Oh My Dollar!

It’s the time of year where I just get MAD at one thing in my life: receipts. They just suck - they're crinkly, they pile up, but theoretically you need to save them for tax purposes for 7 years. And theoretically “scan receipts” is a thing you can do, but what if you just end up with pictures of hundreds of receipts on your phone? So I used EVERY SINGLE receipt scanning app to find out which one is best for you. Enjoy.

Things we discuss on this show

- When you need to save receipts and when you can throw them away- The quick hack you can use on your email to create filters for digital receipts- How to use your email for paper receipt scanning- And all the apps: Evernote, Freshbooks, Waves Receipts Scanner, Shoeboxed, and Expensify

Ask us a question! We love hearing from you! Email us your financial worries or receipt victories at [email protected] or tweet us at @anomalily or @ohmydollar

This show is made paw-sible by listeners like you We absolutely love our Purrsonal Finance Society Members who generously support Oh My Dollar with $1 or more a month on Patreon – This episode was underwritten by patron Tamsen G Association and Stephanie Powers. To learn more, you can visit ohmydollar.com/support

Other Episodes You Might Like

- What money goals should you focus on?

- How to Conference Travel on the Cheap

- How to quit your job and be freelance (Listener Questions)

- What kind of employee are you? 1099 or W2?

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Before 2018 closes out, we give you a list of a few things you should do wrap up your finances before the end of the year.

Here's a few things to try to handle before the clock strikes midnight:

- Make sure to review your charitable giving priorities, if you’re likely to itemize your tax deduction. This is where things are different than previous years.  Remember that the standard deduction this year doubled - now  $12,000 from $6,350 and for married filers to $24,000 from $12,700 - meaning the 31st deadline is less important.

-  If you haven’t signed up for health insurance yet, please do so before your deadline (12/15 on healthcare.gov, otherwise it varies)

- If you get an FSA and it doesn't roll over (most don't) make sure to use it before the end of the year!

-If you haven’t yet reached your goal for retirement contributions - either your IRA or your 401K/403B, now is the time to stuff them full if it's in your budget.

- Figure out your tax withholding and adjust for next year it's too high or too low - here's a Kiplinger's calculator to figure out if you're withholding too much.

- Do a big overhead view of your budget categories from your spending this year!

Ask us a question!

We love hearing from you! Email us your financial worries or victories at [email protected] or tweet us at @anomalily or @ohmydollar

This show is made paw-sible by listeners like you

We absolutely love our Purrsonal Finance Society Members, the folks that generously support Oh My Dollar with $1 or more a month on Patreon – and have made is so we have free, full transcripts for every show on ohmydollar.com 

This episode was underwritten by patron Tamsen G Association and Surreptitious Huggermugger Foundation. To learn more about being part of the Purrsonal Finance Society and get cool perks like exclusive livestreams and cat stickers, you can visit ohmydollar.com/support

An Easy Way to Help

Our iTunes review drive is going on right now! It takes less than 10 seconds to click a star, it’s totally free, can you help us out? Click here to leave a review: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/oh-my-dollar/id1189980636?mt=2

Other Episodes You might Find Relevant:

– What money goal should you focus on next year?

- How to choose a health insurance plan during open enrollment

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It can be hard to choose a financial goal when it feels like you need to be doing everything - Pay off debt! Get a new job! Get a side hustle! Save for a trip around the world! Travel hack! Clip Coupons! We talk about how to choose a financial goal to focus on when it feels like you should be doing everything all at once.

Ask us a question!

