Hoboken Mom Condo Living
Planning the long-term & juggling the everyday

It’s not easy. http://patch.com/baMCM

According to the Washington Post, healthcare reform will not change one thing in my life. My insurance coverage and taxes will remain exactly the same. Aside from the immediate goodies in the reform bill, how is this affecting my household budgeting?

For starters, I am slowly letting go of the mentality that the other shoe is about to drop. I am a member of Generation X, a tiny generation sandwiched between the vast bulk of boomers and Gen Y. Too young to benefit from pensions, too old to experience helicopter parenting, many of my friends and classmates were latchkey kids scarred by the divorce rate that took off when we were growing up in the 1970s and 80s. A lot of them don’t have kids yet or are becoming parents for the first time in their late 30s and early 40s. It’s a very strange generation to be a part of, and yet I embrace it because I understand it.

So, my generation does not have a sense of entitlement. Quite the contrary, we expect to get screwed over when it comes to retirement via scaled back or non-existent Social Security and Medicare benefits. Basically, we expect to have to contribute to the system our entire working lives and simultaneously save for retirement via individual 401k accounts. That is a large part of my long-term financial planning; to cover all eventualities.

My household management has already helped us achieve one of our life goals; buying a lifetime home. By most people’s standards, we are in fantastic financial shape. We have no debt aside from our mortgage, substantial assets, and good earning prospects. So how could one healthcare bill make such a difference in our lives?

Because it has given me peace of mind. I have a great track record at saving to meet large long-term goals, but how do you deal with catastrophe? The next ten years are going to be extremely vulnerable ones for our family of four. Most people buy term life insurance because it is inexpensive and provides large payouts for a limited time period (usually 20 years), which is really all you need to get children into a safety zone where they are old enough to fend for themselves (hmm, maybe life insurance term limits should be 30 years). But what about disability coverage?

Picture this scenario: my husband is walking to work tomorrow and gets hit by a car (could happen with the way people drive around here). He is injured badly enough that it takes him months to recover. In that time, he loses his job and we have to pay for Cobra ($1000/month?) We instantly lose all our income tax deductions because, hey, you have to have income in order to take deductions. So we are looking at $4k/month out of pocket for household maintenance, plus let’s say another $2k in living expenses. Add in medical bills because no health insurer automatically pays for 100% of every bill they get handed; another $10k/month? Oh, and let’s assume the car that hit my husband was piloted by an uninsured motorist, so we don’t get a dime from them. All this adds up to $17k/month, all with little/no income coming in because disability payments don’t kick in for 60 days and only replace about half of your income. And let’s not forget that I suddenly have an infirm husband and a household with two toddlers to care for 24/7 by myself. Plus the $10k/month for medical bills is probably too low. My friend’s mom spent $500k out of pocket a couple of years ago to treat stomach cancer, and she is a retired state employee so has decent health insurance.

So we go in one instant from thrifty, secure living to serious bankruptcy risk. I am sorry, I don’t care how good you are at money management, nobody can plan for a medical catastrophe. The only way it works is if you have serious cash in the bank, like $500k-$1MM, and my husband and I just haven’t had the time to build up savings like that because we have only been in the workforce for about 12 years (and let’s be real, I am only marginally in the workforce).

I know very well that the healthcare reform bill isn’t a panacea. I know it will decimate Medicare and raise overall healthcare costs. But I would a million times rather pay a few more thousand dollars a year as part of deep risk pool than not pay it and gamble that nobody in my family will ever get seriously sick or injured. Because a lifetime is a very long time, and nobody is immune from bad luck.

And finds it in southwest Hoboken. http://patch.com/TYJO

Kathy

On the eve of a historic and incredibly controversial US healthcare bill, I thought it would be appropriate to review what our country needs. We need universal access to healthcare, affordable fees charged by physicians and hospitals, an end to over-treatment, and high quality. It seems almost impossible to achieve, right? And yet we have a healthcare practice right here in Hoboken that accomplishes exactly those goals.

