Managing Medical Bills - The Bullet Point Version

I was going to post a pretty lengthy exposé on how we handled our mounting stack of medical bills that accumulated those first months and years after the triplets were born, but my husband told me that the subject matter was pretty boring (you can write it well, but there's still only so much lipstick you can put on a pig...), so I won't. But because I still feel like I need to share a few things I learned from my experience dealing with numerous medical providers and dual (more like dueling) insurance companies, I'll give you the extremely condensed version and hope my dry, lackluster post helps at least one person wade through the stress and despair that comes with each of those crisp, white, Self Addressed (un)Stamped Envelopes...

1. Make Sure The Claims Have Been Submitted Properly
Does it show that your insurance company paid their portion? If you're dually covered, did both companies pay? If not, call your medical provider's billing department to make sure they have all of your correct insurance information.

2. If Your Insurance Hasn't Paid Yet - DON'T PAY ANYTHING
After getting everything sorted out with that nice person from your doctor's billing department, they will resubmit your claim to your insurance company/companies and wait for payment (from them). At this point, do not pay your bill. Wait for insurance to process the new claim and wait for a new bill.


3. Ask About Financial Assistance
Believe it or not, some medical providers will discount fees if you ask. Others offer financial assistance if you can prove financial hardship. Hospitals actually have social workers available to help you sort all of that out. Ask to speak with one.

4. Set Up a Payment Plan
When you finally know the exact amount you owe on your bill, either pay the bill in full or call the billing department (again) to set up a payment plan. Most doctor's offices and hospitals offer interest-free payment plans as long as you can commit to paying a specified amount each month. This makes it way easier to budget for your monthly medical expenses, and any future bills from them can simply be called in and added to your account (like a running tab).

See what can be learned from spending countless hours on the phone with doctors offices and insurance companies while also trying to deal with three newborns?!

Happy bill paying :)

Love Note for the Weekend

My children have discovered the Sound of Music and are smitten with it all: the music, the lovely Maria, and all those kids! We now have our very own little Von Trapps traipsing around our house singing "My Favorite Things" and  "Do Re Mi" with surprisingly accurate intonation and lyrics. We downloaded the soundtrack from iTunes and have listened to it in our car about a bajillion times over the past few weeks.  And while it's fun to belt out the more familiar songs, there's a beautiful little section of verse at the beginning of the "Sixteen Going On Seventeen" Reprise that has caused me to pause and take note this week. Rather than heralding love as this tangible occurrence or feeling (of which we tend to focus on our role as recipient), let us all try to love more actively this weekend - finding our joy and solace in the space vacated by all we've given away...

A bell is no bell till you ring it

A song is no song till you sing it

And love in your heart wasn't put there to stay

Love isn't love till you give it away

Enjoy the weekend, everyone ❤

Sorry, Tom: This Mama's Saving Some Serious Dough!

I like Toms. They're cute, they're comfy, and of course it makes me feel good to know that a kid who desperately needs shoes will benefit from my purchase with Tom's One-for-One promise (you buy a pair, Toms sends a second pair to a child in need). But they come with a hefty price tag. My current favorite style, Brown Metallic Herringbone, is listed online for $54! 

Well, today I found myself at Rite Aid (and I never go to Rite Aid, unless I'm like sick and on vacation and it's the only store for 200 miles...me, I'm a Target girl through and through). But I was needing to pick up some final materials for a little crafting project I'm starting (and will hopefully be blogging about soon) and needed a few "granny-ish" items like nylons and flesh colored socks...so I figured Rite Aid was my place (and Target was on the other side of town...) Amazingly, they didn't have what I was looking for (seriously?! I was pretty sure that store would be crawling in granny trouser socks and undergarments!) but I found myself on their "shoe aisle" and behold...knockoff Toms. Now I usually would have just balked at their cheap attempt to mock such a noble shoe, but these things were actually nice, I mean really nice and almost identical to my Toms, from the plaid interior print to the faux fleece lining. They even had some of my all-time favorite patterns like purple corduroy, slate grey, sage green, and what do you know: brown metallic herringbone. I just saw the real ones at Whole Foods last week  (for $54) and literally shed a tear as my inner toddler attempted mutiny with silent threats of certain imminent (fashion) death without them. Rite Aid's version were priced at just $14.99...and marked down 75%...to $3.74. 

