Mama Carol

The problem with being willing to pay for things that the insurance company won't is that often the insurance company won't pay later for other things that may or may not be related to what you paid for (see my post about my friend and gastric bypass). We're in the situation now where my husband has had three or four visits to a specialist and they failed to get precertification for the visits. We will be responsible for those visits--something between $500 and $700 for the four visits. We're certainly willing to pay for them BUT if we do will the insurance company approve it if my hus

I was riding my bike down the hill from our garden to our house. I hit some sand and got tossed probably 10 feet. I landed on my face. Believe me, landing in the sand on your face is not fun. Not only did it scrape my face, my arms and legs got it as well. Another time I was riding my bike near our mimosa tree. I slammed into a tree limb that my dad had trimmed. It actually stabbed me. I cleaned it out (my mom was at work), bandaged it up and got back on the bike. Paid a little more attention after that, too. When I was in about the third grade, I had a pair of sunglasses that had

I can't remember who I was talking with recently but the insurance company refused to pay for a lab test because they had had one about six weeks earlier. The doctor had to use a potentially outdated lab test instead. Speaking from my own experience, I know that your blood work can change dramatically in even four weeks. I had about seven abnormals on my labs done January 19. Only two abnormals on the one done February 15. One of the values had decreased so sharply, I wasn't sure they did the test correctly (either time). Insurance company and I may come to a war of the minds if the

IMO, the biggest thing wrong with our healthcare system is insurance companies determining what procedures the patient should receive and how much the doctor should be paid. I have a very dear friend whom I have known for over 30 years. She is morbidly obese. Several years ago her PCP told her that if she didn't do something about her weight it would kill her within about ten years. He suggested gastric bypass. She went to the premier gastric bypass surgeon in the Atlanta area, went through the screening (including the psychological screening) but her insurance refused to pay for the

Where and when in Smyrna? I grew up there. Unincorporated area but our address was Smyrna.

I think we try to protect our kids from the wrong things and fail to protect them from the right things, as a general rule. Case in point: we warn our kids about being wary of "strangers" when it is actually people who are familiar to them that we should protect them from--teachers, neighbors, family members, etc.

which would be???????????????????????? AMEN!

A tough job market is generally a time when new businesses start up with great regularity. Or just times of an individual's unemployment, due to layoffs or downsizing. My hubby and I started our current business after his employer closed their service department. The need for the service was still there, they just weren't providing it. We fill just a microscopic portion of the market and do quite well. In fact, last year--2009--we had our best year EVER. This year is already shaping up to beat last year. We should surpass last year's income by the end of April, with eight more months to

Actually, any employer (not just corporations) pays unemployment taxes. We paid them when we were a sole proprietorship and we pay them now that we're incorporated. The taxes are paid to the state on the first $8500 of wages per employee, and are paid to the IRS on the first $7000 of wages per employee. This is per year. It translates to $56 per year per employee in federal unemployment taxes and it varies for the state. The rate can be different for different employers. Our state rate is 2.7%. I have seen rates as high as over 6% and as low as 0%. I have no idea where exactly the

If Bill Gates had the skills we need and he needed a job, we would certainly hire him. But, I doubt we have to worry about him needing a job. However, we don't care what previous jobs were held as long as the person we hire can do the job. Miminal training would be great but attitude and skill are most important. That said, if someone requires full benefits, lavish expense account, five weeks paid vacation the first year, paid time off and things along those lines, THAT would be a strike against them no matter their skill level or previous employment history. The last employee we

DGITW, only a few people would have the skills necessary to work for us. Not bragging or anything but it is very specialized, technical work. We don't even want someone with only entry level skills. In fact, we need someone with the right kind of experience and skills. We are willing to pay someone with the kind of experience we require because they will make money for us...and for them! I know of other jobs, much like the ones taken from the Paulding website, that are going unfilled because the people with the skills necessary HAVE jobs and aren't looking to change, especially not f

The feds are NOT footing the bill. Unemployment is paid through taxes paid by employers. Each state has their own rate of tax and their own rate of benefits. The rate paid by employers to the feds is determined by the state rate and other factors. Some of the difference in benefits may relate to the cost of living in that state. Not saying that you said this, but it is one common misconception that unemployment benefits is a government funded, entitlement program. Not entirely true. The government does provide some of the funding, but employers pay the bulk of it. Right now, the

We hope to find someone. Very few people could qualify for it, though. It would make our life so much easier if we had someone. Some of the other business owners I have dealt with had a hard time finding qualified people, too. They would be overrun with unskilled people wanting to make top dollar but the qualified people generally had jobs already.

