Let's talk trash.

On the way to work this morning, I noticed a new billboard on a major thoroughfare in Decatur announcing the message not to litter. I asked myself the fundamental question, "Why do we need such a sign?" Do people not know it is wrong to throw things out their car window when they're driving down the road? Every day I eat in my car. Not once have I ever thought, "Ok, I'm done with my Chic-Fil-A #5 8-pack value sized and my extra large sweet tea. I'm going to throw it out the window now on my way back to work."

How is it that one develops the reasoning that it is ok to litter? It seems to me like it all goes back to upbringing. Maybe the parental units did not teach the child the proper way to handle trash. Whatever the reason, it is really sad that we need to tell people not to litter. And, nothing looks worse than a road littered with litter.

That leads me to my next observation. As you probably know, I'm building a house. Three or four days a week my parents, Jawana, and I will go over to the construction site after work and clean. Part of this effort involves picking up empty food and drink containers. We have left trash bags and there are numerous large empty boxes which will be thrown away. Why is it, no one seems to be able to walk over and properly deposit their refuse into the trash receptacle upon completing their meal or beverage? Does it really take that much effort?

The bricking crew is the worst I've seen. Of course there are 14 guys laying bricks and cleaning it off, and it looks fantastic. However, why is it they can't clean up after themselves? It is a trait of being a subcontractor? I can see the training now, "I'm a subcontractor, I will litter the construction site with my empty Mountain Dew Bottles and white take out boxes, in spite of whatever kind of trash bins are on the site."

So, do your part. Be a good American citizen and don't litter.

The Curse of Expensive Taste
I have always found that perplexing about myself. I will see something and think, "Hmmm that looks nice." Then, when I go look at the price, it will tend to be the most expensive item or option you can purchase. For instance, the faucets and hardware I've chosen have a brushed nickel finish Turns out, it's the most expensive coating you can get. If you get the same faucet in a regular metal type finish it costs about $100.00. Add a brushed nickel coating to the faucet, and the price magically becomes $265.00. So, I'm taking it in the shorts there. Likewise with the cabinets, I gravitated towards the ones which looked the nicest, and subsequently I ended up getting those and paying around $18,000 for them.

Speaking of $18,000, Jawana opened up a Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance envelope today, and it was a bill from Parkway Medical on the Beltline. A couple months ago, Shayla got an eraser stuck in her ear canal, and we took her to the ER to get it removed. Cost for the eraser removal was about $18,000. That's a lot.

Imagine if you had to pay that out of pocket.

Well, in about 10 years that's where we all will be. Recent changes in the way employer's handle health care benefits will force a large majority of employees to begin using Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) which are self-funded insurance accounts. Instead of paying a premium to an insurance company, you pay a Pre-Tax premium into your own savings account which you use for all medical/dental/vision/prescription needs. The savings account is essentially like a 401K type account where you are investing in the stock market/mutual funds where you can earn high rates of return. The money grows tax free and can be withdrawn with no penalty or taxes when used for qualified health care.

The thinking behind this is, it will dramatically lower costs in the healthcare industry because when consumers are empowered to make choices and have to pay for things themselves, they drive the cost down. Indeed philosophy is accurate. Because when you get large bills from hospitals like that, many times, you can go in to the financial office and get them to take some of the ridiculous charges off the bill. When you are forced to start paying for things, you definitely look for better deals and do lots of bargaining. Right?

Get ready to do it for your Health Care.