How much is lifetime medical worth?

[Getting short]

USDA Forest Service, wildland fire fighters do OTJ physical training.

 

[LeatherneckPA]

OK, never mind. Don't bother signing me up. Anybody who charges into a fire is crazy!!. A hero yes, but crazy.

 

[W2R]

Want2Retire,
I want to point out another issue about RE and health insurance. The kind of insurance you might be able to get if you RE without the FED policy may cause you a lot of stress.

I went though a very difficult process getting individual insurance and ended up with a $280/month policy with a $2700 deductible and a few exclusions. One of them, skin cancer screening and treatments, I have to pay out of pocket. This year about $600. Another exclusion includes anything to do with my spine. This because of a minor injury eight years ago that has never bothered me again.

If any of my excluded conditions get much worse I'm going to have a lot of expenses! Being in this uncertainty does prey on my mind and affects the choices I make. For example, no motorcycle riding for me! Just kidding. But seriously, I had to decline participation in the HOA community volunteer landscaping last week because I was afraid it might hurt my back even though there's really not much wrong with my back at present and I do a lot of exercise in the gym.

So it's the stress of uncertainty that can sometimes make life uncomfortable. Take your vacations and stick it out two more years; also, cut out caffeine and start meditating and/or yoga!

Thanks, Oldbabe, for the insights on this. I am going to take your advice, though I will just attempt to cut back on caffeine for now, since forgoing my one cup seems to turn me into an angry she-wolf in the mornings. (I have started mixing decaf in with my regular coffee for that one cup, and once I have weaned myself onto decaf then I will try drinking less than a cup and so on.) To be honest, I can't imagine that one cup of weak coffee in the morning is the problem -- my job is the problem.

Only 730 more days as of this morning (crossed them off on my list of days left!), and Thanksgiving week is a scheduled vacation for me. I am going to schedule time off over Christmas, as well. I will go and do that now.

Things are already feeling better due to the bereavement time off that I took last week, so I have pretty much written off the idea of saving up my vacation time for the lump sum payment. Time off seems to really help.

 

[Zoocat]

To be honest, I can't imagine that one cup of weak coffee in the morning is the problem -- my job is the problem.

Things are already feeling better due to the bereavement time off that I took last week, so I have pretty much written off the idea of saving up my vacation time for the lump sum payment. Time off seems to really help.

Glad to hear you are feeling better! Time off is the cure for most of the problematic issues in life.