Even the Chinese want to Buy American Made

Interesting article about the Chinese consumer. You usually only hear the story the opposite way, made in the Far East and purchased in the West.

This article points out the opposite spin. Food for thought:
http://www.jingdaily.com/en/luxury/chinese-shoppers-putting-premium-on-made-in-usa-labels/

Business Sense: Forming an LLC Step 1

Today I took the first step towards forming an LLC (Limited Liability Company).

Essentially, an LLC protects the owner from having her personal finances and assets put under the umbrella of the company. This creates a good legal separation because if a company grows and the owner isn't necessarily responsible for the business's debts, the owner doesn't risk losing her house, savings, or other assets. There are a few more advantages as they pertain to taxation and other topics. But this is my main consideration at the moment while I set up this company to hopefully be built up beyond just having me as the Single Member of the LLC.

The first step before filing any other paperwork was submitting a form to the Department of State called "Application for Reservation of Name." It is simple to fill out, and for $20, I can ensure that no one snags the name of my company while I am waiting for all of these forms to be processed by the Department of State. I sent it in by USPS, and I will reveal the name once the Certificate of Reservation comes back to me letting me know that my chosen name has been reserved.

This and all other relevant forms for establishing a business in the state of New York can be found on the Department of State's website: http://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/dom_llcfile.html

The Hunt for Insurance: Public Health Insurance

Since I currently have no income while I set up my own business, I qualify for Medicaid. I'd like to go ahead and preface this post with my vast conspiracy theory about the healthcare industry. It goes as follows: it is a racket intentionally set up to be so confusing that the average person with no specialized training in health insurance can't possibly figure it out or understand the terminology. Having said that, let's proceed with my discoveries involving public health insurance.

There's a seemingly great website called AccessNY. There's a screening survey that asks basic questions to determine if you are eligible for different public service programs. This simple questionnaire is all well and good; however, once you find out that you are in fact eligible, as I did, the link to the application doesn't work. The link to the directory of Health Care Providers doesn't work. So I called the contact number listed on the site. That number had been disconnected. It's very difficult to surmount the logistics of getting Medicaid on the internet, and I can't even begin to fathom sitting in a waiting room for this purpose. I do another search for Human Resources Administration in NYC, and it turns up another number that is 1 number different from the one listed on the Medicaid site. Finally, I get an operator.

The reason I am so anxious to get someone on the phone is that I am having no luck understanding if I can see whichever doctor I would like to see or if it's a very strict HMO-setup with Medicaid. It turns out that Medicaid is not your actual healthcare plan. It is a way for the state to assist with paying for your insurance, and they give you a few options for a plan once you are deemed eligible for Medicaid. They will send me an application that will arrive within 3-5 days. What a relief! It has taken me six years and 3 different doctors to find an OB/GYN that I like in the city, and I am not willing to give her up even if I only see her once a year.

So now I feel a little deceived. With all of the previous debates about healthcare reform that have been shelved as of late, I got the impression that the government would be intimately involved in my healthcare rather than just working with the insurance companies to regulate their operations. Not to get too political (because, honestly, it's a subject I need to be much better informed about before I start talking too much), but regular people should be able to get health insurance for less than $700-1000/ month. That is an absurd cost, but it's the common range I have found in my internet research for individual insurance. It essentially forces people to forego insurance, and then when they end up in the hospital out of necessity, they don't have the means to pay the bill, and it becomes an endless loop of debt.

There's also the stigma attached to government healthcare assistance. I come from Alabama, a decidedly conservative state. Even the most liberal Alabamians have been shaped by conservative views because they are simply so prevalent. I feel self-conscious looking for government assistance. But here's my thinking: I have been working and paying taxes for 6 years, and not to sound too entitled, but I'd like to call in a favor from the state of NY. Hopefully, once I send in the application, I'll be eligible and can pick a plan that I like and that my doctor will accept.

More to come once I get the application and the acceptance. 

Welcome to the Modern World

I always considered myself somewhat of a Luddite.

Well, a lazy and un-dedicated Luddite because sometimes technology is simply too easy. But lately, I am a decided non-Luddite. I love technology. I love what technology has done for communication. And the only complaints that I can muster about technology are really my own personal issues.

This past weekend in Vermont, Jim and I were sitting on the gondola extolling the virtues of having left our cell phones in the house and having not brought them onto the mountain. We were heroes to one another, not allowing the accessibility of technology to interrupt our communion with the manipulated version of nature that we were riding for the day. Upon exiting the lift, we strapped into our snowboards and rode off down the mountain to enjoy the snow and icy patches unencumbered by text messages or phone calls. Jim is slightly faster than me, so he generally makes a habit of stopping at trail junctions to rest and make sure that we take the same trail to the bottom.