AS a business owner, I know what we look for. Having dealt with other business owners for over 15 years, I know what many of them look for. It isn't necessarily a low skill person. Like I said, I can understand a fast food place not wanting to hire a former corporate president but otherwise, having higher skills might be more what the employer is looking for.

Not necessarily true. Depends on the employer and what they require in an employee. WE would be fine hiring someone who appears to be overqualified as long as they were qualified to do the job. Our business requires more than an entry level person can generally offer. But our positions would not be minimal wage jobs either. I can see a fast food place not wanting to hire someone who was a corporate president.

I learned years ago that "overqualified" is just another way of saying one of two things. Either you're too old or you're too expensive. Or both.

If I didn't go back 20 years or more, it would look like I'd only had one job my entire life! And how do I list the job qualifications and skills if those other jobs aren't listed. There is one job I had that I stopped listing years ago. I had that job for seven weeks (two of which was my notice). Regardless of what you put on your resume, once they see you face to face they KNOW you're over 50 even if you look young for your age (which I do). I think I'll try leaving off the earlier jobs and see if that makes a difference in the call backs I get.

Yep, here's the routine: find five jobs a week online for which you qualify apply for those five jobs, which almost anywhere you have to do online or at a kiosk. get no response about four jobs. get 'we have received your application' e-mail from one job. next week, see those five jobs are no longer available. find five more jobs for which you qualify. Start the cycle over. It's even more difficult if you're over 50. You don't even have to put your age or your birthdate on a resume for an employer to determine you're over 50. If you started working in 1976 (like me), you're

Unless you are making more on unemployment than you did working a job, how exactly does it kill the motivation to even look for a job? I look all the time. LITERALLY. In December, I applied for no fewer than FOUR tax preparer jobs. I have 15 years experience in this field. The ONLY response I got from any of them was an e-mail asking "are you interested in this job?" Well, DUH! That's the reason I applied! I politely responded that yes I was interested and would like to come in for an interview. Never again heard from them. What kills the motivation for looking for a job is all

the going rate for such by pros (such as medical transcriptionists) is between 10 and 15 cents a line. There is generally a formula for computing the number of lines. The generally accepted CPL is 72. If you use Word you can have it give you the CPL or word count. Line count can be done, too, I think. Been a long time since I had to know this stuff. You might consider charging by the hour, too. I'd charge a minimum of $15 an hour for it. And that is if it is formatted and all you have to do is put it on paper. If you have to do any kind of editing--punctuation, grammar, layout,

that is true. You never know what a person is capable of doing, but the fact remains that most people who are depressed don't hurt others. Depressed people are generally not psychotic. They may, and often do, hurt themselves. BTDTGTTS. I do agree 100% with your decision to protect the kids. And whatever it takes to protect them. Again, BTDTGTTS.

Thanks. I'll try to find it. I was thinking there was some down that way, too. Been a good while since I went that way, though.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with your decision not to send your kids to stay with the in-laws. However, unless she has tried in the past to harm them during a depressive episode, that isn't likely to happen. Depressed people generally don't harm others, though they may harm themselves. Depression normally does not equate to psychotic behavior. I can't imagine what your kids would go through if their grandmother attempted suicide while they were there. Your decision to keep them from her is wise.

I agree 100%. If I had even had an inkling that my FIL had done what he did, my kids would NEVER have been allowed to be around him again. NEVER. Sad to think that those of my generation were told from a very young age that we needed to be wary of strangers when it is FAMILY who causes the most problems. A mother has to do whatever is necessary to protect her children. If that means not allowing those children to have contact with their grandparents, so be it. I wish I had known I wasn't doing everything necessary to protect mine. I thought I WAS protecting mine because I thoug