All the heat reminds me of my days in college.  We were in the midwest, where it got super hot in the fall and spring and super cold in the winter.  My dorm was built in the late 1800’s, and we definitely didn’t have air conditioner.  So we went for the next best thing – a giant bowl of ice sitting in front of a fan.  It’s amazing how great that feels.  I still set it up in my apartment from time to time when I really want some cold air blowing on me.  Of course, then I have to keep the cats from spilling the bowl of water (they like to drink from it), but it’s a great feeling for not a lot of money.
What are your favorite “stay cool” tips?

Why do you need a website to do that? Well, you don’t.  You just need some paper and a pencil.  But the advantage to the website is that it’s there and easily accessible, but better than that, it’s got a scoring system.  You get points for writing every day, and points for making your 750 words.  The scoring is similar to bowling style, where the previous day (or frame) affects your score for today.  What do you win?  Nothing.  Well, you do get cool little icons on your info page, and that’s enough to keep me writing. 

I’ve been doing this for a few weeks now, and I really love sitting down every morning and doing a bit of a brain dump.  It’s frequently just rambling, and I love that my writing is private.  Blogging is great, but sometimes you just need to vent and don’t want others to read it. 

So if you’re looking to get back into journaling or just want an easy place to write, check out 750 words.

So for now, I can post from my phone. Exciting.

I have been waiting to post about this until I knew more and until my friends knew what was up. I’ve been going through some health issues as of late. I am pretty sure it boils down to allergies, stubborn fluid buildup in my ears, and stress, but it has meant a trip to the ER (I got dizzy at work and that is the standard office response – and it meant missing PF Blogger Happy Hour), a myriad of tests, and some various medications.

So far, it looks like I’m fine. But it has made me do a ton of thinking. Of course, all these tests aren’t free, and while I have insurance, it will cost me a pretty penny, but I can’t bring myself to care. In fact, to try to destress and ignore my upcoming MRI, yesterday I hit up the bookstore and bought a new release, something I rarely do.

The thought of being sick has really reinforced just how far I am from my family. I am not planning to move anytime soon, but I really understand why one of my friends left a sweet job in a fun city to move back to her hometown after her dad had a major health scare. But it has made me realize how great my friends are. I had a friend sit with me through my MRI which was awesome. (Note to anyone freaked out by an MRI – having someone sit in the room with their hand on your ankle hemps incredibly.) So far, the tests have all come back clear, meaning that its probably just allergies and stress. But it has reinforced what is really important in life.

What I didn’t realize was just how low that number was going to be.

I’m going to be out of money in my FSA by the middle of the year.  Possibly by the end of May, even. 

 What happened?  Well, it’s not that I’ve been overly sick.  Some of it is stocking up.  The OTC allergy meds I take were on crazy sale,and won’t expire soon, so I bought a few boxes.  I also discovered that my FSA will cover the expensive anti-aging/acne gel I use on my face.  Awesome!   And some of it was just poor estimating.  I didn’t think about what I spend in certain areas. 

But really, that’s okay.  I still got the benefit of some pre-tax spending and I now have a better idea of what is and what isn’t covered.  I’ve got all my receipts in a folder right now, so I’m going to be sure to continue that folder so I know what I really spend over the course of the year.   In YNAB, I have been using a budget category called FSA Expenses, and I may continue using that category even after the FSA money has run out.

So, lesson learned.  I’m definitely glad I tried the FSA and I was pleased at just how easy it was to use.  My previous experiences with FSAs have involved debit cards for FSA expenses, whereas with this plan, they automatically reimburse doctors appointments and prescriptions (often before I get the bill from the doc), but I have to fax or mail in the paperwork for OTC stuff.  I know a lot of people struggle with that, because it means paying up front and getting reimbursed, but the reimbursements are fast enough that if I put it on my credit card, I get the money deposited into my bank account before the credit card payment is due anyway.

Here’s looking forward to next year’s FSA!  (Though I hear they’re getting phased out as part of the new healthcare bill.  Better get my savings in while I still can!)

This is a “use it or lose it” plan, meaning that whatever I don’t use by the end of the year (well, the end of the grace period, which is mid-March) disappears.  So I want to try to estimate as closely as possible, but not go over.  Sure, if I have a little bit left at the end of the year, I can restock my medicine cabinet with Aleve and sunscreen and those sorts of things, but one only needs so many OTC medications.

One perk that I learned about with my FSA is that I can use the money before it’s technically there!  Let’s say that I decide to put $260 into my FSA this year, which would be $10 out of every paycheck.  And then on January 15, after only one paycheck, I have a medical expense of $100.  I can use that $100 to pay the bill, even though I’ve only contributed $10.  Because I have already agreed to have a total of $260 taken out of my paycheck, I can spend that entire $260 before it’s there.

But trying to estimate my medical expenses is harder than I thought it would be.  Regular prescriptions are easy to figure out, as is the cost for my disposable contacts.  But beyond that?  It’s tough.  I might be excessively healthy next year.  I might be not so healthy next year.  Who knows!  So I used some reasonable estimates, made some wild guesses, and picked a number.  And now it’s a game to see how close I managed to come.

Turns out we have very different opinions on toilet paper.  I had no idea.  She prefers the soft, plush, triple-ply, whereas I always buy Scott One-Ply. 

Growing up, we lived just far enough in the country to not be connected to the city sewage system, which meant we had septic tanks in the backyard.  For those of you not familiar with septic tanks, I won’t go into great detail, but it meant we had to be careful about everything that went down the drains.  That meant that certain toilet papers were a no-go.  It also meant not flushing feminine hygiene products and putting hair catchers in the shower and on the washing machine, because all of those things can get tangled up in the motor and jam it or break it.  And let me tell you, while a septic tank doesn’t smell at all when it’s working properly, when things stop moving, you’ll know.  Nevermind the loud alarm that your neighbors will hear.  The whole neighborhood will be able to smell it.

So to me, the cheap toilet paper is the norm.  It works fine and it’s cheap.  And, as it turns out, it’s even more eco-friendly.  (While it would save money, I don’t expect to ever go completely TP-free.)  Apparently, my cheapness with the toilet paper has been bothering my roommate quite a bit lately, and she decided to bring it up this weekend because it’s just about my turn to purchase.  I told her that I understood her concerns, but well, for me, the cheap stuff works just fine (and the rolls last so much longer), so maybe it’s time we buy our own toilet paper (we have two bathrooms).  Realizing she’d have to shell out, she decided to go with my way instead.

That assumption was wrong.  Last week, the CEO of SIGG published a letter on their website stating that yes, SIGG bottles were lined with a material containing BPA.  While the tests still show that no leaching occurs, a lot of customers, myself included, felt quite misled by this company.  They are now manufacturing bottles with a BPA free liner, which is a positive, but I find myself angry with SIGG for leading customers to believe that their bottles were BPA free.

I wrote a letter of complaint, and was encouraged to send my bottles in for replacements.  I have yet to decide if I’m going to do so.  While the old bottles don’t seem to be leaching anything into their contents, I don’t plan to continue using my bottles.  I might be overly cautious, but if it’s easy to be cautious, why not do it? 

But for those of you who went out and replaced your old water bottles (or your children’s bottles) with SIGG products, I encourage you to check out their website, figure out which liner your bottle has, and if you have the old bottles, contact SIGG to inquire about replacements.  Or just to let them know your dissatisfaction.