But this time Jim somehow took a different trail and sat and waited for me. And he waited some more. And I never showed up. I caught up to our friends who were faster than both of us and asked if they'd seen him. They hadn't. I had to play a bit of a guessing game. Maybe he had gone down the other trail I had ridden past that wasn't very well-marked. I tried that option to no avail. After two trips up the ski lift and down the mountain, there wasn't a particularly good option for locating him. So I rode with our fast friends for the rest of the day, struggling to keep up. Finally, on our last run before the mountain closed for the day, Jim came walking up while we were entering the lodge. After a kiss and a hug of relief, we vowed to insist that the option for text messaging and phone calls be in our jacket pockets every time we ride.

I've given this subject a lot of thought, and having spent most of my teenage life and all of my adult life with a cell phone, I still can't figure out how people met up with one another without anxiety and worry about getting the information correct. I am sure that people wrote down addresses and kept appointments, but it still blows my mind.

Snowboard Helmet Shopping

I spent the weekend in Vermont. I got to snowboard for three days in a row. My legs are sore and my whole body is exhausted, but I had a great time, and it was definitely worth it.

While on the mountain, I had to shop for a few things. The first thing I needed was a helmet. I did a web search to see if I could find a helmet that is Made in USA. Unfortunately, that turned up nothing. There are a few companies that manufacture in Western Europe, but I couldn't receive one of those in time to get to the mountain. So, here is where I made my trade-off. I view a helmet as an essential accessory. It isn't something I can do without until I can find one that fits my new mission to locate Made in USA products. 

So I went into the snowboard shop on the mountain's access road, and chose this helmet:

Red - Mutiny Helmet: $89.95

It fits well, and my head feels safe. Head injuries are no joke, kids! You don't have to be doing anything extreme or exciting to crack your skull open on the ice, so it's best not to take any chances.

Lack of Inspiration

I'm feeling quite uninspired for today's blog post. But here are some websites and blogs that I typically look towards for inspiration or just entertainment:

www.happiness-project.com - Gretchen Rubin did an exploration of happiness and what makes people happy for a year and wrote a book about it. This is her on-going blog true to her original theme.


rookiemag.com - 13-year-old fashion enthusiast, Tavi Gevinson, started this blog. It's extremely well-written, and it's a great magazine alternative for actual teenagers, rather than the weird target audience of Teen Vogue. I think Tavi is her generation's Jane Pratt, and she's rad!

And finally, a random one from today:


http://www.positivelypositive.com/2012/01/14/50-lessons-i-wish-i-had-learned-earlier-blog/ Someone posted this on their Facebook page this morning, and I liked all of the inspirational blurbs.

Do you have any places or things you reference when you wake up just having a blah day (not particularly good, not particularly bad, just uninspired)?

Quick Book Review: The Big Enough Company

Quick Book Review is a column I will periodically put out detailing the books I'm reading. Most of these will be guides on entrepreneurship or business ownership, but not all. Anyway, this is what I finished reading a few weeks ago:

The Big Enough Company by Adelaide Lancaster and Amy Abrams

Summary:
The authors started their own successful company by putting together a shared workspace in Manhattan complete with informational and networking resources specifically for female entrepreneurs. This is their advice guide from their own experiences and the experiences of some of their clients and friends. It includes question sections titled For Your Consideration that ask questions for the reader to consider when opening her own business.

Review:
This book reads like a text book for starting your own business. It is written in a very accessible and simplified style with tons of been-there-done-that knowledge. Personally, this book inspired me to quit my corporate job. I realized through the "For Your Consideration" sections scattered throughout the book that I don't have the energy to be able to have a full-time job and get my own projects off to a start in the way I'd want to run them. Years ago, I attended a meet-and-greet at their shared workspace (In Good Company is the name of it), and I remember being so impressed by their vision and their support for entrepreneurs. The most inspirational aspect of this book was the message that you must define your own goals for success. It is definitely an alternative perspective to our cultural imperative that more equals success always. For example, if I take less vacation and spend less time at home with my loved ones because of starting my own business, then no matter the profits gained, I will have failed. This book is an extremely practical guide to reference throughout the lifespan of anyone's entrepreneurial venture.


To Whom I Recommend:
I recommend this book highly to anyone (especially women, but men could learn from this as well) who has always had an urge towards entrepreneurship and never understood where to begin. Also, anyone who is lacking inspiration in their work would benefit from reading this book to understand that there are other options besides a 9-to-5 desk job.

