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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Sept 13, 2015 13:55:41 GMT -5
It didn't take me losing part of my income for me to be able to deal with this - but the acquisition of thousands of $$ in medical bills.
When I got sick, I had been living on roughly 2/3 my income, the rest I either spent or sent to savings. The year that I was sick, I was paying roughly $1000 each month for various medical bills (I think I reported about $13,800 to the IRS as a medical deduction). Nothing much went to savings during this time (but I really didn't add to debt) and I was able to cut some of my living expenses (eating out, groceries, gas, cable/internet, electricity) a considerable amount to give me a little more wiggle room. The remainder of my bills were non-negotiable. I still had rent, a fixed water bill, a car payment, car/rental insurance, a nominal electric bill and I had bought a new washer the month before I went into the hospital where I had a 0% for a year to pay it off. My car wound up being paid off, along with the washer at the end of that year, so there were a few months were I could restock savings (I really didn't touch it much, just didn't contribute because that was how I funded my IRA).
Had this happened to me 10 years earlier, I really would have been in a pickle. I was living waaaay too close to 100% of my salary.
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973beachbum
Senior Associate
Politics Admin
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Post by 973beachbum on Sept 14, 2015 18:42:08 GMT -5
Most of the K-12 schools around here require internet. They will say you don't have to have it but by middle school it will be really tough on them if they don't. As it is sometimes if the internet goes down or gets really slow the kids have had issues. The teachers expect that they have both a perfect WIFI connection plus a smart phone to use anytime they want and are basically attached to it 24/7. The library does have internet but it isn't close enough to walk to and it closes most nights around 6. So if we didn't have internet, by the time I got home and drove DS over there he would have maybe half an hour before they closed to do whatever he needed to do. And that is assuming he got right on one and they aren't all being used. DD had nights when someone texted here that the homework changed. She had to literally drive her to a friends house to get it because our internet couldn't download an entire textbook. The HS always lies and says the kids can use the library before and after school and during lunch if they need to use a computer. I was in a mean mood and asked at the last school meeting when they had hired a library person. The Principal got a pissed off look and repeated that there was no excuse to not use the library. I just laughed at how stupid that was. If there is no one in the library how is it open to use in the morning? I knew from past experience that it wasn't open until after 1st period started and during lunch if you went there you couldn't leave until lunch was over. So if you had to use the computer then, no lunch for you. PS as I was writing this I got a phone call from DS's school district. They wanted us to know that the new online information is up and running. All info would now be on it and not sent out by mail anymore. They wanted everyone to know that if you didn't have internet, no problem. They would have ONE computer set up for parents to use at back to school night to sign up, and put all their info in it. So great you can set it up that one night, and never et to use it again.
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teen persuasion
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Joined: Dec 20, 2010 21:58:49 GMT -5
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Post by teen persuasion on Sept 15, 2015 7:32:42 GMT -5
I'm in a rural area, and there are definitely areas that can't get home internet. There is also a component of the community that is not embracing the internet, generally the older generation. I work in the public library, so we have computers for public use, and free WiFi. The night before school opened the computers were very busy - all the last minute kids (or their parents) printing out their summer reading projects! The school is definitely assuming "everyone" has access to the internet. They are pushing "Parent Portal" for checking kids' grades, teachers have homework assignments on their blog, the music department has an online SW subscription component to grades now (we need to get a mic to use it). At the same time, their CSD website is not up to date, they just changed all the teachers' email addresses, they changed the students' school network logins to their name+birthdate (privacy??), and installed expanded WiFi throughout the campus - that the students cannot access.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 15, 2015 11:38:43 GMT -5
Pretty much all the job hunting I've done in the past 8-10 years has been online. And ordering things through Amazon.com has definitely been cheaper at times than physically going from store to store to check prices. Paying bills online basically eliminated the need for stamps and going to the post office. I guess if you live out in the sticks you're used to doing things the old fashioned way. I don't know. Those things still say convenience to me, not need. Out here in the backwoods we have a place called the workforce center where people go when they're looking for jobs. There are tons of resources there including a room full of computers with internet access that you can sit at all day. I haven't been job hunting since pre-internet, but whenever my ex was out of a job (often) that's where he would go even though we had internet at home. He said it was easier to focus there and the people there were very helpful. Bill paying online is nice, but I do all that at work or on my phone and not at home anyhow. I have everything on autopay to my credit card so I just have to spend a couple minutes once a month to pay that. Shopping, meh. I don't do much of that, but again, still have my work computer and phone. I just think unless you use your internet for your job or are hooked up to some medical devices that are monitored remotely, NEED is a stretch. Most people probably waste more time on the internet than they save in shopping trips. My 23 year old neighbor has never had internet his entire life. When he isn't working his full time job as a milk truck driver or farming the land he shares with his parents is building his own house. Building his own house from the ground up and paying for it with cash as he goes. I do feel lazy as hell around some of the people around here. Here it is almost noon and besides going on a 5 mile walk and folding a couple loads of laundry I haven't done shit but read boards and Facebook. you can get really technical with "NEED" on a million other things... you don't NEED a cell phone, a tv, a sofa, a bed, a car, running water, indoor plumbing etc. you don't NEED any of those. Humans lived without them for thousands of years. But for many it is a need in the sense that it is a huge help with daily life. DH and I can work from home with the internet- we can entertain ourselves, pay our bills, print shipping labels, shop, email, video chat with family members far away... countless other things that if I didn't have the internet- I'd be running all over the place for errands and such. What a pain. I'd never mail packages (i avg 4 a month) because the thought of going to the post office and standing in line makes me want to shoot myself. Life without internet would be a huge hassled inconvenience... oh and it would end my marriage.