THREE DOLLARS AND SEVENTY FOUR CENTS!!! 

Good thing I only had a $5 bill in my pocket (we're trying really hard not to use our debit cards anymore - for impulse purchases such as this) or I would have gone absolutely nuts and bought a pair in every single color...and probably a few pairs for friends too! But I didn't. I just walked up to that register all cool and collected -with one of my three year olds pulling toys off shelves and a baby trying to nurse through my shirt- and I bought my one pair of Brown Tweed Bahama Bays for exactly $3.74. 

Okay, so they aren't Toms, and unfortunately a child won't get a free pair of shoes from my purchase but it seemed like a really great -and cheap!- way to get one more stylish pair of super cute and comfy shoes into my line-up and something that actually fit into our new cash-based budget that felt like a totally luxurious splurge for just a fraction of the cost! And honestly, a big part of why we've restricted our budget so much is so we can start giving a much bigger portion of our money back to God through things like our church, Compassion International, and by supporting some dear friends of ours doing long-term missionary work through New Tribes Mission, (we were super convicted and motivated by Randy Alcorn's book The Treasure Principle  - a great, quick read) so I'm hopeful that the $50.26 I saved by not buying real Toms will actually go further than an extra pair of shoes and touch not only feet, but tummies, minds, and hearts as well! Did you know that just $38 provides a child with food, water, medical assistance, educational resources, and exposure to the truth and love of Jesus Christ for an entire MONTH through Compassion International-? 

And seriously, don't my $3 Rite Aid shoes look good?! They're über comfy, too! Not sure how long the sale lasts, so get over to that hip (replacement) store known as Rite Aid and get your very own knockoffs today! 

The Breastfeeding Diaries

Good morning! Today I'm guest blogging over at my adorable friend Julie's blog The Girl In The Red Shoes and writing about my experience with pumping and breastfeeding my four wee ones for her super entertaining and insightful series: The Breastfeeding Diaries.  Grab your coffee and milk (careful which milk you grab out of the fridge for that - wink wink!), click on the photo below, and come on over to read my post! Probably more than you ever wanted to know about pumps and boobs...but it'll be fun:)

Because It Don't Get Much Crunchier Than Soap Nuts!

(I do hope you read the above grammatically incorrect title aloud with your best mountain woman twang...)

Have you heard of Soap Nuts?!

I'd heard the term before, but I guess I was just never quite curious enough to see what all the fuss was about. In fact, I didn't even really know what "soap nuts" was referring to. A cute, eco-friendly detergent name, maybe? Soap scraps used to make your own homemade detergent? I don't know! Or that is, I didn't know until I stumbled across this lovely post over at Stacy Makes Cents.  Soap Nuts are actually nuts - well, more like dried berry shells - that release saponin in hot water which suds up to clean your clothes...completely naturally! And you can reuse them! And they're super cheap! And you just toss them in your (warm or hot water) wash in a little muslin bag! And as if making your own laundry detergent wasn't easy enough (and some of you may still find that to be the more preferred "happy medium" between traditional detergent and oh, let's say, washing your clothes with berry sap), it takes away that one extra little chore of grating a bar of soap into your homemade detergent...and you can order them online! I'm seriously so excited to try these - right after I get through my huge batch of homemade detergent I made last weekend. But don't worry, I have four small children, a husband, and a mountain of cloth diapers to help me out with that. So head right on over to Stacy Makes Cents and read all about Soap Nuts - where to get 'em, and how to use 'em - today!

And suddenly I feel like climbing a tree and pecking at a bird feeder...