The Hunt for Health Insurance

So, as a currently unemployed member of US society, I am tasked with the daunting necessity of having to procure my own health insurance. I'll be spending a lot of time snowboarding this winter and when the waves are decent, I'll be surfing. So I definitely need to have some kind of insurance policy, although I'm a fairly low maintenance patient who tries to avoid doctors unless absolutely necessary.

I'm assuming that this task is confusing and seems overwhelming to most, and I certainly had no idea where to begin. Whenever I'm tasked with an issue that I can't solve on my own, I take it to the Internet.

After googling "private health insurance," I came up with www.ehealthinsurance.com. This is the first place I looked. They have you fill out a little questionnaire and then you give your email address. I figured I'd give it a few days before I got a response by email. Boy, was I wrong. After about an hour had lapsed, and I had clicked on a few more websites that provided me with no particularly good information, my phone began ringing with numbers I didn't know. I have a personal policy that I always let the voicemail get an unknown number (I hate surprises on the telephone) and I call back when the message is left. Well, none of these five different calls left a message, so when the first one repeated, I answered. I told the agent (Licensed Insurance Agent is the official title) I was busy at the moment and asked if he could he call me back at a better time. He did.

Upon returning my call, this agent begins what salesmen term the "hard sell". Before he even started the full pitch for the particular plan I wanted, I told him that I am not going to enroll on the phone at that moment because I had more research to do. He respectfully argued that I shouldn't have reservations, that he's the professional, etc. Anyway, I went ahead and listened to the plan information. It's for a PPO and the company is offering a special group enrollment rate to meet their quotas for group plans. All of the terms and conditions sounded great to me. I told the agent that I thought it sounded good.

Immediately, he said, "Now, let's get you enrolled." I repeated my initial statement that I was not interested in enrolling immediately. He them attempted some sort of guilt trip to tell me that he has worked hard at explaining how great this plan is, and it's not fair to him for me to go elsewhere. Is this guy kidding me? So I again (respectfully, I might add, because I was getting pretty miffed but I didn't get too upset with him) explained that this is my healthcare plan, and I am not going to hear one good policy and not comparison shop elsewhere.

So, here's where the interaction gets pretty annoying. Jim is finishing up cooking dinner, and I'm getting hungry while on the phone with this agent for 42 minutes total. He reminds me that I stated I could afford the plan plus the enrollment fee (what I'm assuming is his commission, but I don't know for sure). But I remind him that I have no income, and I don't wish to just throw my $99.95 enrollment fee out the window in case I find a better option for a healthcare plan. Finally, I was able to talk this guy down and agree that he should call me back on Wednesday at a set time after I have had a chance to do a bit more research. So that is where I am with my particular plan purchase.

Although I didn't particularly enjoy his sales tactics, I've heard that insurance agents are a particularly pushy lot, and at least the guy had a sense of humor. After doing some more research around the Internet, I plan on going with the plan this fellow offered me after asking him a couple more questions.

Please comment below if you have had any similar experiences or if you have any good advice to offer.

Here are some of the basics that I've learned through my research:

Important terms:
Deductible: the amount of medical expenses that the patient must pay out of pocket before the insurance company will begin to pay any of those expenses.

In-network: If the plan has a network, the doctors that have negotiated and signed a contract with the insurance company are considered "in-network".

Premium: The amount charged (usually on a monthly basis) for your insurance coverage. Essentially your service fee for being on the plan.

Types of plans: (**The details and particular amounts and percentages vary by provider, but these are the basic plans.**)

PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): This policy is a network of providers that the patient is free to see at-will. The insurance company agrees to pay a set percentage of the costs for doctors that are within the network, but if the patient wants to see an out-of-network doctor, there will usually be a higher cost to the patient, although the insurance company will cover some of the cost regardless.

HMO (Health Maintenance Organization): This is a grouping of clinics, physicians, and some specialists that the insurance company works with exclusively for your plan. Your primary care physician (who has to be part of the HMO) is the only doctor who can give you referrals to other doctors within that system. If you want to see a particular specialist, then you have to pay for it yourself if that specialist isn't in your HMO's system.

EPO (Exclusive Provider Organization): Similar to an HMO, in that there is an exclusive network of doctors that the patient can visit. There is no allowance for an out-of-network provider, so any specialist out of the network has to be paid for in full by the patient.

POS (Point of Service): Your primary care physician is your "point of service." This doctor has to refer you to specialists that are in the network. It's much like an HMO, but there is greater freedom to see out-of-network specialists. However, you have to pay a higher premium for partial payment to these out-of-network specialists.

Indemnity: No organization of doctors or clinics, so the bill must be paid in full by the patient. The patient can then submit the bill for reimbursement to the insurance company which will reimburse a percentage of the bill. This is the most out-of-pocket risk plan, as the patient is responsible for the payment, and not the insurance company.

