitalistic economy and what doesn’t. It doesn’t hurt either that your money goes a whole lot further with the groceries there than other supermarkets too.

Holy Inflation Hikes, Batman, Cracker Barrel Cheese Is More Than $6

Hey, I haven’t seen the movie, but hear it’s great. I think the economy is playing a mighty joke on us, and Robin would be proud of all the cool sayings he could utter as he goes to the grocery store. Help me, Batman, my local grocer is blackmailing me!

Imagine it…Batman and Robin going grocery shopping since Albert has been laid off due to poor economic times…*

Batman: “We’re out of gas, Robin. Did you forget to fill up the Batmobile?”
Robin: “Well, call Triple A since we need the money to do grocery shopping and they’ll fill our tank for free.”
Batman: “Good thinking, Boy Wonder! (Hey, am I in the wrong cartoon?!)
They march into the local Kroger’s store, which is a store here down South. Nobody stares because Southerners are too polite to stare.
Batman:“Okay, let’s see…Mayonaisse, over $4…”
Robin: “Holy priceless mish-mash of eggs and oil!”
Batman (his lip twitching): “Milk…, over $5″
Robin: “Golly gee willikers Batman! How are we ever going to fight crime with this budget?”
Batman (his lip twitching more): “Of course, Robin. Even crime-fighters must eat. And especially you. You’re a growing boy and you need your nutrition. Just think of it this way, even Joker has to pay more for his make-up.”
Robin: “Holy costume party, Batman!”
Batman: “Tin foil, $10″
Robin (smacking his gloved fist into the palm of his hand):“Holy heart failure, Batman! It looks like the crooks have gotten into the grocery stores! How will we ever be able to maintain the Bat Cave and all our fancy toys, fight crime, dress up in weird outfits, and rehire Albert if everyone’s going criminally insane?”

Just then the joker pulls up and fills his cart with stolen food and drives away laughing and yelling:”Suckers!!!”

Stay tuned for the next exciting, heart-stopping visit to the grocery store…Same Bat time, Same bat channel.

*Prices similar to a recent visit to my grocery stores, some actual sayings taken from Batman movies, and yes, you have to find your chuckles somewhere in drastic, economic, times.

The Theory of Wealth Relativity

I’ve noticed something interesting about the way my losses and gains are manifesting. I used to lose a few dollars here and there and gain a few dollars here and there. Who doesn’t have the story of getting a rebate only to have a bill for the exact same amount show up unexpectedly? It always seems the debt is exactly equal to the gain. Recently, I’ve been losing thousands and it’s downright scary. My only hope is to gain thousands to even out the ledger. So, I was discussing the loss of the buyer’s earnest money and my friend said:”A thousand dollars is a lot of money to lose.” And, I replied:”No, it’s not. It’s not even 1% of the purchase price.” I was thinking about the $4,000 approximately I lost at the beginning of the year because of car troubles. Relatively speaking, I’d be jumping for joy if all I lost was $1,000. But, the same is true about the gains now too. If I only make $1000 that’s not very much. I want to make many thousands and I really should manifest many thousands to pay off the debt on the car. My idea of how much money is a lot has gotten skewed. I now think in many thousands and that’s being reflected in my losses, and hopefully in the future in my gains too. I remember when the idea of working with many thousands would have been completely inconceivable to me. I didn’t have that much to lose nor that much to gain either.

How Much Do You Think You Can Afford To Lose?

That’s how much you’ll ever be able to gain in your lifetime. It made me think of Donald Trump gaining millions and losing millions, then gaining them all back. Most of us would have a complete heart failure the moment we lost the millions, especially if they were Daddy’s monies. But, if you’re working with millions, that’s probably just the way it works in that stratosphere. You can’t hope to handle millions, if you’re not willing to risk losing millions. People may view you as filthy rich, but to you a million is like a thousand to someone else. It’s all relative.

