Dentists and Such

I try not to post unless I have something witty, clever or ingenious to add to the blogosphere, but seeing as how its been DAYS since I've posted anything, I guess I'll make an exception.

• Did you know dental offices are now offering in-house plans? Say you don't have dental insurance. The first family member pays $150 a year and gets two cleanings, a set of x-rays and 30% off any needed work. Subsequent family members pay $75 for the same benefits. This is ingenious...for the dentist. They get the same, or more  money as they would if the patient were insured AND they don't have to employ a billing specialist. The consumer, as usual, gets shafted. Sure, I'm paying the same (roughly) out-of-pocket as I did WITH insurance, except all up front instead of from every paycheck. But in addition, I'm saving the office the pain of having to bill insurance and hash out the price lists on a yearly basis and wait months on end to actually get paid.  Don't get me wrong, though. I LOVE our dentist. Of all the dentists I've seen in my life, he's the only one whose said, "hmm. I see a little something on this x-ray. Why don't we watch it for 6 months." I come back in 6 months and he says the same thing! Seriously. Love that. Plusandalso, he's family.

note: NOT my dentist

• Did I mention we're getting our house ready to sell? This is a singularly gut-wrenching experience. I can not explain the level of angst looking at the neighborhood comps causes me. Seeing how much our house has lost in value over the last 3 years might be more painful than labor, but I wouldn't know. That pain is magnified by every dollar I spend to get the house "show-ready". Today I'm buying paint and fixtures for the master bath. At least I'll probably get to enjoy my upgrades for some time to come, since we are not selling for (significantly) less than we paid. I'm not really even sure why we are selling at the this point. It's not like we have somewhere better to go! I am pretty excited The Hubs is letting me spruce the place up a bit. I may have to write a separate post all about my new dishwasher.
• The Hubs' raise should be only a month away. Halle-frick'n-lujah! I have big plans for that money. Big BIG plans. Pay off student loans and our mortgage big. I'm telling you, we're living on the edge at our house.
• Did I mention our car is paid off? I could just kiss Dave Ramsey. You know, if I didn't know what looked like...or if he weren't old enough to be my dad.