We love hearing from you! Email us your financial worries or victories at [email protected] or tweet us at @anomalily or @ohmydollar

This show is made paw-sible by listeners like you

We absolutely love our Purrsonal Finance Society Members, the folks that generously support Oh My Dollar with $1 or more a month on Patreon – and have made is so we have free, full transcripts for every show on ohmydollar.com 

This episode was underwritten by patron Tamsen G Association and Warrior Queen. To learn more about being part of the Purrsonal Finance Society and get cool perks like exclusive livestreams and cat stickers, you can visit ohmydollar.com/support

An Easy Way to Help

Our iTunes review drive is going on right now! It takes less than 10 seconds to click a star, it’s totally free, can you help us out? Click here to leave a review: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/oh-my-dollar/id1189980636?mt=2

Other Episodes You might Find Relevant:

– Managing Variable Income for Perpetually Anxious

– Making a Living as a Performing Artist without Getting Famous

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I’m really excited to have on reporter Dan Weissman to talk about his freshly-launched show, An Arm And a Leg podcast, which dives into the unique stories that come from the hellscape that is American health care. But it’s not depressing – it’s a nice conversation about everyday people vs American health care. As Dan puts it “ We’re like all blind people with this giant elephant – this giant terrifying fanged venomous elephant. And we got to get our get our picture of it together.”

You’re not going to you’re not going to wake up with a five hundred thousand dollar grocery bill all of a sudden and not know how you got it. But it’s entirely possible to go into the hospital because you’ve got a pain in your side and then get an appendectomy and be looking at a six figure bill.

We talk about:

Health care – and how much it costs – is scary.  But you’re not alone with this stuff, and knowledge is power. We may be screwed, but we’re together – and together we may figure out how to get a little less-screwed. Also (this will sound weird, but stay with us) it’s going to be fun. Take a listen. More here.

Our iTunes review drive is going on right now! It takes less than 10 seconds to click a star, it’s totally free, can you help us out? Click here to leave a review: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/oh-my-dollar/id1189980636?mt=2

Dan is a veteran reporter for outlets like Marketplace, 99 Percent Invisible, Planet Money, and Chicago’s WBEZ. His work reflects sophisticated reporting, an engaging narrative voice, and a knack for snappy, accurate breakdowns of complex subjects—from urban segregation to the economics of America’s largest crop to the eng

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Are you ready for a cute, heartwarming, and thought-provoking interview this week? I hope so, because after a month of American health care on this show, I’m ready for an uplifting story. John Schneider and David Auten of DebtFreeGuys.com  and Queer Money podcast help queer people live fabulously, not fabulously broke. David and John join for an interview talking about their own money stories, how they paid off $60,000 of credit card debt in 2.5 years, how to find non-homophobic companies to invest in, and why they think financial literacy is important in the straight community.

“I think one of the most important things about money is to remember that for our community –

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We have two listener questions this week for health care month: Anna wants to know how to fix an accidental over-contribution to her HSA without getting a penalty (time stamp 01:34), and Allison wants to figure out how to switch health insurance when the open enrollment periods don’t line up between the two plans (timestamp 5:32)

We talk about why navigating the open enrollment stacking is kind of like playing magic or playing Dungeons & Dragons with a drunk Dungeon Master (timestamp 10:34)

Our iTunes review drive is going on right now! It takes less than 10 seconds to click a star, it’s totally free, can you help us out? Click here to leave a review: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/oh-my-dollar/id1189980636?mt=2

Just in time for halloween, we have an episode about some of the spookiest health insurance plans of all – “junk” health insurance plans, or “short-term” health insurance plans. The  President must’ve heard that we’re talking about health insurance all month, because the administration just pushed through last-minute rule change that could mean that much, much cheaper health insurance plans are available. 

Reasons you might want to get a short-term health insurance plan

They’re cheap.You’re healthy.

Questions we answer in this episode

Why should you care about short-term health insurance plans?If you can’t find affordable health insurance on the exchange or through work, should you get one of these plans instead?Will they be available everywhere?What’s different in 2019 about health insurance based on these policy changes?How do you make sure that you’re not getting a junk health insurance plan?