When I figure out how to use that change in relative value to my advantage, I’ll let you all know. I have a few thoughts on it right now, that I’ll share below, but I think there might be a goldmine of information in this one little creation. There have been occasions where I manifested many thousands and that, incidentally, was the time when I started losing thousands too. Prior to that, the income had been relatively stable with no major surprises either way. Now, I’ve been in this “thousand” loop of gains and losses for about eight years now. So, if I shift to a higher income, I assume I will probably have higher risks of losses too. It’s downright weird. So, I’ve been contemplating this theory of wealth relativity and finding out how to use it to my unfair advantage.

The Belief In Fairness

One of the key beliefs that could be influencing this creation in my reality is the belief in fairness. I read somewhere that if you believe in fairness, you can never expect to get rich. The reason for that is not that you have to be immoral to be rich, but if you want to be on the side of the cashflow quadrant that uses other people’s time and money to gain you wealth, well, that’s perceived as a bit unfair isn’t it? But, really, it’s all about choices. Some people choose to work for other people all their lives and never invest. Their payback is security. Their gains and losses are never traumatic. Others choose to build businesses and hire people willing to work for them. They assume larger risks and they can have huge losses, but also huge gains too. The only person that judges it as fair or unfair is the person making that judgment. Is it fair that millionaires make money off other people’s sweat? Is it fair when someone does all the work and another reaps the benefits? Is it fair if they make huge gains in an investment? To the average person, they might suggest it is unfair, or at least due to luck. It’s not. It’s due to skillful direction of their energies to create that which they want, regardless of the impediments. The same belief that makes life fair is the same belief that keeps you poor. Now, you can start appreciating that life is COMPLETELY UNFAIR because that’s what’s going to eventually make you rich.

In fact, I’m thinking I’m mighty pleased I lost a downpayment on a townhome on that deal. It was not a good deal and relatively speaking, it’s peanuts. It’s completely unfair that she pulled out, but I can appreciate that this may lead to an even better deal with someone else. So, keep your wits about you when life becomes unfair and learn how to appreciate the downs in life too. In fact, I think that’s typically how people get rich in the stock market: they appreciate a low asset and then sell it to someone. They never buy high and sell low. They always buy low and wait for it to appreciate and then sell high. The same can be done in our creative energies of manifestation, I think, if we learn the art of appreciation and gratitude, even in our losses. Then the absolute value of something diminishes in your mind as you focus on only appreciation of that asset and it manifests. That’s what I think so far, but I will let you all know how my experiments in changing my beliefs and installing appreciation works in the end.

My Appreciation And Gratitude Experiment

I guess I’ve been doing the gratitude journal a few days now, and I have some interesting things to report. I’m beginning to think I’ve stumbled on the key to the universe.

Noticing A Change In Taste

A very peculiar thing happened while I was fixing my food recently. I have a very picky diet because I love good food. I am always grateful for having food to eat, but I have a preference for really high quality meals, partly because I am a very good cook. It’s hard to appreciate food that you know you could have cooked better. But, due to the hit on my pocketbook recently with the real estate issue, I have been attempting to reduce my food budget so that I can make up some of the shortfall. So, I am buying things I don’t normally buy to eat. I bought some potato salad recently and shared it with some friends in a meal of fried chicken, cole slaw and potato salad. It was truly awful. I mean, awful because it was all store bought food that tasted like it too. Store bought potato salad – yuck! I remember eating it and thinking:”Gosh, I hope I’m the only one who thinks this is awful.” But, I was grateful that my friends had come over to help me with some hornets in the lawn and I had bought this food in appreciation for their work and friendship. One of my friends did say that next time I had to cook (so I think it was pretty bad overall), but it’s hard to tell when you are spoiled on your own cooking what is truly awful and what is just plain ordinary.

Today, I decided to have some more of that potato salad and appreciate it in my newfound experiment to appreciate all the awful things in my life. It was very strange because today the potato salad tasted really good! I was like:”What?! How come today it tastes good?” I half suspect it was due to my insistence on appreciating it before I ate it.

