Sharing A Computer

August 10, 2008 on 8:28 pm | In Blogging, Family | Comments Off

My daughter and I share our two computers, a desktop and a laptop. I do most of my blogging from the laptop as well as social networking. I use my desktop for word processing and bill paying (it’s the one hooked up to the printer) and I do email on both. My daughter does some of everything on both computers, including her latest craze, the webcam. She and her friends, all over the county, have been loving staying in contact with the each other via the webcam. The webcam isn’t limited to just live viewing either. The webcam also can be used to take still photos and video and my daughter uses it to its full capacity.

Between the two of us, we have a tendancy to utilize the memory capacity of our computers on a fairly regular basis. When this happens, it means re-booting the computer. We also have issues on occasion with videos and music not playing properly. Many times when I’m visiting sites, if there is music or video programmed to play automatically when the site loads, my computer, particularly my laptop, will lock up. When this happens, I’m have to perform a forced shut down.

I run Windows programs on both of my computers, but, after using my mom’s newer laptop recently, I would love to upgrade to Windows Vista on both of mine. I get so nervous when I’m completing online forms of any kind because I worry that my computer will lock up for some reason and I will lose my information. The same is true when I’m shopping online. I’m always worried that my computer will snag up right in the middle of a purchase.

Windows Vista runs so smoothly and if there is a problem, it comes with excellent customer service. It even comes with unlimited phone support for 90 days. It also has a back up and restore system that is improved over previous Windows editions. For us, I really like the Windows Photo Gallery that comes with Vista and the Windows Game Explorer that helps intall, organize and play games.

Now I just need to decide whether or not to upgrade my current computers, or simply go buy a new computer with Vista all ready installed.

Sponsored by Windows Vista

Health Savings Account

August 10, 2008 on 6:52 pm | In Family Health, Finance | Comments Off

This is our first year to have a Federal Health Savings Account.  The HSA has money deducted directly from the paycheck on a pre-tax basis and then can be used to pay for health expenses that health insurance doesn’t cover.  Qualified expenses include co-pays, certain over the counter medications, eyeglasses and contact lenses (not covered by other insurance).  The downsided of an HSA is that if you don’t use the money by the end of the plan year, you lose whatever is left in the account.

This possibility of losing money has caused me to be very nervous about the whole thing.  The primary reason we chose to use a HSA this year was because our daughter was having braces put on her teeth.  This is a huge expense, but, as I’ve since learned, we don’t pay it all up front.  We paid a percentage down and the rest is paid in monthly payments.  Our dental insurance picks up a portion as well, so we had to calculate what our portion was going to be.

I did all the calculations and had the exact amount.  We had planned on paying the full amount of our portion up front. Then after submitting the paperwork and meeting the deadline, I discovered that orthodontic expenses are REQUIRED to be payment on a monthly payment basis in order to qualify for the HSA.  WTH?!  So, we lost out on the 10% discount the orthodontist offered for full payment, in order to use pre-tax dollars to pay for our daughter’s braces.

I spent a good part of today calculating how our account is balancing out.  Because we’re paying the orthodontist monthly, we wouldn’t be using the entire amount of money we put into the account this year.  In order to not lose the money, I’ve also used it to pay for my new prescription sunglasses as well as several prescriptions and doctor visit copays.  I feel confident now that at the end of the year, we will have used our pre-tax money and used it wisely.

Soon, I will need to be calculating how much will need to go in to next year’s Health Savings Account.

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