Consumers Unite! Rule #2

I'm staring at a bill from my dentist office for $440.70. Hmmmmm, I didn't know I owed my dentist anything since my last visit was in April of this year. But guess what, between my insurance provider and my dentist office, THEY figured out a mistake was made.


Long story short, my dentist PPO plan told my dentist they were one fee schedule before billing, once billing was submitted, the insurance claimed to be on another fee schedule. Because of this, it was decided that I now owed $440.70 on top of the already $700+ I already paid. Why am I responsible for this error? Ohhh, that's right, I sign a waiver saying that any charges the insurance feels like they don't wanna pay, its on me....even when they screw up.

RULE #2- AS A CONSUMER AND AMERICAN CITIZEN WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE AND A VOICE. Did you know that 70% of this country's GDP is consumer spending? We can't be afraid to speak up for what is right. I don't know whether I'll win this thing or not, but its about principle and I'm going to try!

All I can think about is health care reform. It's this kind of stuff that has to stop. 1) I'm going to war w/ my insurance company to fight this charge. 2) Its very obvious to me at this point that something has to change in our health care system. We can debate public option and all of that stuff...fine...at the end of the day we've given these health insurance companies too much power. Its time to take a stand...so let me put in my $400+ orthotic inserts and I'm ready to stand up!

"Now ya know and knowing is half the battle", the other half is doing something about it. Please comment and let me know if this has happened before to anyone else.

Gotta Go Through!!

Did anyone see 60 Minutes last night! There was a great piece on Tyler Perry. It was a quick reminder for me that we all have to go through. No one escapes. We never know what someone went through to get where they are today.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5419908n&tag=api

The Human Transformer

Consumers Unite!! Rule #1

We as American people need to take our power back as consumers. If you've never given your power away as a consumer then this post isn't for you. For everyone else, we give corporations, retailers, "da man", "the machine", whatever you want to call it, too much control on how we spend our money.

Rule #1 EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE. I repeat, EVERYTHING IS NEGOTIABLE. Anything, anywhere, anytime. If you've never done it before, start out small...negotiate the price of a DVD at your local retailer. Know that in business and in everyday life negotiating is very normal. Only negotiate with the decision maker. If the sales associate does not have the power to lower the price then you're speaking with the wrong person, go to the manager.

A few key things to know about negotiating...1) information is power (be informed on the item/service you are negotiating, such as understanding its fair price), 2) When buying, hit'em low (below the price you're willing to pay), and vice versa when selling, hit'em high (higher than the price you're willing to sell).

Have you ever called your electric, cable service, or any provider to negotiate lower pricing? Try it out, it works!! Example: I just lowered my electricity bill today from 14.9 cents per kw to 11.9 cents per kw. How did you do that? I asked. Know that no one is going to call you and say hey we want to lower your bill today. Not gonna happen. You have to ask. What's the worse they could say?

Garmin Forerunner 201

I was just telling a friend of mine about this piece of running equipment I've had for about 5 years now. Its the Garmin Forerunner 201 and its used to track distance, pace, time, etc while running. I can honestly say its one of the most reliable pieces of mobile electronics I've ever owned. And, NO, I'm not a paid endorser of Garmin. : (

If you check out Garmin's website I'm sure you'll find some newer models that are smaller and more expensive but at the time I purchased mine I think paid around $125... Money well spent.

Why I Run

Wow, my earliest memories of running were going out to the gravel dusted track with my brother and father at the College of The Mainland (small community college in Texas City, TX). I guess I couldn't have been any more than 7 or 8 years old and I'll never forget my dad telling me how good I was at running. It was at that point when he verbalized it that I just knew in my heart of hearts that I could run.

Fast forward to high school and college cross country and countless track meets--I thought I was running for myself. I saw some success but also experienced some disappointments along the way. I wanted to excel so much that I would completely stress myself out before the gun ever went off.

This morning, I ran a local 5K Fun Run (The Vineyard Run - Grapevine, TX) and it dawned on me why I run today. As my relationship with Christ has developed over the years, I realize that I run for Christ. Running for me today is thanking God for the natural talents He's given me. I in no way, shape or form take for granted the opportunity to put my two feet on the ground. Running is a lot of other things as well; it’s therapeutic, a mental/physical challenge, and it gives me the feeling that I'm ALIVE.

While my race times are nowhere near as fast as they were as a young man, I can tell you that I run 10 times stronger and much more confident because I know I'm using my God given talent that no one on this Earth can ever take away from me.