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Deleted
Joined: Oct 7, 2024 0:25:31 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2015 11:46:20 GMT -5
I don't know. Those things still say convenience to me, not need. Out here in the backwoods we have a place called the workforce center where people go when they're looking for jobs. There are tons of resources there including a room full of computers with internet access that you can sit at all day. I haven't been job hunting since pre-internet, but whenever my ex was out of a job (often) that's where he would go even though we had internet at home. He said it was easier to focus there and the people there were very helpful. Bill paying online is nice, but I do all that at work or on my phone and not at home anyhow. I have everything on autopay to my credit card so I just have to spend a couple minutes once a month to pay that. Shopping, meh. I don't do much of that, but again, still have my work computer and phone. I just think unless you use your internet for your job or are hooked up to some medical devices that are monitored remotely, NEED is a stretch. Most people probably waste more time on the internet than they save in shopping trips. My 23 year old neighbor has never had internet his entire life. When he isn't working his full time job as a milk truck driver or farming the land he shares with his parents is building his own house. Building his own house from the ground up and paying for it with cash as he goes. I do feel lazy as hell around some of the people around here. Here it is almost noon and besides going on a 5 mile walk and folding a couple loads of laundry I haven't done shit but read boards and Facebook. you can get really technical with "NEED" on a million other things... you don't NEED a cell phone, a tv, a sofa, a bed, a car, running water, indoor plumbing etc. you don't NEED any of those. Humans lived without them for thousands of years. But for many it is a need in the sense that it is a huge help with daily life. DH and I can work from home with the internet- we can entertain ourselves, pay our bills, print shipping labels, shop, email, video chat with family members far away... countless other things that if I didn't have the internet- I'd be running all over the place for errands and such. What a pain. I'd never mail packages (i avg 4 a month) because the thought of going to the post office and standing in line makes me want to shoot myself. Life without internet would be a huge hassled inconvenience... oh and it would end my marriage. I'm thinking of giving it up just because everyone seems to think life will end without it!
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Deleted
Joined: Oct 7, 2024 0:25:31 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2015 12:20:43 GMT -5
Had this happened to me 10 years earlier, I really would have been in a pickle. I was living waaaay too close to 100% of my salary. I think you also mentioned once that you had disability insurance. I never got disability coverage even though most of my employers offered it. Big gamble that paid off OK but probably was a bad idea.
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sarcasticgirl
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Joined: Jan 4, 2011 14:39:51 GMT -5
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Sept 15, 2015 14:02:51 GMT -5
you can get really technical with "NEED" on a million other things... you don't NEED a cell phone, a tv, a sofa, a bed, a car, running water, indoor plumbing etc. you don't NEED any of those. Humans lived without them for thousands of years. But for many it is a need in the sense that it is a huge help with daily life. DH and I can work from home with the internet- we can entertain ourselves, pay our bills, print shipping labels, shop, email, video chat with family members far away... countless other things that if I didn't have the internet- I'd be running all over the place for errands and such. What a pain. I'd never mail packages (i avg 4 a month) because the thought of going to the post office and standing in line makes me want to shoot myself. Life without internet would be a huge hassled inconvenience... oh and it would end my marriage. I'm thinking of giving it up just because everyone seems to think life will end without it! have at it! I know I can live without it... it just makes my life so much easier so I have no desire to. Everyone has different priorities. People can save thousands by not having kids... but they think they NEED to. I am not going to argue with them.
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emma1420
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 28, 2011 15:35:45 GMT -5
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Post by emma1420 on Sept 15, 2015 17:07:21 GMT -5
My employer expects that all employees have Internet and those of us who travel have a smart phone so we can pick up our work email on the road. They don't subsidise either, so it's not required, but is expected. I did my land line once it became clear that smart phone was needed for work, as I didn't see the point of paying for both.
