Eila dropped a line this week to get advice on how to tackle her debt. She and her husband are trying to turn things around, but they’re overwhelmed by medical bills. They’re hoping GRS readers can offer direction. Eila writes:

How do I prioritize my medical bills? I have about $8000 in medical debt that’s broken up into $300 here, $200 there, $1000 over there, etc. The bills are to different medical centers, doctors and hospitals — and they all want their money today. Some are already on my credit report. One isn’t even willing to work with me on payments. I haven’t even called back because I don’t know where to start.
I’m really trying to make the debt snowball work and stop living paycheck-to-paycheck while building savings ($20/paycheck), but I have questions:

How do I make these payments on 15 medical bills? Can I only send $10/month to each? What if they won’t accept anything less than $50? (Or in one case $120?)

If I were [...]

This post is about running. Except that it’s not. It’s about mental toughness, the mental toughness necessary to run a marathon — and to pay off debt or to build wealth.
I rolled out of bed early yesterday morning, pulled on my shorts, strapped on my heart-rate monitor, and headed out the door. I zipped my Mini to the other side of Portland and there I joined a group of about 100 other hardy souls for a 12-mile run. We’re training for the Portland Marathon.
I tried to train for the marathon last year, but I had problems. I did the long weekend runs, and I liked them, but I didn’t do anything else to support my training. I didn’t stretch. I didn’t do the shorter mid-week runs (and if I did do them, I ran too hard). I ate poorly. By the beginning of June, I was forced to stop. I had hurt myself. I made [...]

We think we know what will make us happy, but we don’t. Many of us believe that money will make us happy, but it won’t. Except for the very poor, money cannot buy happiness. Instead of dreaming of vast wealth, we should dream of close friends and healthy bodies and meaningful work.
The psychology of happiness
Several years ago, James Montier, a “global equity strategist”, took a break from investing in order to publish a brief overview of existing research into the psychology of happiness [PDF]. Montier learned that happiness comprises three components:

About 50% of individual happiness comes from a genetic set point. That is, we’re each predisposed to a certain level of happiness. Some of us are just naturally more inclined to be cheery than others.
About 10% of our happiness is due to our circumstances. Our age, race, gender, personal history, and, yes, wealth, only make up about one-tenth of our happiness.
The remaining 40% of an [...]

My mother is in the hospital. Her health, which had been deteriorating lately, took a turn for the worse over the weekend. On Tuesday, she was admitted to a local hospital, where she’s likely to remain for a week (or more).
My brothers and I have been sorting through mom’s financial documents, trying to piece together a complete picture. It’s difficult. If she had used Quicken, the job would be relatively easy, but she’s Old School, and does everything by hand.
We’ve begun to realize there are a lot of unanswered questions.

What are mom’s finances like? How much does she owe and to whom? How much has she saved? Fortunately, we’ve been able to answer this to some degree. She does have some savings (though we’re unsure if it will be enough to cover her medical expenses), and she receives regular “passive income” from the box factory.
What is her health insurance like? Mom is covered through the [...]

Few things can blow a budget like unexpected medical bills. Even those who practice frugality and invest for the future can find their financial plans smashed to pieces by unexpected health problems. And for those who don’t have their financial house in order, a medical crisis can be devastating.
Five years ago, I had surgery to replace the ACL on my right knee. Though I am insured through Kris’ job, I found the experience frustrating. Nobody could tell me how much any part of the process would cost. MRI? Nobody knew. Surgery? Nobody knew. They didn’t know the total costs, and they didn’t know what my obligation would be. “Don’t you have insurance?” everyone wanted to know.
In the end, my portion of the procedure cost me a couple thousand dollars, and physical therapy cost me even more. (I don’t have exact records from that period.) Because I was already deep in debt, these expenses only added [...]

My sister-in-law has cancer.
Last week, a biopsy revealed that Stephanie has a cancerous lump on her thyroid. She’ll likely have her thyroid removed, meaning she’ll need to take medication for the rest of her life. (She’s 37 years old.) She’ll also probably need a handful of radioactive iodine chemotherapy treatments.
Prognosis positive
Jeff and Stephanie have both settled down a bit after the initial scare. They’ve heard from many sources, including Steph’s grandmother, that this form (and location) of cancer is easy to eliminate, and has a low chance of spreading or recurring. Steph’s grandmother had her thyroid removed years ago (due to a growth on it), and she is now 77 years old.
Still, this is cancer, which no member of my family takes lightly. My father died from cancer ten days before his fiftieth birthday. Last summer, cancer killed a cousin at age 47. Other family members have died from the disease as well.
A [...]