This Week in Thoughtful Consumerism, Vol. 2

Hey, hey!  It’s another volume of This Week in Thoughtful Consumerism.  This week: links about time, health, money, and oh yeah, a whirlwind wedding.  (No, not mine.)

For the first volume in the series, click on over to this post. 

* I love posts that remind us of simple truths about how we spend our time.  I need those reminders this month.  Don’t know where to start when you’re staring at a mountain of work?  How about doing the thing in front of you?  Or you could just wash your bowl.  That works too.

* I am about to be an Obamacare customer.  Before the end of the year, I will be laid off from my current position because someone made an accounting error that will cost me my job.  Right now, the idea of having health insurance that is both affordable and not tied to a particular job is very, very appealing to me.  Paul shared this article on his Facebook feed, and it made me cry.  I’ll share an excerpt here with you:

There’s a popular myth that the uninsured—in Texas, that’s 25 percent of us—can always get medical care through emergency rooms. Ted Cruz has argued that it is “much cheaper to provide emergency care than it is to expand Medicaid,” and Rick Perry has claimed that Texans prefer the ER system. The myth is based on a 1986 federal law called the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which states that hospitals with emergency rooms have to accept and stabilize patients who are in labor or who have an acute medical condition that threatens life or limb. That word “stabilize” is key: Hospital ERs don’t have to treat you. They just have to patch you up to the point where you’re not actively dying. Also, hospitals charge for ER care, and usually send patients to collections when they cannot pay.

It breaks my heart.  But we can and we are doing something about it.  That’s why I am a liberal, perhaps even a socialist.  (Gasp!)  (That didn’t actually surprise you now, did it?)

* I’m becoming a bit of an entrepreneur by tiptoeing into the world of private tutoring.  So far, I have two clients, and it’s been great.  I’ve been listening to a podcast, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, that lets me dream big dreams about being my own boss.  (Episode 58 was exactly what I needed to hear when I first hung out my shingle for tutoring.  Recommended listening.  The podcast has its own page here.)  Recently, Kate Northrup was a guest on the podcast.  Her book’s title, Money, A Love Story, kinda turned me off at first because it sounds so blatantly materialistic or like she has equated money with value (they are not the same—a house that no one will buy can still provide shelter to a person in need).  But the more I listened to Kate’s interview, the more intrigued I was by her perspective.  So I might add the book to my wish list.

* For more on that money/value thing, you must read Saved by Ben Hewitt.  More about that book soon.  (Talk about things that have been languishing on my to-do list—I’ve been meaning to say more about Saved since August.  August!  Gah!)

* Let’s end on a more lighthearted note.  Check out this comparison of prices between a traditional wedding and a whirlwind wedding.  I think I know which kind I might want to plan!  Infographic is courtesy of Simply Bridal.  Hop on over to check them out!  They have pretty jewelry.  (FYI: this post was not sponsored by them.  I just like the inforgraphic.)