HDHP (High Deductible Health Plan): This plan doesn't have a network of doctors, so you have the freedom to see which doctors you choose. As indicated in the name, the deductible for this plan is high, and once that deductible is met, the insurance will pay a percentage of the bill. 
 
I also found this handy-dandy guide in my Google search, but it's very broad.

**Please note that I am not a Licensed Insurance Agent or even a professional within the insurance industry. I'm just trying to figure out the best ways to do these things, so I'm reporting on my progress.**

No Chance for an Update

I have been dealing with the search for private insurance today. Tomorrow's post will certainly be interesting. But not today's. Ay ay ay!

Daily Budget:

Jim and I have slowly but surely been getting through our pantry and refrigerator stock-up from last week, so the grocery bill has been small. 

Daily Budget

I had to ship my darling niece, LouLou's late Christmas present to her today. And for Priority Mail (the middle of the road as far as price and delivery time goes) wasn't as expensive as I thought it would be since the present is a baby-sized piano that isn't exactly lightweight.



I always enjoy supporting the Postal Service when I can. I hate to imagine that private shippers will replace such an interesting historic American institution.

Here's an interesting article from Forbes about the impending bankruptcy of the USPS.

Sporting Goods: Gloves

After my 3.5 mile (that's 5.78 km) run/ sand exfoliation facial given to me graciously by the howling winds on the beach, Jim and I set out to shop for some sporting goods. Jim needed to purchase some ankle weights to do the at-home portion of his physical therapy for two sprained knees, and I could use some running gloves since I felt extremely close to frostbite today with my cheapo knit gloves I bought from American Apparel about five years ago. I'll have to devote a whole post to my feelings about American Apparel, but not today.

We decided to hit Sports Authority since it is next to Trader Joe's and we could grab some groceries. Getting stopped at every red light in Queens, I pondered whether sporting goods were easily sourced in the US. It seems like we Americans take our sports pretty seriously, but I had no way of knowing until we got there.

Gloves were featured prominently on multiple displays all over the store.

So I started with a brand I'd never heard of: Manzella. Made in China.

Then to a brand I'd used when I was a kid on ski trips: Gordini. Made in China.

Then to one of my favorite companies: Burton. Made in China.

Another famous company known for quality products: Columbia. Made in China.

In fact, it wouldn't be surprising if these gloves were all coming out of the same factory in China. Gloves are a Licensed Product, which means that one manufacturer is in charge of production once the samples have been approved by the "name-brand company." The "name-brand compay" (i.e. Burton or Columbia) then designates where their logo will go and sells the goods under their label to retailers. Usually, there are a few big licensing corporations in each category (i.e. gloves, socks, hosiery) that aren't particularly promoted to the consumer. The business advantage of Licensing is that it allows a company to specialize in a particular product and a name-brand company doesn't have to spend the initial research and development costs to develop a product from scratch. Another advantage is that liability for raw materials is spread out amongst a few different brands, so it is easier to make bulk (large quantities) buys and get their orders accepted by factories, since they aren't just placing one run of gloves, but many.

Jim got his ankle weights. Made in China. I can't farm out my crusade to anyone else, so I still went home empty-handed. I guess my frost-promoting American Apparel gloves will have to do for now.

Upon internet investigation, it looks like the only Made in USA options are made specifically for the US military. I feel pretty confident that Uncle Sam will keep my fingers toasty.

Daily Budget

Another goal of mine is to figure out finances. My generation in particular seems to be completely lost when it comes to budgeting or financing anything. I have heard it in a few different places that Generation X (which encompasses my generation in this example) is the first generation that will be less financially secure than our parents. Credit card debt is out of control, and hardly anyone my age can get a mortgage.

My first step in understanding finances is to keep detailed records of my budget. If you don't know how much your life actually costs, how can you understand how to finance it or make a plan?

In order for this bookkeeping to give you information, it has to be meticulously maintained. The goal is to figure out how much your own life really costs and where you are spending your money. Since I'm such a huge fan of spreadsheets, I have put mine into Google Docs on my Gmail (a great accessory to a free email server) so that I don't have to have my file with me and can update from anywhere I can access my Gmail. This is my basic format in three categories:


Food:


Shopping:**


Travel: No purchases yet, but this is my format.


And then I even have a summary page that gives me my daily total:


I'm purchasing an accordion file today to store my receipts, and I'll post each morning with the totals from the day before. I've put particular categories into these spreadsheets in order to sort by category once the data has been collected for a month or so. By then I'll have a better idea of how much life really costs and in what categories I am spending the most money.

**I have purposely left out the laptop purchase that I mentioned yesterday because I combined Christmas gifts and savings to buy it, and it isn't really part of my personal budget.