It has been one year since PromptMD opened their doors on First Street near Willow Ave (two doors down from Dames Coffee) in Hoboken. In that time they have had over 10,000 visits ranging from H1N1 shots all the way up to food poisoning, broken bones and one heart attack. The two docs there have a devoted following of patients who rave about the superb care they receive 7 days a week. The average wait time was under half an hour, average cost was under $100, and the majority of patients got more than 60% of the costs reimbursed by insurance. Free follow-up visits ensured that patients were recovering properly from their various ailments, something hospitals don’t care about since they get paid twice if patients are readmitted.

The most amazing part is that they accomplished this with all walk-in visits. Scheduling doctor’s visits is such a huge hassle for my family that I am six months behind on my OB/GYN appointments, and I need to take the kids to the dentist. Knowing that we can walk into PromptMD before work or school whenever one of the kids spikes a fever and that we will wait less than 10 minutes is huge.

In the interest of full disclosure, I maintain the PromptMD website. We added in features like the monthly physician schedule, put all the registration & privacy forms online to save check-in time, and generally streamlined and improved the available information. However, I am not being paid to write this review, and I was a huge fan of their affordable business model before I became their webmaster. My husband and I go there for everything, from flu shots for our babysitter and entire family to allergy treatment when hay fever season approaches. Because we are frequent flyers, we receive a 10% discount on physical exams.

If my husband ever loses his job and our health insurance, knock wood, I have great peace of mind knowing that sickness or pregnancy will not bankrupt us or cause us to neglect routine doctor’s visits. The amount we pay out of pocket to PromptMD ($82/visit) is not much more than our $40 insurance copay. Drs. Islam and Jani also have relationships with specialists who they will negotiate with to get us hugely discounted care if we need additional treatment like, say, a pregnancy ultrasound. All four members of my family go to PromptMD since they treat ages 1 & up.

1/22 update: I am really glad healthcare reform has passed, but believe that practices like PromptMD are imperative to curbing skyrocketing healthcare costs. The healthcare bill extended insurance coverage to all, but does not restrict premium costs. Lower medical bills = lower premiums, and that is where PromptMD shines since their charges are 60% less than typical physician practices.

The deadline for documents to ARRIVE at municipal assessor’s office is April 1, so give yourself plenty of time if you are mailing applications. http://bit.ly/NJappeal

Expectations don’t always match reality. http://patch.com/VceC

I wrote a while back about how I encourage my husband to fence because it keeps him in excellent physical condition, which saves us money in the long run. That’s great for those of us who love fencing, but what about for the other 99.5% of the population?

I have been working out for my entire life, and I can say unequivocally that I hate it. That’s quite a paradox because I am a good athlete and in excellent physical condition, so how have I accomplished that without stepping foot in a gym in years?  (Literally. We had a gym on the same floor as our two-bedroom condo at the Hoboken Grande and I used it exactly once in five years).

A friend of mine recently introduced me to Mike Ander, the owner of the newly opened Koko FitClub at 14th and Adams in Hoboken, and he invited me to come by for a complimentary workout. This is the second time I have been invited to have a personal training session in Hoboken, and the only reason why I went was because I was intrigued by the concept of computerized on-demand personal training sessions.

So I walked into the club last week, and the machines looked pretty much like all the other standard bench press-style gym equipment I have used off and on throughout my life. I entered my height, weight (had to guess there since I don’t own a scale) and age, and then sat down at the machine. The first thing I realized was that you control everything from that one spot. The weight adjustment and handle bars all adjust from the seat, and you basically never move more than a couple of steps to get set up for the next routine. Lights blink to show you what to do next, which was pretty cool.

But the really awesome part of the workout came when I sat down to work out. The computer screen tracked my progress and provided interactive feedback about whether to speed up or slow down. It was like a Wii Fit video game, only I was actually getting a workout. I could see my score and got better at the routines as I went along, adjusting my pace and technique according to the feedback I received.

When I got done, I was able to get a computerized record on my workout on a USB thumb drive that feeds directly into the main computer. You can track your progress from home, calculate the calories burned, and see how you stack up against other people your age and weight. And the thing I really liked was that there are different computer programs depending on your life status, such as one for postpartum moms.

