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A New Category

I have had to add a new category to our budgeting. We have always lumped drugs, Dr. appointments, any procedures, hospital bills, labs, tests and dental appointments into one lump category. 

However, since we have no dental insurance, we have had to give Dental it’s own category. Nothing brought that more to my attention than our dental cleanings and checkups this morning. It is just too large to lump in within everything else. Our dental bills yearly have run anywhere from $ 5,000. to $21,000.(the year I got the bridge and two crowns).

So this morning, we each had a checkup and cleanings. I had my yearly X-rays and the dentist filled a very tiny cavity in between two front teeth. He said he wanted to fill it before it got worse and he had the time this morning. I was in shock when we went to the front desk to pay and get our 4 month appointments. The bill for this morning for both of us was $961.00. $ 277. was the tiny filling.  I used to pay with a check. However a while ago I realized the cash rebate that I could get by charging the dental bills on my credit card.  So I always do that now and pay the credit card when the bill comes.

Knowing that Hubby has to go back to get a filling replaced and a possible new crown, we decided to start funding a separate category for dental. So we will start it off with some of the money that we have built up in the medical category and from now on we will fund the dental category with $417. every month. 

We have looked into insurance but it doesn’t pay much on what we get and it is so expensive that it is better for us to fund it out of pocket.

I just wish that dentistry wasn’t so expensive. My dentist is building a brand new building for his dental practice in a more expensive area and hiring much more staff, a new hygienist, and bringing in another dentist. I expect when he moves there this summer that prices will go up again. We really like this dentist but I just wish he was cheaper. Oh well, it is what it is.


While we were there this morning, the hygenist gave us a bag of “freebies”. They are shown above. I wonder if the dentist pays for these things or if they are free to him samples. I may call them freebies but I feel like I paid for them many times over in the price we paid today.

Does your dentist give you “freebies”? Do your doctors? I never had a doctor that did but on this last appointment to my primary he gave me an entire 30 month supply of a prescription drug so that I didn’t have to purchase it. I was very surprised.

Today has been a day of appointments. Hubby had to take his hearing aid back because it is not working right. He just got it repaired by the company that makes it a week and a half ago. Now it is has so much static that it is useless. So back it goes again.

The hearing specialist that he has to take it to is located in a doctor’s practice. He told me that the doctor’s practice was so crowded that he barely got a parking space. He had to park against a huge snowbank. The minute he came in the door and told me this, he said he was going to go wash his hands really well and sanitize them. I just sanitized every doorknob he touched coming in the house, hanging up his coat, etc. I also went out and sanitized the door handle inside and out on the SUV and the steering wheel. The last thing we need in this house is the flu.

I will be making chicken parmesan for dinner tonight. We haven’t had it in a long time. It is Hubby’s favorite. What are you cooking tonight?

I hope you all have a great evening!