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Re: Expensive health insurance I know exactly what you mean... Rush was saying "do without..." Well, when I was self insured, I originally was able to purchase my own for less than $200 a month. But when the cost of insurance goes up by huge amounts, even if you don't use the insurance during the course of the year, it really starts to put a crimp in your finances. The first 2 years I had my insurance, it went up by over 20% a year. Then I was diagnosed with a chronic disease (Crohns Disease). It went up by 35% each of the following two years years. Then I needed emergency back surgury. The following year, it went up by 45%, to nearly 725 a month. At that point, I bumped the deductable to $5000 (the limit) which knocked it back down to $475. The following year, even with the maximum deductible, I was looking at nearly 700 a month.

I think that even Rush might think, "ya know, that's a lot of money for insurance." Thankfully, I was able to find a job that did offer health insurance, and I'm back to paying less than $200 a month. But for a while there, it was a bit sticky... I was getting close to having to make a choice between making my mortgage payment (which was only $540 a month) or having health insurance. I was afraid that I'd have to sell my house, and get a small apartment so that I'd be able to continue to have health insurance, payed for with the money from my home sale - Oh, and my car? At the time, it was an 8 year old Toyota Corolla. And my TV? I had bought it when I bought my house, 13 years before... Not exactly the sort of spend-thrift that Rush was talking about today.

Mark