For the first time in my life, I had a really fast, efficient, enjoyable workout. And because it’s computerized, I can walk into the Koko gym anytime they are open (and they are open for really extended hours b/c people work such long hours around here) and pick up where I left off. From a cost perspective, I really like the fact that the personal training is free. For $89/month (no contract, I have heard horror stories about those), the gym is a really good deal. You don’t have all the amenities of a spa or pool, but you’re also not paying for them. The staff are really nice and helpful, a nice bonus. And they provide free parking in the lot right in front of the gym, a necessity in Hoboken.

If you are like me and don’t have a lot of free time, the Koko Smarttraining workout makes a lot of sense. For a fun, fast, no-frills workout that fits around your schedule, I have never met its equal. And if it keeps me healthy and fit, then it will save me money in the long run with lower/nonexistent medical costs.

How to balance young families with revelry at http://patch.com/QAoh

Reader Q&A at http://bit.ly/aCFhzj

Kathy. First time living in Hoboken during the parade.  How bad will Saturday be? Should I get out of town?  Or just stay away from Washington?

My response:

Stay away from Washington St from Friday PM to Sunday AM. Our part of town isn’t bad in terms of driving (basically, you can), but I am planning to take the kids on a Saturday day trip, returning in the later afternoon, when the worst of the celebrations should be over.

The biggest problem in South West Hoboken is house parties since there are relatively few bars here. Since the police are cracking down on them this year, it should be quieter, but I would still get out of town during the daytime just to be safe.

Newspaper column about parenting in Hoboken on St. Patrick’s Day

Q: How long does the whole process take on average from mailing out the forms till approval?
A: The appeals are reviewed from building to building, so it depends on where your building falls in the review list. My building got reviewed in early June, and settlement offer letters were in the mail by the second week. You have to sign
and send them back to accept the offer. You have until August to accept a settlement before having to go to court.

If you win your appeal, the new lower assessment is retroactive back to January 1, so don’t worry about the timing of your appeal review. You can call the tax assessor’s office to find out your status at the end of April. In Hoboken the assessor is SAL A BONACCORSI at 201 420-2024.

Q: You have an assessment ratio on your blog but where did you get that from?
A: The 0.2716 is the current Hoboken tax ratio. More info at http://bit.ly/dfWh8n

Q: If I win my appeal, will I get a check in the mail?
A: No. The amount of your reduced assessment will be credited toward your next property tax bill, usually the third quarter. Make sure to contact your lender so you can lower your monthly escrow payment.

Q: I got a huge amount off my taxes last year when I appealed. Should I appeal this year?
A: Not unless your property is overassessed by more than 30%. Zillow gives a pretty good property value estimate, check it out to see whether you are still overassessed.

Q: If I hire an attorney, will I have to pay upfront?
A: In most cases, no. The attorneys represent property tax appeal clients on a contingency basis, which means they won’t bill you until after you get a credit on your property tax bill. If your appeal gets denied, you are typically responsible only for the $25 filing fee ($100 for properties assessed at over $500,000). Keep in mind that tax appeal attorneys only accept clients they are sure can get a reduction, so you might be paying a lot extra for unnecessary professional representation. There is usually an additional fee for going to court.

Q: The state documents for property tax appeals keep talking about appraisals. Do I need one?
A: No. They are talking about the assessed value, not an actual appraisal. If you happen to have one lying around from a recent refi, it can’t hurt if you have to go to court, but 70% of all appeals get settled before they get to court. The municipal assessor has a formula they use to determine whether to settle (ie. your property is assessed for more than 30% of the current market value, so they offer 10% off).

Property appraisals typically cost several hundred dollars, so they are not a standard part of a property tax appeal for attorney-filed appeals either.

Q: I bought my property in January. Can I file my appeal in my name?
A: No. Tax appeal credits are retroactive back to Jan 1, so you have to file in the name of the owner of record as of that date. You can still sign your name (ie. “Jane Doe for Prior Owner”). And the refund will get credited against your next property tax bill (usually third quarter) so no need to worry about receiving a check made out to the wrong name!

Part 1: What is a Property Tax Appeal?

Part 2: Property Tax Appeal: Do you need an attorney?