Downsides of Short-Term Health Insurance Plans (Also known as junk plans)

-There’s no regulations on the out-of-pocket maximum or co-insurance you could pay under this plan, so you could get in a car crash and have $80,000 in medical bills and it turns out you owe 20-30% of that bill- after your deductible. With an ACA-compliant plan you have a federal regulation that limits

– They do not have to cover essential health benefits – typical short-term policies do not cover maternity care, prescription drugs, mental health care, preventive care, and other essential benefits, and may limit coverage in other ways

-Many have a lifetime limit imposed, meaning the amount they will pay will top out at $1 million – $2 million – which sounds like a ton, until/unless you have a very expensive condition like a child born prematurely, or an expensive cancer treatment plan, or a serious traffic crash with an ICU stay.

– If you do get sick while on the plan, they can decline to renew you and just drop you from the plan altogether.

– Even if you don’t have a documented history of a pre-existing condition, starting treatment while on the plan,  they can dig into your past and see if there were any indications that you may have had it before – and then refuse to pay for treatment or medication. This can really affect former athletes.

– Many people will get rejected from getting a junk plan at all due to a long, long list of deniable conditions (everything from being trans*, asthma to history of yeast infections or being prescribed certain medications, such as PREP).

-While they can no longer charge you more based on gender, they can do what’s called “community ratings” and charge you more based on your occupation, zip code, or other factors. For example, hairdressers have historically been charged more because of the higher percentage of gay men in the profession, which they deem as at higher risk of HIV (which is costly). That kind of community rating is now possible again with these plans.

Some Declinable Conditions in Medically Underwritten 

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Teeth can be expensive! Lillian breaks down some unexpected ways you can save on dental – from taking a trip to Hungary to opening a FSA account, and helps explain why dental isn’t quite like regular health insurance. In this episode I say “out of pocket maximum” a few times when I meant maximum.

Ways to Save on Dental Costs

 Step 1, actually get preventative work done if you can – it will save you money in the long run If you have access to dental insurance, make sure you go in-networkDo the math on self-bought insurance vs how much you will useBe aware of the maximum on your insurance and any waiting periods – there’s no regulations on what is required like there is for regular insuranceShop around for different procedures & compare pricesLook into a local dental school for reduced cost workConsider dental tourism to a country with high-quality and low cost plansOpen an HSA (if you have an eligible HDHP plan) or an FSA either on your own or through your insurance

Helpful resources for strategies mentioned in this episode

fairhealthconsumer.com – a place to look up comparable rates for health care costsDental Discount Plan – A discount discount planAnother discount plan – universaldiscountplanAn Everyday Health article on someone’s experience with dental tourismList of things to consider for dental tourismA Billfold article on paying for a wisdom tooth extraction with an HSA

Other Episodes you might find helpful

How to choose a health insurance plan during open enrollment – information on HSA and FSAs from last week’s episodeMistakes not to make with health insurance – last year’s episode with Jake Hopper is still a relevant guide to different questionsYour trump health insurance questions answeredReminder we’re on a mission to get those iTunes reviews and ratings up. It only takes 10 seconds to star a review. Here’s a link to our iTunes profile!

Transcript

We have transcripts for every single episode now provided thanks to the support of our Patrons in the Purrsonal Finance Society – you can become one, too! Learn more here.

How to Save on Dental – 10.17.2018

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Today we look at how to choose a health insurance plan – should you get a PPO, an HMO, or a HDHP? What is an HSA? And what do those acronyms mean anyway? What if you get free money from work?

Open Enrollment is starting for many people! This is the time of year when you can enroll, so we are devoting multiple episodes this month to untangling the mess of American health care bureaucracy as part of our Health Care Month 2018. If you’re a non-US listener, here are some cute cat videos to watch instead.

