Insurance, especially health insurance, is a tough subject for most freelance writers (all types of freelancers, actually) to face.
I’ve searched and found free insurance quotes both online and off line myself. But I’ve never found health insurance I can actually afford. Part of that is my health and my age. I’m relatively healthy, but I’m also quite overweight and I’m just a few years from qualifying for Medicare.
What about you other writers out there — any good insurance solutions you’ve found for freelance writers? How do you handle the problem? Group insurance from a “day job”? Health insurance provided through your spouse?
I’m sure many who come here would be interested in some examples of how various freelancers take care of health insurance needs. Leave us a comment and share your solutions.
You’ve probably seen the newspaper and magazine ads for Amish fireplaces, Amish home builders, Amish demolition crews, Amish style cooking, and probably (although I haven’t seen them) you could even find ads for Amish buggies and Amish buggy whips.
Hence, thanks to generations of successful copy writing by all the ad guys, a religion that centers on a lifestyle which seeks to live outside the evils of the “modern” world, has actually become a very trendy, successful buzz word for selling modern technology and products.
I do not personally know any Amish people, though there are several Amish communities (is that the right term?) located in our part of Missouri and I’ve seen their buggies occasionally gracing the side of the highway near here. I have great respect for their simple, gentle lifestyle and admire their determination to live apart from “the world,” although I would personally choose to do cultural/theological battle with some of those ideas. I respect their lifestyle and religion and choose to disagree with it myself.
What I have to admire, however, is the way copy writers have turned “Amish” into a successful sales term, capitalizing on “Amish-ness” while sharing at least some of the wealth with various Amish communities.
I still find it visually and mentally jarring, however, when I see an Amish family come into one of the local grocery stores talking on cell phones. I find myself wondering, too, whether texting while driving is a big problem with a horse and buggy.
I’ve discovered the greatest feature about cable or satellite dish television is that it broadcasts digital music on literally dozens of channels, and I enjoy the music much more than most television programming. So I use our television most of the day as a music box.
Our son has tried to persuade us that we need a big, flat screen, HDTV to replace our current hulking monster. One of those sleek, light-weight beauties that hangs on the wall or sits discreetly on one of those special tv stands that goose neck up over the shelf, allowing space under the screen where I could actually pile more books, I think.
The truth of the matter is, I generally enjoy the digital music or simply slip a CD into the stereo system (are they still called that?) and hit “repeat” for the entire disc so I can focus on my keyboard. The one big advantage the television music box has over the stereo, though, is that I can flip on the news or weather with a couple of punches at the keys on the remote — much faster than switching from the CD player to a decent radio station.
Yes indeed. As music boxes go, I highly recommend a good cable or satellite dish subscription.
