Over the weekend I realized that I haven’t given you all a recent update on my husband’s job situation. Nothing spectacular has happened, but I know you’re all wondering how we’re doing. So here’s the update.
My husband has landed a series of part-time jobs. He’s starting a janitorial job tonight. It will be quite the change for us, because Jim has worked Monday through Friday, 8-5 for as long as we’ve been married. He’s looking forward to the change, though. He’s especially looking forward to not having to wear a tie to work.
Next week he’s starting a part time job taking orders for Harry & David. It’s a seasonal job, so it will last until Christmas at the most.
Jim also started running the board for our local Christian radio station during the broadcast of the Christian school’s football games. It keeps him busy for a few hours on Saturday afternoons, and he loves the work. What sports enthusiast wouldn’t want to get paid to listen to a football game?
I’m a little concerned about his ability to keep up with this schedule. He assures me he can do it, though, and I’ll support him in whatever he wants to do at this point. I know some of you are wondering why I haven’t looked for work yet. The fact is that Jim has the potential to earn more than I do, and we have to work our schedules so someone can be home with the kids during non-school hours. The important thing is that Jim and I have discussed my working outside the home, and we’re both in agreement that now is not the time.
So I do what I can to bring in an income from my blogging and take care of everything I can on the home front, so Jim doesn’t have to worry about things here when he’s working his three jobs.
The one bad thing about having three part time jobs instead of one full time job is insurance. We applied for insurance on our own a while back, and we finally got the official word from the insurance company. It was a blow. Jim and Sam can get insurance with no problem, but I am un-insurable because of my migraines, and Liz can’t get insurance because she saw a psychologist last year, who thought she might have ADD.
The annoying part of all this is that I am not receiving any treatment for my migraines. I take an Excedrin migraine when a headache hits, and that’s it. And Liz isn’t under any form of treatment for her ADD, that hasn’t even been diagnosed by a doctor). So now we have to decide what to do.
My kids could probably qualify for the Oregon Health Plan pretty soon, though once Jim starts working, they probably won’t qualify much longer. You have to have a REALLY low income to qualify.
If anyone has any ideas on where else we can turn for insurance, I’d love to hear them. Not being insured really scares me. We do have a clinic here that works on a sliding fee scale, so we can use that for minor stuff, but I worry about a big, expensive accident. Both Jim and I had surgery about a year ago, and I can’t imagine going through that without insurance.
So, that’s it in a nutshell. Other than the lack of insurance, it’s really not that bad. Jim is looking forward to the change of pace, and not working an 8-5 job still gives him time to work on his copywriting business. We’re still not completely sure where all of this is going to lead. We’re trying to be open to whatever God is trying to tell us right now. It’s kind of exciting to see where we will end up, even if it is a little bit scary while we’re waiting.
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I tried writing earlier and it wouldn’t go. My prayers are with you. Being at home with your children is important. Glad your husband is getting some jobs.
Texas has the Chip program. Do you qualify for that. I know incomes are lots higher than medicaid and other state plans.
You might want to look into that for the kids.
Also, there is now a womans insurance with the state too. You might check on that.
Good luck I understand where you are coming from. We can’t get life insurance. Its a pain.
I tried writing earlier :) You have a very important job … mother and wife! I don’t have any answers for the insurance situation. But I sure will be watching for any solutions your readers can come up with. My oldest son is free-lancing and doesn’t have insurance right now (he recently finished college). It can be worrisome. But I think we just have to have faith. As always, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
SO sorry about the insurance. IT is a major problem in our country. I hope you get it worked out.
Hi…I use a great insurance broker. He is paid by insurance companies with a finders fee so no payment by you is necessary. He has been finding all sorts of insurance for me and my family for a long time. I swear by him!
I am pretty sure you and I live in the same town so if you are interested, you can email me and I will give you his number.
I hope everything works out for your family…. I think that’s crazy you can’t get insurance .. (not crazy you, crazy insurance companies) … It’s a necessity… I understand the business aspect but everyone should be able to be insured… being denied shouldn’t be an option…
Thanks everyone. Again, sorry about the comments. Apparently it’s one of my plugins, so I have to try them one by one, until I figure out which one is causing problems.
The insurance agent left a message for me today, and she wants some more information, so we can appeal. We’ll see if these insurance agents are as good as they said they are. It would be great if that would just go through.
If it doesn’t, thanks to everyone who has emailed me and left comments here with further information. I might need it, and it’s always good to have information to pass on to others, even if I end up not needing it for myself.
We had a catastrophe plan through our Allstate agent a few years back – it worked out beautifully. They covered well visits and there was a $500 deductible each time my little one got sick, which was great the two times he was hospitalized in the six months he had it.
The state programs, which we tried to qualify for — in Texas, you can’t have any money, no savings at all (NONE) and your second car has to be worth less that $1000 or some such. So at least here, and at least four years ago, it wasn’t just your income. Which totally stinks.
Good luck to you, and to your husband finding fulfilling work!
See, that’s another problem. We have an IRA. It’s a small one, but still, it would be counted against us, I’m sure. And then our cars are both worth too much.
I’ll have to check into Allstate. Even if we can only get a catastrophe plan, it’s better than nothing.
Check out http://medi-share.org/ — it’s not technically insurance, but it’s a solid option.
I don’t have insurance, but my wife and kids do. It’s not that bad. Plus, our insurance wouldn’t cover the birth of our third child. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I’ll be writing about this on my blog soon.
Glad to read about the work, sorry about the health issues.
Don’t understand too much about ADD, but have heard some good reports about changing diets — worth a try.
Have had really good results concerning the migraines. Try a REALLY good B-12 and B-complex vitamin. I doubled up on the dosage for the first two weeks and then kept up with the regular dosage. Also a teaspoon of peanut butter every day helps. If you feel one coming on, lick a teaspoon and dip it in sugar and then put it in your mouth upside down until the sugar dissolves. I know it sounds strange, but I have never known it to fail. Chiropractors are also very good and every one of them I know of will work with you on the payments — maybe a barter, give it a try, the worse they can say is no and the best is yes. Good Luck.
praying for you guys…I shudder to think what would happen if we ever became uninsured…I’d never be eligible again lol. *hugs*
*hugs* My advice is to find the closest free (or income-scaled) clinic. That way if someone uninsured gets sick, you’ve got somewhere to go. It’s not optimal, but it’s a backup plan.
Thanks for all the advice, everyone. I’m looking into everything, and I had a good talk with our insurance agent yesterday, so we’re working on a backup plan.
And I do know where the closest income-scaled clinic is, so we do have a place to go if someone gets sick in the meanwhile.
My prayers are with you guys. He has a plan, it will become clear in time.
Try this:
http://www.omip.state.or.us/
I haven’t looked into this specific plan, but I did have to look into the South Carolina version about a year ago for my wife. The premiums are expensive, but it should cover you…
Good luck on the insurance front.
Good luck to your husband with the work schedule. And I commend your family for trying to be at home for the children. It is difficult.
My own husband just got laid off and we’ve drastically re-worked the budget for the time being.
Good luck too, with the health insurance.