We are taking your health care questions all month on Oh My Dollar! The more questions you ask, the more Will learns. Send in to [email protected] or via twitter to @ohmydollar

Acronyms in this episode:

A PPO – A preferred provider organization – a typical American health insurance plan, where you have in-network and out-of-network providers as part of a “network” of doctors

Usually easier to find doctors you jive with or who understand your particular needsMay be your only optionHMO – Health management organization – a bundled type of health insurance where the network and health insurance organization are integrated

Can be good for someone who is “lazy” (AKA overwhelmed trying to figure out how to get care) – you’ll be assigned a doctor and treatment protocol-Often have integrated systems – all doctors can see the same records, pharmacy is linked to the doctors, making things easierHarder to get care that deviates for a “norm” – can be challenging if you have trans* health needs or want experimental/newer treatment for somethingYou often can’t get anything covered to see a specific doctor unless they are part of the HMO plan or if you get a specific recommendation letter from your primary care  doctor.HDHP – High Deductible Health Plan – a type of health insurance where you have lower premiums and higher deductibles

HSA – Health Savings Account – a type of health savings plan that is tax free (only for HDHP users)

You can save with a Payroll deduction Your company can contribute tax-free dollars for you (extra tax free income for you)It’s like a regular savings account, and you can keep it when you leaveYou can invest a portion of the accountFSA – Flexible Spending Account – a type of health savings plan thatdoes not roll over year to year but can be used by most anyone regardless of type of plan

Things to Know When Shopping for Health Care

Generally higher the premium, lower the deductible.

Related Episodes:

Your Trump Health Insurance Questions AnsweredUntangling COBRA and Healthcare.gov premiumsAre Health Savings Accounts an evil Republican tax loophole or actual magic?Mistakes not to make with health insurance ft Jack Hopper (long cut)Thanks to our Purrsonal Finance Society Members on patreon, we now have transcripts!

This Week’s Transcript

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Even if you have poor or no credit, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck living in your parent’s basement forever. Here are some strategies for finding housing  when you have poor credit, and also some strategies for repairing your credit after missed payments. Listener Blair asks what to do after she missed some payments when underemployed, now ready to get out of her parent’s house and into a place of her own.

This Show is Brought to You by our Listeners

This show is supported by generous listeners like you through our patreon. This episode was underwritten by the Tamsen G Association, Warrior Queen, and Stephanie Powers. To learn more about ways to support Oh My Dollar! and get cool perks like exclusive livestreams and cat stickers, you can visit ohmydollar.com/support/

Or, even easier and $0 – leave us a review on iTunes!

 Blair in Denver asks: 

I am a long time lurking listener, first time emailer! I discovered your podcast after many personal finance resources made me feel anxious and afraid. Your advice made me feel like I wasn’t a failure, and like I could sort my priorities out enough to manage my financial goals. 

After graduating with a master’s degree in a large city in 2017, I hit an extreme period of underemployment. Despite applying for over 200 jobs in 3 months and a few promising interviews, I could not find full time work, and was trying to cobble together multiple part time jobs. With student loan repayments looming and less than $1,000 per month in income, I had to make the choice to move 1800 miles back home in order to save on rent. 

Though I am still underemployed, i am making about $10k per year more and have managed to make most of my accounts current, have paid off smaller bills, and even have enough discretionary funds to cover emergencies. After a year of aggressive networking and research, I finally have leads on a few jobs that would up my income significantly enough that I could afford to finally move out.  

The problem is now my credit rating. My personal debt is very low and my student loans are current, but I had an account go into collections (which I am currently paying off via a payment plan) and have about 7 missed payments from when I was so underemployed I ate popcorn for dinner most nights (which dropped me from 100% payment history to 98%). Due to these factors, my score is under 550, and even if I pay off my credit cards and personal loan, my score will only rise an estimated 1-2 points. Because my market is so competitive, most companies and landlords require a score of at least 600. All of these changes are recently acquired, and I cannot live at home another 7 years while I wait for them to fall off my report. How should I go about trying to prove my creditworthiness to a landlord?

Some strategies for finding housing with bad credit in a competitive market

Be up front with any potential landlords about the bad credit before you start rentingSave up a large deposit – cash talks when credit scores can’tLook for private landlord, who can usually be more flexibleAsk for a co-signer, such as a family memberFind a roommate with better credit and be a secondary leaseeLook for apartments specifically advertised as “no credit check” or that say they approve low credit – there a

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