Comments on: Having Poor Health is Costly and Not Frugal

By: Kathleen

Kathleen — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:55:21 +0000

No one ever addresses the financial challenges that people with chronic disease face. First they are dismissed by most traditional MDs, then when they figure out what disease they have (after 15 years of trying), insurance won’t cover their treatments. I now have $90,000 of debt because I have chronic neurological Lyme Disease. I self-diagnosed because no doctor in my state (or three adjoining states) had a doctor that recognizes or treats Lyme. For the first year after my diagnosis, I had to go to the West Coast to get treatment. Finally, a Lyme Literate doctor moved to my town so I am now being treated. The only insurance I can get is insurance for uninsurable people which is extremely expensive. Until this year I paid $800 per month for a $2,500 deductible. To reduce my expenses, I increased my deductible to $7500 and pay $588/mo. Since most LLDs can’t afford to be preferred providers, insurance covers very little of my doctor’s bills. Because of my brain problems, I can only work part-time for my sister. And what’s really shocking is that I’m in much better shape financially than my friends with chronic Lyme. Most of them are destitute. Meanwhile the Infectious Disease Society of America says there is no such disease as chronic Lyme. If you have any suggestions for the thousands of people like me with chronic disease, I’d love to hear them. By the way, until I became sick I ate a very healthy organic diet, was thin, never smoked or drank. A tick the size of a pinhead changed my life forever.

By: Andrew @ Financial Services

Andrew @ Financial Services — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:37:00 +0000

There’s nothing truer than this. Simple example: you can do without health supplements if you eat right. Other cases are not so forgiving. If you don’t take care of your kidneys, you can very well be on a dialysis machine for the rest of your days.

By: marci

marci — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:31:05 +0000

I wouldn’t go for just a cold…. if it lasts over 3 days, then that’s another matter… but that’s my personal choice. I save a LOT of money by NOT going to the doc on the routine matters. But I do go for the yearly checkups etc…. but staying OUT of the doctor’s office is a part of my financial plan – even with health insurance.

About eating everything on your plate….. use a smaller plate. Seriously – it works And NO seconds. Don’t put the food on the table where it is easy to just grab more. Eat buffet style – one portion of each thing, use the smaller plate, drink a big glass of water before hand, and do NOT go back for seconds.

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:23:09 +0000

indeed; counting calories and fat will drive you insane. No need for scales and measuring cups, there are easier ways.

By: Kim

Kim — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 18:22:03 +0000

Ditto to the above. It’s more about discipline – financial discipline and health discipline have many similarities. Just as you know you don’t really need that new CD/DVD, you know that hamburger/taco/chicken tenders are high in fat, you don’t need to count calories to tell you that. You know that tons of calories come from drinks. You know that salads are better, and can be healthy, if only you (not YOU MoneyNing, the generic “you”) knew how to make them. It’s just about implementing it.

But never fear, no need to COUNT calories once you know about how much calories are in everything – (I shall tout Eat This Not That – at your library.). I tracked them for free for a month on sparkpeople.com, and then went on my own. And, like financials, no need to cut out all of the fun. Go to a movie; have a hamburger here and there, have a slice of pizza (but not the whole thing, nor spend $5k on a trip to Vegas.).

And then there’s going on autopilot, like automatic bill pay – buy mini cans of coke, buy 100 calorie packs of goldfish.

WOW, I didn’t see all of the similarities until I got going. Too bad you can’t create an emergency fund of unused calories.

By: Craig

Craig — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:35:25 +0000

This is why exercise is so important, they go hand in hand. If you are healthier you will have less health issues, spend less on medicine and doctor fees as well will be healthy to do activities and work you need to do which can enhance your life and make you more money.

By: Wilson Pon

Wilson Pon — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 06:21:15 +0000

Sometimes, I feel that the doctors are truly “money-suckers”. They can easily charge us for less than 10 minutes talk. That’s why, I always take care my health very strictly, David.

By: Erica Douglass

Erica Douglass — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:47:28 +0000

It is not as much about eating less (which you don’t want to do because you see it as deprivation) but about making smart choices with what you eat.

Calories, carbs, fat grams…there is a lot to count. My nutritionist simplified it for me by saying “Eat 100g of carbs per day or less and don’t worry about anything else.” My intention wasn’t to lose weight, but it fell off at about a pound a week.

You can try that, or something else, but just make sure it’s something you don’t view mentally as deprivation.

-Erica

By: Erica Douglass

Erica Douglass — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:43:16 +0000

Vegetarian didn’t help me, but when I went low-carb (and then went gluten-free, as I was recently diagnosed with gluten intolerance) I dropped THIRTEEN pounds in 3.5 months…and I wasn’t overweight to begin with.

I dropped from a size 8/10 to 6/8.

I haven’t been this skinny since college. It almost makes being gluten-free bearable.

I would definitely recommend low-carb (my nutritionist said fewer than 100g of carbs per day. A slice of bread is 21g.)

-Erica

By: John DeFlumeri Jr

John DeFlumeri Jr — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:19:42 +0000

I agree 100% that eating less and exercising is the road to health.
I wish I could eat less than I do.