The Spider Surprise

Oh, yes, I hate surprises – almost as bad as I hate spiders. I used to be quite phobic of spiders until I had a dream that suggested I had died of numerous spider bites in a past life. Since then, I am no longer phobic, and I even took the trouble to learn to appreciate spiders for all the good they do. But, they are not my favorite creatures, regardless. So, I am taking a bath this morning and concentrating on the water droplets on the stopper and the pattern of the water to deepen my appreciation of What Is and then I notice this big black thing that has suddenly appeared in the water. I reach over for some spectacles and when I put them on I had quite a shock. There was a big, black, spider right between my toes wriggling in the water! I got out of there fast and then realized I was hugely relieved not to have been bitten. It even looked like a black widow, one of only two poisonous spiders in North Carolina. Boy, was I GRATEFUL that spider had landed in the water instead of on me!

So, are bad and awful things still happening? You bet. The only difference is I am perceiving them a bit differently now and maybe that’s all that’s necessary to shift our reality.

Kids Sure Put Things Into Perspective

I brought up my daughter to learn about spiritual values from my example, not from reading the Bible or any other spiritual material. I believe that actions speak louder than words, so I tried to use our life together to help her understand some spiritual values like forgiveness, mercy, persistence, connection, tolerance, love, etc. Well, I must have done too good a job. She is now required to read the Bible for an Advanced Placement course in high school English and list allusions in other major works that come from the Bible. I have never required her to read the scriptures, not because they’re bad, but because I feel you really can’t teach spirituality through words. They get twisted by our minds that take control of the content and use these words to engage in unspiritual acts on the basis that the Bible said this or that. If you want to teach spirituality to someone, it should be done through your own example, not through words that can be turned into dogma. So, now she’s reading it as a required assignment and here’s her take on Genesis, so far, in her own words:

I already read the story of creation, and I think god seems pretty lonely, and needy. Like a baby. Then he throws a tantrum and wipes the earth clean of everything but two of each. If he really wanted to fix things, he should’ve done something else, instead of just ignoring the problem and destroying almost everything.

Well, she got the action part right anyways! Compassionate action speaks louder than words and that’s really what she is saying, even though it sounds blasphemous. She probably doesn’t get why in the story of Genesis God is supposed to be teaching us, his children, about how to act properly and then goes on to kill everything on the planet. It’ll be interesting to hear what she has to say when she hits the story of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Starting a gratitude journal?

This year has really been AWFUL. There is no other way to put it. So, I think now is the right time to start a gratitude journal or I am at risk of becoming the world’s grumpiest spiritual person. You know, I was thinking back to the days when I was very involved in fundamental Christianity and these types of years just didn’t happen. It could be because the economy was better, I wasn’t a single parent, I had family around me, and I was involved in my church and religious beliefs. But, the more I think about it, I think there is one thing in Christianity that really helps people who are dealing with very sour years: their belief that God is testing them and so all their trials will make them better people. I know it sounds weird, but how can you look at things in a bad light when God is the one sending them to you?

The Christian View Of Trials

I actually read a very good book, in the Christian vein, that exemplifies this teaching, which is enormously important. It is called: “Turning Your Stess Into Strength” by Robert H. Schuler. He talks about how very devoted Christians had terrible things happen to them (far worse that what I am experiencing this year) and they managed to turn these awful things into a very strong faith in God. It didn’t solve any of their problems, it just made them cultivate the inner quality of strength in difficult times. I could use some of that right about now.

Some people may bristle at the fact that I actually encourage fundamental Christian beliefs – if they work for you and they are not producing animosity through intolerance in your life. This is the tradition I grew up in, and I have to say it is a highly spiritual path. I know that we eventually outgrow many of the teachings, but the core beliefs are very helpful to furthering a deeper connection with Spirit. Some people who find devotion in Buddhism may want to say that this is “the right way” and the others are not. It really depends on what works for you, I think. We’re all such different people. Personally, Christianity always worked for me, and I still go back to it when I feel I need some more instruction on core spiritual methods that work for me. I find that having this background doesn’t keep me from appreciating other spiritual traditions too.

How Can I Take A Christian Teaching And Use It Now?

