With gas prices on the rise, how is it impacting your spending?

Gas prices, what gas prices.

DBCassidy

 

Many in the US (including me) would agree to that also....

 

I am self-employed. I pay $268 a month premium for my family's high deductible plan. The government chips in tax subsidies in the form of tax deductions for my premium, deductible, and health savings account. All told my monthly premium is ~ $20/month when the tax subsidies are considered . Hospitalizations can cost me up to $6000 a year.

This is in the era of ObamaCare. The main reason my healthcare is inexpensive is because my family and I are healthy and we work at keeping it that way; also, we have no intention to choose expensive but poor value medical care when the occasion/age arrives. Obesity in half the country, alcohol, tobacco and substance abuses, miserable dietary and exercise habits -- all with attendant complications -- is no way to run an economy.

So I for one am not rushing to spend fuel taxes on medical care. I want them spent on clean infrastructure and conservation. A small fraction of the population is born to medical problems society can and should care for; the remainder of the populace had best look in the mirror and get a clue.

 

$268/month? You are the exception! if everyone payed $268/month for their family plans- absolutely no one would ever complain about healthcare costs.
My self employed brother in-law pays $1500/month for his family plan. My high deductible family plan ($2500/person for hospital stay- capped at $7500 per family) costs $1k/month.

 

Ursle I am with u, since I don't have any and haven't had any in 9 years since i retired I guess this year I will have to get some or pay a tax for not having some.

 

Unfortunately it doesn't, we pay extra tax for that

 

Since I added the Prius to my family last November, I've saved $900 in diesel fuel I would have had to dump into my truck. Haven't filled up the truck since 12/17/12.

I giggle every time I fill up the Prius. Used to cost me $130+ to fill up the truck... it's like $27 for the Prius..hhahaha.

 

This is very true and I think of those people had ever found themselves in a health system where you need money or private insurance then their opinion may well change. In my opinion the National Health Service (NHS) here in the UK does have shortcomings but so does the private sector. On the whole the NHS works pretty well treating a huge volume of people everyday.

 

I have a volt and fill up with 8 gallons once every 4-6 weeks so it doesn't affect me much. So I'll vote option #4. Wait, no. Option #4 is a trick question as it's a double negative!!! I guess I'll go with #2.

 

Well, that's an eye opener! My annual spend on petrol (gas if you're in the US) would have been about NZD6,000, as I have quite a long commute by local standards - it is about 52km each way, so 520km/week. (1NZD =0.82USD)
Just bought my '06 Prius a few weeks ago, and it uses a little less than half this much, so, yes, it is having an impact on my spending. I have a little more $$$ to put into a retirement fund.
Didn't realize that in the US you paid such a high amount in medical insurance. I too have a policy which covers me for the worst cases, which is employer paid, but we also have a state funded scheme, which, like the NHS, has it's faults, but does a good job of picking you up if you're down.

 

We may be comparing apples and oranges here since I do not know how healthy you and you family are, but in case it helps, my policy is with Humana.

In general, health insurance is high because the population is sick from poor lifestyle choices. Really, nobody to blame but ourselves (collectively.) This is what I like most about HD plans -- I get to opt out of the crazy American system if I take care of myself.

 

Too bad you didn't put a


"The economy sucks and we're broke but like the Government I'm spending more than ever!" choice.

The economy does suck but as a patriotic citizen I'm still spending. Much like the U.S. Government, which is broke, I just put everything on credit.

 

I resemble that remark

No doubt you are right that future medical costs await us. Since we are capped at $6000 a year for the family and are only paying about $20 a month for the cap privilege as I explained above, I'm more than OK with the arrangement. I should point out that so far as I know, the best deals going in HD plans are only available to the self-employed, but the larger point is that medical care, even in the US, is not expensive for most people who have a healthy lifestyle and take responsibility for their health.

A small fraction are born unlucky; the rest of us make a choice.