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| Clarifying those pennies |
After posting yesterday, I had an exchange of comments with Sam, who blogs at Sam Squared (yes, go read her; her reentering the blogging world has given me inspiration as I try to regain my footing). Sam marveled that I met my bills on my small pension and I elaborated a bit more on where my dollars went. A huge part of my being able to do so is the privilege of being in a stable relationship with someone who shares my money outlooks (no debt, not a spender) and who owns his own home mortgage-free (so no debt there either; also a huge privilege). Sam, unexpectedly widowed a little over a year ago, does not have the luxury of a working spouse; plans that she and her husband were putting into place for retirement were abruptly upended. Because of my cancer, Warren and I entered this relationship knowing that, even without this being a later-in-life union, we had to discuss and review regularly the hard reality that I will drop out of the financial picture earlier than "typical."
I also shared that had Warren and I not come together, which gave me the gift of stable, free housing, I would likely (a) have continued to work, despite my diminishing health and (b), even with drawing my Social Security, but certainly if I were only drawing the small pension, I would probably be living with my dad on the outskirts of town. I am very close to my dad, but trust me, we would drive one another crazy.
I recognize those are privileges, even a fallback plan of living with a parent, that I have that many do not.
I also realized, later in the evening as I reflected on money, that I had financial assistance from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for some of that time, which reimbursed me my health insurance costs (Medicare and the Supplemental Plan). Face palm. OF COURSE I could get by on the small pension because my insurance costs were covered. In fact, I have assistance for insurance reimbursement from another source for July 2023-July 2024; my medical messes and dealing with that stress have kept me from tracking down and submitting my vouchers, but I will get them in within the next few weeks. That reimbursement made a huge difference in my finances and my ability to meet my bills on a small income.
Money.
4 comments:
I was over reading Sam's blog and saw your name and blog. I thought to myself, I know this person from somewhere. And I figured it out. You used to write for the Myeloma beacon. Right??? If not, I apologize. I have myeloma( 19 years now) and am currently on a maintenance of Velcade/Dex. If you are that person, I'd love to know.
Christina
Christina: YES! I used to write for the Myeloma Beacon back in the day. Like you, I am 19+ years post-diagnosis and, best guess by my oncologist, probably hitting 20 years this summer since it started. Currently, because of non-myeloma medical mayhem for months last year, my treatment (Darzalex FasPro injection every four weeks) was stopped in August 2023 while I was in the hospital and skilled nursing. We have not resumed it because, for no known reason, my labs have stayed flat since then. I see my local oncologist every 4 weeks for labs, I see my specialist at Mayo in June for labs and such, and who knows where it goes from there? No question that I have myeloma that is not in remission, but no answers as to why it is just sitting there.
Thank you for reaching out! This just made me beam!
I am so happy you get help with your insurance.
Kim, it made a difference. Could I have done it without the help? Yes, I had some savings built up. Did it give me room to breathe? You bet.
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