The problem I have with the Christian teaching now, of course, is that I don’t believe that God sends us trials. That’s a pretty big obstacle to me if I want to now give Him the credit or the blame for the entire situation. I believe we create our own reality through our Inner Divinity, some people call it the Christ Presence Within, and others like Buddhists would refer to it as “basic goodness.” It’s still the same thing, I think, just different names. My view is that we are not separate from God, therefore there is no outside Presence forcing anything on us. We create it, for better or for worse, it’s all Ours. At any rate, if God doesn’t get the blame or the credit, that teaching of giving God the glory in times of stress to deepen your faith in God kind of falls flat. Oops. And, if I create it, I could assign myself blame, but that’s always proven to be a good way to create more trash in my life.

So, I do know one thing: We use our beliefs to create our reality. If I can go back to believing that Christian ideal of God sending us trials, I’d have it made. My life would be better, no doubt about it – which is why I say use what works best for you, even if it is a fundamental Christian belief. It’s just a belief, it doesn’t make the concept so, but it will be reflected in your outer reality regardless. So, why not? My issue is that I have to revamp my entire reality to fit that belief in now, unless I can get at the core teaching. It sure took me a long time to figure it out.

My Gratitude Journal

What happens when we believe that God sends us trials because he is trying to strengthen our faith or use us in His great plan? We start to focus on trying to appreciate these trials instead of fighting them. We stop blaming God or ourselves and we start to look for the positive in the situation. In fact, you will hear Christians suggest that they feel blessed to be of “use” to God in the manner of suffering. I had a little bit of dilemma with Victor Frankl’s position that man must have meaning in their life and one of the three ways to get it is suffering. Actually, I don’t think it’s meaning nor suffering that ends up finally motivating someone to continue and create a better life, I think it’s actually appreciation. That’s the core teaching under all that. Learning to appreciate things for what they are is how one can keep from creating more obstacles, especially when your energy shows tremendous force in this area, like mine.

So, what do I have to lose? I started a gratitude journal and I am seeing there are many things to appreciate in my current situation. Are you having a difficult year? Add your appreciation for something simple in this time period to help you shift out of those energies. I’ll start:
I’m grateful that I can share with so many different people on the Internet.

I’m grateful for the cup of Earl Grey Cream tea I had this morning.

I’m grateful that I have friends who care.
Your turn…

Zillow Just Upped My House Value

Now, I’m supposedly giving my house away at the price I set for it. It went up by $9,000 based on comparables in my neighborhood. It’s not really a surprise to me because I am in a prime location. I picked the home because of its location. It is close to two major highways, but far enough away I don’t have to listen to the noise. It has three major supermarkets within two blocks of my home. They built around me so much, I now have Duke Integrative Medicine across the street from me, and several office parks that weren’t there before. And the buzz is that there is yet another mall going up very close by. How do I know? Let’s just say that a friend got an offer on their home based on those plans. That’s on top of the major revamping of North Hills Mall and the upcoming new mall on Falls of Neuse nearby too. I am very close to Crabtree Mall too and only twenty minutes from the airport. Did I mention they are making the Museum of Art a world class Museum by 2009? I am about a mile away from it. Really, you’d have to be an idiot not to buy my house, and I guess that lady was. It is priced to sell and it is in a PRIME location. I just want a place I can be flexible enough to leave in two years since I’m planning on leaving the area if I don’t have a job keeping me here. My master’s is about over and I want to get a job doing something interesting while I continue to freelance write on the side. Any investors out there interested? I actually plan on staying in the area, just moving to a rental so that I can be sure that I can leave when my time in Raleigh is up without dealing with the stress of selling the home then. I want to be able to get up and go in less than two years, if needed, and not fuss with selling real estate then. I also want to cash out the home value while I can still enjoy some of the benefits with my daughter who will graduate soon and need money for college. Then, if nothing keeps me here, like a great job, then, I’ll be free to move.

But, the value of my home is shooting up and I’m beginning to wonder if I shouldn’t hold on just a little longer. The foreclosure rate in Raleigh went down by 7% and things are looking brighter here. There are plenty of construction people out of work, which is actually a good thing for me. What would have cost me thousands before to remodel in my home (like new flooring) I can get for a whole lot less now. Home selling is very stressful with people coming in and out all the time and I work from home. It’s really not a doable thing for me. I need this to either sell fast or take it off the market while I still have a business left.