So these days I think internet is a need for many people. Although, we have google fiber where I live, so you can get free internet for 7 years if you pay a $300 connection fee. I pay for the high speed internet, but I do love the idea that if I needed to cut that expense I could and still have internet access.
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Deleted
Joined: Oct 7, 2024 0:25:31 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2015 18:46:03 GMT -5
My employer expects that all employees have Internet and those of us who travel have a smart phone so we can pick up our work email on the road. They don't subsidise either, so it's not required, but is expected. I did my land line once it became clear that smart phone was needed for work, as I didn't see the point of paying for both. So these days I think internet is a need for many people. Although, we have google fiber where I live, so you can get free internet for 7 years if you pay a $300 connection fee. I pay for the high speed internet, but I do love the idea that if I needed to cut that expense I could and still have internet access. Yes, some jobs require it and I think the sample of people that hangs out on this board is a little biased in that most are professionals, so probably more than most. I work at a company with 1200 employees and only 150 of them have been granted VPN access, so the vast majority (including me, yay!) couldn't work from home even if they wanted to. They did switch to all online open enrollment and 401K set-up, but they have computers in the break room with very specific instructions on cards for all the people that don't have internet at home to use. You'd be surprised how many use them.
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GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl
Senior Associate
"How you win matters." Ender, Ender's Game
Joined: Jan 2, 2011 13:33:09 GMT -5
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Post by GRG a/k/a goldenrulegirl on Sept 16, 2015 19:59:22 GMT -5
Most of the K-12 schools around here require internet. They will say you don't have to have it but by middle school it will be really tough on them if they don't. As it is sometimes if the internet goes down or gets really slow the kids have had issues. The teachers expect that they have both a perfect WIFI connection plus a smart phone to use anytime they want and are basically attached to it 24/7. The library does have internet but it isn't close enough to walk to and it closes most nights around 6. So if we didn't have internet, by the time I got home and drove DS over there he would have maybe half an hour before they closed to do whatever he needed to do. And that is assuming he got right on one and they aren't all being used. DD had nights when someone texted here that the homework changed. She had to literally drive her to a friends house to get it because our internet couldn't download an entire textbook. The HS always lies and says the kids can use the library before and after school and during lunch if they need to use a computer. I was in a mean mood and asked at the last school meeting when they had hired a library person. The Principal got a pissed off look and repeated that there was no excuse to not use the library. I just laughed at how stupid that was. If there is no one in the library how is it open to use in the morning? I knew from past experience that it wasn't open until after 1st period started and during lunch if you went there you couldn't leave until lunch was over. So if you had to use the computer then, no lunch for you. PS as I was writing this I got a phone call from DS's school district. They wanted us to know that the new online information is up and running. All info would now be on it and not sent out by mail anymore. They wanted everyone to know that if you didn't have internet, no problem. They would have ONE computer set up for parents to use at back to school night to sign up, and put all their info in it. So great you can set it up that one night, and never et to use it again. I like your mean mood. And I like how school folks get irritated when you call them on their BS. I know funding is tight, but don't make things appear better than they are because of the tight budgets.
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Deleted
Joined: Oct 7, 2024 0:25:31 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Sept 16, 2015 20:07:18 GMT -5
I just negotiated my internet and cable down by 33%, some by giving up 2 receivers and a couple of channels and some by negotiating a better rate. I could go down about another $13 by getting rid of 2 more receivers but I'm not there yet. First I want to get used to using internet on my tv. Then I might get rid of cable altogether.
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Anne_in_VA
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Post by Anne_in_VA on Sept 17, 2015 8:20:23 GMT -5
I'm one of those who needs internet service since I work from home at least two days a week. I have a smartphone (personal), an IPhone from work, a personal IPad, and a PC.
The grandkids are supposed to have Internet at home so they can get assignments, grades, and other stuff from the school. DSD is required to have it for her college classes, so for them it's a need, I guess. I suppose they could go to the library but with four kids in school and DSD taking night classes, I don't know when they'd get there.
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Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Sept 17, 2015 11:28:07 GMT -5
I have a classmate that only has access to dial up service at home. This is really a pain in the ass for her as she needs to do large downloads, so many times she winds up driving into the college to use the wifi. More than once, she's come out to my home and used my service.
She doesn't really live that far away from town either. I think she's only about 30 minutes out and dial up is all that's available. This is not uncommon in this area. There was recently a large article in the Seattle paper where some guy bought a house just on the outskirts of Seattle only to find up that he could not get high speed internet access through any of the providers in the area. I think he had to sell the house right after he bought it, only because he worked from home and the high speed internet was a requirement.
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